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#15
MAR 14 |
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“Rampage”
“It’s good to see you, Dr. Faulkner,” Ray Palmer said as he extended a hand to the woman who’d just walked into his office.
“Thank you, Professor Palmer,” Kitty Faulkner said as she clasped his hand and accepted a seat. “I appreciate the invitation to speak to your students.”
Ray smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s no problem at all,” he said. “After our recent…incident…here, we’ve been looking for ways to help broaden our scientific programs. These guest lectures are just one way that we’re expanding our curriculum. And I’m sure that you have more than your share of stories to tell.”
Kitty laughed. “You probably don’t want to know some of what we’ve had to deal with. I am interested, however, in speaking with that student you’d contacted me about.”
“Ryan Choi,” Ray said. He handed Kitty a file folder. She opened it and started scanning. “While you’re here, I’d like for you to do a checkup on him. I’ve been trying to keep an eye on his physical condition, but I’m a bit concerned about any effects he may suffer from his powers.”
Kitty scanned the folder quickly. “I should be able to get to him this afternoon. What about the other matter you contacted me about?”
Ray stood. “We can go check on that now. Fiona can keep anyone from noticing I’m gone.” He led Faulkner out of the office.
“You’re up early,” Freddy Freeman observed as Ryan Choi combed his hair in the dorm room’s lone mirror.
“Are you kidding?” Ryan asked with a wide smile on his face. “Kitty Faulkner’s addressing Professor Palmer’s students today. She’s the head of the Metropolis branch of STAR Labs!”
“You’re a freshman,” Freddy said. “I don’t think you need to worry about job hunting just yet.”
“It’s never too early!” Ryan said.
“By the way,” Freddy said as he used his crutch to get to Ryan’s desk, “this came for you yesterday.” He held out an envelope.
“What now?” Ryan asked as he accepted the envelope and started tearing it open. “More training at the Watchtower? You know, Professor Palmer could just call if he needs to get hold of me…” Ryan’s voice trailed away as he read the letter.
“What’s wrong?” Freddy asked, seeing the look on Ryan’s face. Ryan sank down to the floor and dropped the letter. Freddy picked it up and tried to read it only to discover it was written in a foreign language.
“It’s from my father,” Ryan said as tears began to well up in his eyes. “He’s ordering me to return home immediately. He says that it’s too dangerous for me here after the explosions.” Ryan’s head dropped as his shoulders began shaking. “It’s not fair,” he sobbed. “I’ve worked so hard to get in here and now…”
Freddy slowly slid down the wall and sat down beside Ryan. “Tell him you want to stay,” he said. “You know what opportunities this school opens up in the science field. Heck, you’ve got the head of a STAR Labs branch giving a speech today. He’ll understand.”
“No, he won’t,” Ryan said. “You don’t understand how it is in my family. He’s very traditional. He gives an order and I’m expected to obey it. It’s just not fair.”
Freddy put a reassuring arm around Ryan’s shoulders. What else could go wrong today?
“I think you’re playing with fire there,” Kitty said as she and Ray Palmer walked back across campus.
“I agree,” Ray said with a shrug. “But what can we do? This has to be dealt with.”
“I’ve seen these sorts of things go wrong,” Kitty said. “You need to be very careful.” Kitty gasped as she nearly stumbled into a hole in the sidewalk. “What happened around here?” she asked. “It looks like a war zone.”
“You’re not far off,” Ray said. “The school was attacked not long ago. We’re still repairing damage and probably will be for the rest of the semester.”
“Ah,” Kitty said. “Sounds like Metropolis.” She stumbled again and grabbed at a safety rail to catch herself. She missed and fell flat on the ground. “Now that’s embarrassing.” She reached out to push herself up and her hand brushed a fallen power cable. Kitty screamed as electricity coursed through her.
“Kitty!” Ray yelled but it was too late. A nearby workman cut the power but Kitty’s eyes had already gone wild. Ray watched as she started to grow and her skin took on an orange hue.
Ray ran to try and check on Kitty and she easily threw him away as her clothes split, revealing a metallic mesh costume below. Ray skidded across the lawn and looked up as Kitty stood and roared.
Rampage had returned.
“Now what?” Freddy asked as his phone started ringing. He ignored it.
“You should answer that,” Ryan sniffled. “There might be trouble.”
Freddy answered just before it went to voice mail. “Hello?” he asked. Ray quickly filled him in on what had occurred.
“She’s heading toward the science building now,” Ray said as he followed Rampage, who was scattering students and destroying anything in her path.
“We’re on our way,” Freddy said.
Ray ducked as a chunk of sidewalk flew past him. “Just remember. The way to shut her down is to activate her damper collar again. We’ll need somebody invulnerable to get in there.”
“Which means me,” Freddy said. “We’re on our way.” He hung up the phone and smiled at Ryan. “Get into your costume,” he said. “Time to go to work.”
Ryan grinned and ran to his closet. As he climbed into the costume, he said, “You know, this is awfully inconvenient. I’m wondering if I could shrink it somehow – maybe hide it in a ring or belt buckle or something.”
Freddy smiled. He knew that when Ryan started pursuing scientific problems, everything else faded into the background. “Captain Marvel,” Freddy said. The lightning bolt struck and transformed him.
Oblivious to the chaos outside, Kid Eternity was rummaging through some of the oldest books in Ivy’s library. He ignored the calls to evacuate as he continued his quest. He pulled another book off the shelf and opened it. He carefully flipped the pages and froze suddenly. “This is it,” he whispered.
On the page was an image of Mr. Keeper.
CM3 and Ryan landed on the campus lawn where the Atom was already waiting. He ran over to them. “She’s heading that way,” Atom said, pointing. He shrank and jumped, landing on CM3’s shoulder. “Get me close enough and I should be able to activate her collar. Just make sure she doesn’t squash me first.”
CM3 nodded. “Looks like we’ll need a distraction.”
Ryan smiled. “Leave it to me.”
Rampage turned as she felt the earth shake below her. Her gaze fell upon a gigantic red boot. She followed it up to where Ryan towered over her. “Hey, down there,” Ryan called.
Rampage snarled and jumped up. She grabbed his costume and started to climb him like a tree.
“A little help here?” Ryan asked. “She’s starting to get close to some areas I’d rather she not tear apart.”
“On it,” CM3 said as he flew downward and grabbed Rampage. He winced as the sheer power running through her started burning his hands. “Might want to hurry,” he said.
“Don’t worry,” Atom, who was wearing a containment suit, said as he dropped from CM3’s hand onto Rampage’s shoulder. He clung to the mesh of her energy containment suit to keep from being thrown off. He scrambled to her throat and quickly activated the collar which controlled the energy flow running through Rampage’s cells.
He jumped and climbed onto CM3’s hand. “Put her down!” he yelled.
Rampage screamed as CM3 deposited her on the lawn of the university. Ryan took a step back and CM3, still carrying the Atom, flew up beside his head.
Rampage twitched as she began to shrink on the lawn. CM3 landed and Atom jumped off his shoulder, running over to her when he hit the ground.
“Are you all right, Dr. Faulkner?” he asked.
“Fine,” Kitty replied in a tired voice. She felt her face. “I’ve lost my glasses.”
The Atom helped her up. “Do you remember what happened?” he asked as he helped her sit on a stone bench.
“I turned into Rampage again, didn’t I?” she asked.
Atom waved paramedics over. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “We’re going to get you checked out and make sure you’re okay.”
CM3 flew back to Ryan as Atom and Kitty climbed into the ambulance.
“That’s that,” CM3 said. “See you back at the room.”
Ryan nodded. “I’ll be there a little later. I’ve got some lab work I need to knock out.”
“No problem.” CM3 lifted into flight and headed back to the dorm. He had a term paper he had to finish.
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Next Issue: In CM3 #16: Many years ago, there was a hero named Ibis who battled against the Nazis. What happens when an angry teenager discovers the source of his powers, and can Firestorm and Ryan stop him? Plus, Kid Eternity has a mission for CM3…
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