The Conglomerate part 1

The Ice Box metahuman prison rested within a snowy mountain, far from civilization. Its top floor was exposed to the elements. The remaining five levels were in descending order underground. If any of the super-powered criminals inside managed to escape five levels of heavily armed guards, they would meet many challenges. They would encounter drones as well. Surviving the frozen terrain and steep cliffs would be difficult. They also needed to overcome the distance of several miles from civilization. And yet, lower-rung members of the Second Phase were making attempts to brave the elements as they poured out of the main entrance.

Guards in large mech suits launched projectiles or beat them back with powerful limbs. These particular operatives mostly had minor cybernetics to increase senses, stats; occasionally, they also had the ability to fire energy blasts, but the guards had little trouble beating them back. That is, until a higher-ranked Second Phase operative arrived. The cyborg known as Manta flew in on fin-shaped wings and tackled an armored guard onto the frozen ground. Manta locked eyes with the guard inside the suit and slowly, a prehensile tail rose behind him, displaying a long blade at the end. A moment later, a shot from a laser rifle ripped the tail in half.

Intrepid held the rifle above her head as she flew in and planted both boots against Manta’s face, knocking him to the ground. Next, Ryan Bennings threw a capsule, capturing the cyborg in a bubble-shaped forcefield. Nearby, Alysa Saraki conjured up a small blizzard to distract the remaining Second Phase operatives. Astra Machina and Shujai dropped down, delivering super strong punches to knock them out before they could regroup. A few turned in the opposite direction to flee but the Cavalier blocked their path and quickly took them down with a shield and morning star. Soon, the threat was neutralized and the guards began the process of restraining the escaped prisoners outside.

“Looks like the party’s just starting,” Ryan said as he surveyed the area, “I hope these are the only ones who made it outside.”

“Far as we know,” a guard reported, “The rest of the prisoners are contained within the compound but the cell doors are still offline and entire blocks are out of our control. We’re getting overrun down there.”

Ryan playfully slapped Cavalier’s armored back, “Well, that’s why we’re here.”

3 Hours Earlier in Boston…

Astra Machina sat on the edge of a hospital bed and held Labrat’s hand. It hadn’t been long since Professor Miles Cady attacked Ryan Bennings and seriously injured Labrat. Once she heard of the attack, Astra made sure to visit him in the hospital. As expected, Ryan Bennings was already in the room.

“How’re you feeling, Labrat?”

“Real good now that I have this,” Labrat happily played with the plush Paw Patrol toy gifted to him.

“I don’t want anything else to happen to you,” Astra told him tenderly, “So be careful, okay?”

“Okay, Astra.”

She turned to Ryan, “The guy who did this is in prison?”

“Last time I checked,” Ryan’s tone was more serious than usual, “And trust me when I say I’m checking often.”

The next person to enter the room was Agent Dafne Mansoor, better known to them as the former IMD agent, Intrepid. “Hello, everyone,” she greeted the room before making her way to Labrat’s bedside, “I’m just here to check on Labrat.”

“The guy’s only been in the hospital for a few days and he’s already having ladies fawning over him,” Ryan joked, “Good to see you warming up a little, Intrepid.”

“I don’t like seeing my teammates hurt,” she said sympathetically, “Or friends.”

“Thank you,” Labrat replied.

“Attacking loved ones is a common tactic for these people,” she told Ryan, “I’m glad you persevered.”

“I’m quite skilled at masking anger and pain behind a veneer of snark and bravado.”

“I’ve noticed,” she said with a subtle smile.

An alert went off from the emergency system onboard Hyperion’s Light and holographic screens hung in the air in front of them. The three Commissioners fell silent as they read the report from the International Metahuman Correctional Facility, otherwise known as the Ice Box. A power surge had been reported, and it was feared prisoners might escape. The armored guards and their robotic drones tried to subdue the prisoners inside. Still, they needed more assistance. With half the Commission already assembled, gathering the remaining three would be easy. They could do this before heading to the Himalayan Mountains.

Hours later at the Ice Box Docking Bay…

The criminal organization known as the Power Grid granted powers to a large number of super criminals in the 90s. Piecemeal was one such criminal and had been in prison for some time. He was a large, bald man who had superhuman strength as well as the ability to detach and reattach his limbs. As he entered the Ice Box docking bay, his arms removed themselves as if held on by velcro and soared through the air before smashing mechanical drones. The arms then flew back to him and reattached to his shoulders before he moved on. Meanwhile, the environmental terrorist called Verglas used his freezing powers to trap a guard’s mech behind a wall of ice. “It’s called the Ice Box, isn’t it?,” he gloated as he released ice beams from his palms, “No complaints” With the enemies now neutralized, the two criminals raced toward one of the many aircrafts in the bay, but they were soon blocked off by a lone figure standing in their path.

Shawn McCabe was a retired IMD agent and current warden of the Ice Box with the ability to create “spacial vertigo”. He raised his arms. The air warped around the prisoners, disrupting gravity and space for a brief moment. They were thrown into the air. The effect was disorienting enough to make them unconscious and they were roughly brought to the floor. With the area secured, McCabe answered an incoming call on his communication device.

“We’re here, McCabe,” Ryan informed him.

“Not a minute too late,” McCabe began breaking the ice to free the trapped guards, “We got angry prisoners on all levels plus a damaged generator in the basement so cell doors are offline. No idea what caused this yet.”

“It’s a good thing you called us.”

“You could get here faster than the IMD,” McCabe grumbled.

“I’ll take it. Sending the team to all levels now. Meanwhile, Astra should be able to get the generator back online.”

Level 5…

The citizens of the underground city of Agartha made an attempt to regroup in the top level before finding a way to escape. The Agarthan known as Hot Mess threw a fireball at a guard, blasting him through a wall. He turned to his fellow Agarthans and said something from severely burnt lips and throat. The Agarthans laughed, completely understanding his garbled speech. A moment later, the Cavalier launched himself through the wall’s new hole and slammed his shield against the back of the mutant’s head, rendering him unconscious.

It was then that Cavalier noticed the familiar faces in the crowd and, considering he was the main factor in getting them placed in the Ice Box to start with, they were less than pleased to see him. “Great, my old neighbors,” he thought to himself and readied his weapons. A large figure shoved his way through the crowd and a gravely voice bellowed, “I got this!”

Tusk, the leader of the Agarthans, growled and pointed at Cavalier, “You honestly had the balls to show up here?” His lieutenant, Gumball, flanked him while the rest of the Agarthans stood by. “I knew it was my lucky day,” Tusk stormed forward, “I just didn’t know how true that was!” He raised a large, spiked fist and brought it down with all his might. And when the fist landed, there was a mild shockwave from the impact and the thunderous sound echoed across the cell block. Tusk raised his thorny brows and he stared into the eyes of Shujai who was now standing in front of the Cavalier, casually holding Tusk’s fist in the palm of his hand.

“I don’t say this often enough,” Cavalier clapped his shoulder, “Glad to have you on the team.”

Shujai gave him a slight nod, “My pleasure.”

Shujai slammed a fist into Tusk’s gut, sending him across the block and into the farthest set of stairs. The Agarthans froze in fear and uncertainty. “Go help Bennings,” Shujai told Cavalier, “I can deal with them.”

Level 3…

King Argent was an Iseda priest who attacked an IMD lab over a year earlier. He was in the process of escaping down a corridor when he was blocked off by Alysa Saraki. “I knew I sensed something familiar down here,” Alysa said, “I don’t know who you are but I bet I know what temple you belong to.” King Argent launched a series of spells at her, but she quickly raised her own defences.

“I know who you are,” Argent sneered, “The heretic.”

“That’s more true than you realize,” she responded, “I’m hoping we don’t gotta go through this Reformer vs Iconoclast bullshit today. It’s been a rough couple weeks for me.”

“I’m not as blinded by revenge as the other priests and priestesses in my sect,” Argent flew into the air and landed on a platform above, “I know when to fight and when to avoid it.”

With that, he disappeared in a flash.

Level 4…

Zenith, the Superior Man, had managed to rewire a damaged drone and used it to open fire on Ryan Bennings who had raised a forcefield in time to deflect the barrage. “I am superior! I am evolved!,” Zenith shouted as the drone floated above him. “Too bad you didn’t evolve eyes in the back of your head,” Ryan told him. Zenith looked at him curiously before Cavalier dropped down, slamming the hilt of his sword against the back of his head. With Zenith unconscious, Ryan fired a laser to destroy the drone.

Cavalier looked down at the unconscious old man as he slowly began to recognize him from old photos, “Is that…?”

“Yep,” Ryan answered, “I think he’s still pissed about what happened to Rex.”

“Never gonna live it down,” Cavalier sighed.

Level 5…

Shujai ignored an energy blast to his chest as he swung Gumball over his head, her long limbs trailing behind her like a whip. A moment later, the rotund Agarthan was hurled into a small group of mutants with enough force to launch them into an empty cell, rendering them all unconscious. Tusk made one final attack, but as he charged, Shujai flipped him onto the ground hard enough to crack it before delivering a punch that rattled the walls. The remaining Agarthans stopped in their tracks to stare at their unconscious leader. “Go back to your cells,” Shujai ordered sternly. They complied.

Level 1…

Intrepid carefully entered the Commissary, finding several discarded food containers scattered along the floor as well as overturned tables. Both prisoners and guards had been torn apart by something on the bottom floor, their bodies littering the cell block. As she ventured farther into the room, her enhanced senses picked up an animalistic scent that led to the storage area behind the main counter. Even without those superhuman senses, she could’ve heard the large creature clearing out the refrigerator in the back.

Once she entered the back room, she saw a humanoid bear partially crouched inside the fridge, the sound of snapping jaws clearly audible. She recognized the creature as the Kodiak, a mutated bear that the third Cavalier had captured decades earlier. The bear was older but still quite powerful, casually ripping the industrial fridge off the wall and dumping it once it noticed the interloper. In a rage, Kodiak roared and rushed her. The rifle in Intrepid’s hands did little except slow him down and the beast wrapped its massive arms around her. She instinctively flew backwards through the door, carrying the monster with her.

The Basement…

Astra Machina made her way to the basement where the generators were held. She noticed they had been damaged and with a quick scan, knew how to repair them. She absorbed some mass from the floor and placed her hands against the generators, transferring it into the damaged parts to patch them up. The liquid metal spread along the surface, replacing missing parts and filling the holes.

Level 1…

Intrepid carried Kodiak across the block, trying her best not to get bitten by the powerful set of jaws. As she neared an empty cell, she heard Astra in her earpiece, “Hey everyone, I’m getting the generators back online.” Intrepid stopped in mid-air, releasing the Kodiak and allowing the momentum to carry him into the empty cell. The bear hit the opposite wall and fell to the floor with a thunderous noise. The impact did little harm and he soon rose to his feet again, only for Intrepid to gain access to the control panel. Kodiak made a final lunge but with the cells now operational, Intrepid locked the creature behind a forcefield.

The Warden’s Office…

After the team and the guards led the inmates back to their cells, they regrouped in McCabe’s office. “Still no idea who broke the generators,” he explained, “But it’s obvious this was an outside job.”

“Any prisoners unaccounted for?,” Intrepid asked.

“I saw one escape,” Alysa explained, “That Iconoclast priest. Albino dude.”

“King Argent,” Intrepid informed her.

“What about Rasputin?,” Cavalier asked.

“I checked on him personally,” McCabe explained, “Still in a coma and safely in his cell.”

“Miles Cady?,” Ryan asked, “I tried my best to find that little scamp in all the chaos.”

“Lemme check,” McCabe brought up his information on his computer.

“Isn’t that the dude who hurt Labrat?,” Alysa asked.

“The same,” Ryan confirmed, “He’s old and walks with a cane so, physically, he shouldn’t be capable of getting far,” Ryan stared at McCabe, “And if he’s properly medicated, he shouldn’t be capable of using his powers.”

McCabe noticed the glare but said nothing, “Cameras were down so it’s hard to tell who did what and there may be a few stragglers hiding out in the compound, but I can check to see if he’s been accounted for,” he brought up a file and then grit his teeth, “…Sonuvabitch!”

Somewhere over China…

The aircraft was piloted by a man named Hank and was en route to Russia. In the cabin, Miles Cady sat nervously, still wearing his prison uniform, his cane neatly propped up on the seat beside him. Across from him was an U’ntari Silencer who stared at him menacingly. Next to the U’ntari was a human woman whom he recognized. He was still under the effects of medication which subdued his powers, so it would take some time before he could fully access his telepathy. Because of that, he couldn’t read their minds. He opted to ask questions instead.

“You’re Jennifer Sawyer, correct?” Cady began, “I can’t be completely sure. These meds are pretty strong sometimes.”

“I am, indeed, Jennifer Sawyer,” she answered.

He turned to the U’ntari sitting beside her, “And you?”

“You will call me Syfire,” he commanded.

“You’re not the one with the Commission,… I heard an alien attacked a UN facility during the Shujai trial.”

“That was me,” he answered coldly.

“What the hell do you people want with me?”

Jennifer Sawyer stared at him coldly, “You sound very antagonistic for someone who’d still be in prison if it wasn’t for us.”

“Answer the damn question!,” he retorted.

“If it wasn’t already obvious,” Sawyer sighed, “We’re putting a team together.”

Continued…