Champions #23

A courtroom in New York. The press is in the courtroom to cover the story of the man who almost leveled New York. Ares stands at his table with his attorneys. The prosecutors look very confidant. The judge looks at Ares.

"How do you plead?"

"Not Guilty, your honor." One of the defense attorneys responds.

Snickering can be heard throughout the courtroom. A man stands up and pulls out a gun. He fires quickly at the police guards. The police officers go down. The man with the gun turns towards Ares.

"You killed my family! Now you die!"

The man fires at Ares and the bullets hit him. The god of war goes down and blood can be seen on his body. The gunman runs out of the courtroom. The man is able to escape due to civilians getting in the police's way. When the courtroom finally settles down and Ares has been taken out on a stretcher the defense attorney makes a motion to dismiss the case.

A rather large house in the better part of town.

"How do you like eet?"

"Very nice Batroc, but how did you afford it?" Scott Lang asks.

"I was more than just a thief mon ami."

"I bet you were. I bet you were." Scott Lang says.

"This place should work out nicely Batroc. Are you sure it is yours?" Black Widow jokes.

"Oh, eet iz mine. Anyone want to play some Playstation avec moi?"

"I do" Firebird says.

"You are full of surprises, mon chere."

Batroc and Firebird head into the living room. Black Widow heads upstairs to put her stuff away. Scott Lang and Hercules go into the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Herc, do you think Natasha would be interested in going to dinner with me?"

"Thou art a nice enough man, Scott Lang, but our leader is more woman than thou couldst handle." Hercules responds.

"Ouch," Scott says. "You could have just said no."

Scott Lang leaves the room but Hercules stays in the kitchen wondering if he was giving honest advice or if his father was right about him having feelings for Natasha. (See Champions #20 - Short Term Memory Lad)

A figure flies over the Pacific Ocean. He approaches a small suburban town.

"This can't be. My home should be right near here, but this is only a small town. How can this be? There is only one place to go to get my answers. I only hope I can find them."

Just as our mysterious guest star finishes his thought, A.I.M. agents enter the area and start to fire at our startled and dazed guest star. The sky is filled with a bright yellow hue as high energy weapons are discharged over and over in their attempts to take down the escaped prisoner. The figure attempts to fly away but is hit. Blood is drawn, but the shot is only a glancing blow and the ex-prisoner escapes yet again from the clutches of A.I.M.

He heads immediately to space.

In a hospital in New York City.

"Once they saw you get shot, the D.A. knew there was no way he could get a conviction. All of the video footage they have of you shows bullets and lasers bouncing off of you. What a stroke of luck you had." The head attorney says.

"There was no luck involved. I had myself shot. I knew what would happen when they saw it." Ares says.

"What.. But I thought..." The attorney says.

"Thou shallt be paid. Now leave my presence."

The attorney is led from the room with a stunned look on his face.

"Get me the man who shot me."

"Yes sir." One of the men in the room says.

A very nervous man enters the room. He bows down at the sight of Ares.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was just following orders."

"Thou hast no reason to fear me. Thou hast proven thy loyalty. Thou didst shoot me even though it may have meant thy life."

A relieved look crosses the mans face.

"Thou art officially promoted two ranks." Ares says. "We are in need of more men like thee."

Meanwhile Rachel is walking to the address that Batroc gave her, Mentallo by her side.

"Mentallo, I'm still not sure if I can go through with this plan, but I definitely would like to hear more."

"Not a problem Rachel. We can meet again tomorrow. But for right now, you need to get yourself some sleep. This isn't something for you to rush into. We would only want your help if you're sure it is the right thing for you to do," Mentallo says. (In case you weren't sure, Mentallo was the shadowy figure from issue #21 and one of the ones in #22 - Pointing Out The Obvious Lad).

"But now, I must go." Mentallo says.

"I will call you tomorrow." Rachel yells to him. The woman known as Diamondback is lost in thought as she enters a house, wondering if she is doing the right thing. Mentallo has not pushed her so far, so she is not too worried just yet. Still, she knows that if he starts to push too hard, it's not going to be something to get involved in.

So lost in her own thoughts wa she, Rachel hadn't noticed anything odd about the house. When she finally becomes aware of her surroundings, she notices that the house has been trashed. "What the-? There's fur everywhere. Fur? Cerberus doesn't have this much fur. What the heck has happened here?"

Quickly, she picks up the phone.

"Mentallo? I need your help. My friends are in trouble."

Next Issue: Chimpions, 'Nuff said.