An undisclosed location somewhere near the Grand Canyon in Arizona. A thin wisp of blue smoke appears just above the desert floor. Several objects appear, duffel bags and file folders. Then, seconds later, a group of people also appear, four men and one woman, all holding hands.
"You can let go now, Sparky!", the woman code named Blue Lady said to the man to her right, the one called Man O' Metal. "Sparky" was a nickname some nickel-headed news reporter had dubbed Man O' Metal once. Reason being, when Man O' Metal triggered his powers and his body would become a metal form,. he'd emit sparks from his body. This would also happen when he'd encounter any type of attacks or especially when anyone who was foolish enough to shoot bullets at him.
He smiled back at her, and even though he never liked that nickname he didn't mind it coming from her. Completely bald, Man O' Metal's blue eyes seemed to gleam, even in his organic human form. His muscular 6' 1"' build was hard to contain beneath the white long sleeve shirt he wore, straining against the fabric. He knew the clothes wouldn't last long if he had to activate his powers.
"Well,", she said, "it looks like we've arrived, safe and sound." As soon as she said this, though, Captain Flag doubled over, and regurgitated. "Everyone except for the Captain. Not to worry, teleporting takes getting used to. Everyone reacts differently.", she said, patting the Captain on the back. Captain Flag coughed, and mumbled, "sorry", wiping his mouth with a shirt sleeve. Physically the strongest of the group, it was a surprise to see he had any weakness. Standing at 5' 10", with dark black hair and hazel eyes, he had a massive build, not unlike Man O' Metal. However he was not quite as bulky as Man O' Metal, despite his incredible strength and the powers he held. He had a square jaw, almost ridiculously so, and some smarty pants newspaper reported had once said the Captain's jaw was more square than a geometry lesson. Real funny reporter that guy, some dufus named Blaze Bennet, a thorn in his side as well to the other heroes but they took it in stride.
He was a bit embarrassed and it was something the other heroes noticed and took the opportunity to chide him about.
"So where are we? What do we do now?", Torpedo Man asked. "We go over that ridge, and just below should be our temporary housing quarters.", Blue Lady answered. " After we settle down for a bit and get something to eat, I know the General wanted you to open up the duffel bags and also do some reading up on me if you'd like. I know we are to begin our mission late this evening, so we should have time.", she said.
"Whoa. General Emmet must have a lot of trust in you, seeing as how you're a civilian and all.", Liberator stated, impressed. Liberator's light green shirt was already soaked with sweat. He had a high metabolic rate but he healed very quickly, super humanly so. His dark red hair betrayed the boyish look of his face, and his skinny frame also did not hint at to the powers he held. At 5' 5" he was the shortest and thinnest of the group, but he was indeed well respected by his fellow men and the USA at large, which made him feel ten feet tall. "Yes and I am honored he does.", she replied. The men walked over to the duffel bags, and slung them over their shoulders. The heat seemed to be affecting Torpedo Man a bit, and he started to undress.
"Whoa, big guy, whatcha' doing?", Captain Flag asked. "This heat is too much for my marine acclimated body. I need to compensate. This shirt and khaki pants are too much for me. Besides, I've always operated dressed like this. You should know, you've seen me on the television and in the newspapers.", he replied in a matter of fact tone. At 5' 9", blue eyes and thin black hair, he had a lithe yet muscular build, every part of his body seemingly covered with a type of sheen that wasn't sweat but some type of sea foam green colored sheen. Liberator noticed that but didn't want to ask, at least not yet.
Man O' Metal replied, "Cap, he's right. Also, he's not the only one to operate sans clothing. You know I usually melt my clothing off when I activate my metal powers. Good thing, though, for fire proof underwear. Thanks to good ol' Doctor Synthe for that one!", he said.
"Wait, you have to wear fire proof underwear?", Liberator asked. "Of course. Liberator. Doesn't everyone?", he replied, laughing, punching him in the arm as they all walked up the ridge.
With the duffel bags slung over their shoulders, the men topped the ridge. The Blue Lady came up just behind them and then teleported above their heads. They looked at her as she pointed down the slope. "Men, there is our new home for a few days until we complete our mission.", she said. A ranch house, complete with horses, a few cows, and chickens could be seen.
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Doc Strong looked into the night sky of the desert. Perplexed, his thoughts ran wild, not able to focus. While he tried to piece together what had transpired and where he was, a red shimmering glow appeared behind him. The light illuminated the cave quite a bit and in fact, it got his notice. Strong turned around and saw the red glowing light. It was the same one he'd seen near the floor of the tailing pond and one he'd been sucked into when he tried to end his life. This time, though, he thought differently. He had to know what this was. Leaving his suit's helmet on the cave floor, Doc Strong ran to the swirling, glowing red light and jumped into, disappearing from view.
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The Freedom Guard Files. Introduction.
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