Kristogar Velo ran over the roof of the first freight, to reach the train controls to brake before collapsing over the rocks wall occluding the tunnel.
He swivel over the rim of the roof, jumping back inside the locomotive: and to his surprise there was a woman inside, her ands on the controls.
"Another one!" huffed Velo, kick jumping at the gun quickly produced by the woman, a Strikeforce Tenant with long, curly back hairs. The gun fled away, and the impact made the woman falling reverse over the ground. On her Strikeforce jacket there was the name Morphina.
The woman raised his head, turning to face Velo; her eyes hypnotic, she began whispering softly.
Kristogar Velo was feeling his will fading like snow to the sun… the woman was singing something ancient, unheard by human ears from centuries… the ex-special agent was fully aware that it was matter of seconds and he will be a slave for the woman…
…and it was then that many years of training came into works. Repeating an ancient mantra, thought him by a Shaolin monk of a lost Tibetan monastery, Velo shut every contact with the real world… a complete grey nothingness filling his mind, no images, no sound were arriving to his brain… just the smell of the woman, the mix of sweat, artisan-made perfume, adrenaline that build in Kristogar mind the exact position of the Strikeforce Tenant.
Velo raised his hand, and let a single slap, at full force, hit Morphina. The song stopped, Velo opened his eyes: the woman was lying on the floor.
It was at that point that he began hearing his name called from afar: "Kristogar… Kristogar…" Suddenly, he realized he had still his eyes closed: and opening it, he saw the worried face of Tayden, calling at him.
He found himself lying supine, so he get to stand. "Velo, do you know how to stop this thing?" was repeating the former angel.
"What happened?" asked Velo, his eyes going at the woman reversed on the floor.
"I followed you, and found yourself being nearly pushed out by that girl. So I took this…" said Tayden, showing a big wrench, "…and slammed it on her head. I never stand these so-called Gods, anyway…" And saying that, Tayden jumped out, swivelling again on the roof.
Velo turned, to push again, for the second time in a few minutes, on the brake: the train went to a complete stop just inches before hitting the rubbles.
Meanwhile, bove, the duel between Smith and Shadow was at a still, the master of evil facing a power just superficially similar to his own. And in the mind of the Strikeforce there was so few hate… being him doing that line of job just for the income, not for any sort of revenge or secret hidden motivation, that Smith was devoid of energy. When the sudden brake came, both the contenders lost their balance, falling out the roof… but luckily for Smith, and much to the disgust of Tayden, the just arrived former angel was able to keep the incarnation of Evil for one hand, saving him.
Velo touched the troath of Morphina, amazed at how the woman had easily tricked him, and assuring himself that she was still alive, ran out the locomotive, as Raptor, Z and D’Goon jumped down from the first freight, and Smith and Tayden down the roof.
"Are you all safe?" asked Kristogar, looking around. His companions nodded, and then turned toward the pile of debris blocking the tunnel. "Our run end here, I guess" observed D’goon.
"Acute observation!" said a woman voice from the top of the last freight.
It was Digigirl, standing on the roof of the last freight, pointing a big laser cannon at them. Behind her, Agent Bat and Agent Spider, bruised and battered, but still able to hold similar guns and pointing them at the heroes.
"Deja vue!" though Velo, smiling. And then order "Everybody take cover!"
He and his companions jumped behind the rocks closing the tunnel, while a veritable rain of fire surrounded them.
No one of the Vanguard group had any gun to answer the fire. Velo, Tayden, Raptor always disliked carrying one, while both Z and D’Goon, an elite agent and a former one, would never carry one as a point of honour. And Smith, well, Smith never had the need for one.
"We can’t resist here forever!" shouted Z. "Have no fear, it will end in no time" whispered Velo to the side of his helmet.
Raptor looked at D’Goon, and then, turning to Velo: "I can fly away with him. Cover me!"
Velo smiled, and nodded. "Be careful" said, and then, threw a flash grenade toward the assaulting Strikeforcers.
A big, bright flash blinded everyone, minus Raptor who, expecting it, had closed his sensitive eyes.
When the eyes of everyone adapted again at the darkness, the fire had ceased. The Strikeforcers agents had lowered their gun, and Digigirl was smiling. "No need to continue this fight, Velo. Let us retire, and we’ll not harm you!" she said.
Tayden look at Velo, and so did Z. Smith seemed ashamed the fight had ceased, and he had not more emotions to feed over.
Velo scratched his head, in a posturing manner. "You give up so easily?"
Digigirl smiled, triumphant. "I am not giving up, Velo. I won. Your Raptor is one of our agents, Mimic. I know you have met before, so I don’t need to explain what his power is. He is by now arrived at the surface, will have put D’Goon to sleep, get aboard the disc and left for the Nibiru spaceship."
But much to Digigirl surprise, a big smile appeared on the green dressed Vanguardian.
Tayden was looking at the smile with a puzzled expression. Smith, on the contrary, seemed pleased by the turn of events. The face of Z, behind the black visor of the helmet, was not seen. He was motionless, like petrified by the events.
"I remember Mimic, Digigilr. I met him in Berlin and then in Peru. I also remember Edulcore Cicciotto, the true one. Most think of him like the Hawkman of the comics. I don’t know if you read American comics, but Ed is like Arsenal… he has an infallible aim. And he missed a target as big as your sabertooth tiger a few hours ago.
But there is something YOU don’t know. When we met with D’Goon, I was surprised that he would let himself being in the presence of a mind reader like our Phil Smith. He would have easily discovered his own best kept secret. Clearly it had to be a double. A double brainwashed into believing he was the real D’Goon, else Phil would have known.
But where the real D’Goon would have hidden himself? Where else if not right here, with us… with the Vanguardians he has asked to protect himself? Right, General D’Goon?" asked Velo, pointing at the elite guard Z.
The agent lifted his visor, to reveal the face of the dictator of Mandelovia, General D’Goon. "Good guess, Velo." Then, he did a simple gesture, and from the darkness of the opposite end of the tunnel three shot were heard. Digigirl, Bat and Spider fell to the ground, precisely hit across the heart.
"I can’t let them live to communicate the truth to the Nibiru" said D’Goon, as many Mandelovian soldiers came out of the darkness. Tayden was disgusted by the lack of pity.
"Your soldiers were following us all along. You sported a great shape for you age, General" said Velo, smirking at the dictator.
"You did well, Velo, to my expectations. If one day you will a place in my country, I have high rank to fill."
"Sadly, Mr. General, I work for democracy… that’s why I am on my own right now" winked the ex special agent.
"Well, your call. Take this disc, it contain the localisation of the cat’s… radioactive pellets. There is something else: the co-ordinate of Naecken fortress. I know he was a friend of you, and I know also that your Cicciotto should have a mean to neutralise him. I will leave you 24 hours, then I will end his menace MY way".
"Uh? You allied with him!"
"I hoped he could do some damage to the USA, without me having to dirt my hands. That happened, so now it’s time things will return to normality…"
Velo just shrugged, while the train, on which the soldiers took position, handcuffing the two surviving Strikeforcers, Shadow and Morphina, with neural-power-nullifying devices. The pain of those objects was still vivid in the mind of Velo, from two years before, in the same place of Mandelovia.
Above ground….
"Our job is done" said Kristogar, looking in the sky at the many disc leaving the Mandelovian aerial space. "We have three hours for leaving". The Mandelovian forces were taking prisoner all the Agents and soldiers of the Strikeforce left behind by the leaving discs.
And then, to Drax: "And Nadia? How she doing?"
Drax vanished, leaving place to Drake Marshall. "It’s fine. Badly beaten, but fine. I left her in Trieste, in a few days should be back on her feet."
"And Chance? where is him?" Without even waiting for an answer, Velo picked up his communicator, and called the Swedish. But no answer came.
"We'll wait" said laconically Velo. "Everybody else, let’s pack up, and got aboard the Stoermloader." And then, scratching his head: "But… didn’t we leave the hovercraft in Espertingonzia?"
