Chapter 15 - Battle in Philadelphia Philadelphia.
I remember when it was so raw it seemed like the pain would last forever. It was what Olympus was built to stop. We failed. I failed. What more can I say?
A little more than nine months after Day One four MetaHumans decided to take over the city that held so much of American history. Morgan, their female Telepath, had no trouble subverting the minds of the Mayor, Chief of Police, key members of the City Council and most of the police force.
In one day they turned a proud American city into Hell.
They must have known what had to happen.
Their leader, Mordred, shared a couple of things in common with me. We were both males and we were both Energy Masters. The biggest difference between us was our ages. Mordred was 18 and all his companions were under 20 years old.
You remember the broadcast. Some call it the dark reflection of our first press conference.
I hate that.
Mordred, flanked by the smiling members of the city government, announced he was now running the City. New rules would be posted and no unauthorized Meta activities would be permitted. It went on for quite a while. He did not try to rationalize it or make it sound legal. the city was his because he had taken it with force and would keep it with force. Raw MetaHuman power.
The citizens of Philadelphia were hostages. That obscene list. Assigning the number of lives that would be taken if a whole host of 'infractions' occurred. I immediately issued orders that the speedsters and everyone else was to stay out of Philadelphia until we had a plan in operation.
Troll and Pandora rampaged though the city to terrify the populace. He had massive strength and she was Telekinetic. It worked. With all forces of authority at their command there was little anyone could do but to hunker down in their homes and wait. People died and fires burned for hours before city fireman were allowed to respond. Chaos ruled the streets.
Tens of thousands fled the city.
MetaHumans had been around long enough that plenty of people knew it was time to be somewhere else. Troll and Pandora responded by building barriers across the exit routes. Oddly they did not directly attack those poor fleeing people. Some were killed but as far as we can tell those were accidental. In 24 hours Mordred was firmly in control of the remaining 350,000 Philadelphia residents.
The U.S. Military went in supported by the government's superteam. A entire armored division, M1A1 Abrams Tanks, Apache helicopters and all the modern weapons of war stuck at the outer edge of the City. They essentially moved in and called the invaders out.
Mordred and his team was happy to comply.
Troll leaped into the leading formation of Tanks and flung them like toys. Pandora swatted Apaches out of the sky. One of the first things I realized about my new opponents was that Pandora was the most powerful Telekinetic we had seen. We coined the class name 'Black Lantern' because of her.
Mordred and Morgan killed the government superteam fairly quickly. I may feel those four they were somewhat misguided but I wish they had met a better end. But none of the government team had any defense against telepathy. Having their leader turn on them was only the first horrible thing that lead to their demise.
Is there any sight more chilling than that pair wandering through the attacking military forces? Mordred kept Morgan safe and they killed everyone they saw. She would turn troopers against their comrades. Madness was a byproduct of her wake. She was very creative. Men did things that had they lived to remember them would certainly have driven them insane.
Nearly 800 men and women died that morning.
The President of the United States called me. He asked for my help. That had to hurt.
I told him the price was our independence -- Sovereignty. Diplomatic Immunity for all of our combat teams and all the adjacent federal lands. That plan started so long ago finally was complete. He surprised me by saying my request was expected.
He agreed.
The government of the United States rolled over with a whimper. Were you really expecting it to end differently? They needed us it was only a matter of time until they understood that. I wish it had not taken what it did. That was a high price to pay.
Now I had to plan how and who.
It was 8 am, Friday.
I was only concerned about Mordred and Pandora. Thor could handle the Troll and would appreciate the mythic names involved. Speed could tag Morgan if Mordred was prevented from shielding her. I could keep a small team safe from Morgan's telepathy if it came to a fight.
Pandora was a major worry. Her strength was not going to be easy to beat.
Every MetaHuman at Olympus wanted in and told me so. Medusa demanded, demanded of me, the right to go in to take out Pandora. None of this bothered me and I sat for 56 minutes and listened to every single one of them make their pitch.
When the last was finished I stood up and began to walk to the exit.
“I will be taking only three. Thor, Geo & Speed.” was my final word on the matter.
What would have been a confusing roar of questions had only begun to build when I flooded the room with energy that neutralized all sound. The room went still and I left.
Nobody followed.
I considered trying to talk to Mordred to threaten him into giving the city up. Nobody, including Psyche, thought that was going to work. I did not have much confidence in the idea either.
So I got creative. I lied. Making contact was not difficult. They were working out of the Mayor's office and the phones were still working. I told Mordred that a delegation from Olympus was willing to meet with him. Although we did not approve of their methods we had no choice but to recognize their success. We would consider recognizing their claim to Philly if they would meet with us in person.
I think he believed it because that was what he wanted to hear.
Noon, Saturday.
A ring two to three blocks deep had been cleared around the City Government building. There was damage visible in various parts of the city but once we got close it looked like a war zone. A clearly frightened human clerk had told us over the phone to drive up to the front of the building and enter there.
We pulled up to the front steps and sent the car and driver away.
We knew the four of them had set up court in the central rotunda. Too confining. We stayed outside, walking casually to a group of trees nearby. Geo and Thor were with me and Speed was just outside of town. Bluestreak and Quicksilver would make sure Zippy did not appear to complicate things. They were also extra firepower if I needed them.
“Think they know we are here?” asked Geo.
“They do. Mordred and I can easily sense each other. They are all in there.” I replied.
“Oh, yeah, right, sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. I am glad you are here. I know you have not been in the field all that much but I know you can do this.”
“I know what I need to do. It is just not as easy as it is for you two.”
“It is not easy. It is just necessary.”
“Where is everybody?” asked Thor.
“Inside. All four of them.” I responded.
“No I mean the others, the hangers on, the sleaze of the city, shouldn't they be having themselves a good old time now?”
“Interesting thought. Too soon perhaps?”
Troll lumbered his way out of the large double doors at the top of the stairs.
“Hey morons we are in here!” he roared in our direction.
I looked at my companions and we turned to face the large Meta. Thor took his place on my right, Geo on the left.
It seemed to take quite a while for Troll to get the message. When the idea had seeped into his brain he stormed back into the building.
“Geo do not play with Pandora she is too powerful for that. Find a way and put her down.” I cautioned him.
“Yes sir.” he replied.
“You know my large blond friend in the myths Thor has a long history with Trolls.”
“I do and I hope to add a new chapter today.” grinned my always eager companion.
The double doors slammed open once again, this time at the urging of Pandora who flew out ahead of the rest of them. They came down the steps and walked towards us, stopping about 50 feet away.
“Are we playing games Pulsar?” shouted Mordred.
"batter up." I heard Thor mutter.
Mordred had shouted. He could not magnify his voice. I could and I did.
“No games. People have died. Far too many. I am here to offer you a way out.”
“Yeah right. All three of you?” he shouted back.
“Olympus offers you a way out... will you take it?”
“F--- you Pulsar!”
Mordred had not shielded Morgan yet. I sent the signal to Speed.
It was hard to watch, one second she was standing there, the next her neck snapped and she dropped like a stone.
“Cassy, No!” screamed Mordred. “KILL THEM!”
My companions took off to the left and right. Thor and Troll thundered towards each other like enraged elephants. He was a big bastard too. Geo running to draw Pandora to him. I waited.
Mordred was holding Morgan in his arms. I felt pity and suppressed it. Later not now.
I walked towards where he knelt on the ground. He was not wearing any sort of mask so I could see his face clearly. He was stunned.
“It does not have to end like this Mike.” I said in a normal voice.
“It does for you you murderer! My name is MORDRED!”
His first attack was violent but uninspired. He threw bolt after bolt of concussive force. I deflected most of it and then started to absorb. He showed surprise when I hit him with waves of microwave energy. His shield flared and flickered as it tried to cope with the overload of heat.
His technique was not very good. He would hit me with the same force over and over. The first shot would do some damage but after that I could easily deflect most of the energy away.
He was an Energy Master but he did not know enough about his powers. I was older, more experienced and had Paul's combat training. It was not a fair fight.
"Is that all you can do Mordred? Throw raw power at me?" I taunted.
I lifted both of my arms and neutralized gravity in a wide circle around us. With a kick of my feet I floated upward. Rocks and other bits of rubble began to float. Mordred bounced upward. I could see him trying to fight back with his power but he did not know enough to break my hold on him.
Since gravity was beyond his control it was easy to pin him to the ground. He triggered an explosive burst to try and drive me back. It was a massive amount of force and it did stagger me back a bit.
That was his last mistake. That attack drains our shields. In this case down to the point where I could break his. I did.
His look of shock as his shield vanished under my final bolt was lost on me but recorded for all time. His unshielded body was ripped apart.
I felt no joy. This was nothing to celebrate. It was a stupid tragic loss.
I would be remiss if I did not at least acknowledge the battle that Thor waged against Troll. It was worthy of an epic poem in the viking style. And I was once again impressed with the sheer grit my friend could show. At least twice it looked like Thor was going to go down. Both times he fought back liked an enraged bear.
It was the hammer that made the difference. Thor would have won in the end if events had not intervened. Even with people as strong as those two these battles do not look like they do in the comics. People do not fly long distances after being struck. The majority of destruction around them was caused by the cars, trucks, and other things they threw at each other. Occasional explosions filled the air with black smoke.
Why Geo? I am so tired of that question.
For the final time. I did not know what was going to happen once we got to Philly. We might have had to play out the friendly ruse, there could have been a hundred people staked out around our enemies. I did not know. If I had taken Apollo, or any other experienced combat Meta, the ruse might not have worked.
I took Geo because he was good and I knew he could handle her. He had become known as the 'Maker of Olympus' by then and so seemed an obvious choice if we really were going to make nice with the wackos.
Geo did his best. I was there and I say it was so. Pandora threw cars at him, she got a hold of him and threw him. His response to the cars was to turn them to gas. His landing point after being thrown became foam rubber the instant before he hit.
He did attack, several cars exploded just as Pandora grabbed them, one almost got her. Giant hands of earth and rock grabbed her only to be blown apart by her TK.
He did his best. It was not his fault.
It was mine. Pandora was Mordred's girlfriend and I did not know that. Not sure what I would have done differently but I should have known.
When I killed him she lost control of her power.
She screamed, a long, gut-wrenching howl.
I saw the lines of force that she commanded turn on her. Gravity began to fluctuate in waves.
“EVAC” I screamed as I launched myself straight up into the air.
Pandora imploded.
Moments later on a distant hill Thor, Geo and I stood with Speed, Quicksilver and Kid Flash to watch a city die.
For a moment Pandora became a black hole. An immense force drawing every bit of matter into itself. Everything for 10 miles rushed to try and fill the space that was once a person.
Then it was over. The dirt, stone, steel and bones of the grand city of Philadelphia and her residents became one with the MetaHuman known as Pandora. The two destroyed each other. Nothing remained.
I should have stayed. I should have tried to control it. I am sorry.
I would have failed but at least I would not have to live with the guilt. We did our best. It was not good enough.
It was a taste of things to come.
Mordred, Pandora, Morgan & Troll
MetaWar Chapter Sixteen MetaWar Chapter Fourteen