The Gentle Gift of Crimson strode into the training room, his robes gently fluttering and flowing. He looked like a man walking through a river of scarlet heart's blood...and he carried himself like a man who would literally do just that. "Tybalt," he gestured at the five figures training with their weapons and nodded to his lieutenant. "I should like to address your cadre." "Of course, milord," the black-garbed man nodded, then turned to the others. "Cease your training. Our dread lord would have your ears." He then stepped back to hover behind his master's left shoulder. The five warriors set aside their weapons and formed a line at the edge of the mat. Each bore a few fresh wounds, for training was with real weapons, and Tybalt was not slow to give them object lessons in fighting. Once they had come to attention, the Gentle Gift of Crimson nodded approvingly. "It is good that you take your lessons seriously, for I have felt the touch of enemies across the boundaries of the Altiverses. You will be serving me in this matter very soon." He turned to the end of the line and addressed a man whose body was sheathed in what seemed to be a network of tentacles, supporting and even replacing his own limbs. "William, you were the first of this world to seek to join my service, and to taste the rewards that are mine to give. You are not the strongest of the five, or the most experienced, or even the fiercest. But you have the will, and few mortals have faced me unflinchingly as you did on the day you pledged yourself to me. The others will follow you in my name when Tybalt is away on other duties. And you will be known as Kraken, the terror of the waters." Kraken nodded, the mass of dark fleshy appendages on his body rippling with pleasure. "Mairi, you infiltrated my city and slew a man of power who I had been considering taking as my castellain. This is my city, and I alone decide who dies and who does not. As penance, you will serve me body and soul, for I wish it to be so. You are the lowest of the five, and will obey them as you obey me. Ben Sidhe, you will rend the air in my name." Ben Sidhe said nothing, did not react at all. Her stare was slightly defocused, her expression blank. But a flicker of pain and anger and pride tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Gwen, tormented by fate and betrayed by your people, you serve me as part of a bargain. Willingly, but provisionally. You may assume your true form when I do not require the power of your human body. This power will destroy the wood for my purposes, Ironwood." Gwen reached up to touch the medallion around her neck and nodded. Guilt lay thick and darksome behind her eyes, and the Gentle Gift of Crimson savored it with laughter in his heart. "Rico, your fascination with fire nearly got you killed several times, most notably when your mastery of the least of the flame magics made you a target during the so-called Industrial Revolution. You have nursed a burning ember of hatred for the superguys of this world ever since, and now I have fanned that ember into a bonfire. Char, you will fight fire with fire, as they say." Char nodded, a flame burning in his chest that suffused his body with an unholy glow. "Finally, there is the spirit of the land itself, the embodiment of the soul of Topeka, of the ground and the buildings and the roads and the parks. I have torn it from its resting place and clothed it in flesh to serve me here. As my domain on this world expands, so will your power, and so will your pain, oh Necropolis." Necropolis said nothing, for it had no mouth. Its eyes, however, were narrowed in a silent scream. "Together, the five of you will be the fingers of my Dark Hand!" proclaimed the Gentle Gift of Crimson. Tybalt leaned forward slight. "Milord? Someone has already trademarked that name." "Truly? Well...then the five of you will form my Dark Circle!" he gestured with a flourish. Tybalt cleared his throat with an air of mild embarrassment. "Don't tell me," the Gift sighed. "The Bard had the right idea when he suggested killing all the lawyers. Very well...the five of you shall bear a name that will truly bring horror to all you encounter, be they mortal or god. You shall be...THE DARK PENTAD!" And somewhere, an Author screamed.... @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- \\ // -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ .|,Coherent Comics Presents \\ // #10 - Porta Adventus --X------------------------- E }X{ ARCHS copyright 2002 by the '|` A Superguy Tale // \\ Dvandroid (Dave Van Domelen) @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- // \\ -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ "The time is four thirty-two Central Daylight Savings Time, it's seventy eight degrees out and partly cloudy," the barely audible voice crackled over the speakers in Coach. "We apologize for the slight delay in arrival, but the ominous dark clouds over Topeka expanded slightly this afternoon and we were forced to divert further south for your safety and comfort. We will be taxiing for a few minutes after landing, please do not unfasten your seatbelts until the plane has come to a full and complete stop. Thank you for flying It's Not An Airship, But What Can We Do? Airlines." "Any more nuts?" Louie asked, invisibly, from Jack's shoulder. After his first experience in a pet carrier, the magical monkey in the shape of a squirrel made a point of learning to mystically hide himself from the eyes of mortals. "Just some pretzels," Jack shrugged as he felt the thunk of the landing gear lowering into place. "We can get you some nuts in the airport." "No!" Jack's father rapped him on the forehead. "You will go retrieve the luggage and I will arrange for a rental car. It is important to leave the airport as soon as possible!" "Are things that dire in Topeka?" "NO! KCI Airport is most BOOOOORING major airport on Earth! The sooner we are out of it, the better!" Jack pondered a reply as the plane touched down, but anything he might have said was interrupted by a bright orange flare visible out the window next to him. "This is your captain," the speakers struggled to life, "we seem have had a minor mystical incident on the taxiway, so we'll be delayed a few minutes more, we apologize for the inconvenience." "AhYAAAAH!" Jack's father threw his arms up in frustration. * * * * The first thing Anna noticed as the flames dissipated was that the sky was blue and the Sun was shining. The blast must have triggered the Tarsus and sent them all to the next Altiverse! The second thing she noticed was that the other three were still unconscious, plus they were slightly singed. Kat, who had been the closest, seemed to have had all her remaining tattered clothes burned off, although since she was now stone-skinned it was hard to tell if she was really naked. The third thing Anna noticed was that she herself was totally starkers, her clothing and bits of armor clearly hadn't survived the fireball that exploded around her when she grasped the mystic hammer Forgeheart. However, the FOURTH thing Anna noticed pretty much made her forget about the previous three, because it was the nosewheel of a jumbo jet bearing down on her as the plane strained to slow down enough to safely turn away. Yet, even as she dove frantically to the side, she didn't let go of the massive hammer that weighed her down. Strange, that. * * * * The four Exarchs sat on uncomfortable plastic chairs in a small office on the second floor of one of the curving concourses of Kansas City International while a pair of National Guardsmen looked on nervously. Skysabre's outfit had more or less survived, and Oakthorn's living armor was already healing the fire damage done to it, but Kat and Anna were wrapped up in blankets while someone looked for spare jumpsuits or something for them. The four mystic weapons sat on a desk behind the Guardsmen, and every so often the Stone Catena twitched like a restless serpent. The Guardsmen really didn't appreciate this. Skysabre caught Kat's eye, quickly glanced down, then raised a questioning eyebrow. [Translation: Are you picking up anything from your connection to the Earth? - Ed.] Kat shook her head slightly, then rolled her eyes at the walls and shrugged. [Translation: Nope. It's not as if an airport really counts as natural Earth, though, eh? - Ed.] Anna scratched her arm and looked balefully at the blanket. [Translation: This thing itches. - Ed.] Then the door opened and a man in a dark blue suit took off his sunglasses and stuffed them in his pocket. He gave a glance to the soldiers, then sat down on the edge of the desk. "Agent Joe Brubaker, I'm From The Government," he said, flipping out a badge and then pocketing it again. "What agency?" Skysabre asked. "I'm From The Goverment," was Agent Brubaker's reply. "You already said that," Oakthorn snapped. "But which government agency?" Joe sighed, with signs of having had a great deal of practice in sighing. "The agency is called I'm From The Government. Part of an attempt to unify various agencies under one umbrella organization and simplify things." "Did it simplify things?" Kat asked. Everyone just stared at Kat for a moment. "Right. Stupid question," Kat pulled the blanket up over her head. "Now it's time for me to ask some questions," Agent Brubaker leaned forward. "Are you natives returning to this world, or visitors?" "What makes you think we arrived from another world?" Skysabre replied. Agent Brubaker pointed to the Tarsus. "Burnt-out Spam crystal. You've been dimension-traveling." The Exarchs all looked at the crystal, and there was a general sound of dismay when they realized it had, in fact, burned out. "We're from another reality," Anna offered. "We were told that the key to getting home is to defeat a servant of the Abyss, and we've been jumping around gathering firepower for that fight," she nodded at the weapons on the desk. "By the way, why are there soldiers in the airport anyway?" Agent Brubaker pulled a stick of gum from his pocket and slowly unwrapped it. "We have an ongoing supervillain situation in Topeka, heightened security in airports in the area is normal procedure. These poor guys haven't been off duty in a while, since the Topeka thing started just as the Springfield incident was winding down." "Topeka's that way, right?" Oakthorn pointed off to his right. "Right. What are you, Sense Of Direction Man?" Joe popped the gum in his mouth. "I feel...a hole in that direction." He turned to the others. "Kinda like what I felt back in 970SUPERGUY." * * * * An hour of questioning, a quick change of clothes and a few phone calls later, the Exarchs were in the underground parking garage of KCI, following Agent Brubaker towards a white panel van with "IFTG: We're Here To Help" stenciled on the side. "Things have been relatively slow lately, so we haven't been using much of our budget for Alien and ExtraDimensional Superguys," Brubaker explained. "Our first stop will be the main office in KC, where we'll get you set up with identity cards, something better to wear, and have a telepath secretly check you out. Damn, shouldn't have said that. Anyway, if you come up clear, the next stop will be the IFTG command post in Fort Riley. Normally that'd only be a two hour drive, but we'll have to swing wide around Topeka. Once we're there, I'll hand you off to Agent Carpenter." A pair of National Guardsmen opened the back of the van and put the locked case with the mystic weapons into it, then stepped in themselves. Brubaker gestured for the Exarchs to get in via the side doors. As Brubaker started the engine, Kat muttered, "I guess we ARE in Kansas anymore...." ARE THEY IN KANSAS ANYMORE? WILL WE GET TO SEE A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ALL THE BUREAUCRACY AND PAPERWORK IN KANSAS CITY, OR WILL WE CUT RIGHT TO THE AMBUSH ON THE HIGHWAY? SHOULD I HAVE SAID THAT? IS KANSAS CITY INTERNATIONAL ACTUALLY THE MOST BORING MAJOR AIRPORT ON THE PLANET? Answers to some of these questions, and maybe a fight scene, in the next...Superguy! ============================================================================= Author's Notes: First off, I've added drawings of Kat and Anna's upcoming appearances to http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/SG, which is likely to be it for the gallery for a while. After all, I can't draw the fifth Exarch until I reveal who it is, right? }-> Anyway, ten episodes into the series and they're finally in the same altiverse as their opponents. Hopefully it'll take less then ten more episodes before they actually enter Topeka and get their butts kick...er, clash with the enemy. I'll probably be pausing for a few weeks before writing #11, if only to get into Kansas and soak up some more inspiration there. But you never know. Finally, KCI is an incredibly boring large airport. It's essentially a whole lot of small town airports glued together. Once you pass security for your gate, there's nowhere to go and nothing to do. And since the concourses are circular, there's no slidewalks to help speed up the walking through nothing. Plus, there's no direct connection between concourses, you have to take a bus between them. I'm so glad I never had to switch concourses during a layover there. I don't like KCI.