“So let’s talk,” Izzy said, letting his arms rest at his sides.

“You’ve attacked the LC Tower,” Aegis replied, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared at Izzy across the hall.  Mammoth’s body was splayed at his feet, his tusk still buried in his slowly rising and falling back.

“The Sea Witch is here.  She’s got most, hell, maybe all, of the others under her control.  We need to get to Stephanie’s library.”

Aegis nodded.  “And what would you do?”

“What?”

“You’re just as susceptible to her compulsion as anyone else.  So what would you do besides be another pawn?”

“Anna,” he said.  “Anna’s immune.  But she’s not going to make it up there on her own.”  He pointed at Mammoth’s prone form.  “I just want to make sure no one dies here today.  They’re ready to kill us to stop us, and they’re going to have to live with that if it happens.”

Aegis was silent.

“Well?”

“Leave, Israel.”

“Excuse me?”

“Things have gotten out of hand.  I haven’t handled this whole thing as well as I should have, but I’ll rectify that now.”

Izzy’s eyes narrowed.  Aegis could get to the top of the tower without his help, no problem.  There wasn’t another Legend save for Lady Sapphire that posed a real threat to him, and she was just as immune to mind controlling effects as he was, protected by countless magical wards placed on herself.  He could probably even subdue them faster and easier with less risk to the other Legends by himself than what Izzy and his team could do.  But something in his tone set Izzy’s nerves on edge.  

“You’re going to handle it, are you?”

“Israel, it’s best if you leave.”



***12 years ago***

The growing rivalry between two prominent gangs in Baltimore had finally reached a peak, erupting into an all out gang war that spilled onto the streets.  Gangsters were dropping rivals, cops and random bystanders indiscriminately.  It was the kind of thing you called heroes for.  The mayor of Baltimore, the governor’s office, and the Secretary of Defense had all called Legendary Consortium within minutes of each other after a pipe bomb was set off in a police precinct.  Aegis answered, telling them to get the police to fall back and focus on evacuating civilians; he had his best people on it.

“Hold on a minute.”

Callie, Tempest, Lynx, and Barrage stopped outside of Callie’s car, turning as Aegis stepped into the garage.

“What’s up, jefe?” Callie asked.

“This job.  I don’t want you all to hold back.”

The Legends looked at each other and then back at the immortal.  “By don’t hold back, you mean…” Tempest trailed off.

“I won’t mince words.  I’m not telling you to go out of your way to kill anyone, but but don’t worry about protecting these people.”

“So, we have approval to use lethal force, basically?” Lynx asked.

“Tacit approval, yes.  Prison doesn’t scare these people.  Last week, three civilians were injured in a bank robbery.  After we showed up.  Two weeks ago, a pregnant woman was shot and killed in a standoff, while we were there.  Last month, a cop was killed, again, after we’d already arrived on the scene.  Then there-”

“We get it,” Callie said.

“We don’t strike fear in these criminals anymore.  Especially in these gangs.  They act with impunity, knowing the worst we’ll do is throw them in jail, where they’re well connected and taken care until they get out just to repeat the same thing over again.”

“With all due respect, boss, you’re asking us to kill while, uh-” Tempest started.

“While you stay here and keep your hands clean,” Callie finished for him.

“The world already fears me.  I need them to fear you.  I need for the scum and lowlifes to throw down their guns instead of firing back when the Legendary Consortium shows up.  I need them to think twice about their lives because they know we’re watching, and there are real consequences to their actions.”

“So we’re your kill squad?” Lynx asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Aegis nodded.

“Does Lady Sapph know?” Barrage asked.

Aegis didn’t respond right away.  “We’ll deal with the blowback from this.  Just go out and do your jobs.  Stop the gang war.  By any means necessary.”



“So are we actually doing this?” Callie asked.  She was driving, speeding down the road at close to 180 mph, swerving through traffic with her perfect reflexes.

“We might not have to.  I’m certainly not going out of my way to kill anyone,” Tempest replied.

“I don’t know what the big deal is.  We’ve all killed before,” Lynx said, her chains rattling as she shrugged her shoulders from the back seat.

“Only once since I joined up, and even though it was an accident it was a media circus.  The whole point is we’re not killers now,” Tempest said.

“Except now Aegis wants us to be,” Callie added.

“He’s got a point.  Fear is a powerful motivator,” Lynx countered.

“Do we really want to be feared?” Tempest asked.

“By criminals, hell yeah.  What good does their respect and admiration do us?” Lynx asked.

“Barrage, you’ve been pretty quiet?” Callie asked, looking over her shoulder at the cowboy.

Izzy took his hat off, running his fingers along the brim as he held it in his lap.  “You heard Aegis.  We do our jobs.”



There were other things people feared besides death.  Izzy didn’t like to broadcast it, but he’d spent a lot of time studying human anatomy.  He knew precisely where and how hard to hit someone so that, for instance, they’d be left paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of their life.  It was a skill set he hadn’t had an opportunity to practice yet, but given the sickening sound of crunching bone and the fact that the man lying on the ground in front of him was still breathing, he figured he’d gotten it right.  The tax payers might be paying his hospital bills for the rest of his life, but he’d always know that Barrage had put him in a wheelchair.

And he’d know that Barrage had sparred him, while his friends had been cut down.

He felt good, confident in his decision.  They were’t looking to go on a massacre.  Lynx alone probably had an adequate body count to make their point.  The Legendary Consortium wasn’t fucking around.

The rattle of gunfire roared threw the air.  Izzy ducked behind a wall as bullets tore into the bricks where he’d been standing.  He pointed around the wall and fired back.  They exchanged fire a few times, and when the gunfire stopped, Izzy rounded the corner and ran after him.

The man fumbled to reload his semi automatic.  He pointed the gun behind him and squeezed the trigger, but the gun jammed.

“Aw, fuck dis shit!”  He veered to the right, throwing himself through a door.  He scrambled to his feet, smacking the side of the gun in a desperate attempt to clear it as he kept run.  

Barrage followed him through the broken door, into an apartment building.  He ran after him, taking the stairs two at a time, firing after him.  The gangster took a hard blow in the shoulder, sending him spinning, but he caught himself on the wall and ducked through a door, slamming it behind him.

Izzy caught up, finding the door locked.  He pointed a finger and blew the doorknob off and kicked the door in.

“Back the fuck off man!”

Barrage froze.  The gangster was holding a kid, a little boy, maybe six years old.  The barrel of his gun was pressed against the kid’s head.

The little boy stared up at Barrage, wide eyed.  His tiny hands trembled as they clutched something to his chest.

“Easy,” Barrage said, putting his hands up.  “You don’t want to do anything stupid here,” he said slowly.

“Man, shut the fuck up.  Don’t condescend to me, stupid ass Clint Eastwood lookin’ mutha fucka,” the gangster said, wrapping his finger around the trigger.

“I ain’t condescending you, man.  But I also know that gun’s jammed, and you’re not going to kill that kid, just like I’m not going to kill you.”

“Damn straight you ain’t.  Now turn yo ass around and get on your knees, or shorty here gets it.”

Izzy sighed.  He looked at the kid.  “Hey, you’re gonna be alright.  Just hold on.  You’re a tough kid.”

“Hey!  You’re talkin’ at me!  Now turn your cracker ass around and get on your goddam knees.”

“Look man, I’m gonna give you one more chance to do this the easy way.  Just let the kid go and you can leave here in the back of a squad car instead of an ambul-”

There was a single, loud bang.

Everything seemed to move in slow-motion.  The gangster seemed as surprised as Izzy was, still holding the kid up as he went limp in his arm.  Izzy watched as his hands dropped from his chest, the thing he was clutching dropping from his tiny hands and bouncing on the floor.  It was an Aegis action figure.  A good one, fully posable and good quality plastic.  Izzy had the bizarre thought that it was way too nice for this neighborhood.  It was probably his only Christmas present that year.

The gangster raised his gun again, but it was too late.  Barrage let loose.

The coroner would later discover that every bone in his body was broken.  There wasn’t even enough to get dental records to identify the body.  Barrage’s six other casualties were in better shape, killed with shattered skulls and crushed hearts, all fatal blows that killed them instantly.



“Donc, vous êtes un tueur.”

“Il est bon de vous voir, Mira.”

Mira was smoking outside her school when Izzy walked up, wearing a hoodie and dark sunglasses.

“It’s good to see you too,” she said, switching to English and adopting Izzy’s midwestern drawl.

“Your accents are getting better,” he said.

She shrugged.  An illusion of her appeared.  “My ventriloquism is even better,” the illusion said.  Mira’s mouth barely moved, and her voice did sound like it came from the double.

“Impressive,” he said.

“Not as impressive as killing seven of people.”

He frowned.

“Is that why you came home?”

“I don’t know.”

“I hope you’re not here to see dad.”  She passed her cigarette to the fake, palming the real one while the illusion started to smoke, blowing intricate smoke rings.

“Hell no.  I came to see you.”

“Me?”

“Can’t a guy come back to visit his little sister.”

“You’re the one who left,” she said, the illusion suddenly dissipating.  

“You know why I left,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.  “I just, I needed to see something familiar.”

“I’m flattered.”  Her tone was sarcastic, but she placed her hand on top of his, holding it on her shoulder.  “You could quit, you know.”

“I’m not gonna quit.”

“You were doing fine before you joined the Legendary Consortium of Pricks.”

“No, no I wasn’t.”

“Oh right, I wouldn’t know.  You still won’t tell me anything.”

He took his hand off her shoulder and held both of her hands.  “I’m telling you I like what I do.  I’ve had a rough week, and I miss you and I love you.”

“Then take me with you.”

“You know the deal.  Finish school.  Be better than me.  You don’t have to leave like I did.”

“And if I do.”

“Then I’ll be waiting for you in America.  I’ll help you get set up.  You can do your own thing.”

She hugged him.  “I miss you too.”

“Three more years.”

“Two.  I’m gonna graduate early.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“It’s high school, and I’m gifted.  Not like anyone’s gonna care if I have a diploma so I can be a heroine.”

“Aw, you’re following in my footsteps,” he cooed, tickling under her chin.

“Fuck you,” she said, slapping his hand away.

He smiled at her.  “Alright.  It was good to see you.  I’m going back home.”

“So soon?  You just got here.”

“And I got what I needed.”  He hugged her, kissing her on the forehead.  “I’ll be in touch.”

“Yeah, love you too,” she said as he walked off.



“Why do you think I’m a murderer?”

“Well come right in,” Aegis said turning to stare at Barrage who’d already stormed into his room.

“No bullshit,” Barrage said, glaring up at the immortal.

“You’ve killed before.”

“Not what I asked.  Why did you put me on your kill squad?”

Aegis’ lips tightened.  “I don’t see you as a murderer.  You’re a man who gets things done.  By any means necessary.  That includes killing when you have to.”

“Fuck you too.”

“You’re not mad at me.  You’re mad at yourself, because you know if you’d killed that man sooner that little kid would still be alive.”

Izzy put his head in his hands.  “His gun was jammed.  It was, ugh- I’m not a murderer.”

“I told you.  I don’t see you as one.  You’ve never been in war Israel-”

“We’re not at war,” Izzy interrupted.

“Well they are!  People like you and I exist for a reason.  We’ve been given a gift, and it’s on us to use that gift for the greater good.  Sometimes that comes at a terrible cost, but I picked you to be on my ‘kill squad’, as you put it, because I thought you could handle that burden.  And I still think you can.”

“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”

“This is reality,” Aegis said.



It had been a few weeks since the Baltimore Massacre, and the buzz had died down somewhat.  Izzy found himself called out to help with a small riot caused after some rich prick was found not guilty of killing his wife despite overwhelming evidence.  

He stopped short as he saw a man in a cowboy outfit by one of the S.W.A.T. vans.

The cowboy turned and saw him, his jaw dropping.  “Oh my god, it’s you!” he exclaimed, taking off the hat.

“What is this?” Barrage asked, sidling up to him.

“Oh, this.  I’m sorry, I hope you don’t find this offensive, but lately, I’ve been…”

“Impersonating me?”

“Well, yes.  Detective Marshall,” he said, sticking out his hand.  Barrage shook it hesitantly.

“It’s just, we’ve found that if it looks like a Legend is on the scene, criminals surrender a lot faster.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, they’re doing it all over.  They broadcast it over the radios that a Legend has shown up in case the perps have police scanners.  It just, it makes things easier.”

“Easier,” Barrage repeated.  “Yeah, I guess it does.  Put your hat back on.  You wear it well.”

The cop put his hat back on.  “Wait, you’re leaving?” he asked as Barrage turned and started walking back the way he came.

“Can’t have two cowboys show up on the scene.  People might get wise.  I got no problem with easy.”

“I won’t make you look bad,” Marshall said.

“I don’t think you can.”  Impersonating heroes happened, and usually presented its own set of problems, but Izzy figured he could trust the cops to not do anything stupid while pretending to be him.  The worst they could do was kill someone, and he’d already done that.



“You were right.”

“I know I was.”  Aegis turned to look at Izzy, the cowboy leaning in the door.

“Alright then.  So we’re good.”  He started to shut the door and leave.  Aegis wasn’t much of a talker and neither was he.

“It was not an easy decision to make, and it was even harder to ask it of others.  But difficult is the road we walk.”

Izzy opened the door and walked fully into the room.

“It’s a temporary solution,” he said, walking up beside Aegis and standing next to him as they stared out the window over the city.

“Life is temporary.  We do what we do to preserve the greater good, for as long as we can.  We make the tough choices, the hard sacrifices.”

“We get things done,” Izzy said.

“We get things done.”



“Tell me why you want me to leave, Aegis,” Izzy said.

“Because you’re not going to like what I have to do.”

“Tell me,” he repeated, his voice rising.

“You’ve lost focus-”

“Tell me.”

“-Lost sight of the greater good-”

“Tell me!” he roared.

“I’m going to do what I should have done eight years ago.  I have to kill Annabelle Carillon, as well as the Sea Witch.  Her power started this.”

Izzy nodded.  “Alright.”  He took his hat off, tossing it to the side.  “I’ll leave.”

Aegis held up his hand.  “Israel, don’t-”

Izzy pointed a single finger and unleashed a blast of kinetic energy.  Aegis leaned into it, digging his feet in.  The force wrapped around him, tearing him off his feet and throwing him backward.  He slammed through wall after wall, nothing stopping him as the kinetic energy continued to relentlessly batter into him.

Finally he hit a wall that didn’t break, concrete crumbling all around him.  He looked up, staring across the building as Barrage strode towards him through the path of destruction.  Aegis looked around.  He was at the edge of the building.  So this was Barrage’s true strength.  The tremendous force would have obliterated a normal human.  

Barrage didn’t even look taxed from the display of raw power, his face set in an expression of grim determination.  

Aegis shook the dust off and charged.  Barrage shot from the hip, firing from both fingertips.  The blast threw Aegis clean through the wall and out fifteen feet out into open space before gravity yanked the immortal out from under the wall of energy, dragging him earthwards down seven stories to the street below.

Izzy stood in the hole in the wall, looking down at the crater in the street.  Cars screeched to a stop, and Aegis climbed out of the rubble, looking up through the dust.  Several people looked up, pointing to the hole in the tower.  Izzy stepped out into open space and dropped after the immortal.