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"Ball
of Confusion"
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| PREVIOUSLY IN NEW UNIVERSE: Antibody and Star Brand traveled back in time to the year 1987 and rescued Mark Hazzard: Merc from the brink of death. Then, they brought him to the future, their future, to make him join the team. But things aren’t always what they seem… “Is this him?’ Judge Justice asked. The entire National Security Council team was assembled in the main laboratory to see an unconscious Mark Hazzard laying prone on a metal surface, looking like he just died, which to all intents and purposes he has. No one on the team knew who this person was personally but they had read the newspaper headlines, so they were vaguely familiar with him. “Yes, this is he. The one the papers have called the Merc.” This last statement had come from Randy O’Brien. “He looks dead. Is he?” Justice further asked. “No. Gene used Stasi’s healing powers to heal whatever wounds had caused his death in the future. Our past. He should be as good as new in the morning.” “Is that your professional diagnosis?” “Professional or unprofessional, that’s how it is. What do you want him for?” Randy probed his questions as a roving reporter. “He’s gonna help us against Derek Shiningstar.” Justice used his extrasensory perception to scan Merc. “This guy is not a paranormal. I figure the only way to beat a normal human is to sic one on him.” With steely eyes, Justice looked at the rest of the team. “Everyone, out. You, O’Brien, you stay. I want a 24 hour vigil on this guy. And you just volunteered.” “I don’t think I—“ Justice turned around and gave O’Brien a deathly look. “Right. I volunteered. How could I forget?” Justice led the rest of the team out the door. “How do I get myself in these situations?” Randy asked himself. Taking off his labcoat, Randy hung it up on the coat rack. He flicked the lights off. ‘What do normal humans dream of in this paranormal world we live in?’ he thought to himself, as he leaned up against a chair. He knew his dreams were a complete horrorshow in and of itself. Nightmask could attest to that. Especially with Dreamscape probing his day and night dreams. During the night, while he slept, Merc’s fingers twitched. He was not dead. He was alive. Interlude On Main Street, a 14-year old boy enters the opthamologist office and approaches the nurse saying, “um, hello, I’m Travis Juarez and I’ve got an eye doctor appointment. My appointment is for 4:15 pm.” The nurse replies, “The doctor will be with you in a minute, just sit over there.” And the nurse’s words turn to darkened thoughts, “The fool doesn’t realize why the doctor wants him. He’ll never know. Never!” Hours pass as Travis falls asleep. The voice of the nurse rings in Travis’ ears when she says, “Um, Travis, the doctor is ready for you.” “Whuh? Oh, thanks, nurse,” mumbles the teenager. Travis walks down the hallway slowly and enters the doctor’s office, declaring, “Hi, Dr. Hudson. For the last few days I’ve been having trouble with my eyes. I guess I should start at the beginning. Well, last week in school I was looking out the window and I saw a penny in a kid’s pocket from three stories above him. And on Wednesday I was looking in the mirror and a flash of light struck me. I immediately called you and got an appointment. So, could you help me?” Travis sits on a chair and a cranial device is placed on his head. As the doctor presses a button, strange energies flow through the teenager’s body. With each passing minute, the doctor intensifies the power. Travis screams as he ahs never screamed before. The ordeal only lasts minutes but it seems like hours to the native New Jersian. As the power is shut off, the cranial device gives off a catyclasmic explosion. Glowing with energy, Juarez lies unconscious. In a sleepy voice, the doctor says, “Oh my God! I never imagined that the project would lead to this. Travis is probably dead. I’ve got to see if he’s alive.” The doctor approaches Travis and the wounded boy charges towards his nemesis. The doctor yells as Travis pounds at his face. Soon, the doctor is dead and Travis walks away, laughing. End of Interlude Dave Landers and Stephanie Harrington are walking down a long, shafty hallway within the NSC HQ on their way to the infirmary. Dave is wondering how Randy is doing, sleeping next to a guy who should be a corpse. Dave never heard of Mark Hazzard, mercenary or otherwise. But then, he realized that mercenaries usually kept to themselves and didn’t reveal themselves to the public. They reached the door to the infirmary but the door was slightly ajar. Fearing the worst, Dave rushed in, using all of his strength to bust open the door fully. Mark Hazzard was in the process of getting dressed. Randy was unconscious on the floor in his doctor’s uniform. Mark was cocking a rifle, ready to use it on Randy to initiate a death sequence. Stephanie knew the only thing for her to do was to use her healing powers to revitalize Randy to consciousness. But she had to get by the burly Merc. That was Dave’s job at hand. His strength was his weapon. He blocked Merc from getting to Stephie. Dave had to disarm Mark and that was going to be a hard task indeed because Mark pointed the heavy weapon at Dave’s head. Mark looked like he could fire the bullets housed within the weapon at any moment now. Meanwhile, the distraction made, Stephie reached to Randy’s side. Antibody was rolled over on his side, in constant pain. She used her hands to touch him and the healing began slowly but surely. Golden energies exited Stephanie’s body and entered and surrounded Randy’s antibody-covered form. In an instant, he was healed of all injuries and physical pain that Mark Hazzard inflicted on him. “What happened?” Randy asked, as he groaned awake. “I don’t know. WE found you on the floor and Mark Hazzard going crazy. Perhaps you could enlighten us, Randy.” “He must be confused over his current lack of state of mind. We have to contain him before he hurts anyone else.” “I think we’re too late. Look—“ Just then, Mark Hazzard discharged his rifle into Dave’s chest. Dave Landers was not bulletproof, but he was partially invulnerable. Dave doubled over in pain, moaning in agony. Mark fled the scene, trying to find other paranormals and enemies to kill and hurt like hell. Seeing the maniac leave, Randy stood up, with Stephie bracing him. “Let’s contact Judge Justice and tell him we must end this quickly and now.” Dr. Jack Jordan, Travis and Hector Juarez heard the commotion from around the corner. They were in their quarters, relaxing. Travis had come home from the doctor’s, wondering what would have possessed Dr. Hudson from performing those weird experiments on him. Travis felt weak and drained. But after a day’s rest, he felt as good as new. The Prism Family were wearing their red prism rings and ready to fight and to find out what the matter was. When they raced down the hallway, they found out that Gene Proudhawk had already transformed into Psi-hawk, the living personification of the Psi-force children and Emmett Proudhawk. “What’s going on, Gene?” Travis asked, as they joined one of the mainstays of the NSC team. “I don’t know, Travis. I heard the same noise and attack sounds that you did. I have a funny feeling that this has something to do with our maniac Merc.” “Oh, great,” Hector remarked. He was ready for battle. “I know he wasn’t right for us. It looks like we may have to fight our way to a cure.” “I’ll scout ahead,” Gene said. With that said, Psi-hawk flew in the general direction where he thought and knew where Mark Hazzard would be waiting to kill all in his path. The Prism Family waited a moment or two and then, saw Gene Proudhawk being hurled backwards to them. He was injured. It looked like he had been shot but Kathy Ling’s TK shields protected him. Hector raced over to Gene’s side, seeing if he was all right. Gene was moaning in pain. The rifle that had shot him had really done him in. “We need to get Gene to a hospital,” Hector said. ‘He looks real bad. You two hold Mark Hazzard off, while I get him to the infirmary.” The red prism ring that was found on Travis’ finger propelled him into flight. He was ready for action, ready to do unto Merc what he had done to his friend and team-mate. Merc swung hia rifle around and pointed it at Travis Juarez. While he fired, Travis erected a forcefield to deflect the bullets. The bullets bounced off him and headed for Dr. Jack Jordan. It was a good thing that Jordan had another red prism ring and was able to deflect the bullets to ricochet back at Merc’s bullet proof vest. The discharge was so powerful that it knocked Mark to the back wall, making him drop his firearm. Travis approached Mark, his ring charged with energy. “Do you mind telling us what this attack is all about?” Mark spit out blood. “I don’t know where you have taken me. But I do know that you are foreign terrorists who want to undermine the American Government. My mission for the President is to do away with all terrorists.” “I think that jaunt through time is playing games with your head. We are the heroes, like you. There was a thing called the White Event. We saved you from certain death. You could thank us.” Mark thought this over. “Well, I never met terrorists like you before, with powers and all. I guess I can hear what you have to say. I could always kill you later.” Travis smiled and brought him and Dr. Jack Jordan to the main meeting hall. Hours later, there was a meeting at the main hall in the National Security Council headquarters. Randy O’Brien had been healed of all wounds through the recuperative powers of Stephanie Harrington. He was still stiff from the battle with Mark Hazzard. Dave Landers had been shot point blank by a rifle from Merc. Stephie had to soothe Dave back to health with her healing abilities. Even though Mark had come to his senses from his conversations with Travis Juarez, Judge Justice had ordered a psych evaluation from Keith Remsen. That meant that the man known only as Nightmask had to use his dream invading powers to find out if Mark was indeed in his right state of mind. Keith had to probe with his dream therapy to put his fragile mind at rest. Remsen’s diagnosis was that Mark attacked the loose members of DP7 because he was virtually confused onto his current surroundings and the shock of almost dying and then, coming back to life was enough to make even the most jaded fellows violent and wanting to strike out at people he believed to be his enemies. Judge Justice had a reason for procuring the mercenary from the past to the present. He had a mission in mind. Derek Shiningstar had been a thorn in his team’s side for almost two years. His partner, Michael Proudhawk, had now been under house arrest in a federal prison, along with a member of the Hex Squad, Dreamscape. These two paranormals were possessed of mental powers and able to influence and annoy the NSC team while incarcerated. Only Mark Hazzard, a normal human being with an arsenal, could overpower, and maybe capture, Shiningstar. Justice was tempted to kill Derek but that was not the way without probable cause. This meeting was rather rudimentary. He would know the outcome, without holding it. When a new member was invited into this fighting force, a vote had to be cast. It was unanimous. If anyone could defeat Derek, where they had failed, Mark Hazzard could be the one.    
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