AFTER THE CRUCIBLE # 2

"All My Lives Forgotten"

By Barry Reese

CRUSADERS ROLL-CALL : Shield, Jaguar, Fly and American Shield

Remember to Check Out the Who's Who for more details and explanations!

Classic superhero fun for the whole family!

JANUARY 8, 2000 - ATLANTA, GEORGIA

"Your crimes against humanity must be punished..." The Hangman's voice was cold as ice, dripping with implied threat. He wore a full mask that covered all trace of his features, not even revealing his eyes. The Hangman's sight came from another source -- the unearthly raven that perched on his shoulder.

Arthur Velt, the CEO of the Velt Corporation, backed away, knocking over his desk chair. The horrifying figure of the Hangman floated above him, standing on a small cloud. The broken shards of Velt's window lay in the background, evidence of the mystery man's swift entrance. "Who...who are you?! What do you want? Money?"

The Hangman shook his head solemnly. "Money is the root of all evil, Arthur Velt. It has perverted your sense of right and wrong. Did you not think that dumping your corporate wastes onto the Reservations would be discovered eventually? It has -- and by someone with the power to make sure you never hurt anyone or anything again. The Hangman is here to pass judgment upon you!"

Velt screamed as the Hangman reached into the small leather pouch he wore at his waist. The Hangman withdrew a scattering of brownish-red dust and threw it full onto Velt. The dust immediately began his work, drying up Velt's skin and causing him to quickly harden into a stone statue.

The Hangman surveyed his work and nodded. He turned towards Velt's security camera and moved closer until he filled the viewscreen. "Let this be a warning to one and all. If the Velt Corporation continues its acts of genocide against the earth and its peoples, more will fall before the Hangman's noose!"

Turning so quickly that his cape swirled, the Hangman's cloud of smoke carried him out the window.

"A little bit harsh, don't you think?"

The sound of buzzing brought the Hangman to attention even before the voice that accompanied it. He stared into the face of the Fly, who hovered in the air before him, arms crossed. The Hangman's raven narrowed its eyes in response to the Hangman's mood. "Ah, one of the mighty Crusaders. The world assumed that you were dead*."

(*The Crusaders disappeared for almost eight years, during the time between Crucible # 1 and # 6.)

"Well, the reports of our demise were greatly exaggerated."

"So I see. What business does the famous Fly have with the Hangman?"

"A couple of things : One - You still haven't complied with the Superhuman Registration Act. I'm pretty much okay with that, to be honest. I haven't complied either - but I have Presidential permission and you don't. Two - the Crusaders have reformed but we've only got four active members. You're considered a potential addition, though I think you're a bit too extreme for my tastes."

"I punish evil as I see fit. Years ago, I encountered the Comet and he thought much the same as you do. In the end, he went mad while I continue the good fight. Perhaps his pollyanna viewpoints were overly stressed when he began to see that I am right? Justice must be meted out in extremity, lest criminals grow comfortable."

The Fly snorted. "You're a criminal yourself. Not only for violating the registration act, but for murdering that man back there. Your methods are way more violent than we ever believed! I'm taking you in...."

The Hangman was suddenly enveloped by smoke. As he faded away into thin air, his words struck the Fly like a dagger. "Know this, Fly - the Hangman goes and comes as he pleases. Should I decide that the Crusaders are impeding my mission, they too will fall!"

The Fly's buzzing increased as he reached out to grab empty air. "Gone! Dang it!" Jason Troy, aka the Fly, let out a long sigh. That certainly hadn't gone well -- instead of finding a new Crusader, he'd made a very dangerous enemy. I hope the others do better than I did....

CENTURY CITY, OREGON

"...and we think you have the stuff to be one heck of a Crusader." The American Shield, known to his friends in the Crusaders as Michael Barnes, stood inside the apartment of Josh Sterling. The Crusader was in full costume, which had garnered a good bit of attention as he'd made it through the apartment complex. Now, though, the two men were safely locked away from prying eyes.

Josh, known to Sterling to almost everyone, ran a hand through his short hair. He was a handsome guy, with the sort of good-natured ruggedness that so many women found appealing. "I don't know about this, Shield. I mean, being a bodyguard* is one thing but a superhero?"

(*Josh Sterling appeared in Crucible # 5 & 6 and served as Mr. Jordan's bodyguard, alongside the American Shield)

"You'll do fine, Sterling -- if you want to join. You've got guts and you know to handle yourself in a brawl. Besides, Jordan cleared you for intelligence-level affairs so you'll have no trouble getting government approval.

Sterling grunted. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't have any powers, remember?"

The American Shield shook his head. "Don't give me that. I've kept tabs on you since you left the Crucible with the rest of us -- you were exposed to some major energy back there. You aren't the same as before, are you?"

Sterling cracked a wry smile. "I knew that somebody in the government would be spying on me, but I never guessed it would be you. Yeah -- I am different. I'm stronger, a lot stronger, than I used to be. And things don't hurt me the way they should. I went to give blood not too long ago and they couldn't even pierce my skin! It was like I was made of steel or something...."

Michael reached out and put a hand on Sterling's shoulder. "Join us. Help us and we'll make sure you learn your limits. Right now, you're not sure what you can even do. You might have powers you never dreamed of."

Sterling looked into the American Shield's eyes for a long moment. "What about my family?"

"What about them? I have a wife and kids, but I don't let that stop me from doing my duty. Your country needs you."

Sterling considered a few seconds more before sighing. "Okay. I'm in. I just hope I won't regret this...."

EVERGREEN, WASHINGTON. THE COMET DOME.

The man who wore the costume of the Comet watched the approaching figures with what appeared to be benign interest. Even though many of them were recognizable as criminals of the first order, the Comet showed now fear. He moved forward, passing through the barrier thta separated the remnants of Evergreen and the rest of the world. When he spoke, his voice rumbled with the power of a thousand suns. "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

The Brain Emperor approached slowly, almost cautiously. He'd brought his Malevolent Legion -- the Eraser, Maxx-14, Arachnus, the Black Witch and the beautiful woman known only as Dream Demon -- here to Evergreen for reasons unknown to all but himself. "I am the Brain Emperor and this is my Legion. I have a proposition for you that might intrigue you...."

"HOW DID YOU EVEN KNOW I WAS HERE?"

"My mental powers detected you from the moment you returned. Your power is great, indeed."

While their leader parlayed with the Comet, the various members of the Legion looked about themselves in disbelief.

"That's not the same Comet, I'm sure of it...." The Black Witch's voice was a soft whisper, lest she disturb the powerful beings before her.

Arachnus, arch-foe of the Fly, scuttled forward on his mechanical spider-legs. "How can you be sure? He's not even human anymore! Not to mention that he's died and come back multiple times...."

The Eraser interrupted with "I don't give a flying whoop if he's the original Comet or not as long as he helps us thrash the Shield!"

"You are such an imbecile -- why the Emperor recruited you is beyond me." The Black Witch turned away from the fools that surrounded her, focusing her attention on the Brain Emperor's offer.

"My mental powers know no bounds. I can contact anyone, anywhere. And you do have people you need to contact, don't you?" The Brain Emperor smiled knowingly.

The Comet grunted. "AND WHAT DO YOU WISH IN RETURN?"

"We want access to Evergreen -- I'll use it as my base of operations and plunder the secrets within. Alien contact with this place was quite common at one time and I believe that there may be...things... left behind that are of use to me."

The Dream Queen let out a gasp. "You want us to go in there?! But it's radioactive!"

The Brain Emperor laughed loudly. "Not anymore, my beautiful Queen. The Comet has already absorbed all traces of radiation from the area to replenish himself -- haven't you?"

The Comet nodded slowly. "YOUR BARGAIN IS A GOOD ONE. EVERGREEN IS YOURS AND IN RETURN YOU'LL GIVE ME WHAT I NEED."

The Brain Emperor nodded. "Yes. And our mutual aid society will seal the Crusaders' doom!"

JANUARY 10, 2000 - WASHINGTON, D.C. CRUSADERS COMPLEX

"Black Jack?"

The Jaguar shook her head, wishing that she could be studying instead of attending this meeting. She was already falling behind... "He says he's in semi-retirement. He was beaten by an anti-hero mob after the Evergreen incident."

The Shield, Joe Higgins, shook his head. "Too bad. I had hopes for that one after hearing the Fly's recommendation. OK, let's keep going. Hangman? Mr. Justice?"

The Fly grunted, reaching out to squeeze the Jaguar's hand. "Well, Hangman was nuts. Really nuts. Mr. Justice... was kinda spooky. But no to both."

The Shield nodded. "I see. Well, my attempt to recruit Captain Commando failed, as well. He's definitely in semi-retirement, though he promised to aid us in an emergency."

The American Shield leaned forward. "I failed to reach the newest person on our list, Captain Flag. She's out there somewhere, but I couldn't find out where. Bob Phantom was also unreachable. I did have more success with the Fox. He's busy in the Rain Forest right now, but he wants to have a try-out when he comes back to the States."

The Shield smiled for the first time today. "Great. So we look to be adding at least one new member, then."

"Two, actually." The American Shield smiled at the puzzled looks on his teammates' faces. "I recruited someone who wasn't on our initial list. I've worked with him before and he's powerful enough to really help us. He's going by the code-name Steel Sterling. With your blessing, I think he'd make a fine Crusader."

Epilogue

She awoke in a strange place, lying on her back on the wet grass. Sitting up, she felt a terrible lightness of being, as if some crucial portion of her spirit were missing.

She rose to her feet, looking at the costume and cloak she wore. Where am I? The last thing I remember was... a man... he was threatening my friends, the Crusaders. But so much is confusing -- he did something to me. But what? Why can't I remember?

The woman looked up at the sky and felt, no, knew that this world was not her own. Memories slowly filtered back to her, but in confusing fragments only. Several names were clear, however -- the Crusaders, the Brain Emperor and... her own name. Darkling.

"I'll find a way back home, Brain Emperor. I promise -- and you'll pay for whatever you've done!"

NEXT ISSUE : The Crusaders go on their first mission since reforming, while the mysterious Darkling kicks off our countdown to the "Crusader Crisis" storyline, that will bring together our Crusaders with the Red Circle originals! Shock after shock awaits!

AUTHOR'S NOTES

A few character notes :

The Hangman appeared in an issue of Comet and was mentioned or had brief cameos in a few things afterwards. Bob Phantom also debuted in Comet, while the Fox first appeared in Jaguar. Captain Commando was a member of the old American Crusaders and teamed-up with the modern group in Crusaders # 2-3. Mr. Justice received a mention during Crucible. There was never any Captain Flag in the Impact Universe, but he's another old Red Circle character I'll be updating. You'll notice that in my Impact universe, "he" is now a "she." Steel Sterling is a classic Red Circle character, updated using the Josh Sterling character from Crucible.

Maxx-14 appeared in Crusaders # 5-7 and was an updated version of Maxx-13, who fought the Jaguar. Arachnus was an Impact foe of the Fly's, while the Black Witch tangled with the Comet. Dream Demon is an old Red Circle character who was part of the Eliminators team. She's new to Impact.

Darkling was a member of the Red Circle Crusaders and was lost in limbo at the end of Crusaders # 11, mind-wiped by that universe's version of the Brain Emperor.

Hope I'm not getting too obscure on all of you -- for the record, check out my Crusaders link below for more info on all these folks.

Barry