AFTER THE CRUCIBLE # 5

CRUSADER CRISIS, PART ONE

By Barry Reese

RED CIRCLE UNIVERSE, NEW YORK CITY

The energy beam sliced neatly through the knife's blade. The stabbing point of the weapon clattered to the street noisily and brought the would-be mugger around with a look of disbelief. Charlie Dupont had lived a life on the street since he was 12, robbing and stealing from anyone who crossed his path. He'd never gotten caught and didn't expect anything different today, either. The stuttering old man he'd pulled into the alley looked loaded and he'd figured he could live comfortably on the contents of the man's wallet for some time. But today wasn't his lucky day. Because Charlie Dupont had just come face-to-face with the Comet.

The Comet hovered in the air, his visor barely containing his destructive energy rays. "I'd put my hands up if I were you, my friend. I'm not in a very good mood today and accidents have been known to happen...."

Charlie Dupont was not a coward, by any means. Had he been confronted by Fly-Girl or the Jaguar, he might have actually fought back. But the Comet? A man who, back in the 1940s, routinely slaughtered criminals left and right? No way. Not even if the Comet had reportedly mellowed. "I surrender! Just please don't hurt me!"

The Comet stifled a smile. Sometimes, his horrific past was almost a blessing. It certainly put the fear of God into thugs. Not that any of that would ever cleanse his soul of all the deaths he'd been involved in, both intentional and accidental. A sudden crack of thunder made everyone, including the Comet, glance up to the sky. Where the sun had been shining only moments before, now there was only a dark, roiling cloud that seemed to obscure everything. In the cracks between the clouds, a reddish-tinged sky could be seen.

The Comet heard Charlie Dupont take advantage of the hero's distraction by running away, but he didn't go after him. A crook like that would get caught again eventually, if he hadn't been scared straight. But those red skies... they were so unnatural.

A small object fell from the sky and struck the Comet's chest. Within seconds, numerous more were pelting the city of New York. Catching the object in his hand, the Comet stared at it for a long moment. Hail... Without another thought, the Comet rocketed towards his orbiting spacecraft, on loan from the Altroxians he had called friends so long ago. This certainly seemed to be a job for the Crusaders....

IMPACT UNIVERSE, WASHINGTON D.C.

"You have three seconds to tell us who you are and how you got in here." The Shield's voice was stern and tinged with exhaustion, as he and two of his fellow Crusaders stared at the mysterious female before them. They had only just returned from dropping off the American Shield at the hospital*, with Steel Sterling watching over him until the American Shield's family could arrive, and all of them were bone weary. The Fly and Jaguar flanked the patriotic hero, each on guard as well.

(*The American Shield was injured in battle with the Caregiver last issue.)

For the woman called Darkling, it was like looking into a twisted reflection. On her own Earth, she called the Crusaders friends -- but they were slightly different than the trio before her. The Jaguar, in particular, bore no resemblance to the one she had known. "I apologize for barging in like this, but I've been waiting for you for hours. I'm called Darkling and what I have to tell you is very important!"

The Shield nodded. "Go ahead."

Jaguar moved closer to her husband, the Fly, while Darkling composed herself. "Jason... Does this girl seem familiar to you?"

The Fly peered at Darkling, trying hard not to pay attention to the ample amount of flesh she displayed via her skimpy costume. "Um, no. Should she?"

Jaguar frowned, her eyes flashing. "Perhaps it is only my mystic attunement, then. But somehow, in an odd way, I feel as if we should recognize her."

Darkling sat down in one of the spare meeting room chairs. Her beautiful features were lined with worry. "I come from an alternate Earth, one where another group of Crusaders fight for justice. I was one of them, for an all-too brief period of time. A man called the Brain Emperor wiped my memories clean and left me floating in Limbo. I was there for a long time... when I came to, I was on this Earth. I've learned that your world has a version of the Brain Emperor, too -- and he's allied himself with a group called the Malevolent Legion and this world's Comet*...."

(*This is a summary of events shown in our last three issues.)

"The Comet?" The Fly shook his head. "Can't be. He's dead."

The Shield sighed. He could sense the woman's honesty -- perhaps she was insane, but she certainly believed what she was saying. "Hold on, Fly. We thought the Comet was dead a couple of times before that, too*. Perhaps he did survive the Black Hood's attack**."

(*Especially after the events in the last issue of the Comet. **See Crucible # 6.)

Darkling smiled, thinking how much this Shield reminded her of her old friend. "There's more, unfortunately. After spying on the Brain Emperor, I was pulled by some mystic force into limbo. There, I saw something that chilled my blood -- your world and mine are slowly merging, which could potentially destroy both universes!"

All three Crusaders stared at her in silence for a moment, somewhat numbed by her words. It was the Shield who recovered first. "Merging? But how? Why?"

Darkling looked away. "I'm not sure. When I realized what was happening, when I saw my own homeworld before me, I tried to return there to warn my friends. My way was blocked however, by the Mr. Justice of my universe. He appeared to me and told me that had to mobilize the heroes of your world first. He said that he was using all of his mystical powers to keep our world's separate for as long as possible but that we had to be ready for what was to come."

"What is to come? How can we stop this thing?" The Fly moved closer to her, filled with concern. He hadn't survived everything he'd gone through just to have his world destroyed like this.

"I think I might be able to help you guys -- if you'll have me."

The all-too familiar voice made everyone gasp. Before them was one of the very men they had been discussing -- their former teammate and later enemy, the Comet!

The Fly immediately took to the air, his wings beating faster and faster to build up his sonic attack. The Shield moved protectively in front of the Darkling, unsure if she could protect herself against their foe. The Jaguar snarled and extended her claws, leaping towards the man who stood in the doorway.

Rob Connors, the Comet, moved so fast that the Jaguar missed him entirely. He flew to the left and landed again, holding his hands up high. "Wait! I can explain... please!"

Darkling pointed. "That's him, I'm sure of it. That's the man who's working with the Brain Emperor!"

The Shield clenched his fist. "Then I guess we'll have to do it again, won't we? Crusaders -- let's take down the Comet!"

RED CIRCLE UNIVERSE, ONBOARD THE COMET'S SPACECRAFT

"The whole world's going crazy. The animals felt it first, I think. They've been on edge for a week." Ralph Hardy, the Jaguar, stared out of the ship's viewport. From here, mother earth looked so fragile -- not for the first time, he wondered if he shouldn't be down there amongst God's creatures, instead of floating in space with the Crusaders.

The Shield stood proud and strong, his arms crossed over his powerful chest. "What do we need to do, John? You give us the word and we'll do it."

The Comet rubbed his chin thoughtfully, studying the sensor readings. The Altroxian spacecraft was far in advance of Earthly technology and it was able to peer into multiple dimensions. What he saw before him was troubling, indeed. He turned to the Fly, who stood silently beside him. "It's worse then I ever imagined, Tom. We're looking at nothing less than armageddon."

"Should I contact Kim and the others?"

"No... I'm not sure what good Fly Girl or the Web would be in this situation. The four of us are probably the most powerful members of the team and that's what we're going to need, I bet. Raw power."

The Shield moved over to stare the monitor before them. "Who do you think is behind this? Eterno? The Brain Emperor?"

A sudden flash of light, accompanied by grayish smoke, cut off the Comet's reply. The spectral form of Mr. Justice hovered in the air before them. "YOUR FOE IS FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN EITHER OF THOSE YOU HAVE NAMED. BUT TIME IS SHORT, MY FRIENDS -- AND ONLY BY UNITING WITH THE HEROES OF ANOTHER WORLD WILL THIS CRISIS BE AVERTED!"

"Mr. Justice?! This must be serious -- we haven't seen you since that weird battle in Riverdale!*"

(*As chronicled in Archie's Weird Mysteries # 3, published in March 2000.)

"THE WALL BETWEEN REALITIES IS FRAGILE, INDEED. WHAT WE EXPERIENCED BEFORE WAS MERELY A HARBINGER FOR WHAT IS NOW ASSAULTING US. OUR VERY REALITY IS IMPERILED!" Before saying antoher word, the ghostly figure of Mr. Justice waved a hand. The Crusaders felt themselves being shifted in time-space, a tingling sensation in their heads.

When the sensation passed, the Comet glanced out the window. The bizarre landscape of Limbo floated by. "Where have you taken us?"

When only silence answered his query, the Comet turned and saw that Mr. Justice was gone. The Fly shook his head. "He's a strange bird, all right. Always coming and going like that!"

The Shield pointed towards the screen. "Look! You can see our Earth merging with that other one. Mr. Justice was right -- we have to stop this."

Nodding, the Comet watched as a ship seemed to move outwards from the other Earth. It hung in the air before them, sending an open hail. "Looks like we're not alone. Maybe it's the Crusaders of that other world...."

Tapping a button, the Comet watched as the communicator screen flared to life. While he didn't know what he expected to see, the face on the screen certainly wasn't it. There before him was someone who looked very close to, but wasn't quite the same as, their arch-enemy. The Brain Emperor. The villain smiled. "It's just as he said. Another world. Another world to rule." The Crusaders steeled themselves as the Brain Emperor began laughing. "We've come to liberate an ally of mine, Crusaders. A being who will eradicate both my world's heroes and yours. After months of speaking to him telepathically, the time has come...."

"Something big coming up behind us, Comet." Jaguar pointed to the energy readings, which were going off the scale. Hurriedly adjusting the viewscreen's setting, the Comet brought the energy source into view.

"Good lord," whispered the Shield.

Striding towards them, his malevolent face broken into a leer, was a living nightmare.

"Kalathar," whispered the Brain Emperor. "The being who destroyed the American Crusaders and who nearly slew their successors. Kalathar!"

IMPACT UNIVERSE, WASHINGTON, DC

The interior of the Crusaders headquarters was a smoking ruin. The Fly's sonic attack narrowly missed the flying Comet, destroying a large computer bank. The Shield lifted the meeting table and hurled it at the Comet, who blasted it to bits.

"Listen to me! I'm not the enemy!"

The Jaguar grabbed hold of the Comet, digging her claws deep into his skin. "You destroyed Evergreen, killing thousands. You would have killed more if the Black Hood hadn't stopped you -- you're as much our enemy as anyone! Because of you, the world will never trust us the same way again!"

The Comet seethed with anger. "I was sick! Can't you understand that? If you'd lived through half of what I did, you would have gone crazy too*!"

(*Heck, it would have driven me crazy. See the final issues of the Comet series for the many tragic events that plagued poor Rob.)

Darkling watched in silence as the battle raged. She wasn't as powerful a mystic as Mr. Justice or the Wizard, but she had certain occult skills that proved useful from time to time. Narrowing her eyes, she watched the Comet's mannerisms. "It's not him. I was wrong."

The Shield turned to her. "You mean that's not the real Comet?"

Darkling shrugged. "That I don't know -- but that's not the same man who was with the Brain Emperor. His aura is totally different."

The Comet discharged an electrical burst that sent the Jaguar flying. "I'm sorry, Maria -- I really am. Maybe it was a mistake coming here."

The Fly screamed in horror as the Jaguar fell to the floor. "Maria! You bast--"

"Stop!" The Shield's command brought everyone, even Darkling, to a total dead stop. "Comet, we'll hear you out." Glancing over at the Fly's angry, shocked expression, he murmured "Jason, tend to Maria but hold your anger. Understand?"

The Comet landed, casting a wary glance at the Fly. "I really am sorry...."

Shield held up a hand to silence him. "Explain how you're still alive, Rob."

"Okay." The Comet sighed, the weight of his life feeling very heavy, indeed. "After I went nuts in the Crucible, everything's kind of fuzzy. But I remember teleporting away at the last minute before the Black Hood shot me. I didn't even know I could teleport but my powers have a way of popping up on me in surprising ways. Anyway, I was wasted, nearly drained by the battle. I was on some island in the middle of the Pacific, but to this day I'm not sure where. A man found me... and put me in some kind of testing facility. He said his name was Eterno and that he was an ancient Atlantean scientist who was trying to find his lost people. He...cloned...me*. I was too weak to fight back at the time but I eventually escaped, but not before he'd cloned a small army of Comet bodies. He's able to project his mind into them and animate them. I tried to go back and locate the island but it was gone. Hidden, somehow. That's who your Darkling friend saw, I'm sure. It's Eterno. He's in my body, with all my powers!"

(*The Red Circle Eterno cloned a bunch of heroes in Crusaders # 1-3, circa 1983.)

The Fly cradled Maria's head in his arms. "Great. So we've got two crazy Comets to deal with."

"I'm not crazy! At least, not anymore. Something in Eterno's treatments seems to have stabilized my mood swings. Look, I know none of you trust me anymore -- but I want to help. I don't have anyone else to turn to...."

"That's because you killed them."

"Fly -- that's enough! Rob, if you're telling the truth - why would Eterno ally himself with the Brain Emperor? What is he after?"

Darkling cleared his throat. "He already answered that -- just like on my world, Eterno wants to find his lost people. The Brain Emperor can do that for him. He probably went to the Comet Dome to use it as a base since he had to abandon his island lab."

The Shield looked thoughtful for a moment. "In that case, you're going to stay with us for awhile, Rob. Both because we'll need your help to stop Eterno and because I want to keep an eye on you."

The Comet looked relieved. "You won't regret this, Shield. I promise."

A sudden crack of thunder startled everyone -- Darkling looked up through the ruptured roof and saw that the skies were now the color of blood. "We're running out of time. The end has begun...."

NEXT ISSUE : The Crusaders come face-to-face with the Crusaders! Plus : Kalathar's plan is revealed! Why does he want to merge these two universes? Next issue, you'll find out! Be here as the "Crusader Crisis" moves towards a shocking conclusion!

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Wow. Who's still with me? This storyline is a labor of love for me and, while I will try to keep everyone up to speed, some knowledge of the Red Circle and Impact Universes is probably required. Below are story notes that describe new characters to this series and some story points that might not be clear at first reading :

KALATHAR was a being who fought the American Crusaders (the 1950s forerunners to the Crusaders in the Impact Universe). In Crusaders (Impact) # 1-3, he returned and nearly defeated the fledging Crusaders team. He was eventually returned to his homeworld, only to find that the invasion force he was supposed to be scouting the Earth for was all dead, killed over the intervening decades he'd been trapped on Earth. The big guy swore vengeance and ended up in Limbo (exactly how will be revealed next issue) after unsuccessfully trying to return to Earth. From there, he's learned of other earths and contacted the Brain Emperor, who used the K'balla ship to travel into Limbo to free him. Kalathar hopes to use the Malevolent Legion as his new army.

ETERNO was, in the Red Circle universe, an Atlantean who could project his mind into the bodies of others. This storyline is the first appearance of the Impact version. He's pretty much the same guy. Sue me.

MR. JUSTICE was the Red Circle version of the Spectre. The Impact version was mentioned in one line during Crucible and in one of my previous issues but he's never been shown.

If I still have any readers, I'll see you all next issue. :-)

Barry Reese