DEC 2002 - #6

Junta Rising: Part II Bad Guys and Dead Bodies by Toby Kernan

Valerie Cooper pushed the hair away from her face, as she watched the two teams assemble on the tarmac before her, trying to respond to her call without being blown away. It was a windy day at Belle Reve, Louisiana, and she was eager to get back inside.

"We decided to split the groups into two teams. One team will be a diversion team, they are a squad heavy on the criminals and heavy of firepower. That team consists of Master Blaster, Shockwave, Sureshot, Enforcer, and Mach-1 . . . "

"Sounds like a group of real heavy hitters. Can Mach-1 control them?" asked Sarge Steel. He knew Hank Henshaw, current bearer of the government's top high-tech armor, dubbed Mach-1, well. He was a solid, trustable agent. He also knew that each of the other members of the team were criminals and thugs, each with high-tech suits of their own.

"I hope so," replied Val, "but even if not, we have built in precautions. All have remote satellite trackers and explosive collars installed new within each suit of armor. They know that if they try to run. We will blow them. If they try to betray Mach-1, or us, we will blow them. Carmichael went over every suit with a fine tooth comb and made modifications, including mini-cameras built into each suit so activities can be monitored."

"Sounds good," replied Sarge. "What about the extraction group?"

"That group is more geared towards stealth, and more filled with trust-worthy Squaders. Commando will lead that squad, comprised of Blue Jay, Overload, Mystique, Mist Mistress, Crucible, and the current Lady Liberty…"

"Sounds like a solid team," stated Sarge.

"Yeah," replied Val. "Mystique has been playing well lately, and both Mist Mistress and Crucible will be out after this mission, both having exemplary records in their stay. Crucible has even been invited to stay on the payroll as a permanent member. Cathy Webster seems like a good kid also, and a fine lady Liberty, I personally just think she got caught up in stuff way over her head . . . "

"Indeed," replied Sarge. "Well, it sounds like you have things under control. Let's hope we can make this extraction of King T'Challa as painless as possible. I have received word that SHIELD is already planning a full-fledge assault on Wakanda as we speak. We need to move fast."

"Okay, team," cried Mach-1, as the five emerged from Quartzite's teleportation disk, "you know the agenda, let's rock-n-roll!"

The five armored warriors swept out in an uneven formation, viewing a contingent of rebel soldiers in front of them.

"I don't suppose any of you want to surrender?" asked Shockwave jokingly, knowing full well what their answer was. Shockwave didn't really care anyway. He just wanted to achieve their objective and get the hell out of here. He was a thug for hire, not some valiant war hero. He was just looking to stay alive.

Soon the rebel soldiers were filling the air with bullets and laser blasts, and the melee began.

"You are all pathetic!" screamed Master Blaster as he watched many of the shots fired wildly, nowhere near any of the Squaders. It was obvious that their arrival had shocked the soldiers, and the site of five armored warriors had frightened the warriors. Master Blaster used the opportunity to take out many of them, his energy blasters shredding the first line of troops.

Sureshot looked around for some sort of cover. Even with her armor as protection, she didn't like the situation she was in. She was a smart fighter, a thinker, not someone like Master Blaster and Enforcer, who leaped to the front of the fray and started piling up bodies. She was for stealth and careful planning, and being dropped into a war zone wasn't her idea of a good time. She now wished she had paid more attention to Machinesmith when he was creating her armor, so she could figure some way out of it without blowing up the detonator Suicide Squad had installed in it. This wasn't her fight, and she didn't give a damn about some African Prince or the war for his country.

"Come on, Sureshot," she suddenly heard through her suit's intercom, "join the party." Mach-1 was calling her.

Sureshot bit her lip, and jumped out, firing several shots from her gun, killing a rebel, then jumped back as several shots bounced off her armor's force field.

The air inside the room crackled as Quartzite's teleportation blast filled the room with light. Seven forms emerged from the light, all in defensive positions, ready for anything. Luckily, for them, the room they had teleported into was devoid of the living. The dead, on the other hand, were quite abundant.

"My god," cried Lady Liberty, looking around the room at the pile of rotting corpses. "Where the heck did you teleport us too?"

"Sorry, kid," said Quartzite, preparing to teleport out, "I haven't been to many places in this castle. This is the Ceremonial Throne Room. I was here several years ago when the Squad helped Black Panther oust a Hydra Invasion. I can only teleport to places I have been before."

Mystique bent down, and examined the body of a young woman. From the look of her ceremonial garb, she deduced that she had been part of the royal court. "It would appear," spoke Mystique softly, "that you picked the perfect place. No members of Junta are in here, and since they are using the room to dispose of 'waste', it is likely the stench keeps them away."

"Agreed," replied Commando. He didn't like having Mystique on the team. He knew she had been a leader of the Squad in the past, and he didn't want her upsetting his authority. He also didn't trust her. He knew she was always looking to take advantage of any opportunity, and with a palace full of traitors, Suicide Squad could ill afford another.

"Now," said Commando, taking charge, "let's get to business. Overload, find a plug-in and check out the security, and see if you can get a schematic of the building. I want to know the quickest way to Prince T'Challa. We aren't sure how long the other team will distract our enemies."

Overload saluted Commando, mockingly, and went to the nearest wall to find a plug-in. Soon, he was connected to the palace's electrical system. From there, it took him only minutes to link up the building's mainframe, and was soon inside the computer system. Cliff Carmichael, a.k.a. Overload, was impressed. The Wakandans had spared no expense, installing an extremely powerful computer system. It was amazing what being the exclusive home of one of the world's most precious metals, Vibranium, could bring you. Overload found himself wishing he had time to take some of this home, he could use a few of these pieces to add to his own collection.

"Well, Carmichael?" asked Commando, impatiently.

"Lots of interesting stuff in here, bossman," replied Overload, absentmindedly. "I have rerouted the security systems, they won't be a problem. Also, the cameras that are still functioning within the palace have been deactivated. I have a floor plan of the building, and we should be able to get to the basement cells where the Prince is being held.

"Oh, and bossman, there is something else you might want to know . . . "

"What is that, Carmichael?"

"Junta is also using the system to talk and send messages to others."

"What do you mean 'others'?" asked Mystique curiously.

"All incoming and outgoing calls and networking, from the palace, are monitored by the system. Since Junta took over, I have contact in Paris, Washington DC, Cairo, and a whole bunch to and from Quarac. I am currently routing all this information to Belle Reve so Ms. Cooper can have it, and help quell this group. This is huge."

"Good job, Overload," replied Commando. Though usually hard to please, Commando liked the way this mission was beginning. With that information sent to Valerie Cooper, hopefully, Junta could be crushed before this traitorous group of villains could wreak any more havoc. The mention of Quarac also pleased Commando. With some hard evidence, hopefully the United States, and its allies, could shut down President Marlo and his terrorist country for good.

"Alright team," announced Commando, "here is the plan. Blue Jay and Mist Mistress, due to your abilities, you are going to scout ahead to where Prince T'Challa is incarcerated, and report back our level of resistance. Hopefully, with the melee outside, it will be minimal. Meanwhile, the rest of us will make our way there. I'll take the lead, Mystique, the rear. Let's go team, we have a Prince to save."

Suddenly, Raoul Bushman burst into the room, causing Prey to awaken from his daydreaming and lift White Wolf's head from the computer screen.

"We have a problem," stated Bushman bluntly. "Turn on the cameras to the south gates."

Prey grabbed a clicker from the table and filled the room's widescreen with various camera shots of the outside of the palace. Five high-tech armored soldiers were plowing through the small contingent of soldiers that had been positioned there.

"Recognize any of them?" asked Prey to the other two men.

"I do," replied White Wolf. "The woman in gold and green is known as Enforcer, a small-time mercenary for hire. Another one is known as Shockwave. They are American criminals."

"Why are they here, attacking us?" asked Prey.

"Well," said Bushman, understanding, "I would guess Suicide Squad has discovered their formerly-dead employees, and have decided to clean up the mess. They are fools."

"Is something wrong?" asked President Marlo, from his video screen.

"Nothin' we can't handle." replied White Wolf, severing his link with Marlo.

Suddenly, all the cameras they had been watching blinked out, one by one.

"What the hell . . . " screamed Prey, angrily.

White Wolf, turned from the blank screen, back to his computer. Suddenly, a nasty sneer crept across his face

"Maybe you boys betta' take a look at this . . . " said White Wolf. "I am sure, you will find it very interesting."

The five metal warriors continued their destruction of the rebel troops. Things were going far too easy, and Mach-1 didn't like it. They had yet to see a single supervillain, and from what Mach-1 had understood, those were the real reason they were here. Between their armors and force field, these troops were simply no match, and their ranks had begun to scatter and retreat into chaos.

Mach-1 looked around at his group. Despite an obvious lack of enthusiasm from Sureshot and Shockwave, they unit was functioning well and nobody, so far, seemed to have an inclination towards betraying them. This was good, because Mach-1 really preferred not to have to explode one of his teammates, even if they were criminals and lowlifes.

Suddenly, bad things started happening. Sureshot was suddenly engulfed in a huge blast of water, and shot hundreds of feet into the air. Enforcer also was affected, as it seemed her armored betrayed her, and she flew around in crazy circles, then plummeted to the ground with a thud.

Then Mach-1 saw them. He recognized Powderkeg and Aquaduct from the pre-mission briefing. Another, Rainbow Raider, Hank recognizes as a former Suicide Squader. The fourth is a member of Quarac's assassins, a beast of a creature known as Manticore. The fifth member, a tall, young, blond-haired man, Mach-I didn't recognized, but it appeared from his line of view, that he was causing whatever malady had struck Enforcer.

Junta had arrived, and it was time for the real battle to begin!

Commando and his squad made there way down the twisting hallways. With the combination of Overload's directions, and Mist Mistresses ability to scout ahead, undetected, their mission was becoming relatively easy, and without any necessary confrontation. The team had successfully made it down several floors of the building, getting closer to the basement where the Wakandan king was being held.

Suddenly, a multitude of explosions could be heard from outside.

"Sounds like quite a party going on outside," remarked Cathy Webster, otherwise known as Lady Liberty III. Although she wasn't about to admit it, she was very much overwhelmed by this entire situation. Suddenly she very much wished she had simply decided to wait out her jail term, rather than take this Suicide Squad alternative. She wanted out, but she also wanted out alive. She had already seen more dead bodies in two hours than she had seen in here entire life. She decided, for herself, that if she made it out alive, she was going to go legit.

Suddenly she left a little weight on her shoulder. She turned and saw Blue Jay sitting there, his diminutive little form resting calmly upon her frame.

"Don't worry, kid," he said calmly, "you'll be alright. We'll just grab the King and we will zip out of here, no fuss, and no problem. Seen a lot worse missions than this one."

"Quiet everyone," hissed Commando. He didn't like this. It was almost too easy. He too heard the explosion outside. The distraction seemed to be working. Maybe all too well. No fighting yet. He looked around at his team, and they all seemed to be following orders perfectly. Even Mystique, who was bringing up the rear, had been quiet and obeyed ever order Commando issued.

The team quickly found the final set of steps leading to the cells where King T'Challa was imprisoned.

Mist Mistress came floating up to Commando's side.

"There are four guards at the door. Automatic rifles, and no super-types in sight. Easy pickings from the look of it. I can do it myself," whispered Mist Mistress into the ear of Commando.

"Go for it," replied Commando.

The four guards didn't know what hit them. One moment they stood there, discussing liquor and a dispute one had had the week before with his wife. Then, the air around them started to get thin. Moments passed, they choked as the air around them seemed to disappear. One even fired his rifle into the air, fearing evil spirits. Soon, all four were passed out upon the ground, unconscious.

Commando pushed his team forward, and through the door. They walked down a small corridor of empty cells, until they found one occupied. Inside lay the king of Wakanda, T'Challa. Crucible went to his side, checking his wounds.

"He will live," declared Crucible. "He has a few broken ribs from the looks of it, and his jaw will need to be reset. Other than that it is all just minor cuts and bruises."

"Excellent," said Commando. "Now I'll just call Quartzite . . . "

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" said of voice from the shadows in the cell adjacent to the one Commando stood in. Suddenly, things started to happen. A large gust of wing swept Lady Liberty, Blue Jay, and Overload, all of whom had been standing in the hallway, down the hall and into the far wall. Then suddenly, Crucible screamed. Commando turned, and saw the sword, which was impaling him, blood starting to pour from his wound onto the floor beneath him.

Then Commando saw THEM. Above Crucible stood former Suicide Squad member Kuroko, who they had thought lost after a previous mission. Outside the cell stood Cyclone, White Wolf, and the head of Jihad's strike force, the fire-wielding Rustam.

"You are all going to die!" announced White Wolf, as he nodded to Rustam, and suddenly the entire cell was engulfed in flames.