Ghost Woman, London, and Marcus sat in the loveseat and recliner of London’s living room. Blackout sat on the floor in front of Ghost Woman and Marcus, where he flipped through a coffee table book. London stood across the room from the others. His helmet was back upon his head, his voice returned to its usual raspy electronic buzz. Ghost Woman could feel the tension like a miasma around them.

“This is hard for me,” he said. Even through the mechanical distortion, Ghost Woman could hear the grief leak through in his voice. “It’s been years since I’ve talked to anyone about my condition.”

The mask slowly moved; Frost’s vision fell one by one on the others in the room. “As I said, my name is Anthony Brina. My parents were Italians in New Jersey, but unlike their neighbors, they refused to let La Casa Nostra use their meat locker for any illicit activities. I was eighteen, working for them, when a gang of made men decided to use them as a lesson for the community. My dad had me hide in the freezer when they came in. My parents got a bullet to the head each before they set the place on fire. Something in the fire mixed with the dry ice fumes around me affected the chemical nature of my body. I suddenly found myself with the ability to produce cold, to freeze the water in the air around me, and so forth. I donned an utterly garish costume and took to the streets as Doctor Frost.

“I fought the gangs for a few months, but I quickly found that the powers came with a price. My body was slowly freezing with continued exposure to air. I was becoming a living block of ice. In forty, I hooked up with a pair of scientists who wanted to study my powers. They created the containment suit I still wear. And it was them that brought me to the attention of the OSS.

“I worked for OSS throughout the war. The suit slowed down the damage to my body, but my heavy use of my powers overseas pushed it to its limits. When the war ended, I thought I could finally find time to get the suit perfected. But the scientists were gone, sequestered on to the Manhattan Project in the aftermath of the gene bomb debacle. With little in the way of other choices, I went back to work for the government.”

Doctor Frost turned away from the rest of the group. He peered out the window to the streets below. “My powers were killing me, but I didn’t see many other choices for me. I couldn’t do anything else. I was a genetic freak, and already the victims of the gene bomb were being ridiculed for their deformities. I didn’t want that.

“So I stayed with the government right up to forty-seven, when I was contacted by a little known member of our little community. His name was Captain Courageous. He didn’t have any other name as far as anyone knew. He was some kind of extraterrestrial entity that took human shape, stole its name from a radio show, and set out to destroy the Nazis with the rest of us. After the war, Courageous contacted me with tips a few times, but Brazil was the first time he brought me anything big.”

Frost turned back to the others. “The CIA wanted badly to find the remaining Nazi stronghold and shut it down. With the Captain’s info, we thought we had. Under orders from my superiors, I set out contacting as many metahuman agents as I could find. I found twenty including myself and Courageous. You all know the first sixteen. Courageous made seventeen. The final three, of which I can find no public record of what happened to them, were Mirror Man, Marvelo, and Green Lama.

“The whole thing was a mess from the get-go. Captain Courageous attacked Green Lama in the air before we ever reached the base. I’m not sure what he did, but it seemed like he tore the Lama in to pieces of pure energy. He scattered them over the rain forest as the Nazi war machine made its attack.

“It was a trap. The sky filled with steel as Nazi automatons filled the sky. Our plane was hit, and we had no choice but to dive in to the attack. Lady Fairplay and the Clown waited for us, and even Atoman couldn’t stand up to the power of Courageous. Clown snatched Marvelo and the two disappeared in to the jungle, surrounded by Nazi robots. The rest of us couldn’t help. We were being slaughtered. And in it all, Golden Girl turned on Mirror Man. She shattered the mirror he carried with him just as he activated his powers. The mirror exploded in to a million shards. They cut Mirror Man to shreds and embedded in the skin of everyone within radius. Only Courageous flew out in time. I watched him, even as the mirrors seemed to burn in to my skin. Everything went hazy, and the next thing I remember is Times Square with the rest of you.”

London nodded. “I remember flashes of it. I remember metas that I can’t name now. But I don’t understand why you remember all of this while the rest of us still have hazy recollections at best. It doesn’t make sense.”

Marcus scoffed. “That doesn’t make sense? All of this sounds like nonsense to me.”

Doctor Frost. “I don’t understand it either. And even though my memory alone seems to be intact, I still don’t have any answers. Which leads us to the reason we are here.”

“Caer Alder,” London said. “The ancestral home of Mirror Man and all his predecessors.”

“Indeed. Also the occasional home of Marvelo.”

Ghost Woman looked confused. “Marvelo too? Why would they be living together?”

London looked at Doctor Frost. “Well I always thought the bloke was a bit iffy…”

“Mirror Man and Marvelo were homosexuals,” Doctor Frost said.

Ghost Woman was confused. “What? I don’t understand.”

“He’s saying they were lovers,” Marcus said. “They were gay, Sally.”

Ghost Woman looked shocked before she had the wherewithal to hide it. Doctor Frost turned to London.

“Will you help us?”

“Doesn’t look as if I have much choice. Fine then. For now, Frost, you lead the way. But if I find for a single instance that you’re lying to us… well, let’s just say you wished you died with your parents.”

Everyone in the room fell silent. Frost only nodded. Ghost Woman could still feel the palpable tension in the air. She couldn’t help but feel this was all far from over.

*****

Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California
September 10, 2008, 2:03 a.m.

He wore his regular attire, a pair of black pants, dark shoes, and a black t-shirt. His closet was filled with seven sets of the outfit, perfectly cleaned and pressed. He wore nothing else. Ever. Unfortunately, his regular attire was far too conspicuous for his current locale.

He found the scrubs in the locker area, pressed and ready to wear. The thought of the hundreds of people who might have worn them in the past repulsed him. He could feel his stomach churn as he pulled them over his normal clothes. He pushed it aside. He had a mission from God and he could feel His call bringing him here.

He walked out of the locker room and to the elevator just a few steps down the hall. He pressed the button for the floor. He could feel the excitement, the giddiness, rise up in his soul. He kept his face stoic, impassive. He would not show any sign of emotion with his task at hand.

The elevator stopped. He stepped off in to pediatrics. The layout was fairly straight forward. Two paths divided off from the elevator. A large desk and nurse’s station took up the position across the hall, where the two halls met. The floor was silent. Two nurses, both in their late forties, manned the floor desk, otherwise the halls were empty.

He hit both women with a push. His touch penetrated easily. The nurses would remember him as a common staff doctor, utterly forgettable. He gave them a brief wave before continuing down the hall.

As he approached, the pulse of energy increased to a surge of pure force. He could feel it as a tangible presence. This one would be a feast. It was good. It had been far too long since he felt completely full.

He entered the room to see a twelve year old girl resting fitfully in her bed. She was white, her skin sallow, her hair gone. He checked her medical records. Leukemia. The disease did nothing to dampen her life force, the power that ran through it.

He walked around the bed and leaned down over her head. He reached in to his back pocket. He withdrew the switchblade, extended the blade. He held it up, ready to strike.

The girl’s eyes flashed open. The humidity in the level thickened instantly. Lightning flashed in her eyes. A blast of electricity shot from her forehead.

He threw up a hand just in time to deflect the blast. It ricocheted off and in to a curtain. The curtain smoldered and smoked, but did not light.

He dropped his hand over the girl’s mouth just before she could scream. “Stupid girl, you only prolong the inevitable. It is time for you to move on, to serve the greater good, to give your soul to your savior. You will be purged!”

With his free hand, he brought the knife across the girl’s throat. He could feel her pain, her want for life. He drank it in. He drank in her energy. All that made her what she was.

Another demon purged. More energy to fuel his quest.

Soon, he reminded himself. Soon the entire world would know of his quest. Soon they would understand his holy quest. Soon.

*****

Gaius Manor, Italy
September 14, 2008, 9:47 p.m.

The last few weeks had been the best in Ace Barlow’s short life. After years of traveling from one war-torn region to the next alongside Dart followed by months spent on the run from the United States government, any bit of peace came with much appreciation. Add in the presence of Lena and he was in heaven.

His Italian was already passable thanks to her tutelage. He took every chance to work with her on the language. Any chance to be with her, he took. She always returned his fouled up attempts at the language with the same radiant smile. And every time he saw that smile, all the embarrassment at his own idiocy faded away.

Dart came and went on the estate as needed. He worked on his own (far superior) control of the language with Lena, but for the most part he would check in with Vittorio and Vera about the daily activity of the estate and the vineyard. With that done, he would disappear on horseback for hours on end. Ace had barely seen the man since their arrival at the newly renamed Gaius Manor. He wondered at the cause of the sudden distance between himself and his mentor, but he knew he would get no answers from the stoic Dart.

Instead he focused on the positive, and that was Lena. She was probably the best friend he ever had in his entire life. He worried about ruining that friendship as he looked at her during their current lesson. She rattled off a phrase in Italian and he scrambled to listen. Even so, he didn’t have a clue what she said.

“I’m sorry… you lost me there.”

Lena smiled and again Ace felt his heart melt. He smiled back at her. That’s it. I have to do it. I have to let her know how I feel.

“Lena, there’s something I’ve been meaning to say to you for awhile now. I like you a lot. You and I have really connected since I first came here and…” He stuttered as he searched for the words. Idiot! You’re going to blow it! “I mean, we have done so much together, and I can’t help but feel like you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s sweet, Ace. You’re a good friend to me as well.”

He nodded. “It’s just…” Say it! Spit the damn words out before you choke again! “I think I’m in love with you, Lena. I love our friendship, but…but, I need more than just that. I want to be with you, Lena. I love you.”

Lena’s smile faded. No, damn it! I’m a damn fool. Why am I so stupid?

She reached out and touched the back of his hand. “Th-that’s really sweet, Ace. But I can’t.” She dropped her eyes, refusing to look at him. “I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

What is it? What did I do wrong?

“Please just listen to me, Lena. I know we could be so great together. I mean, I know we come from different places, different times, different worlds, but I also know that we have so much in common. I feel like I’ve been searching for you all my life. I know you feel it too. You have to.”

Lena’s eyes strayed from the table to the floor. “I…” Ace could hear the anguish in her voice, but still she wouldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry, Ace. I need to go now. We will continue your lesson later.”

She rose from her seat and started towards the door. “Wait, Lena! Please wait!”

She turned and looked up at him. Tears ran down her eyes. She turned and ran from the room.

Ace ran out in to the hall after her. He stopped short when he saw Vera dusting the fixtures. She gave him a frown and a shake of her head. Ace slumped down against the wall. He slowly slid down to the floor.

I’m such an idiot. Such a god damned idiot! He dropped his head in to his hands and sobbed until sleep overtook him.

*****

DDA Agency offices, New York City
September 15, 2008, 1:47 p.m.

As he looked across the obviously expensive art on the walls of the DDA Agency, Mike O’Malley couldn’t quite believe his own senses. A few months ago, he was a complete nobody, as big a failure in being a metahero as he was in any of his previous careers. But his capture of the Clown back in Newton brought mass media coverage. The news stories lead to numerous phone calls from various groups interested in using him for everything from acting to disaster clean up. If it wasn’t for the sudden arrival of Lucy Adams, he honestly thought they would have driven him insane.

Lucy offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse in Newton. She would manage his career, his bookings, and all this modern public relations nonsense, which would free him up to do what he supposedly did best: fight crime. For a very modest cut of all his profits, she put the full force of her agency and her staff to work for him.

It had worked wonders already. Already, he had starred in fourteen commercials, made appearances on three different television programs, and had his first movie role lined up. Everything was looking up for the first time in his life and he had Lucy to thank for that.

He glanced away from the paintings and across the meeting room towards the lone door. The meeting room was filled with an L-shaped conference table and several office chairs. He wondered what could be keeping Lucy. She said she had important news for him today. It seemed odd that she would say that and keep him waiting.

After about ten more minutes, the door opened to the immediate chatter of the office staff outside. Lucy entered, followed by her personal assistant Devin and another man Mike didn’t recognize. He was a Caucasian in his late fifties, bald on top, with a finely tailed suit over his robust frame.

He walked straight towards Mike and offered his hand. Mike shook it, even though he was thoroughly confused.

Lucy smiled at his frustration. “I don’t think he recognizes you, Dan. Mike, this is the famous, or infamous, depending on what news agency you ask, Daniel Danville. Dan is the chief shareowner of the megacorporation DCI and the money man behind DDA. He also happens to be the son of one of your fellow Legends.”

“Really?”

Dan waved his arm to dismiss Mike’s excitement. “I really don’t like to talk about it, but yes my father is the Black Owl. I have yet to speak with him since his return. He and my mother left almost immediately for Paris after they were reunited. He’s actually due to return next week, and I am sure I will get to know him better than. He left my mother three months pregnant, and I for one am interested to meet the father I never knew.”

“It sounds like you hold no grudges against your father,” Mike said. “My adjustment has been hard enough. I can’t imagine the difficulty that comes from leaving behind one’s family.”

“Indeed, indeed.” Dan’s stoic expression rose in to a grin. “But enough with all this moping. We have exciting news to share!”

Mike looked at Dan and Lucy. “Well, what is it?”

“Terrestrial Studios wants to sign you to a three picture deal,” Lucy said. “Now they aren’t the biggest studio in Hollywood but they are fast on the rise. With the talent they have behind them, in a couple years they can be as big as Warner or Universal.”

“That’s… that’s great!” Mike could tell his attempt at excitement had fallen somewhat short. He didn’t lack for happiness. It was a really great deal. I’m going to be a movie star, for goodness sakes! Isn’t that every boy’s dream? But is it what I want? Mike wasn’t sure.

Lucy walked over to Mike and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Everything all right, Mike?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. And it seriously is great news. Everything is just moving a little fast, I guess.”

Lucy nodded. “In this business, it’s always moving fast. It’s the way the world is in 2008. The entire world is moving a million miles a minute.”

“Of course. You’re right. When are we signing the papers?”

“We will be flying out to LA in two weeks. We will meet with the studio president and his staff. After the usual rigmarole we will sign the paper works and you will be on your way to Hollywood superstar status.”

Dan cleared his throat which drew Mike and Lucy’s attention back to him. “We have only one little catch before we can do all that. The owner of the studio wants to meet with you first. Just a simple dinner party at her house up in Boston.”

“Isn’t that a little odd? Why would some other financier want to meet with me?”

Mike watched Lucy turn to Dan. Dan shrugged. Lucy turned back to Mike before speaking. “She also happens to be a co-owner of this agency. She’s the other D in DDA.”

“All right,” Mike said. This seemed a little strange to him, but so much of the media circus that was his life confused him. Why should this be any different? “Let’s meet her and get this deal done with.”

Dan gave Mike a hard pat on the back. “Good man! Good man! You will not regret this decision. Her dinner parties are the talk of every player in Hollywood and Wall Street!” He gave Mike an almost inhumanly large grin.

“Trust me when I say you have never met anyone like Dominique.”