Silence permeated every element of the skip-ship. They'd all been drafted into one of the biggest mystery services in the world. Paid for by unknown organizations, it's work was almost as secret as it's purpose.
David Alleyene looked around the passenger area of the ship. Each chair had a name attached to it, Muholland, Ruby and his own name. Three passengers.
Muholland's iPod was so loud everyone could hear exactly what sort of metal she was listening too. David, a stickler for peace and quiet, was already becoming more and more annoyed with it. He angrily flipped the pages of the document before him.
His briefing. He was going to be a pilot, and having already signed fifteen classified papers and confidentiality agreements, he finally got to see what he was flying.
A Sentinel.
He looked over the specs, almost completely shocked by what he was reading, as Ruby leaned over the chair, and touched him on the shoulder.
“Pilot, eh?” She said, letting her sunglasses slide the length of her shiny crimson nose.
“Yeah, looks that way. Frankly, I'm a bit shocked.” He twisted to offer her his hand. He was dressed in a short-sleeved blue shirt and trousers, and she was apparently quiet fond of dressing like a whore. A black leather body suit fit over her shiny body.
“My Names David. Mutant?” He asked her, as she gave his hand a firm shake.
“Ruby. Sorta.” She answered, removing her sun-glasses to reveal completely her black eyes with yellow iris'.
“Wow.” David couldn't stop himself, as the pair found themselves the subject of a disdainful stare from Muholland, who turned her music up and twisted away from the group.
Ruby shook her hair and got up, sitting down next to David.
“Excited?” she asked, dropped her document down next to him, to gauge his reaction.
“Sort of. It's a big step from training to being flown out to Japan and then getting on this thing to go to go knows where.”
“Monster Island.” Ruby said, linking her fingers together, and twisting her wrists to crack her back. David also noticed it pushed her boobs out as well. Quite nicely in fact.
“Monster Island?” He questioned, a smile forming over his face.
“I'm not kidding, David.” She said, with a smile.
“Well...Crap.” He said, leaning forwards, rubbing his forehead gently.
“Why are we going there?”
“It's where the Monsters are, David. We're part of the O.N.E situational team now. We deal with Megathropes and Monsters.” She continued to smile. Slightly off-putting as her teeth were as red as her skin.
The pilots voice came crackling through the radio systems as the boat rocked slightly, and then more violently.
“Fasten seatbelts, puhlease.” the man's accent placed him from Japan, a man trying to make his living, presumably.
“Wow. Bumpy,” Ruby added, gripping the seat in front of her as they were thrown up over a massive wave.
“Yeah. Is it normally this choppy?” David asked, feeling a little sick
“I have no idea,” Ruby added, as the pair were thrown to the left, the bottom of the boat shaking and sounding like it was snapping.
“Bloody hell.” David coughed into his hand.
“Yeah,” Ruby added
“How do you know so much about this organisation?” David asked after a few seconds.
“Most people in this group are recruited directly by the founders. We all get a little history lesson, I got one directly from Elsa Bloodstone.”
====================
Six Weeks Ago:
“I would imagine surrendering would be in your best interest.” Ruby said, lasers exploding from her eyes and scoring the ground before the red haired woman.
“You've pursued me for the last week, following me, tracking me. Watching everything I do. I'm about four seconds from loosing my temper quite badly, so I think humoring me would result in you not loosing your face.” Ruby's eyes spilled energy onto her crystalline face, as she bore her blood-red teeth to the woman.
The Red hair simply stepped forwards, her stiletto boots making her legs look as thin as pipe-cleaners, and her long brown duster coat hanging from her shoulders to give a powerful, but almost regal look.
“My name is Elsa Bloodstone, and I have an offer to make you.”
“Is this one of those reality things we're you're going to try and get me to have sex with you?” Ruby asked, cracking her knuckles in annoyance.
“No, it's not. I have a rather different taste in human than you, love.” Elsa moved forwards, as Ruby noticed the Bloodstone on the choker around her throat.
“What is that?” Ruby asked, startled.
“Ah. I was going to take my time in explaining that, but I might as well get into it. It's to you, what a monkey is to me.”
“What?”
“You're the next stage of Crystalline evolution, Ruby. This bloodstone around my neck, is the same as you, but a lower stage of evolution.”
It took a few moments for that to sink in.
“What do you have to offer me?”
====================
“Elsa Bloodstone you say?” David, leaned back in his chair, as they went over another massive bump. They were thrown to the side, as though the boat were performing a sharp turn. They both turned with the momentum, looking at Muholland in the mean time. It looked as though she was asleep.
“She's weird,” Ruby offered, accompanied by a nod from David.
“So, you're like some sort of crystal human being, that'd explain why I can't get your experience.”
“Some sort of telepath, right?” Ruby asked, arching a perfectly chiseled eyebrow at his statement.
“Yeah. I get the experience of the people I am around, but only as long as I am around them. Makes passing tests easy, but studying for them difficult.” He smiled, and shook his head.
“Tell me more about you and Elsa, please.”
====================
Ruby and Elsa sat at a table, Elsa with a tall glass of Guinness and Ruby with a small gin and tonic.
“Chin up, eh?” Elsa said, a smile on her face as she took a large gulp from the black liquid. Ruby turned her nose up and sipped her drink.
“So...What do you want with me?” Ruby asked, getting straight into the point. Why wait?
“We want you to join the O.N.E squad, and I have personally put forward your recommendation to the other founders.”
“What the hell is O.N.E.?”
“It's an old grouping, formed by my father and some of his friends to control...well, I'll come out with it. Monsters. Giant monsters that plagued the Earth before the superheroes took over.”
“Riiiiight.”
“So you don't believe that, but you'll believe you're the next stage of Crystalline evolution?” Elsa asked, leaning forward and placing a gloved finger on the table.
“Well, I never said I believed that, but it could make sense, I guess,” Ruby offered, leaning back in her chair.
“Well, look, I can only tell you what I have and you'll have to decide what you think.” Elsa spoke with a distinct air of annoyance
“Fine, I can agree to that,” Ruby said with a curt nod.
“There are a helix of crystals out there, some containing our powers, and others way above. They're known as the Crystalline Helix, not very inventive, but it's a bit late to change it now. Anyway, you're the next stage of it. This choker..”
She gestured to the band of black around her throat and the tiny red crystal embedded in it.
“This choker contains part of the bloodstone from my dads chest. It's part of him I always take with me, and well, the Helix is just as important to the world as the Monster's on it. Something we're just starting to work out...So, here's the offer, Ruby.”
“The Sentinel O.N.E Squad wants you, and we're willing to pay. Quite a lot of money.” Elsa downed the rest of the pint and watched for a reaction.
“..I'll think about it?” She responded unsure.
“A really, really big pile of money, Ruby.” Elsa smiled, and got to her feet holding out her hand to shake with Ruby.
====================
“I guess you...HURP...know where it went after that...” Ruby grabbed hold of the seat in front of her as the boat nearly exploded over the waves and face down into the on-coming one.
“This isn't right,” Mulholland finally said, unplugging herself from her iPod and looking over at the others.
“What gave you that impression?” Ruby shot back sarcastically. She was met with a fake, face crunching smile from Mulholland, who got, unsteadily, to her feet.
“The Islands are calling to me.” She gasped, running her hands through her short hair and pushing forwards.
Blood started to seep from her nose, as the boat lost control of itself and flew sideways into the Island itself. David lurched forward, the only person still wearing their seatbelt, while Ruby hit the ceiling, and left a huge dent.
Mulholland was thrown forwards, her own powers protecting her from the impact by encasing herself in a psychokinetic bubble.
“Jesus,” David muttered, dropping himself out of his seat, and crawling on the side of the skip-ship to the door. He kicked it a few times until Ruby punched it off it's hinges.
“Whoa,” Ruby muttered, as a bloodied Mulholland put her hand on her shoulder.
“Fuck a duck,” she exclaimed.
Before the trio the islands of the Sentinel O.N.E Squad, a network of Islands interlinked with man-made bridges of stone and bone and metal.
The central island itself was Monster Island, a great cave sat in it's center, shaped like a gaping maw.
Above the island was a sight to behold. A tiny blue haired woman with a massive metal gun-hand, and wings of thin plastic hung in the air, firing energy shots at a large robotic creature, clawing at her.
“Bugger me,” Mulholland whispered under her breath. “That's Ultimo, or at least an Ultimo. And those things...” She pointed at the blue metallic swarm around it. “Those're Dreadnaughts.”
David pulled himself upright, as the trio dropped onto the sandy-beach below. Not too far away a body lay in the sand, a pool of blood around it's form. David looked to Ruby and then to Mulholland, before breaking into a run towards the body. Perhaps he could help her.
“Come On!”
He skidded in the sand and looked down at the man below him. Blood seeped from his pores, as though it had been pulled through his skin.
“Who the hell is he?” David, said, feeling for a pulse when he knew damn well there wouldn't be one.
“His name was Phastos,” Mulholland said, covering her mouth with her palms.
“And he was an Eternal.” A voice came from the undergrowth, a man, with a thin beard, and a big stomach, pulled himself from the bushes, and fell onto his knees in the sand.
“By all rights he shouldn't die.” Druid looked over his shoulder as a massive burning claw exploded through the undergrowth, it wrapped itself around his body and pulled him upwards, staring down it's huge arm at him, as he desperately tried to cast a spell.
“Find the Mecha-Mage! She'll help! Find her and protect the Children!” The Druid was pulled in the central mouth of the creature, the one that sat in it's stomach, as it focused it's eyes on the children below, horns shining in the mid-day sunlight.
“Beware Satannish, children!” It screamed through both it's mouths, knocking them off their feet. It laughed guttural laugh of pleasure and anguish like a thousand insects flying into the mouth of a laughing child. The creature turned and stomped off, the trees and shrubs behind it burning away with the merest touch.
“What the shit is going on?” Ruby screamed, slamming her fists into the sand. As they looked above, they saw more of what was to come.
Two Sentinel's stood back to back, the first trading blows with a large purple armored construct, it's green face beaming hate towards the Sentinel as it's fist knocked around chunk of technology from it's head. The Sentinel faltered.
The Second Sentinel's palms ignited the air, splashing energy over the face of the large stone Gargoyle screaming bloody murder and digging it's digits into the metal, wrenching it apart with it's obscene strength.
“What are those things?”
“It the Living Colossus and Gorgolla.” A voice came from behind them.
“What the hell is up with this place?” Mulholland asked, jumping out of her skin for the second time of the day.
“It's all go in our line of work.” Before the trio stood a blonde woman, who's only physical presence appeared to be an Astral form. Her face was adorned with two stripes underneath the cheek, and her costume was torn to pieces.
Next to her stood a reptilian woman, white blood seeping from the cuts over her body, and her beautiful crest which ran down her head and neck flickered different colors in the light. A Latino lady, dressed in white clutched a glowing jade pendant in her hands, her costume also destroyed.
Finally, stood in the background, naked save for the blue hue around his body and the large rectangular object lodged in his chest was another man.
“Little heavy on the women, aren't we?” David asked, looking up at the group assembled before him.
“We try to work with the best, David.” The blonde woman said, her body shifting into a physical form, and dropping onto her knees. She was helped to her feet by the woman in white, who looked up at the others to introduce herself.
“I'm the White Tiger, and this beautiful blonde is Scanner. That's Kraken and Blue Diamond behind us. We're all that appears to be left on the ground level. We're down most of the major members.”
Blue Diamond crouched down next to Phastos and put his hands over his chest.
“The Eternal is dead.” He replied after a few minutes, looking across to the kids.
“You've come across us at a bad time.” White Tiger continued.
“We're being attacked and we don't know why. Databanks confirm Satannish, lord of Hell; It, the Living Colossus is a warrior from Kang, Ultimo is god knows what...We're being struck from all fronts here. Most of the Armoury is wrecked, and the Pen is off limits.”
“I think Mole Man dug underneath it, Tiger.” Kraken piped up, her voice a low hiss.
“Well then...” She left Scanner to stand on her own two feet and reached out a hand to the others.
“The Squad's decimated, we've got a demon, two robots, and a giant stone monster to kill, no weapons, no functioning Sentinel's and most of the senior members are dead or missing.”
“Still want to join the squad?”
====================
Next Issue: Yes, we &^*ing Do!