Issue 11
Written by Gary Dreslinski
                                                   Edited by Ralph Angelo                                                  

His hands dug into the earth, uprooting the weeds, uprooting what did
not belong in his garden.

He wished that he could feel the dirt between his fingers, wished that
he could actually feel some attachment to what he was doing other than
knowing that he would be able to see the fruits of his labors when the
plants came to fruitation. That was his one satisfaction, that somehow
his hard work was going to make a lasting impression. That what he was
doing mattered.

He dug his hands back into the soil, and felt the earth die all around
him. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he could feel the planet dying, he
could feel... something else...

"Danny?" he asked aloud. No one answered.
"Danny, is that you? Where is Jane? Danny?" Cliff Steele gazed into the
stillness of the unrevealing ground, looking for answers, receiving
none.

"What's going on here?"

"Don't you know?" someone asked. He looked up, his counterpart - the
other Cliff Steele, was standing above him. "Don't you know what is
going on?"

Cliff shook his metal head.

"It's a shame then," His "other" said, "Because everyone else certainly
does. We know that this game is for keeps, and that's how we're playing
it. You didn't even bring your equipment."

"I didn't know that we were playing a game."

His "Other" shook his head sadly, "There's always a game. You just have
to know which team you're going to be on."


"Are you all right?" a female voice inquired. Cliff opened his eyes,
shaking himself back into reality. He was lying on the ground, Leah was
standing over him.

"I think so, what happened?"

She shrugged, "We're still not sure. Some sort of energy burst. Seems
to have had some sort of affect of meta powers."

"Another gene bomb? Are we being invaded again?" Cliff asked, thinking
back to another alien invasion some time previous. After the latest
invasion, he thought that the alien invasion quota had been used up for
quite some time. But then, you could never be sure when it came to that
sort of thing.

She shook her head, "I can't say for certain, but it appears to be a
localized effect."

"The Cult then?"

"That's what... the other you has been suggesting."

"How is everyone faring? What sort of effects are we looking at?"

"I'm pretty much fine. More or less. So is the other Cliff. I'm magic,
and unless he's hiding something, he doesn't have any powers other than
being really annoying..."

"I ressemble that remark."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah... yeah I do."

"Punch and Jewelee are fine. No powers there either to speak of."

"What about.. his people?"

"The Geek fell down the same time you did. No one seems to be able to
wake her up. Zone seems uneffected, not sure what that means. Kudzu
turned into himself."

"Excuse me?"

"He started growing inward, if that makes sense. More plant than
personality."

"Not that there was much of one to begin with."

"True"

"What about Blue Snake?"

"You don't want to know."

"Why do the feeling that I'm going to need to know..."

"Because you know the business I guess. He starting glowing more when
the burst happened. He seemed to feed off it."

"His powers increased you mean."

"Yeah"

"Damn..." Cliff checked himself, "I mean he's going to be useful in
going after the Cult, but with what you told me about him... I'm not
all that happy that something like that is getting MORE powerful."

"Ditto." she stopped her a moment, hestitating before finally asking, "
Should I try?"

"To reach Hunter?"

"Yeah"

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan."

"I'll get on it... oh, I almost forgot. I'm not certain that it has
anything to do with us, but there is one other weird thing that
happened after you..."

"Shut down." Cliff offered, "its all right to say. Something in that
surge of energy literally caused my curcuits to go into self
preservation mode and temporary shut down not vital systems. Not the
most wonderful thing to have happen in the middle of crisis, but far
from the worse... what's going on?"

"We found something... someone, not far from our position. Frozen in a
block of ice."

"In the middle of the city? Frozen in a block of ice?"

"Yeah. We think her powers must have gone wonky..."

"Wonky huh? You've got a way with words.."

"Hey, if you got it - flaunt it."

"Any ID yet? Maybe she doesn't relate at all... but experience says
that somehow she does..."

"Not yet. But then how many women do you know with ice powers?"

"A couple come to mind off hand, but yeah, not many."

"Need a hand up before you go off to check her out?"

Cliff nodded, "If I didn't know that you were stronger than you look, I
wouldn't even bother. After all, I weigh as much as you would figure a
guy made out of metal would. But considering.."

"Considering that succubi are by definition demons... you know that
this frail look is just a look."

"Right." Cliff said as he took her hand, and was yanked to his feet
effortlessly, "But what makes you think that I'm going to go take a
look at the lady on ice?"

"Because its you." she answered, "I'm going to go off for a moment or
two. Mystical trans-atlantic phone calls may not be as expensive as
domestic ones, but they're just as personal."

Cliff nodded and waved her off, wishing that he could say more. But
these days there were very few people that he could call for help - and
none that seemed to be able to give any of it. "Maybe Gar," he
muttered, thinking of his former teammate, and current Titan, the
Changeling.

"Not available," he heard his human voice answer as his counterpart
walked toward him.

"I've already talked to him. He sends his regrets, but apparently Titan
business is taking precedence. They have their hands full. Besides, I
think that we're enough to take out a little cult."

"What about the end of the world?"

"What about it? Certainly this isn't the only end of the world battle
going on right now... I'm sure the JLA is engaged with two or three of
them right now. The bottom line is that we handle our menace and they
handle theirs. Provided that everyone wins that is supposed to win,
normal people get up tomorrow and eat their Wheaties."

"And if we don't?"

"Then they don't either. Thems the breaks."

Cliff stared at his counterpart for a moment, "What happened over
there?" he heard himself asking before he could think better of it.
"What have you seen? What have you had to do?"

His counterpart tried the coverup smile, but hesitiated when faced with
someone who could see through it, "You don't want to know," he said,
his expression going blank instead, "Believe me, you don't want to
know."

"I'm here, I want you to know that. If you need to talk about it. I'll
understand."

The other Cliff shrugged, "I hope that you will... but that's for
later. Right now we have to teach this cult what it means to take on
the Doom Patrol... our personal tragedies have to wait until after
that... as usual. "



Agent Holland Golighty knew that his legs were moving. He knew it
because he kept moving forward. He couldn't feel them though. It was as
though everything below his brain had ceased to be. All that he knew
was moving forward against the advancing light.
He wanted to look around, to see where his partner, Agent Katt was. He
wasn't able to do so. His head was locked in the forward position as it
had been when the explosion had first rocked the warehouse, as it had
when they had entered it to check on the well being of fellow DEO agent
Cameron Chase.
The information that she had been given that had led her to the spot
had been tampered with. Or so he had thought. Another idea struck him.
Another possibility. That it was his information on the strength of
hers that might have been that which was flawed. If someone had wanted
to lead more than just her into a trap, it would certainly be a good
way to do so.
He mentally chastised himself for the bout of ego. Why would anyone
care about him? He certainly wasn't a star in the agency, much more of
a down and outer than an up and comer. "Unless who it was didn't matter
- as long as it was someone..."

As he continued to advance, the light faded away as if it had never
been. At its center - Cameron Chase was crouched on the ground,
screaming something gutteral, something primal...

He felt his legs touch ground again. He stopped his advance, looking
down to make sure he was still in one piece."I seem to be" he muttered
before catching a look at Agent Katt at his side. "What do you make
of..."he started... Katt shook his head, "I don't want to talk about
it."

"But what about..."

"Let's just get the Agent and get out of here before anything happens
again. We'll talk more before we sit down and make the report."

Golightly nodded, not completely sure of the what, but understanding
the why.

"Agent Chase," he hollered at the figure, "Are you all right? Do you
need medical assistance?"

Chase looked up at the approaching agents. Her eyes glowed brightly. "I
wouldn't come any closer. I am not completely contained."

"Do you require medical attention agent?" Katt asked as calmly as he
could.

Chase rose to her feet, "I'm going to be all right. There  is just one
more thing that I need to deal with.... alone."

"I'm afraid that we can't allow that Agent," Golightly declared, "We
have an unstable situation here. Protocol is to retreat and await
tactical and scientific teams."

"To deal with me you mean?"

"To deal with whatever might have done this to you ma'am."

"No offense Agent..."

"Agents Golightly and Katt ma'am..."

"No offense Agents Golightly and Katt ma'am, but I think that I can
handle this situation. The Director will back me up on that."

"No offense ma'am, but I don't think that we can risk that. Whatever
has caused this can assume to still be on premises... which makes it a
security issue."

"*I* am the one who caused this..." Chase answered, her eyes glowing
brightly, "And if I don't see your retreating back sides soon I'm going
to have to remove you now and make a report about it later."

Katt spoke lightly into his wrist communicator, then looked up at his
partner, shaking his head, "Link's dead," he mouthed.

"Of course it is," someone laughed.

Chase and the two agents turned as one as an entire wall of the
warehouse slid away to reveal a small army of men and women dressed in
what appeared to be piecemeal armor, each holding different types of
weapons, some had guns - others, what could only be described as small
machines.


"Who are..." Katt started, but Chase cut him off with a look.

"The Cult of the Unbroken Circle I assume."

"No. We're the Cult of Niles Caulder."

"Until something better comes along."

"Well, there is that. But until then, we follow his path, his ways."

"Messing with the universe to try to make things go your way?"

"Is there any other way for the strong to act?"

"Yes," a voice boomed out of the darkness, "The strong can act to
protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The leader of the Cult turned in surprise, "And who would do something
like that?"

Cliff Steele, his body shining in the pale light stepped forward...
followed by Leah, Punch, Jewelee, his counterpart Cliff and the Blue
Snake and Killer Frost, "Me for one," Cliff answered, "The Chief would
have done it as well. That was the legacy of Niles Caulder. Not the
manipulation, real or imagined. Not the technology that he squandered,
but sacrifice. Niles Caulder sacrificed his time, his imagination and
ultimately his life for the greater good of mankind. To do... what you
have done, in his name is unaccusable."

"And what is it that we have done?" the Second Speaker asked from
behind a smirk, "Caused you some sort of emotional damage?"

Cliff's temper flaired, but his voice stayed calm, "You killed people
connected with the Doom Patrol. Maybe it was a sick game. Maybe it was
just to get my attention..."

"You stole my baby!" Jewelee shouted, Leah restraining her before she
could leap forward.

"The baby I admit freely to. She is the Chosen One after all. She is
part of the greater will of Niles Caulder - of the plan that has been
laid out for us. As for the killings... we had no part in them."

"Dorothy would say differently. So would others... The path of their
deaths have led here."

"Then someone has led you down the path of folly." the Second Speaker
answered, "For I have no idea what you are talking about..."

"Who cares if they killed anyone...," Killer Frost hissed, "Where is
Niles Caulder. I need him... and anyone standing in my way is going to
die."

The Second Speaker chuckled, and half turned to one of the men behind
him. The man stepped forward, in his hands the head of Niles Caulder.
"Here is the prophet." The Second Speaker proclaimed, "as was
foretold."


Both Cliffs took an unconcious step forward before checking themselves.
"How did you get that?" The human Cliff hissed with a deep seeded anger
in his voice.

"The Chief is where he was always meant to be, at the place and time of
the Choosing."

"What is the Choosing?" Holland found the strength to ask. He half
expected his voice to be lost in the affairs far beyond his kin, in the
dispute between the metahumans and the cult that he and his partner had
found themselves in the middle of. To his surprise, everyone seemed to
be waiting for an answer.

"It is the Great Choice that the voice of Niles Caulder told us was to
come."

"The head of a dead man told you that there was going to be a great
choice?" Chase asked with an edge in her voice, "And this led you to
bring this choice about..."

"It led us to prepare for the choosing... yes. It is as the prophet
Caulder proclaimed it to be."

"But what is the choice?" Holland found himself asking aloud, "If there
is a decision to be made, a choice - that implies that its between one
thing or the other. It implies that there someone has to decide. Who is
deciding... what is being decided?"

"There is the Chosen," The Second Speaker replied automatically, "She
that is to be. We have brought her here to be chosen."

"That doesn't seem to be much of a choice," The metal Cliff Steele
responded, his voice echoing in the warehouse, "If you already know
what the Chosen is going to be, there doesn't seem to be much use for
the Choice to happen now does there. So why don't you just let the
little girl go and hand over the Chief's head while you're at it. You
might even get to walk out of here instead of crawling."

"Niles Caulder..." Killer Frost muttered to herself, "He's alive... I
know he is. He's not the head... The Cold said that I would find him
here... the voices in the Cold... they spoke of salvation... they said
..."


"What is she talking about?" The human Cliff Steele whispered to Blue
Snake, "Do we know about this Cold... do you?"

"No..." the creature hissed in return, "Nor do I approve of her
presence. She is the unexpected. We disapprove of that of which we do
not know."

"As do I friend..." The human Cliff whispered back to his companion,
"As do I. Are the others in place?"

The Blue Snake nodded once, and only once before turning back to the
more immediate situation.

"She is the Chosen," The Second Speaker said again, moving out of the
way for a woman to step forward carrying the infant girl.

Punch cried out as if struck. Jewelee remained silent, her glare
burning its way through her enemies.

"But who is doing this Choosing?" Leah asked, stepping forward to
repeat the question, "Have you even given that matter any thought? Why
have we all been brought to this spot if not for this choosing? We came
here to find those responsible for a murder that you claim to have had
no part in and to stop you from doing further damage to the name of a
good man." she half-turned toward the DEO agents, "I assume that they
were brought to this spot for similiar reasons. If the path did not
lead here for us to stop you, to somehow be a part of this choosing of
yours then why? Are we here to make the decision for you? Or to make
sure that it isn't made?"

"Enough talk," The human Cliff growled to his counterpart, "Nothing's
going to get through to these psychos except a good old fashion butt
kicking. We take them out, grab the girl and what's left of the Chief
and we leave. Seems straight forward to me."

"I might have agreed with you," The metal Cliff replied in a whisper,
"But there seems to be something more at play here. I want to see where
this is going."

"I can tell you where this is going," the other Cliff countered, "It's
going to give them time to figure out a way to get passed us, or maybe
even escape. If we hit them hard and fast they're going to go down -
that's how we've always done it..."

"But its not how WE'VE always done it Cliff," the metal one cut him
short, " There might not be a Doom Patrol any longer, but I want to try
to respect their memory..."

His counterpart chuckled, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Pardon?"

"Of course there's a Doom Patrol... take a look around you... what the
hell do you call this motley crew if not the Doom Patrol..."

"Its not the..." Cliff started, but then looked around.. Leah... Punch
and Jewelee... Killer Frost... even, in an odd way Chase herself who
had been the one to start him down the path with her visit. There was
another group that claimed the name as well... the one led by his
counterpart... unless they were all part of the same... "Well,
maybe..."

"So much for saying that you weren't putting together a new Patrol,
"his counterpart chuckled, "Face it, its your nature."

"No its not," Cliff replied, "Habit maybe, but its not my nature to
gather people together... its just something that happens..."

"Isn't that the same thing?"


Killer Frost watched the debates, and the sub-debates, wondering when
someone was going to tell her what she needed to know. Had the Cold
lied to her? Was Niles Caulder truly dead, that which would save her
now beyond her reach? Or were the humans the ones lying? "Its the
humans," she whispered to herself, reassuring her faith. The Cold did
not lie to one of its own. She knew that in her heart. But her head
wondered if the Cold truly had its own. If it might not have brought
her here for its own reasons, whatever they might be. If it had helped
her escape from one prison only to become part of a bigger one. One
where she no longer had even the illusion of choices. One where the
hope... the hope of a cure, had been dangled in front of her eyes only
to be snatched away forever.

When the light had come, bringing forth its explosion and dreaded...
dreamed of... heat, her body had lost all control. It had sealed her
within a prison of ice. A prison of her own powers gone wild. Her worst
nightmare, to be ice forever...

But a Cold one had rescued her. He of a different cold... but cold
nonetheless. Cliff Steele... a man of cold hard metal. A man within his
own prison of cold. He had come to her and examined her confines. He
was the one that figured out how to crack the ice without damaging her.
He had been the one that she had confided her reasons for seeking out
Niles Caulder. For was he not one of the man called Chief's greatest
friends and advisors? Was he not high in the arsenal of the Chief,
knowledgable in what the man was and was not capable of doing? He had
mentioned that the Chief was supposed to be dead... but that had not
stopped her from believing the truth of the words the Cold had
whispered to her in her cell. The voices that came from the night air,
where she was almost able to touch them. The words that came on the
edges of mauve...


No one knew who fired the first shot. If it was one of the DEO agents..
or one of the Cult members... or maybe an aggressive move by one of the
asssembled Doom Patrol... but once it caught, the flames spread.

The Cult members ran forward firing their weapons, sweeping the
warehouse with bullets, lasers, and unimaginable things.

"Behind me!" one Cliff Steele called out in the fray, seeking to shield
those vulnerable from danger.
"Follow me!" the other one called out as he rushed forward into the
fray, his own deadly guns blazing a path of demon fire through his
foes.

Leah became something... different in the face of opposition... her
face no longer resembled an angel, but reflected her demoniac heritage.
She waved off the actual bullets as if they weren't even there, but
still trying to keep away from some of the other things flying through
the air.

Punch and Jewelee stayed behind their living metal shield during the
first onslaught, keeping their eyes on the last position of their baby,
muttering blasphemous prayers and warnings against anything that might
happen to her. The Cult though, had moved to to the rear once the
fighting had broken out, to keep her out of harms way. Or perhaps to
use as a hostage for a latter escape.


Golightly and Katt unloaded on the attacking Cult members. After the
first couple of rounds bounced off the armor of their opponents, Katt
made the call, "Head shots!" he screamed at his partner, and took a new
aim at his attackers. One by one they dropped.. but more rushed forward
to take their place.

"I'm on fire!" Golightly called out as one of the machine's blasts
connected with him. He dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the
flames.

Chase's eyes glowed brighter than ever, but she didn't seem to notice.
Shot after shot hit true, regardless of where she placed it. She took
aim at the machine hurling fire, sending a bullet straight down its
gullet and causing it to explode, engulfing its user.

The machine fell to the ground in flames. But just as quickly started
to put what was left of it back together.
"Nanites." Chase muttered, "Shit, actual Caulder designs." She felt
what was within her well up again, and released it against the
reforming weapon.
The tiny machines ceased functioning.
"Nice to know its good for something," she muttered to herself as she
dodged another energy discharge.


The Blue Snake hurled itself through the air, taking out large pockets
of resistance. Laughing as the Cult tried to stop him with their
weapons. One of the women with a machine turned toward him and fired.
The Blue Snake laughed and met the weapon blast head on.
He cried out as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
"The Chief will provide," The woman said as she moved toward him to
finish him off, "You did not think that the Chief would not have
thought of weapons to take out creatures of energy?"
"Damn your Chief and damn you" Blue Snake hissed as he shot out at her.
Before she could take another shot, he hit her square in the chest,
blowing her heart out the back of her body.


Cliff Steele felt the blast from the machine hit him in the chest. He
kept moving forward, placing himself in front of anyone who cared to be
shielded. He glanced down at his chest, whatever had landed was making
small marks on his chest in the shape of a...

He was bowled over from the side as Leah laid into him, taking him off
his feet. She slammed the flat of her hand against his metal chest over
and over again, smashing the tiny creatures.

"What was that for?" Cliff asked, picking himself up off the ground in
time to meet a head on charge from several attackers. His fist
connected with one of their jaws, snapping the head back and dropping
him to the ground. Someone swung. Cliff blocked it was his left arm.
Someone else came at him. Cliff blocked it with his right arm, holding
them in place.

"A summoning circle," Leah provided, as she batted aside an energy
blast, her nature, her powers, feeding on the intense emotions being
unleashed, "My guess is that they were going to summon a demon into
your body."

Another Cult member raced toward him. Cliff looked at his situation,
holding one of the attackers fellows in each hand he wasn't going to be
able to stop the charge.. unless...

The man dropped as he collided with Cliff's charging head butt to the
stomach.


"Give her back!" Punch screamed as he charged into the attackers,
bowling over the main thrust of the line. Jewelee followed, swinging
her mallet with deadly accuracy, silently making her way toward the
woman holding her daughter, taking out any that dared to stay in her
path.

Piece by piece, Cliff saw the line of attack falling back.

His other self was in the thick of things, having discarded his gun he
was now using some sort of amulet, twisting the bodies of his foes
inside out.

"That's me," Cliff reminded himself as he observed, "Dear God. That's
me."

Killer Frost was laughing hysterically in the midst of the fray,
screaming for Niles Caulder, screaming for a salvation that was never
to be. Cliff shook his head sadly as he batted other attacker away.
Whoever had told her that Niles Caulder had the answers, whoever who
had told the Cult where to find the head, whoever was whispering the
lies about the "Will of the Chief" they had a lot to answer for.

As if on cue, the air around them split open and 10 men, dressed
completely in mauve from head to toe, walked out of the opening.

Everyone froze, transfixed. "Enough waiting," one of them, their leader
perhaps, declared, "The time has come for the Choice to be made."

"Who in the hell are you?" The other Cliff demanded, waving his amulet
in their direction. They didn't bother responding.

Leah looked into her Cliff's eyes... and saw something. "YOU know,
don't you?"

Cliff nodded, "They're the Men in Mauve. We've, the Patrol that is,
have encountered them before."

"Then we can beat them right? We can figure out this Choice thing and
make them eat it?"

Cliff shook his head, "It's more like we can stick our heads between
our legs and kiss it goodbye."

"Oh," Leah sighed, "I was afraid you were going to say that."

---

NEXT:  The Choice. Need we say more?