Episode 11 Recap
Moving Day
In the week following the events of Episode 10, The New Champions establish their new headquarters in the caverns beneath the grounds of Ravenswood Academy.
Panic
During the week since the Destroyer Double launched his devastating attack on the US spy satellite network, world governments have released more information about the events, and reporters have publicized the results of their investigations. In response, the world has been spiraling towards panic. The name and image of Doctor Destroyer have been everywhere in the media as well as accounts of his many near-conquest of AltEarth.
Even the possibility of his return has been enough to raise tensions to almost unbearable levels, especially in the world’s major cities. The Invincibles call a meeting in New York of the ten most prominent independent hero teams to develop a coordinated strategy to assess this new threat. The teams attending are: The Covenant from New Orleans, The Crusaders from San Francisco, The Emerald Guardians from Seattle, Hero Corps from Los Angeles, The Fabulous Five from Chicago, The New Champions from Millenium City, The Punishers from New York City, The Rough Riders from Houston, and The Sentinels from the nation's capitol.
Press Conference
To reassure the public, the Invincibles call a press conference in Central Park prior to the meeting.
A transcript of the press conference is provided below:
Thunderstrike: All right, everyone, I think we’re ready to get started. As you know, Spikedriver and I have called together a meeting of the most prominent independent superheroes in the country; here, today, we’re going to develop a response to the new threats that face us all.
As you are all aware, we have witnessed some very troubling events in the last few days. One week ago today in MC, the New Champions confronted an unfortunate man, a reporter who many years ago made the unfortunate mistake of annoying Doctor Destroyer in his first, and only, televised interview. Bob Richards, a courageous reporter with a long and distinguished career, sought to look into the mind of Destroyer; it appeared that Destroyer incinerated him during the interview, but apparently that was not the case.
Richards, after undergoing god knows what kind of torment, was somehow convinced that he was Destroyer. Locating a secret bunker of Destroyer’s in the forests of Michigan, Richards sought to execute one of that tyrants dormant plans before the radiation injected into his system by Destoyer’s armor ended his life. As we all know, Richards launched a coordinated missile strike from submarines stationed throughout the globe that destroyed utterly the United States network of satellite surveillance at a time when the conflict over Kashmir has flared into a regional war, peace seems a distant dream in Iraq, and Iran and North Korea seem intent on nuclear brinksmanship.
Despite the valiant efforts of the world’s airforces and heroes, some debris from these satellites impacted on the earth’s surface, depositing sensitive technologies and radioactive materials at unknown locations throughout the world. Orbital debris ha grounded low-earth-orbit flights and made transport to and from the Gateway space station extremely hazardous, hampering efforts to re-establish communication with the missing Intrepid spacecraft as well as necessary maintenance on the Orbital Solar Energy Collector that supplies power to cities throughout the world as it traverses its elliptical path. This has disrupted or delayed power transmission from Millenium City to Dubai.
The New Champions were able to transmit locations of the submarines launching the missiles and the navies of the world sprung into action. In many cases they were too late to locate and pursue these vessels; in a few cases, submarines were intercepted only to self-destruct, killing the entire crew. To the shock and horror of the surface world, many of these vessels were defended by Atlantean military forces armed with advanced weaponry. Based on the actions of their military and their refusal to respond to diplomatic efforts by the U.S. and the UN, we can only assume that the leaders of the Atlantean Republic have hostile intentions towards the nations of the surface world.
These, my friends, are dark days. It is not yet clear who was ultimately responsible for the destruction of the satellites: a hapless victim of Destroyer’s madness and cruelty, the rogue nation of Atlantis, or some other villain organization or nation. Regardless, there remains a clear threat to the people of Earth and the heroes of the world are going to put a stop to it.
Spikedriver and I will now take your questions.
Reporter: Why have you only invited independent heroes?
As with the League of Heroes before it, we want this coalition to operate independently and nimbly, without having to respond to political pressure or to waste time with government bureaucracy. The actions of heroes during 9/11, in which we lost our teammate Megastar, and Hurricane Katrina have shown that we need heroes who can act in moments to respond to threats--not hours or even days later. Of course we will coordinate with the U.S. and other governments of the world, but ultimately we have to steer our own course.
Reporter: Do you think Destroyer has returned?
I can’t comment on that other than to say we’re not ruling anything out. Next question.
How do you respond by statements from members of President Meade’s administration as well as Senator Wilson expressing opposition to this meeting?
Spikedriver: I would refer President Meade and the junior senator from Wisconsin to the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly to all Americans.
Trouble Under the Sea
To everyone's surprise, the golden age hero Man O War addresses the assembled heroes with news from the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. His brief statement to the assembly is quoted below:
Atlantis is in the midst of a revolution. It seems inevitable that the revolutionaries will topple the government and bring an end to the empire. Half-human, I have always been an outsider to my people, but still, there are many in the empire that I may call my friends. They tell me of chaos in the cities of the empire, that the lower castes are rising up against their rulers armed with weapons never seen before in the depths.
The unscaled cry “revolution” from every reef and quote from a tract calling them to unite and overthrow the empire and to seek revenge against the defilement of the oceans by the surface dwellers. This tract bears the title Thus Spake Zerstoiten. Yes, my friends, Albert Zerstoiten, the hated Destroyer; it would seem that an anti-surface dweller sect has been harboring Zerstoiten for over a decade while he plots and schemes away from the scrutiny of you kind. Now he has chosen to act, inflaming and arming the people against their rulers. The Empire, it is true, must bear much of the blame, for without the inequalities of the caste system Destroyer would have not been able to exploit this vulnerability. Still the dream he offers, rule of the seas for the scalelss ones and rule of the surface for Destroyer, must not come to pass.
I come seeking your aid; Atlantis must not fall under the sway of Destroyer or I fear that all will be lost.
Trouble in the Big Apple
Spikedriver next informs the assembly that Destroyer's henchman Menton, perhaps the world's most powerful mentalist, has been has been spotted recently in the company of UN diplomats. This cannot be a coincidence, he observes, since Destroyer has tried to gain diplomatic legitimacy in the past, and may do so again, even if he has to resort to mindcontrol.
Trouble in Sierra Leone
Spikedriver draws the assembly's attention to Sheku Koroma, better known to the heroes as the Warlord, leader of the War Machine. He reminds them that in the 1990s Koroma headed the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone’s civil war; under his direction the RUF committed the most inhuman atrocities against Sierra Leonine citizens in a campaign of fear to control the populace and prevent support for the democratically elected government. Koroma’s forces engaged in wholesale looting and theft, random killings, the conscription of child soldiers, mutilation and the amputation of limbs by machete, rape, and sexual slavery.
Spikedriver further briefs the assembly. He states that Koroma eventually took over the entire country after he somehow obtained a suit of powered armor of extraterrestrial origin and dubbed himself the Warlord. Funded largely by "blood diamonds" and drawing on the technical secrets of his armor, in the past few years Koroma has expanded his interests beyond Africa and established himself as an international dealer in energy weapons. He has benefited greatly from the fall of VIPER and has been purchasing or stealing many of the weapons of that organization for resale and to arm his elite guard. He has also hired a cadre of superpowered mercenaries known as the War Machine.
Spikedriver explains that Koroma has cannily avoided direct conflict with the U.S. or U.S. heroes, but when the African hero the White Rhino defended a group of protestors in Freetown from Koroma’s forces, Koroma donned the Warlord armor and assembled the War Machine. They defeated the Rhino and hours later, the Warlord personally executed him on state television. He has also successfully fought back the London Watch and British military forces.
Finally, Spikedriver reveals that when the New Champions raided Destroyer’s bunker, they discovered a massive submarine in the Great Lakes, a submarine that serves as the Warlord’s mobile command center.
Loose Cannons
Harbinger of the Punishers declares his intention to assassinate Korma, and abruptly leaves the meeting with his team.
Task Forces
Thunderstrike organizes several task forces drawing from established teams to deal with the threat posed by Destroyer on multiple fronts. These are:
Destroyer's Message
A holographic image of Doctor Destroyer, now in his new armor, interrupts the meeting. He states:
“Greetings, those who call yourselves heroes. I have listened long enough to your insolent prattle.”
“My plans are already in motion and you have my oath that they will conclude with my reign over the peoples of the Earth.”
“I am ending this travesty now, as if you fools stood any chance against the genius and might that is Destroyer. Go now, I will allow you to make your feeble attempts to stop what I have set in motion. Be grateful that, for now, your efforts amuse me.”
Breakout
With this, an alarm sounds, indicating that the supervillain prison Stronghold, in a remote location in Arizona, has been breached. The gathered heroes spring into action and coordinateto prevent the escape of the dozens of villains held there.
Destination : Freetown
The New Champions, however, are more concerned with The Warlord, and return to Ann Arbor; Cypher begins repairs on the Barbican vehicle, once used as the team vehicle of the Defenders of Justice, and stored in a cave beneath Ravenswood Academy for many years by Nightraven. The team's goal: to stop Harbinger and the Punishers from killing Koroma, and to discover what the dictator and supervillain knows about Destroyer's plans.
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