It isn’t about winning... it’s being SEEN to win
Still on the run, the group decided to try and lure their enemies into a trap. Contacting BISCUIT, they arranged to “tell their side of the story” and arranged a meet in public place - Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston in Birmingham. Before the meet, Steel Reign submerged himself in the nearby boating pool ready for an ambush.
The expected attack from Squadron: Birmingham did not materialise.
(An aside: Deacon, as always, was keeping out of sight. He was the only member of the heroes’ group whose powers defied analysis and could not be planned for. Sq:B - who had the heroes under observation using Stockade’s* invisible drones - were under instructions from PsiClone not to attack or reveal themselves in any way until Deacon appeared. And then, when he did, to prioritise him with all of their attacks - shooting to kill. After all, they’d already marooned him on an airless space station miles above the Earth and he’d somehow survived!
*Dr Darren G. Stockade - the invisible man - had been with the evil Sq: B from the start and was responsible for creating the false news tapes which had framed the heroes.)
Eventually, Deacon flew in invisibly and grabbed a BISCUIT agent for questioning and flew away. Magnetron, Agony Aunt, Electro and Miasma (still in PsiClone’s, now mutated, body) headed in another direction. Steel Reign remained submerged.
Eventually, after questioning the agent and confirming the group’s suspicions but gaining no new information, Deacon released his captive and used a public phone box to call the last of Magnetron’s box of burner phones and arranged to meet the group at an abandoned farmhouse they knew of outside town. Magnetron contacted Steel Reign through his internal phone to pass this information on.
The group met at the farmhouse and began to plan their next step. As soon as Deacon was confirmed to be present, Squadron Birmingham attacked!
The house was struck by rocket-propelled grenades. But a stroke of good fortune, the steel framework of the house twisted under the assault to catch the falling masonry and form a small oasis of calm within the rubble. None of the heroes was hurt.
But then everyone - including Deacon - was bathed in an arcane glow.
(Aside: This is what PsiClone has been waiting for. Still wearing Miasma’s body, he had the ability to detect all minds in an area and make them visible to others. Unfortunately, he needed to concentrate all of his abilities on this and that took him and Warrior - who he’d designated to protect him - out of the ensuing fight. That plus the fact that Stockade - who was not naturally a murderer - defied instructions and did not fire to kill Deacon as instructed. Had he done so, the occult hero may have been slain and the fight might have gone much differently. Instead, Stockade and Slink chose to flee as soon as the fight turned against Sq: B.)
“Central News - we interrupt our usual broadcast with dire news!
“We have just heard that, in a pitched battle in fields to the South of Birmingham, Squadron Birmingham have been ambushed and killed by the renegade villains responsible for the destruction of the Rotunda.
“Less than an hour ago, Miasma, Warrior, Menagerie, Toymaster, Ice Warrior, Infiltrator and an unknown number of ordinary police officers were ambushed and slaughtered. Hugo Drax - philanthropist and billionaire - who’d been kindly supporting the Squadron since the destruction of their headquarters - with the loss of dozens of lives - is missing, presumed dead or held for ransom.
“Stay in your homes! We have no idea when or where these villains. The one thing we can be sure of is that there is no-one left to protect us from them.
“Wait, this just in. Squadron: London have received the Council’s call for help and are responding. They’ll be here shortly. Thank God!
“In the meantime - or your own safety - stay in your homes!”
Amongst the fallen figures of the Police Officers stunned by Miasma’s mental blast, a single plaintive mobile phone bleeped. In it’s screen a simple text message.
“I am Dr Stockade. I have the original tapes of your training sessions and subsequent battles and proof of how they were altered. If you want to clear your names and avoid any further confrontations, YOU will have to deal with ME.”
And now....... the conclusion.
The expected attack from Squadron: Birmingham did not materialise.
(An aside: Deacon, as always, was keeping out of sight. He was the only member of the heroes’ group whose powers defied analysis and could not be planned for. Sq:B - who had the heroes under observation using Stockade’s* invisible drones - were under instructions from PsiClone not to attack or reveal themselves in any way until Deacon appeared. And then, when he did, to prioritise him with all of their attacks - shooting to kill. After all, they’d already marooned him on an airless space station miles above the Earth and he’d somehow survived!
*Dr Darren G. Stockade - the invisible man - had been with the evil Sq: B from the start and was responsible for creating the false news tapes which had framed the heroes.)
Eventually, Deacon flew in invisibly and grabbed a BISCUIT agent for questioning and flew away. Magnetron, Agony Aunt, Electro and Miasma (still in PsiClone’s, now mutated, body) headed in another direction. Steel Reign remained submerged.
Eventually, after questioning the agent and confirming the group’s suspicions but gaining no new information, Deacon released his captive and used a public phone box to call the last of Magnetron’s box of burner phones and arranged to meet the group at an abandoned farmhouse they knew of outside town. Magnetron contacted Steel Reign through his internal phone to pass this information on.
The group met at the farmhouse and began to plan their next step. As soon as Deacon was confirmed to be present, Squadron Birmingham attacked!
The house was struck by rocket-propelled grenades. But a stroke of good fortune, the steel framework of the house twisted under the assault to catch the falling masonry and form a small oasis of calm within the rubble. None of the heroes was hurt.
But then everyone - including Deacon - was bathed in an arcane glow.
(Aside: This is what PsiClone has been waiting for. Still wearing Miasma’s body, he had the ability to detect all minds in an area and make them visible to others. Unfortunately, he needed to concentrate all of his abilities on this and that took him and Warrior - who he’d designated to protect him - out of the ensuing fight. That plus the fact that Stockade - who was not naturally a murderer - defied instructions and did not fire to kill Deacon as instructed. Had he done so, the occult hero may have been slain and the fight might have gone much differently. Instead, Stockade and Slink chose to flee as soon as the fight turned against Sq: B.)
“Central News - we interrupt our usual broadcast with dire news!
“We have just heard that, in a pitched battle in fields to the South of Birmingham, Squadron Birmingham have been ambushed and killed by the renegade villains responsible for the destruction of the Rotunda.
“Less than an hour ago, Miasma, Warrior, Menagerie, Toymaster, Ice Warrior, Infiltrator and an unknown number of ordinary police officers were ambushed and slaughtered. Hugo Drax - philanthropist and billionaire - who’d been kindly supporting the Squadron since the destruction of their headquarters - with the loss of dozens of lives - is missing, presumed dead or held for ransom.
“Stay in your homes! We have no idea when or where these villains. The one thing we can be sure of is that there is no-one left to protect us from them.
“Wait, this just in. Squadron: London have received the Council’s call for help and are responding. They’ll be here shortly. Thank God!
“In the meantime - or your own safety - stay in your homes!”
Amongst the fallen figures of the Police Officers stunned by Miasma’s mental blast, a single plaintive mobile phone bleeped. In it’s screen a simple text message.
“I am Dr Stockade. I have the original tapes of your training sessions and subsequent battles and proof of how they were altered. If you want to clear your names and avoid any further confrontations, YOU will have to deal with ME.”
And now....... the conclusion.
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