Lodestone

" Crazy In Alabama " by Martin Maenza

(with lots of input from Bill Jackson - thanks)

Fall, 1976.

The harvest moon shown down through the cloudless night sky. A blue Mercury Cougar XR7 was one of the few cars traveling that particular stretch of Highway 78 at that late hour.

Up ahead and to the left, the driver noticed a parked police car and two deputies dressed in brown erecting a wooden barrier across the side road. Kyle Harper slowed down as his car approached the intersection, coming to a complete stop. From the passenger side, Beverly Witter attempted to see past her fiancee to get a look for herself.

The deputies noticed the car's approach and one started slowly across the roadway to intercept it. As the officer approached the vehicle, his course took him first to the back where he glanced down at the license plate before coming over to the driver's open window. The light from his flashlight danced across the occupants' faces quickly. "You from Georgia," he asked more like a statement. "Le'me see your license."

"Yes, sir," Kyle responded politely as he removed his wallet from his jacket pocket. "Victoria in fact." He pulled out his driver's license from the sleeve where he kept it and held it out the window.

"A bit out'cha way, ain't cha? Especially at this here late hour." The officer took the proffered card.

"We're returning to Victoria from the Paul McCartney and Wings concert in Ironwood."

The officer looked up from the license.

Beverly leaned across the front seat, looking out the driver's window so that she could make eye contact. "Excuse me, officer. But is there some sort of problem?"

The officer half smiled at her as he handed the license back to Kyle. "No, ma'am. Nothin' to concern you out-of-staters." He looked back at Kyle. "Highway 431 to Woodstock is currently closed off. As long as you keep on 78 here, y'all won't run into any trouble."

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion off in the distance to the North, the direction the man had just indicated lead to Woodstock. It certainly couldn't have been thunder on a night like this.

A cacophony of traffic sounded from the radio attached to the officer's belt. The man stepped away from the Mercury, said something indistinguishable into the radio and then listened for a moment. Then turning back to his squad car, he shouted "Hey, Clem! Sheriff says the MPs are requestin' backup! Let's move!"

Kyle put his car in gear and began to slowly continue east down 78.

"What do you think that's all about?" Beverly asked.

"Hmm, roadblocks, explosions, local authorities and military police. Sounds like it could be some bigger trouble than they're willing to let on."

Beverly reached into the back seat and pulled forth a large duffel bag. "Then maybe it's something we should investigate for ourselves," she suggested.

Kyle looked for an open place where he could pull the Mercury off to the side of the road and park safely.

***

April, 1998.

"Hold it a second, Mom," Clare Harper said as she put down her can of Diet Coke on the glass coaster before her. "First of all, Paul McCartney? You can't be serious."

Beverly Harper smiled at her seventeen year old daughter as she stroked the ears of Sebastion, the family's gray cat. "What's wrong with that? I'd like to know." Then she giggled to herself at the joke she made; Clare did not seem to get it. "Really, Paul would always be 'the cute Beatle' even though he was married to Linda by then. And one of your father's favorite songs at the time was 'Band On the Run'. Every time it came on the radio, he would turn it up real loud"

Clare cocked her right eyebrow curiously and then said "Okay, whatever. Just so you know, I won't be able to take Daddy seriously any more after hearing that. Still what does any of this have to do with the proposal which that armored hero M.E.C.H. made to me, after he helped me defeat Lumiere last week?"

Beverly settled back into her recliner. "Well, if you'd let me get back to my story, I'm sure you'll see how." The woman continued with her narrative.

***

Fall, 1976.

After getting the car secured, donning their costumes, and carefully flying northward, Magnet and Steel found themselves on a shadowy knoll overlooking the Woodstock Armory and Weapons Depot.

"Good thing we brought these binoculars with us to the show," Steel told his partner.

"Have to thank your brother for those wonderful seats he got for us," Magnet responded with a slight sarcastic tone.

Accustomed to her sense of humor by now, Steel decided it best not to make any comeback. Instead, he focused at the task at hand. From a crouched position, he slowly assessed the situation below, starting with the north corner where a number of soldiers were attempting to put out a fire at one of the buildings. "I'll betcha the explosion we heard came from right there. Probably where some munitions were stored."

Magnet had squatted down next to him. "Focus a bit to the south of the fire," she instructed. "I think I saw something or someone move in the shadows." She then guided the front of the binoculars in the direction she indicated.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting there." Then Steel felt a firm foot in his back, enough to get his attention but not move him. "Honey, please! I'm trying to get a good layout of the base and how many soldiers are on hand."

"What are you...", Magnet started to ask before some light twinkling caught the corner of her eye to her right. Turning, she saw three costumed individuals that had managed to approach the heroes while they were concentrating on the base.

The first was a young woman dressed in a gold lame jumpsuit with long matching boots and gloves. Her long blonde hair, kept in a ponytail, extended down to her waist. Her facial features were distorted by a sparkling field of gold diamond-shapes that seemed to dance all around her body. The twinkling field had been what alerted Magnet.

In the middle, standing slightly ahead of the others, was a man in a red mask that covered his eyes, nose and the sides of his head. A white body suit covered his muscular form; he stood proudly with his chest puffed out and his red gloved hands against each side of his red briefed waist. Two red stripes crossed his chest in the form of an 'X'.

The last individual, significantly shorter, wore a red metallic armor. From the bug-eyed helmet with antennae, the way the joints fit together, the enlarged forearms and the large torso, Magnet concluded this individual was going for some kind of insect motif.

"We've got company!" Magnet announced as she threw up a force wall between herself and the recent arrivals.

"Looks like we caught us some foxes spying on the hen house," the male figure said. "Ant, show 'em what we do with spies."

The armored figure raised its left forearm and flames burst forth from it. "One brace o' fried spies coming up, Cap!" a slightly distorted woman's voice said.

The jet of flame was strong and concentrated, hardly hindered by Magnet's force wall. Still the wall bought the two heroes from Victoria enough time to scramble out of the line of fire and to their feet. Magnet responded with one of her blasts, causing the armored figure to recoil and cease the flame barrage for a moment. Experience had taught her that her magnetic powers were often very affective against armored opponents. Magnet then took to the air only to be pursued in flight by the woman in gold.

"Guess that leaves you two to me," Steel stated as he leapt into the air and tackled the unprepared male in white and red. The two men began to wrestle one another on the ground, each trying to gain the upper advantage. Whenever an opening presented itself, both tried to get a few good punches in against the other.

The armored figure recovered from Magnet's attack and stepped back some as the pair kicked up the dirt. She fired her flame-throwers once but did not have as clear a shot as she thought, tagging her teammate instead. "Shoot!" she swore impatiently. "Get 'em set up so's I can fry his tail!"

The man in white huffed as he continually struggled against Steel. "Hold your horses, girl!" he snapped at her. "I'm doin' the best I can here. He's more slip'rier'n a greased pig! Stronger'n a bull ox too!" The Georgian hero definitely had a strength advantage.

Steel spun out from under the man once again, freeing his right arm and landing a punch to the man's strong chin. "Why don't you just shut up and fight?" Steel asked. "Or would you rather just keep makin' excuses?" These words just egged the man in white on, and the wrestling continued at a renewed pace.

Disgusted with the macho display, the armored woman focused her bug eyes to the sky. Maybe she'd have better luck taking out the woman in gray rather than her silver dressed male counterpart.

Magnet was discovering that the woman in gold was more than a worthy opponent. She was able to counter every one of Magnet's aerial maneuvers. "Face it, sugar, you don't have what it takes to keep up with the power of the stars," the woman in gold boasted. She quickly put Magnet on the defensive, forcing Magnet to block golden energy blasts with her own force field while still trying to maintain her flight path.

"My parents didn't raise me to be a quitter," Magnet stated. She was so focused on the one woman's attacks that she forgot about the others on the ground. She realized her fateful mistake too late when a burst of flame from below intersected her flight path. Though she managed to avoid the deadly assault, the momentary lapse in her concentration was enough for the woman in gold to slip in a precise shot to the head.

Magnet dropped from the sky and was caught by the armor wearing woman. "No, but they did raise one sorry loser," she retorted as her massive forearms held Magnet in a tight hold. "Hey, silverado! Look'it what I've got!"

Steel and the other man stopped their brawling long enough to look up. "You let her go, now!" he snapped as he pushed the man away from him. Steel flipped up to his feet and resolved to take on the whole group single-handedly if he had to.

Before anyone else could act, a female voice came from the shadows. "All of you! Stop this at once!" Everyone turned and saw a beautiful black woman in a gray body suit and black boots actually step through a large oak tree. Her white diaphanous cape that swirled around her further added to her spirit like image.

"Haint, can't you see we just rounded up Cataclysm's latest recruits?" the armored woman asked. "That should put a damper on his plans."

"Fire Ant, do you ever bother readin' the newspaper?" Haint replied. "These two aren't working with Cataclysm."

"Then who the Sam Hill are they?" the man in white said as he moved behind Steel. He went to grab the hero from Victoria by the shoulders but was pushed away by a silver gloved backhand.

"I'm called Steel! And that is my partner Magnet, whom you'd better release now!" Fire Ant looked over at Haint, who nodded yes, before she set Magnet down on her feet.

The woman in gold set down and helped Magnet get her bearings. "Gosh, I'm so sorry for shootin' at you, sugar. I didn't know you all were heroes too. I'm Stardust."

Magnet shook the cobwebs from her head. "It's okay. We all were a bit confused." Then she looked around at the group. "Stardust. Fire Ant. Haint." She looked at the man in white. "That would make you Captain Alabama. Should have realized it sooner since the red 'X' on white is this state's flag." She walked over to Steel. "Well, honey, I think we've just had our first encounter with the Southern Alliance."

"I sure am sorry about the mix up," Captain Alabama apologized to Steel, offering his hand as a peace gesture. Steel hesitated slightly then shook it firmly, with an extra hard squeeze as payback for an earlier punch. Captain Alabama winced slightly, but when Steel smiled he smiled back. "So, what brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"We caught wind of some trouble here in Woodstock and decided to see if we could help out with anything," Steel explained. "You?"

"One of our team has been trackin' down an old enemy of ours," Haint explained. "'Possum figured that Cataclysm and his band of crooks 'n' rascals were after something at this here depot. He got a message to the rest of us to meet him here, but somethin' must have happened for him t'take action before the rest of us arrived."

"Perhaps that explosion we overheard earlier," Magnet said. "Sounds like we better get down there, see if we can give him a hand. If what Fire Ant said earlier about this Cataclysm having new recruits, I think y'all will be able to use some extra help."

"Even after that whole misunderstandin' 'tween us?" Stardust asked. "That's mighty sweet of ya."

Fire Ant was glad she was wearing a helmet that covered her whole face. No one could see her rolling her eyes at this whole situation.

***

A small amount of sweat ran out from under the black bandanna that the 'Possum wore for a mask and down his cheek. No matter which way he turned or twisted, his situation was not going to improve.

The hero had been in his share of tight spots and deathtraps over the years, starting with his tour of duty in Nam. Usually he would have just the right tools needed to get out of them, either his web-belts or harnesses. Like a boy scout, the 'Possum was always prepared. This time, however, he didn't have the luxury of accessing any of his tools.

Keeping the gray costumed hero in a living vice-grip was a seven-foot tall, incredibly muscular, bald man a tight, blue body stocking. The man looked like one of those powerhouses from Saturday afternoon wrestling. The 'Possum learned the hard way that once Densepack set his mind on holding something it remained held.

The 'Possum reminded himself that there had to be a way to get himself out of this predicament; he only had to think about it long enough and consider all of the variables. Which was easier said than done.

Densepack's yellow costumed teammate, White Lightning, continued to buzz around the 'Possum like a fly would an egg salad sandwich. Every few seconds, the super-criminal would poke his cowled head right into the hero's face and say "Wah looky heyar, itsa fancee pans'ero. S'matta mista fancee'ero? Cain'take bito' pressah 'ahahaha!" The 'Possum desperately wanted to plant one of his feet upside the villain's head, but the super-swift speedster always moved out of reach before he could even start to raise his free leg. The 'Possum definitely owed him one after the way villain caught him off guard earlier, leading to the hero's capture.

Even if he could free himself, the 'Possum was outnumbered and outclassed. Besides the two playmates of his, he would also have to contend with the two men in charge: Kalki and Cataclysm.

The former villain was the mastermind of the operation and dressed the part. The self-proclaimed Lord of Time wore an orange body suit accented with a red chest plate, gloves and boots. He was well-built and stood tall and confident, his red cowled cape swirling to one side. His jaw square and solid. He had barely spoken since the 'Possum was brought to this part of the armory; whether he considered the hero to be an insignificant threat or that he was more focused on the military equipment he was examining only Kalki knew for sure.

The later villain, enclosed in gray armor with dark red accents, paid much more attention to what was going on in the room. Cataclysm impatiently walked back and forth behind Kalki, often glancing over the red-caped shoulders to check on the progress. A man of action, he despised the waiting part of the game. Finally, he ceased his pacing and barked, "Lightning! Stop wasting time taunting our prisoner and do something to earn your keep for once!"

White Lightning zipped across the room and snapped to attention in front of Cataclysm. "Jus'swaitin'fo'strucshuns serrah!" A slight smirked crossed his face when he said that.

Cataclysm held back every impulse to backhand the speedster with one of his dark red gauntlets. "Run a reconnaissance circuit! I want a full report on what's happening 'round the base!" Cataclysm ordered. "It's bad enough one hero found us before our work was done! I don't want any more surprises, hear?" He paused for a moment, then added, "And no smart ass comments out of you neither!"

White Lightning simply flipped the armored man a quick salute and raced out the door.

"Damn hyperactive jackrabbit!" Cataclysm cursed. "If he had enough brains and any amount of an attention span, I'd have him searching the archives for the information we need. I can't stand loose cannons!"

The 'Possum let out a laugh and muttered, "Ain't that the pot callin' the kettle black."

The electronics in Cataclysm's helmet allowed him to pick up the hero's words. In a flash, he bolted across the room and slammed his armored fist into the 'Possum's exposed abdomen. The hero winced in pain. "You, Rodent, shut up! Or we'll shut you up permanently!" Satisfied at having vented some of his anger, the armored villain returned to where he was pacing.

Densepack let out a deep guttural chuckle while still holding the hero solidly.

Kalki turned his head slowly and made eye contact with Cataclysm. "Patience is a virtue," he said in a solemn tone. "And all things come to those who wait." He took two steps to the side from the console he had been working at, allowing Cataclysm to get a view of the monitor.

The armored villain smiled. "Just military secrets we've been searching for!" He was quiet for a moment, reading the detailed coordinates that Kalki managed to de-encrypt. "Excellent! Now soon as Lightning gets back here, we can proceed with the second phase of the operation."

Cataclysm glanced at the door, paused for five seconds as if expecting the erratic speedster to arrive on queue, then he turned back to Kalki. "I'll be! Maybe White Lightning's actually doing what he was ordered to do, for once."

Suddenly, a loud sound of shattering wood filled the room! Both Cataclysm and Kalki turned simultaneously and witnessed White Lightning's body crashing to the floor in the center of the room.

When they turned to the direction the body had come, they saw a half dozen costumed heroes burst through the damaged wooden doorway. The powerful Captain Alabama and Steel led the charge, followed closely by their four female companions.

Instinctively, Densepack released his hold on the 'Possum and ran to intercept the two male heroes. The 'Possum rolled as his legs hit the floor and maneuvered into a defensive position. His cavalry had arrived, and it looked like they had some extra help. For once, he allowed himself a moment to recover while the Southern Alliance took advantage of their element of surprise.

"Stand back, Steel!" Captain Alabama ordered. "I'ma gonna take out this here giant fella myself!" He leapt into the air, planning to intercept Densepack in the chest. But the villain instead shrunk down from his seven foot tall height to a mere four foot. The surprised Captain Alabama sailed over the villain and landed on the floor in an ungraceful tumble. "What the Sam Hill? He can shrink?"

"Better keep your eye on your enemy, Captain," Steel retorted as he swung his right fist forward to meet the still charging Densepack.

When it connected, the blow stopped the villain in his tracks momentarily. He then smiled up wickedly at Steel and grew to his full height again, allowing him to tower over hero. Densepack raised his two fists and drove them down with the force of a pile driver.

Steel dove to his left at the last second and rolled to where Captain Alabama was now standing. Alabama extended a hand to help the Georgian hero to his feet. "You reckon this fella can take the two'un us, Steel?"

Steel returned the smile. "Why don't we find out!" And together the two powerhouse heroes dove into the battle once more.

Meanwhile, across the room, the two armored individuals were involved in their own heated battle. "That armor looks a might cold," Fire Ant said. "Allow me to turn up the heat!" She sent two searing blasts of flames at the villain who managed to take it with little resistance.

"Your armor design is impressive!" admitted Cataclysm as he fired his plasma cannon at Fire Ant. The blast knocked her back into one of the walls. "But not nearly as impressive as mine!" He laughed as the armored hero attempted to pull herself clear of the wreckage.

"Guess that means lil' old me isn't much of a threat to you," Magnet said as she flew towards Cataclysm. He turned to size her up, and at the last second she threw out both her arms and left fly her strongest magnetic blast. The charge caught him completely off guard and a majority of his systems seized up at the same time. Then Magnet landed right in front of him, swung back her fist, and delivered a telekinetic punch that knocked Cataclysm to the floor. "Well, what'd you know? I guess I underestimated myself." She smiled over at Fire Ant who had gotten up.

"Next time," Fire Ant firmly stated as she pushed Magnet aside, "stay out of my fights!" She went over to ensure that Cataclysm was truly taken out of the battle.

Magnet just stared in disbelief. You're welcome, she thought to herself.

The 'Possum observed his teammates making little headway in their battle with Kalki. Starburst's energy blasts failed to hit their mark thanks to the villain's temporal field. And while his own blasts were having little effect on the desolid Haint, she too was having little success in reaching him.

The 'Possum realized his moment to rest was over. As the hero crossed the room, he noticed that White Lightning was beginning to stir. Grabbing a few capsules from his belt, the 'Possum broke them in two directly under the speedster's nose. In a second, the gases released from the capsules put White Lighting back into a blissful state of sleep. "Can't have you causing us any more trouble," 'Possum said to him. "That should hold you while we wrap things up."

The hero bound across the room and leapt towards Kalki. "You ladies need some help?" he asked.

"You'll do little to stop me," Kalki said just before the 'Possum was able to reach him. "I am, after all, the Lord of Time." In a split second, Kalki vanished and was now standing ten feet from the spot he had been occupying.

The 'Possum tumbled to the ground and in a single move rolled back up to his feet. "You can use your time manipulation tricks all you like, Kalki," the 'Possum said. "But eventually you'll tire. And, in this case you are severely outnumbered." As 'Possum said this, Captain Alabama and Steel approached the villain from the left, and Fire Ant and Magnet approached him from the right. "I'd say you are surrounded, Kalki. Care to make this easy on yourself and give up?"

Kalki let out a firm and hardy laugh. "Don't be foolish, 'Possum. When one has all the time one needs at their finger tips, they don't need to rush into any foolish decisions." As the heroes lunged for him, time seemed to pause for a moment.

When it resumed, Kalki had vanished again.

The heroes looked around quickly but there was no trace of the villain. Kalki, it appeared, used his time traveling abilities to escape.

The 'Possum wanted to be sure, nonetheless. "Alabama, Haint, do a quick search of the area. See if you can find any trail of him." He then turned to the other three villains who were still in the room, incapacitated or unconscious. He walked over to the armored villain. "At least we managed to spoil his plans and capture his partners."

It was Cataclysm's turn to laugh. "Enjoy your victory while you can, Rodent. You may be able to take me into custody, but don't expect me to stay there long. I have many friends with influence, and before you know it I'll be back out jail."

***

April, 1998.

Clare set down her can of Diet Coke once more. "Mom, that was a real interesting story and all, but what does it have to do with the decision I asked you about?"

Beverly Harper leaned forward. "Once the authorities arrived and took the villains into custody, the 'Possum thanked your father and I for our assistance on the case. He appreciated our teamwork and how well we worked with the members of his group.

"The 'Possum offered us the chance to join the Southern Alliance, to be members of their team. Oh, we were flattered by the offer, very much so. The Alliance was one of the premiere super-teams in the region and all.

"But at the time, your father and I were very busy with our own lives and activities here in Victoria. We declined full time membership in the Alliance, and instead offered to serve as reserves. We told them that we would be there in times of crisis or if our particular skills were ever in need."

Beverly reached forward and took Clare's hands in hers. "Honey, you've got to make your own decision. Decide what is right for you. Whatever you do, now and in the future, you know you have the support of your father and me."