LATE JAN 2002 - #28

Part III: Massacre! by Paul Hahn with excerpts from the original Mutant Massacre by Louise Simonson

"Hey, did you hear that, Zeek?" one Morlock with an eye patch and tall, spiky hair asked. He sat in a large room with many Morlocks, cooking dinner over a small fire.

"It was only your cookin' fire poppin'," Zeek replied. "Hey, Erg, put a couple of dogs on the stick for me an' the Dreamer."

"Yeah, sure," Erg replied. "Funny . . . for a second I thought I heard gunfire."

"In the Alley?" Zeek asked. "You got some imagination, Erg . . . makes me believe you really was a painter, back when you was a surface dweller!"

The huge, central shaft, called the Alley, is a mile deep and runs the length of Manhattan. Here, the Morlocks, mutant outcasts, have created their own society, sheltered from the fear and envy of the surface dwellers . . .

"Erg, Zeek?" another Morlock said. "I think maybe I hear it now . . . "

"Yeah, I hear it now, too!" said another. "Poppin' . . . an' . . . an' it sounds like a scream!"

"It's comin' closer," Zeek said. "It -- oh my lord!"

Sharp spikes of metal burst forth, tearing apart Zeek. A blast of energy tore apart the room. Streaks of fire and ice added to the scene.

"Why -- Why are you doing this?" Erg screamed in pain as fire tore through his body.

"We're Marauders," a large man made of metal said. "'Names Mercury, an' I got a philosophy! The only good mutant is a dead mutant! Except us, of course. Come on, Crux, Chaos . . . finish these bozo's off!"

Young Justice was springing into action. Wonder Girl carried Arrowette, Firebird carried Nightwing, Jade carried Jolt, Impulse sped on the ground beneath them, and Superboy carried a young woman with black hair and brown eyes.

"Let me get this straight," Nightwing asked. "First off, you've got telepathy?"

"Seems like it," Firebird said. "It's really limited, and only pops in now and then . . . but yes."

"Okay . . . then you say that this girl who just popped up on our doorstep is not only mute, but . . . ?"

"She's not mute, exactly," Firebird said. "Her mind just doesn't seem capable of grasping language. She's tried, but only knows very little. But from what I can see in her mind, she came to get our help . . . she saw that the Morlocks were in danger, and believes we can help them."

"Is she a Morlock?"

"I don't think so," Linda frowned. "All I can really get is that she wants to help."

"Well, we might be entering a highly dangerous scene soon," Nightwing said, "so we'll soon see whether or not she'll come with."

Soon, the team approached one of the main entrance sewer ducts to the tunnels and landed. They poured in. The smell instantly assaulted them. It wasn't the usual scent of sewage, but one far stronger . . . one of death.

"My God," Arrowette gaped, noticing the bodies lining the floor.

"That guy wasn't kidding with his plead for help," Superboy frowned. "Something horrible's going on here. It's gonna stop now . . . "

"Some new players enter the scene, eh?" a woman's voice said. She emerged, showing dark blue skin and red hair, as well as white angel wings. She wore a white cloth outfit and carried a sword. "I am Rapture, of the Marauders. You, too, shall be cleansed."

"You're responsible for this?" Wonder Girl asked. "How . . . how could you?"

"Simple," she answered. "It's my job."

"Way t'tell 'em, babe!" another voice called. A large man with wild blond hair leapt out, smashing both feet into Superboy and Impulse. "Name's Landslide . . . pleasure to feet your acquaintance! Haw!"

A blast of solid light smashed into Wonder Girl, slamming her back into a wall.

"Don't forget me," a woman with blond hair said. "Name's Malice . . . though the girl's body calls itself Dazzler. We're both pleased to have the chance to kill you."

Arrowette pulled a pair of arrows and fired them, which Rapture's sword easily blocked. Her wings flung her to Cissie, and a kick knocked her back.

One of Nightwing's batarangs was easily shot down by Malice's light blast. "Prepare to die, kiddies . . . "

The mysterious, unnamed girl leapt into action. She plunged a pair of fingers into Dazzler's abdomen, causing the girl to scream in pain. A swift kick to the back of Landslide's head caused him to jerk forward in pain. She easily dodged a slash from Raptures sword and planted a kick of her own.

"Holy crap," Nightwing said, watching it happen.

"To be continued," Malice said. She unleashed a bright blast of light that temporarily blinded YJ. When the light died down, the three Marauders were gone.

"She's quite a little fighter," Linda said. "Quite a rebel."

"Rebel," Superboy said. "That's what we'll call her."

The girl looked at Superboy and shrugged.

"Okay," Nightwing said. "We don't know the situation . . . but these . . . Marauders are in these tunnels, slaughtering innocents. We can't let that happen."

"Some of these people are still alive," Jennifer said.

"Okay," Chuck continued. "Here's the plan. Impulse . . . you're gonna start running these people back to the mansion, to our med-lab. I don't want to bring in others, but we may be in over our head . . . call the Tornado, get medical help. Bring as many people back as you can, as fast as you can."

"Will do!" Bart exclaimed. He went to a pair that Jenn pointed to that were breathing. He picked them up and sped away towards home.

"Okay, now--"

"Uh, Chuck?" Cissie asked.

"Hmm?"

"Before you continue, I should point something out . . . "

"What is it?"

"Umm . . . I can't see."

"What?" Cassie asked.

"When Malice attacked us with that flash of light . . . it must have affected me a whole lot more since my power is my eyesight . . . and, well . . . all I see is white."

"Well, if you're seeing white, that means it's probably not permanent," Nightwing said. "Blind people see black. But nonetheless, you're not fit for combat. Wait here . . . next time Bart comes back, head back to base. See what you can do."

"All right . . . "

"Hang tight, Cissie," Superboy said.

"Be careful, guys," she replied, placing her bow to the ground and steadying herself with it.

"Okay," Nightwing said. "Let's break into teams. Superboy, take Firebird and . . . Rebel. Search for survivors, bring 'em back here. Wonder Girl, Jolt, Jade . . . we're gonna find these Marauders an' stop 'em."

"You sure it's safe, splittin' up?" Superboy asked.

"Right now, it's these people's only real chance," Nightwing frowned. "Let's go."

"Keep alert," Kon said to Linda. "Last thing we want is to walk into a trap."

Rebel had taken the point, leading the way.

"I've got a theory," Linda said.

"Regarding . . . ?"

"Her. Rebel."

"Okay."

"She doesn't seem able to grasp language," Linda explained. "But did you see the way she fought? It's almost like she new what those Marauders were going to do."

"Telepathy?"

"No . . . it's almost like, where she can't understand spoken language . . . she reads body language."

"Body language?" Superboy asked. "Really?"

"I think so," Linda said. "It would explain how she moved so fluidly, responding to attacks almost before they were made."

Rebel paused in her tracks.

"What is it?" Superboy asked. "Wait, she can't understand us, can she? Is this gonna be like Timmy's mom talking to Lassie?"

"Shh . . . " Linda frowned.

"Welcome, heroes," a voice called. A young woman with greenish skin and purple hair stepped forward. "My name's Fatale. I'm a Marauder. And you three just made the biggest mistakes of your far too short lives . . . "

"Wrong," Linda said. "You're killing these people in cold blood. We're here to stop you."

"It'll take far more than you to stop me," she said. She disappeared, teleporting away, and a second later was behind Superboy. She discharged a powerful energy blast into his back. Kon-El yelled in pain and fell forward. Fatale teleported away again.

Good Lord . . . Superboy thought to himself. I know my powers are on the weaker side . . . but I've never felt so much . . . pain before! I've got to be more careful . . . got to stand, too. Don't want Linda to know about my condition.

Superboy stood despite the strain. He instantly flicked on his photonic 'S' shield, determined to stay and fight. "Maybe if you decided to stay and fight, instead of being a coward . . . "

"Maybe I just like letting you stand up before I cut you down again," Fatale's voice echoed through the tunnels.

"You bi--" Linda started. Fatale's teleport signature appeared, but even as she emerged, Rebel grabbed hold of her leg and threw her into the far wall of the tunnel.

"Wow," Fatale responded. "You've got some quick reflexes. But that won't save you."

Fatale's arms bulked in mass and lunged forward, smashing Rebel into the opposite wall. She was a shapeshifter as well.

Linda kept Fatale pinned against the wall with a hard push of telekinesis.

"A teep, eh?" Fatale asked. "Boy are you in for a surprise . . . "

"She is indeed," another voice said. A man in a green suit and red hair stood behind them. "My name is the Grey King. I am the leader of this band of Marauders. And you will find that I hold give no mercy . . . "

"I found out that one of these tunnels leads almost directly to the mansion's sub-basement!" Impulse exclaimed. "I had to vibrate and turn intangible to get through some layers of earth, but then we're there! It cuts down my travel time. Neat, huh?"

"Sure, Bart," Cissie said, still seeing white. "You call Red Tornado yet?"

"Yup!" Bart exclaimed again. "Believe it or not, I can remember to follow orders! He should be there by now, hopefully treating the wounded."

"Good job, Bart," Cissie said. Soon, the two were in the sub-basement which Bart had designated the med-lab.

"Arrowette, Impulse," the Red Tornado stood before them.

"Thanks for coming, Red," Cissie said. "We've got a major situation here . . . these people need medical help . . . Bart's bringing them in."

"These are the Morlocks?" Red asked.

"Yeah . . . they're being massacred," Cissie said as Bart gently let her to the floor. "YJ's in the tunnels right now, trying to help."

"I'm gonna go back and get some more people," Impulse said before speeding off.

"What happened to you?" Red asked.

"I'm blind," she sighed. "Chuck thinks it's temporary. Chuck . . . I dislike that name. Anyways . . . can you help these people?"

"I'll do what I can," Red frowned. "It would be much better for me to call the Avengers League."

"No," she frowned.

"No?"

"We spent so much time trying to prove ourselves . . . this is our chance . . . our fresh start. We need to prove that we can be on our own . . . even though we may be in over our head."

"Even the Avengers League needs help sometimes."

"All Nightwing asked for was you," Cissie said. "So for now, you'll have to do. I'll help with the wounded any way I can . . . but for now, the team's on it's own."

"Hey!" a voice called.

"Huh?" Bart stopped.

"You a . . . a hero?"

"Yeah! I'm Impulse of Young Justice. Who're you?"

The man crawled forward. He had blue skin, wore red glasses, and had a small streak of white hair on an otherwise bald head. He held a young girl with pink skin in his arms, and was attended by two metal slugs of some sort. "My name's . . . Maggott."

"You're a Morlock?"

"No," he shook his head. "God help me . . . I'm the man responsible for this massacre!"