Shot of Courage
8/9/1947, Chicago, Illinois
The man that was known as Doctor Spectrum had been flying to Fort Erskine when he decided to swing by, and that was when he saw that there was a strange man with a golden helmet who was walking around as if everything was normal, hitting a man that was dressed as a man going to enjoy the beach, “Warning! Telepath danger nearby.” Krimonn told him now.
That made Joseph confused as he went to go and land now, “The helmet guy?” he asked of the prism, “Correct. Initiating telepathic defense screen.” Krimonn told him as a sort of Bubble appeared, making him think of a scuba diver as Joseph went to land down there now, “Hey there, what the Hell are you doing here?” he asked, making the golden helmeted man smile, “Oh, not to worry, good sir,” he told him.
“We’re only on a stroll, Bobo here is bringing me to Atlantis.” he explained and hearing that, Joseph saw that he had the similarities to the Atlantean he knew and that made him glare now, “Let him go, now.” he ordered, making the man smile, “Oh, I think not, I think that I’ll be enjoying your company.” he said and that was when Joseph felt something trying to enter his mind now.
“Telepathic Screen holding. Prepare for hostile action.” Krimonn told him which made Joseph aim the prism towards the man, but he simply snorted now, going to motion his hand which caused Bobo to look towards him now and that made the man power up a hooked shot now, going and curving it to hit his helmet, but the man simply scoffed as Bobo had reacted to take the shot, “Nice try.” he said.
“But as long as he is under the influence of Paul Destine, he will be serving me as long as I desire.” he said now before tapping the side of the helmet now, causing the people that were around them to look towards Joseph, started to go and charge, to attack him now and seeing that, he started to think before going to fly upwards, causing Destine to laugh at the sight.
“That’s right! Flee! Flee like the coward that you are! Because you are unfit to defeat me in any shape or form!” The man mocked towards him, but Joseph had simply started to think on what they were going to do now as the man started to fly as fast as he could now, “Krimonn, do you have any way to protect people against that… thing?” he asked of the voice in the jewel.
“There are several options, but they all require the assistance of a team.” Krimonn said towards them now, making Joseph nod, “Good thing I’ve got a team.” he muttered out loud as Krimonn had started to display the possible operations that were there while he noticed that there was something that he could work with now as The Doctor Spectrum went to work.
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8/9/1947, Fort Erskine, Teton Wilderness
The team had all been waiting for Joseph when he crashed into the base, “We're in it deep!” he told the group, “Some sort of… telepath, is taking over people as he heads to Atlantis, one of them being an Atlantean.” he said and hearing that, they looked towards him with surprise, “Like Maximus?” Robbie had asked of The man as they started to gear up.
“Yes, we’ll need the same alloy as before, everyone wears a helmet when we deal with him.” Joseph said as a bubble had formed around his head, Zarda on the other hand had went to place her helmet on now, “And what are we going to be doing?” she asked of them, wondering if this would be a kill or capture mission as Joseph thought, “Capture, the civilians are most likely still alive and fine.”
They had all agreed with that as The General who had been watching was glad for that right now as the team started t move, “Let’s load out!” Zarda had ordered of the group now, glad that Jim and Toro had been with him, Maximus couldn’t control machines and that gave them an advantage as the group started to go as fast as they could to stop this man.
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8/9/1947, Lafayette, Indiana
The man had made a little parade with the minions he gathered all around now and as they had done so, the group had started to move, Joseph had created a shovel to scoop as man as he could with Robbie and the two torches had went and gotten as many away as possible, trying to find his range while Destine simply smiled, going and getting out of the limousine that he had acquired.
“Wow! You decided to get some friends for the slaughter? Good for you!” he shouted towards them now and hearing that, the group had each started to feel as the helmeted man began to try and enter their minds, trying to take over them, but like with Maximus and other telepaths they had acquired, the man smiled at that, seeing their headgear, “Ah! Looks like you’re gonna be fun!”
That made the members of The Squadron go and started to attack, only for those they got away and those hidden in the houses had started to charge towards them now, wanting to attack them and as they had done so, the group started to work defensively now as they started to move around now towards everything that was there as Destine had started to laugh towards it all now.
“Come! Let us have some–” “He went before Robbie had rushed forward grabbing the helmet and as he tore it off, there was a pause now, making the man scared while the people started to look around, smiling towards everything that was there now before the man started to laugh out loud now towards it all and as he panicked, Bobo who had still been there went and cold cocked the man.
“You bastard!” he snarled, going to kick him over and over before Zarda grabbed at his shoulder, “Enough.” she told him, “You had your kicks, we’ll make sure that he can’t hurt you or anyone else again.” She said and hearing that, Bobo sighed before he nodded, “Thank you.” he told them, sighing as he looked around at everything that was there, “Where exactly am I?” he asked of them now.
“You’re in Lafayette, Indiana, where were you?” Joseph had asked and hearing that, the man sighed as he looked around towards a abandoned car, “I live in Long Beach… all the way at the West Coast.” he explained and hearing that, Doctor Spectrum had looked around at everything, “We should set up some buses to head towards Chicago and anywhere else they’ve been.” he said towards them.
“I’ll be bringing Bobo back towards Long Beach, anyone else from that location?” he asked and hearing that, some of the others had lifted their own hands and said where they had lived, hearing that, the man created a bowl for the people to walk into, seats forming for them as he went and before to float up now, “I’ll see you all later!” he promised before they started to move now.
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8/9/1947, Bobo’s Home, Long Beach
Joseph had landed there now and as he looked around, the Atlantean had started to approach the house that was there now, he smiled towards it all now before Bobo had motion for him to follow, “Come on, you should at least get a drink or two.” the man said and hearing that, the man shrugged now as he went and started to walk in, “Wow, this is quite interesting.” he said out loud.
That made the Atlantean start to smirk towards it now as he went and opened to door and showing that there was a variety of pirate treasure there as well as some objects that made Joseph wonder what he was doing as they went and started to move towards the couch, observing everything before he had went to get a drink, looking it with some interest right now.
As the man went and checked over everything, the man had downed it with a smile now, shaking his head with a laugh now while Joseph got a bit worried, “Advisory. The drink is safe for human consumption.” Krimonn said and hearing that, he started to drink it in now with a smile, looking around at everything when he saw that there was a portrait of Namor there with Bobo.
“You know Namor?” he asked of him and hearing that, the Atlantean chuckled, “If by, know Namor, you mean is he your cousin? Then yes.” the man told him as they went ahead and took shots, “So who was that man?” Joseph asked and that made Bobo sigh, “Sadly, it seems that he was Paul Destine, a man that had wanted to conquer our people once more.” he explained.
That made Joseph curious before Bobo spoke again, “You are going to make sure that he cannot me or my family, correct?” and hearing that, Joseph nodded, “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that nothing happens to any of them.” he told the Atlantean who grinned, “Then we should go ahead and start drinking!” he said as the man went to pour more drinks so they could enjoy themselves.
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8/10/1947, Fort Erskine, Teton Wilderness
The Utopian had checked to make sure that everyone was okay when they had brought them home before she saw that Doctor Spectrum was landing inside of the base now, stumbling a little now as he smiled towards them, “Hey there, Zarda!” he said with a smile now and as he went over, hugging her to seem and try to steady himself, “Are you drunk?” she asked of him.
“No…?” he said which was when the Prism spoke, “Incorrect. He has been intoxicated by Atlantean Alcoholic beverages.” The Prism said and hearing that, Zarda scowled, “You! You’re going to sit down and you’re going to get some carbs in your stomach.” she said to him, motioning for a soldier to get them some bread now as the man started to laugh, “Namor’s cousin was convincing!”
That made him wince and ‘shh’ at himself while made Zarda shake herself by that as he went and started to make some strange shapes with his prism right now and laugh towards everything right now as the rest of The Squadron had looked towards them right now, “So you’re back.” Skymax said, making him laugh towards that now, “Yep! And Destine is locked away!” he said before grabbing his head again.
“Yep, and we have his helmet right here.” Robbie told him before zooming in and returning with the helmet in question, making the group look towards the golden object that was there, it was quite beautiful now and as he went to show it towards them now, the group a bit surprised by it all now and how a helmet like that was able to take over some of the people that were there.
But as they started to look at it, The General had went to walk away now, “If you excuse me, I need to make a call to cover up his trail of destruction.” he said to them and hearing that, The Squadron had nodded towards that, smiling towards their comrade as The Squadron had left them and they started to look at the item in question with some surprise before they had started to talk about what happened to Joseph
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8/10/1947, The Pit, Fort Erskine
The General had walked through The Pit, unlike the rest of THe Fort, The members of The Squadron had no idea of this area and he was not going to EVER let them through to see it all, he had used the telepathy immune alloy to cover the base which made it impossible for the nosy telepaths to find it with too much ease which made him smile as the General had walked towards the first cell that was filled.
He had been inspired by The Man in The Iron Mask, said mask had been made by the same material as the base and as he looked down at the man who had been working with his hands right now, trying to control himself in some way right now and as he went to look down at him, “Paul Destine, also known as the magnificent Mentallo.” he said, recalling the file that was made.
“You had been a circus attraction in the 19210’s and unlike those charlatans, you’re an actual mind reader.” he said as the man paused with his hand gestures and looked towards him now, “Then you joined Captain Leonard McKenzie in 1920 to find a mysterious metal there… but according to Captain McKenzie, you were a danger and caused the deaths of almost everyone.” he said to the man now.
“You vanished and it seems that the helmet had allowed you to live in The Arctic AND you had acquired increased telepathic powers, and I am going to assume that you were going to be heading over to Atlantis to… seek revenge? Acquire more artifacts like the helmet?” he asked and hearing that, the man looked up to him, “Then you shouldn’t have replaced my helmet with that replica.” he said to him.
That made The General snarl, they had tried to remove the damn thing, but the things acted as if it had been fused to his skull, so they– they… huh, what did they do to him? “Don’t worry, you won’t need to worry about the helmet or me, because I will be going to sleep for a decade or so.” the man said as the iron mask started to shimmer and reveal that it was on the ground and he was in the helmet.
The man took a deep breath now as he seemed to concentrate now, frost starting to form in the deep deep pit of a cell that was there now as everything that began to cover everything until he saw that there was a block of ice there now, making the group look towards everything that was there before the soldiers that were there had started to converge on the man.
“General, what’s that?” the first soldier had said towards him and hearing that, The General gad sighed as he went and looked down, “Have someone that we can trust watching this at all times, I want to know when the bastard leaves the ice so that we can deal with that.” he said which made one of the men there nod, “Is this one for Squadron Savage?” he asked of him.
That made The General sigh, The Squadron Savage was a interesting second project that they had been working on, criminals or those with a predilection for more gray morality to be brought in to complete missions that were of an undesirable nature, it made the man think that he might have to find another one, he just needed to figure out where and when he would find someone that would fit the bill.
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8/10/1947, Maximus’ Lab, Attilan
Maximus had been working right now when he started to hear a strange whirr, one that made him turn until he saw a man was standing in the lab now, but instead of being scared, the man had simply nodded as he went to observe the technology, “I must admit, I’m surprised The Good Doctor hasn’t come here to collaborate with you.” he said, making Maximus smirk.
“I take it that The Good Doctor was a time traveler like you?” he asked, his abilities seeing nothing, but the fabrics, the materials of the mask, not to mention the newspaper he had in his hands, gave him away, “That is correct, he IS a time traveler, and I would like to ask you for assistance in a project.” he told Maximus who scoffed at that, “And why should I help a standard human?” he asked.
Alveus who had been sitting on a stool had looked towards him as well with caution, “I can assure you, I am an Inhuman, in an altered sense.” The stranger had told him now, walking around, his almost military uniform and skull like metal helmet making him look almost like a villain, “He’s not lying, at least he thinks he’s not.” His companion had thought towards him which made Maximus curious.
“And would you mind telling me your name, Mister…?” “M.” The newly dubbed individual had said, “At least until my timeline catches up, you can call me M.” he said and hearing that, Maximus had started to think which was when he got flash of his future self now, the images he bore witness too were curious, he had been fighting THe Squadron Supreme, their numbers increased beyond the Invaders.
And as he appeared to escape, he rounded a corner to find a brown Haired young man wearing the same uniform, “Hello there, my name is ____________, but you can call me Menace.” he said in the vision, seeing that, he started to giggle towards that, making M look towards him concerned right now while Maximus had grinned ever wider, “So ‘M’, to WHAT do I owe the pleasure?” he asked of the traveler.
“I’m here because this is when you are at your most useful lucidity and have the resources I need.” he said and hearing that, he was curious, “And WHY would I help you?” he asked, making the man chuckle underneath his mask, “Because you’re curious and want to see why I would ask you for help.” he said and hearing that, the man nodded, “Alright then, what do you need?”
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8/10/1947, Amakitsu Residence, Residential Area
Auran had been enjoying her with her mother when there was a noise, making her look to see that it was Maximus and a stranger that made her raise her hackles, slowly starting to shift before Maximus raised his hand, thankfully, he didn’t bring Alveus, the child always putting her on edge as he spoke to her, “Auran, I would like you to assist me in a project.” he said to her, making the Inhuman curious.
“What kind of project?” she asked of him, making the man look to Kitsu who went to stand, “If you need me, I’ll be enjoying the gardens.” she said, making the group nod towards that while Maximus had smiled towards the woman now, “I would like you to go to Bolt Technologies to collect something from one of the old projects, the one with the image of a laughing skull.” he explained.
Auran had sighed but she nodded, “Understood, how am I getting there?” she had asked as the man went to offer her a remote, “Just input the coordinates and that will allow you to go there.” he said with a smile, making the woman a bit curious but nodded as she went and started to input the coordinates in question now and looking at the whole of it right now before all of a sudden vanishing.
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8/11/1947, Bolt Technologies, Bangor
Auran had walked into the building now, this place was annoying to say the least as the woman went and proceeded to walk towards the one in question and seeing that there was something which made her surprised now, the woman had pulled out the item from the crate now to see that there was something interesting, going and looking at the gauntlet, she had pressed at the button that was on it.
Auran had started to feel some sort of shaking now which hurt her cells as the woman went to press the crate which started to break it down now, making her surprised and a bit shocked by that as the woman went to turn it off now, she had been a bit cautious of the gauntlet, thinking that it was ridiculous before noticing that there was something else… a little amulet that she picked up.
Thinking that it was beautiful, Auran had went to pocket it, “Oi! Who the Hell are you?!” the security guard had said and hearing that, the woman had sighed as she went to turn into her feral form, making herself hard to see now and allowing her to go and walk towards the exit now and in so doing, gave her a thought now on why the two items in question were desired by M.
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8/11/1947, Shelton Residence, Washington DC
Zarda had walked in now and as she did, Zarda had started to strip off her armor off, groaning, “Howie! I have had a day!” she shouted out to the house, taking a breath now, “All I really want is to sit down and enjoy a nice dinner–” she started to say now and that was when she noticed that there was something which made her look in utter shock now towards everything that was there.
There was a pile of roses that were leading into the Dining room which was making her confused and a bit cautious right now when she noticed that there was him kneeling down now with a ring, “Zarda, Princess of Utopia Island,” he said out loud, “We have fought besides each other, we’ve been living with together and every day I have loved you more every day,” he explained to her.
“Will you marry me?” he asked and hearing that, the woman who looked towards him smiled at the man as she went to go and hug him now, “Yes!” she said, picking him up and holding him in a bridal carry, “I would love to marry you!” she told him, making the man smile at him greatly now and kiss her deeply, causing the man and woman excited at what they would be doing together.