Violet eyes set in a petite porcelain face glared down at two of her minions.  She'd allowed them to survive to answer her questions, the other three had been terminated with an instantaneous thought.  That was all it took.  One snarl of disdain from her perfect nose and the mental flip of a switch, and any one of her underlings would short circuit and fall dead at her feet.  Those were the lucky ones. 

The unlucky ones returned.  Scrambled remnants of a toy graveyard, life fluids fed to them through wires and tubes, sparked to life without mercy for Lady Cybra to control.  Only their brains were intact, feeding them memories of their past lives and allowing them some capacity to pray for death.

"How."  She commanded.  Her lips were pursed in a grimace of irritation, but the tone of her voice was as smooth as silk.  It emanated from within her and slid from her tongues, one in her mouth where it should have been, and the other tucked unseen behind her chin.  The quality of it resonated richly and was unreal, almost hypnotizing.

Clickety, rickety, tickety-tackety,  Slender spidery legs scurried closer to her as she waited for an answer. Clickety, rickety, tickety-tackety. There were four of them, then six and finally eight of them, slithering together with wires and connectors as they met up.  In a few seconds an unholy writhing mass of metal and wires were bowing before their master, shivering in anticipation as her long tendrils of living bioware extended and connected with their throbbing mass, until quickly they were one.

"Hyperion.  Hyperion."  Two voices spoke in unison, a near robotic resonance as they answered their master.  Helpless to refuse her.  Even if they had wanted to, she could pull anything from their shared hive like mind.  "The binding spell.  Bond spell.  MaCabre.  MaCabre.  Gone now.  Gone now.  Hyperion.  Doctor.  Failed."

An unearthy high pitched whistle escaped from Lady Cybra's second tongue at the news. Knowing her next unasked questions, the medley of horrific dolls continued. "He lives. Hyperion lives. Chimera ran. The collar broke.  Chimera.  Chimera. Is loose. Is free."

"We must get Chimera back. He is our last line of protection against Shift."  Her silken voice was calm, despite the raging of emotions across her alabaster face, as she pranced across the floor on her spidery base.  "I'll find a way to get our pet back. You finish our plans to retrieve Mister Macabre.  ...now if only Doctor Hyperion doesn't do anything stupid."

* * * * *

Ophilia was chatting with Sebastian and gathering her things to leave the Cathedral when an alert on her phone sounded.  Her voice trailed off and a peculiar look came onto her face as she dropped everything and hurried to her computer.

"What, did one of those 'secret' sales at Bloomingdales pop up?" he teased as he watched her frantically rush to her computer.

"That alert, I set it up ages ago.  There's something going on with the Cabal.  They have a massive underground technology network.  When they have auctions or ...anything, they ...they..."  Ophilia paused as she continued typing, the creases on her brow making it evident that she was concentrating.

"Cabal? That drug thing from a while back?"

"No. No."  Phi said distractedly as she shook her head.  "They don't do drugs to my knowledge, that was Shift.  ...but black market super powers, for sure.  Just not drugs."

"Auctions? Who are these people that they can coordinate and run auctions?! "

"Resource rich and motivated."  She shrugged as she typed madly on her keyboard.

"How the hell did YOU get on the auction mailing list?"

"I didn't exactly."  Phi said with a small smile.  "I created an alternate identity, rich with a history of mischief and mayhem.  She's on the list, with the help of my mad computer skillz.  Unfortunately, I don't have the password any more...just the alerts."

* * * * *

Monitor duty had lost it's allure within the first few weeks for most of the heroes.  The buttons and toys were cool, but very few had the staying power to just sit there and wait. Over time, a ping pong table and pool table had found a home in the enormous room.  Then Soldier Boy requisitioned an enormous refrigerator unit, stocked with all manner of soda and beer, sometimes more of the latter than former. The latest additions were a dart board and one of the 73" lcd screens had been commandeered for a Wii console.

* * * * * 

In the lower living area of the Cathedral, it was dinner time.  And tonight was Soldier Boy's turn to pick up the take out, which usually meant stopping for antacid or some other old fart remedy, and some of the troops were getting restless.  Avatar was loitering in the main common room, unfortunately this was one of his required nights on base.  They were each required to spend at least three nights a week at the Cathedral, and on those nights his secret identity was a pain in the ass, because that mask got really hot.

It was fifteen minutes past dinner time when Stone finally meandered out of the garage.  He knew that he'd starve before Soldier Boy would hand deliver his food, and there was a good chance that Nemesis would be crashing at the base tonight.  With everything that was going on lately, his friend's schedule had been spotty.  His best guess was that he had a new girl friend or some unfinished business in the city that he didn't want any help with.

He found Avatar lounging at the table, his suit jacket hung on the table behind him, sleeves rolled up to show the costume beneath. The table was set except for the cutlery, which was mounded before the psychic.

"Hey," Avatar said by way of greeting. He held up a spoon and ran his hand over it several times til it wilted.

"Can you believe Uri Geller still dines out on that one," he asked with a smile.

"Gellar..." Stone grunted as he plopped down on a chair.  He ripped a can from the six-pack he set on the table next to him and tossed it to Edison.  Avatar caught it neatly.

"Vampire hunter chick, right?" he asked as he cracked open one for himself.

"Different TV star," Avatar replied. "No tits. Nice ass though." He set the can on the table before him and sighed. 

"No tits, nice ass?" Soldier Boy said as he walked in carrying a couple of grease soaked paper bags. "I'd have to pass on that one. I enjoy a nice pair of funbags slapping me in the face."

America's hero placed the bags on the table. "I found a nice little dive that advertises burritos as big as your head." From his pocket he produced a brand of hot sauce named See You In Hell! "This stuff will make a man out of you."

"Good call on the hot sauce," Avatar said, reaching for the bottle. "Can't get decent Mexican food in Jersey." He opened the hot sauce, dribbled a few drops on his index finger, and licked it. Then, with what he thought was remarkable calm, he opened the beer can and guzzled half its contents.

Soldier Boy chuckled. "Pussy."

Stone took another beer from his pack and slid it across the table to the team trainer.  "Chilongo's," he offered, "in the Highlands, maybe fifteen minutes away from the Windmill.  Good Mexican there - well, good for New Jersey."

"Gotta be better than this bottle of Satan's Diarrhea," Avatar wheezed, sliding the hot sauce at Soldier Boy.

"Could you at least taste the damned food before you start dumpin' on it? Jesus Christ, I swear we do this every god damned time. Next time you're lucky if I bring you fucking McDonalds."

"Hey," Stone cautioned around a large bite of burrito.

"Smells good, actually," Avatar said. He pulled a burrito out of the bag and attacked the tin foil. "So when you gonnna cook for us?" he asked Soldier Boy with an innocent smile.

"This is close as I get to cooking," Soldier Boy said. "I can fry an egg. That's about it."

"And after I made you my famous chili," Avatar chided around a mouthful of carnitas.

"Right, the chili." Soldier Boy laughed. "Almost forgot about that. We turned the air blue after that, didn't we?" He slapped his leg and laughed some more.

"The mind boggles," Danny remarked dryly as he entered the kitchen area and peeked into the bag. "Who ordered the cat?" 

"You brought us pussy?" Avatar exclaimed.

"Three. Times." Danny said as he closed the bag with disgust and began pulling things from the fridge. "You people will eat anythin. Didn't yer mums teach ya a thing?" Once he had a respectable pile of vegetables and a few select cuts of meat assembled, he pulled down a couple pans and set to work.

"Chicken or pork?", he asked the room in general as the smell of garlic in olive oil permeated the kitchen

"No chicken. No pork. Burritos!" Soldier Boy barked as he grabbed a burrito, pulled back the foil and dug in with a greedy bite. "Jesus, this tastes like ass." He took another bite.

"It's not so bad," said the man with the invulnerable stomach to nobody in particular.  Stone pulled another beer from his rapidly depleting six and whistled once, short and sharp, as he tossed it across the room to Danny. Danny's hand shot up, snagged the bottle from the air, and thunked it down onto the edge of the stove. "Cheers," he said by way of thanks, adding a small amount of chicken to the vegetables he was sauteing.

"Tastes like what?"  Ophilia asked Soldier Boy as she came into the room, her laptop tucked under her arm.

"Ass," Danny repeated, "and I suspect he's right." He glanced up at Ophilia, winked, then returned to his cooking. "I'll have some real food up in just a bit." 

"Such a poet."  Phi said lightly, her face a pucker of disgust, as she pulled out an empty chair at the table.

Soldier Boy sat the greasy bag of burritos within reach of Phi. "There's plenty if you want one."

"No thanks, it smells as bad as it tastes."  She shook her head.  "Now, I think we have a problem."  She said as she pushed the remnants of Stone's six pack back and set her computer up.  Her gaze swept the room, noticing that Nemesis wasn't there, which left her in the uncomfortable position of tempering Soldier Boy's leadership style.

Danny paused in his cooking and looked at his cousin with interest. "What kind of a problem?"

"There's a bounty out.  It was just issued about a half hour ago.  Lady Cybra from the Cabal, is offering a quarter of a million dollar reward for something.  I can't unscramble all of the details, ...yet.  It's on a secure network.  ...but, when the crazies catch wind of this, I'm afraid that Hudson City might be the casualty of a massive man hunt or treasure hunt."

"How do we stop a bounty hunt?" asked Avatar.

"Easy," Soldier Boy said. "We grab the target first. Of course it would help to know what the target was. If Cybra is being coy with the info then this could be an invitation only thing. Could mean some undercover work."

"I hacked into their system about a year ago, but she's tightened things up.  I'll know more in an hour or so if I keep working on this.  ...but the people with access to her network already have all the details.  Which means that interested parties will be tearing the city apart tonight looking for whatever this thing is."

"So..." Avatar said. "We go out, loaded for bear and looking for trouble?"

Phi shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  ...but it stands to reason that we'd do more good out there tonight then staying in here.  Right now JACE and Heatwave are on patrol."

"Bounty for what?" Danny asked, plating a chicken breast alongside some grilled vegetables and sliding the plate towards his cousin. "And what's a Lady Cybra?"

"She's trouble." Nemesis strode into the room and dropped a folder onto the table. He sniffed and glanced toward Danny, then toward Soldier Boy and Stone. "Why does it smell like well-spiced ass?" The team leader shook his head. "Nevermind. Lady Cybra."

He tapped the folder on the table. "One of three main players in the Cabal, along with Macabre and Doctor Hyperion. Macabre, as we know, dealt mainly with magic to enhance and reproduce extraordinary abilities. Doctor Hyperion is doing the same thing with gene splicing and gene-tech. He's still arguably the most dangerous because he's so damn smart, but Lady Cybra is a close second if only because she's half way to crazy. She's half human, half machine. Brilliant kid gone awry after government meddling and a lab accident, blah blah blah. Got a dose of her own cybernetics and is now convinced everyone can benefit from a little rewiring." His nose wrinkled and he nodded toward the burritos. "Those really stink." Again the short shake of her head. "Cybra's fast, deadly and she has little mechanical bugs that get inside your head. Once that happens she tells you what to do. So, y'know, let's try not to let that happen."

He smiled at Ophilia. "We were talking about the buzz on the street regarding Cybra's bounty hunt, right?"

Phi's eyes narrowed.  "Yeah. We know about the hunt, what we don't know is what the bounty is for.  I'll need some more time to find out the details unless we can get an eye witness report."

"Oh," Danny said simply, sliding a plate containing a sizzling portion of pork loin and fresh grilled vegetables towards Nemesis. "Machine-people," he said, shaking his head in wonderment as he bent back to the task of cooking. "It's a crazy old world, innit?" Ophilia looked at him with a pout, wondering why Nemesis got served first. Nemesis made a cooing noise and took the plate with a huge smile on his face.

"Crazy world," Avatar agreed. "It even has dog people." He winked at Danny and popped the remains of his burrito into his mouth. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me," Stone mumbled as he reached across the table for the grease-stained bag of ass.  He pulled out a second burrito and tossed the bag back towards the center of the table before sliding one of his last two beers across to Nemesis and resuming his meal.

"I wonder if she'll be making an appearance tonight, or if it'll just be all the crazies answering her call."  Ophilia asked to no one in particular.  "I really don't like the sound of those bugs...how do they transmit?  Do they literally go inside someone's head?"

Nemesis reached up and pulled back his mask between bites, revealing the usually-tired face of Luke Merriweather. He ran his fingers through sweat-matted hair and frowned at the bag on the table but took the proffered beer with a grateful nod.

"I don't know how they work, exactly," he said to Ophilia. He popped the top on his beer with practiced ease. "They're like mini-neurotransmitters or something. They get in--and yeah, I think they really do go inside your head-- and they plug into your brain. Suddenly you're doing whatever Cybra wants." He spread his hands. "Cyber tech stuff ain't my field. That'd be JACE or someone else." He took a pull from his beer and speared another piece of pork with his fork.

"Couple of questions we need answered," he continued around mouthfuls. "Obviously we need to know who or what she's after. I also want to know if Doc Hyperion is involved. They work together, but that doesn't mean they're friends. Let's also make sure we warn the authorities to keep a close eye on Macabre. If Cybra's doing something that makes this much noise in the streets then it's possible or even likely that Hyperion or even Macabre's people might try something. On purpose or not, this is going to be one hell of a distraction for the bad guys to take advantage of. Cybra's usually pretty quiet; for us to get wind of this, and for something like this to stir up as much talk as it has on the streets--this isn't normal for her. We need to be on our toes, ready to jump any which way. Did you use rosemary?" The last was asked of Danny with a wave of his fork. "This is really good." He looked at Ophilia. "This is really good," he said again, offering the plate. "You want a bite?"

"Mmmhmm."  She replied quickly and with little thought used his fork to spear a bite of pork tenderloin.

"Yup," Danny replied. "Bit a garlic, dash of wine to deglaze and a bit of butter ta finish. Just like me mam never made."

"Why don't we just find Lady Cybra and curb stomp her?" Stone asked quietly between bites of burrito, his shades reflecting the interior lighting, making them into dual mirrors.  "No auction, problem solved."

"That's a great idea."  Phi said lightly, with a playful spark in her eyes.  "Why don't you hand me the villain phone book so we can locate her secret lair."

Stone nodded at the joke to show he got it, but said, "At least we'd know what we're looking for, and taking her out means no more auctions in the future to interrupt our dinner."  Another plate slid towards Stone - chicken this time, followed by a second containing the same to Soldier Boy. "Pig or Squab?" Danny asked Avatar.

"Hello, I just ate a burrito the size of my foot," Avatar said. He patted his stomach for emphasis, then added hopefully, "Is there pudding?"

"Not something ya can just through together, a good pudding," Danny replied. "I'll have some done up for the weekend though." 

Stone looked at the plate like it was a bear trap and carefully, with two fingertips, slid it further down the table towards Avatar before resuming his attack upon the burrito in his other hand.

"Agreed."  Phi said, as she took another bite from Luke's plate. 

Danny jerked a thumb at the plate that sat before his perpetually distracted cousin. "It's gettin cold, Phi," he said somberly. "But if ya don't want it, ya can have whatever cat sick Captain America here brought in his bag a goodies."

"Oh..."  Phi said as she blinked in surprise.  "Sorry, I was distracted."  She admitted as she relinquished Nem's fork.  Giving him a  playful glare at the smirk on his face.

"Hey," Stone warned again, this time directed at Danny, who got the "dude" look.

"Probably. Hay and grain and who knows what else," Danny replied solemnly. "Check for bits a hoof."

"Concerning your points." Phi said as she picked up her own fork.  "I can notify the authorities about Macabre, I have the warden's phone number.  JACE and Heatwave are on patrol, and Phase and Orion are in the monitor room.  I checked in there a few moments ago, and other than increased traffic incidents, nothing is in the red.  ...yet."

"Maybe we're over thinking this," Soldier Boy said through a mouth full of food, 'We know what kind of sons of bitches in this town are likely to jump at this thing. They no doubt know something. Why don't we just go ask them real polite." He smiled evilly and made a fist.

"All of us?"  Phi asked with a twinkle in her eye. 

"Yo," Stone said quietly across the table to get Nemesis's attention.  He'd finished his second burrito and had slipped into hat businesslike stoicism he did so well.  "What's the move?"

Nemesis glanced up from where he was scraping up the last of his meal with a fork. "Yeah." He nodded, set the fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin before resting his elbows on the table.

"I'm thinking we have to hit this from several angles at once," he began, looking around to ensure everyone was paying attention. "Orion and Phase are on monitor duty..." he trailed off, considering, then nodded.

Just then, Ophilia's phone rang.  The personalized ring tone told her immediately that it was Mason, and she quickly clicked the busy button.

"Okay, like this. Orion and Phase need to start checking known perps who might bite at the offer. Local, state, regional, international...any hits, tips, flagged drivers licenses, visas or passports--whatever. Any and all hitters who are known to us and might move in to take their shot, powers or not. Phi, you'll probably want to jump on that, too. Let the proper authorities know we're taking point but make sure that we keep them in the loop. I don't want any bad feelings but this is what we're about; make sure they're ready but keep them out of our way, too. Bastian can help you out as needed. If nothing else we have a reserve team to deploy as needed. More importantly, though, you guys will need to triage any tips or leads we get, see which ones you send to us and which ones you kick to the local LEOs."

Nemesis turned toward Avatar. "You should hit the streets. Try and get us a lead on what this is really about. Any tip at all, call it in. Take Danny with you, too." He jerked his chin toward the kitchen. "You two can keep a pretty low profile, and you can show him around a bit as you go."

Danny raised an eyebrow at Nemesis' direction, flicked a cutting glance at Avatar, then shrugged. "Ok."  Avatar winked at him again in return.

"Now, the rest of us..." Nemesis looked over to Jag with a smile on his face. "You and me, Soldier Boy, we're going for a ride. We're going to be all public and noticeable and in their face so that people know we're out and about. Stone, I know it's not your preference but I want you in the sky shadowing Jag and I. We're the first response team and I want to make sure there are no surprises. And an extra pair of eyes up high won't hurt."

He paused again thoughtfully. "Okay, there's a couple of details to work out, but that's my plan." Luke looked around the room with a grave expression. "I think we're going to be in for a fight, guys. If not with Cybra and the Cabal then with the bounty hunters they're bringing in. We--all of us--need to stay sharp and frosty. Might be some false starts and some bad tips, but at some point we're going to be deep in it, probably without warning, and I want everyone a hundred percent in the game. This is what we were made for, and we're going to do it right. Cool?"

Phi nodded in agreement as a foreign sound emerged from Soldier Boy, one that implied a pitched battle between the head sized burritos and his stomach, but he took it in stride. "Totally cool, boss."

Sebastian walked through the door snapping his cell phone shut. His nose wrinkled at the dueling smells as he surveyed the people in the room.  "What did I miss? Aside from whatever died in here."

"I told them about the bounty hunt, and we were deciding the next course of action."  Phi volunteered.  "We've got JACE and Heatwave on patrol.  Danny and Avatar are going to hit the streets.  Soldier Boy and Nemesis will go out and make sure they're seen, while Stone acts as an intermediary between the away teems.  You and I, along with Phase and Raph, will be holding down the fort and deployed as necessary."

"Got it, we're the reserves. Going to be called in when we need to save the day." he replied, with a teasing smile at his twin.

"Yeah," Nemesis snorted. "Something like that." Despite his tone the ribbing was good-natured. Since the auction he seemed to have accepted Bastian's presence and role on the team with greater equanimity. There were still some tensions with Raph on occasion, but thus far he'd demonstrated some skill in team dynamics.

Avatar stretched contentedly and held the pose for a moment. His shadow shelf emerged from his chest and sped through the ceiling, off to explore the cool dusk air.

"Ready when you are," he told Danny.

Danny's first bite of dinner paused on it's way to his mouth. He sighed heavily, put the fork down, and grabbed his plate and headed towards the fridge. "Fine. But the creature that brought that foul bag of unmentionable meat inta my kitchen gets KP duty."

"Want me to grab you one for the road?" Avatar asked.

"Oh sure," Danny said over a shoulder. "Then we can go shoppin for proton packs and play tag with yer little friend." 

Stone pushed himself away from the table and stood up before walking out the door without a word.

"Later." Phi said to Stone before turning her attention to her brother, who had become a bit of a mystery of late.  "How long would it take you to get somewhere? Phase can be somewhere almost instantaneously, myself and Raph would take longer.  ...what about you?"

Bastian's eyes light up like a kid asked to talk about his favorite toy. "Actually I've been working on something. It's not as versatile or powerful as Phase's movement, but."  He vanished right in front of their eyes and reappeared next to the fridge with an open bottle in his hand "I can 'quasi' teleport myself now.  By stopping time, then moving to my new location and starting time again, it gives the appearance of teleportation." He smiled and took a drink from his bottle.  

"Nice." Phi said simply as a troubled look flitted across her face.

"Good to know," Nemesis agreed with a nod, his face unreadable.

"That's handy," Danny said as he wrapped his dinner and put it in the fridge. "You scamp..." the younger man said, putting Sebastian in a light head lock and knuckling his hair. Danny laughed as he released his teammate and made a gun of his thumb and forefinger and pointing it at Avatar. "C'mon Casper. Let's roll." 

"Us, too," Nemesis said, rising from his chair. He jerked his head at Jag. "Let's go."

Phi waited quietly with Sebastian as the others filed out. Avatar and Danny, off to parts unknown to hit the streets.  Nemesis and Soldier Boy to the Needle, the clear answer to making sure that everyone knew there was a Conquistador presence out and about tonight.  ...and Stone had quietly left, to take to the skies and make sure that the rest of the team had back-up.  Once they were all out the door, she turned her attention to her cell phone.  

Mason had tried calling and texting her earlier and he wasn't a call that she would ignore for too long. Phi clicked a few buttons and then let out an audible groan as she read it.   '911 listen to vm. need the conks. call me.'

Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair once, and it seemed to all perfectly fall into place.  Phi could tell, however that he'd stopped time long enough to put himself back into proper appearance.   Taking another drink, he moved closer to his sister, a puzzled look on his face.  "What's wrong? You didn't seem too happy about my little trick."

Rich dark eyes leveled on him for a moment, before she shook her head.  Her eyes were serious and spoke of trouble to come.  "That is a conversation for another day." 

A slight chill washed over Sebastián as he simply nodded at Phi. "Sure...sure."

" Right now...Mason needs help." Her voice was tinged with worry as she activated the speaker and listened to his voicemail.  "Phi, it's Mason. Something big has hit the streets and its cutting a swath through town. I haven't gotten a glimpse of it, but it took a hit from a car going 35 or so and didn't stop. The car is totaled. Eyewitness describe it as an animal with metal, much much larger than an elephant. This is outta my league. I'd suggest getting someone to Rotterdam St and Salem Ave and get statements. Luckily no one was hurt, but that could change. I'm going to hit up a contact and see what information I can find. call me. we need a more direct line of communication for things like this."

Phi glared at the phone when he made his closing statement. "He wants a more direct line of communication."

'Hmm, well that explains the reaction earlier' he thought to himself.  In an effort to lighten his sister's mood he quipped "Maybe we can have a cake phone installed, like Batman used to have, and only Mason could have the number."

"Or...maybe Mason could realize that he can wait five minutes for a return call.  It's not like any of the other vigilantes in this town has my direct line."  She shrugged her shoulders and leveled another look at her brother.  "So...?  You up for joining him?  You're all I have right now.  I need to research that bounty, and I don't want to send Phase or Raphael, not yet." 

Distracted by her reaction, in addition to the revelation that there was a beast out there which was hit by a moving car and was able to walk away, Sebastián absently nodded his head. "I can help, but if something happens I'm not going to be able to help help, unless its out of the public eye."

"Sure."  She nodded.  "That makes sense.  But I think it's just Mason out there, and we can trust him.  Cake phone or not."  She gave him a mild grin as she shook her head.  "I'll give him a call and find out where to meet him.  Maybe you can go to the intersection he mentioned, get a visual of this thing with your powers and spare me a few hours of research."

"Sure, I will go take a look at the location, try to get an idea of what this beast is we're dealing with. I'll report back as soon as I know anything." he smiled at his sister, tipping his bottle as he walked towards the door.

Be careful.  Phi said over their bond as she watched him go.