Justice Issue Guide #9

Issue 24:
Showdown

On a bus headed towards Duncanville, Texas, Dennis Foley was chatting up a stranger en route to home. He'd been in prison for several years, and had many questions about what had happened since he'd been incarcerated. Strangely, his new friend was more than happy to fill him in on the many world-shaking events that had occurred in the interim, at least until their bus arrived at its destination.

Disembarking, Dennis and his new friend went their separate ways, though the former suddenly realized he hadn't gotten the man's name. He then introduced himself as Justice, Justice Tensen. Dressed undercover in a plaid shirt, jeans, a brown leather trench coat, and a ten gallon hat, Justice made his way to the sole hotel in Duncanville, the Duncanville Inn, where he saw a man being pitched clean out the door.

Renting a room for the night, Justice then astonished the assembled patrons of the inn by ordering a glass of milk to drink. Taking in the atmosphere, Justice began asking the locals about Dennis, having heard them complaining about his return to town. Insulting their mob mentality, what with Dennis having served his time for whatever crime he had committed, Justice ultimately provoked the ire of said mob.

When this disagreement predictably escalated into violence, Justice handily won the altercation.

Meanwhile, as she walked down the halls of the NSC headquarters, Angela was flagged down by Victor, who had purchased a bottle of perfume for her. When she tried it, his allergic reaction to her suddenly subsided. Once he could talk to her without being congested, Victor asked Angela to join him on a date to the Smithsonian, happy to show her its newest exhibits. Having no reason not to, Angela agreed to go.

As they worked their way out of the building, the two passed Colonel Browning, who was there to see Terrance Updike. He was met by Chauncy, who informed Browning that Updike wasn't available, and that his current location was classified. Vexed, having intended to confront him in person after the incident in Philadelphia, Browning flattened Chauncy with a single punch, imploring him to pass that message along.

Back in Duncanville, Dennis had finally made it back home, only to find his parents weren't too happy to see him. Forcing his way into the house, Dennis confronted them, only to learn they were scared of what the rest of the town would to them if they allowed him to stay there. Crestfallen, Dennis left the home he grew up in for the last time, intent on never returning since his family had rejected him.

At Camp David, the President was introduced to the his NSC by James Baker, who confirmed their leader was indeed a paranormal by simply bringing him into the briefing room. Seeing he looked decades younger than before he was attacked by Harlan Mook, the assembled council debated how to break this news to the public, even though they'd already seen hints of President Reagan's staggering regenerative ability.

At the Smithsonian, Angela and Victor were chatting while viewing the exhibits when the subject of paranormals came up. Attempting to tell Angela why he was sneezing so much around her, Victor was interrupted by his loudest allergy attack ever. Just then, a Russian paranormal known as Rodstvow crashed through the roof in his attempt to kill the Psi-Hawk, a gestalt being generated by several American youths.

As the two foes traded blows, they tore the building apart. When the roof caved in under this onslaught, a chunk of aircraft hanging from the ceiling fell towards Angela. Leaping into action, Victor shoved her out of the way, though that aircraft part fell on him as a result. When the dueling paranormals flew off, they left Angela and Victor in the rubble of the Smithsonian, the former vowing revenge!

At Cryder's General Store in Duncanville, Dennis arrived in an attempt to apologize to its proprietor. Though he had served his time for accidentally killing her husband during a drunken robbery attempt gone wrong, Dennis wanted to make things right if he could. As she shouted him down, an angry mob entered the store, seized Dennis, and carried him off to a nearby tree - one with a handy noose waiting.

Before the angry mob could hang Dennis, however, they were interrupted twice, first by a man panicking about what was happening in Washington, DC, and the other being Justice. Doing his best Magneto impersonation, he declared that he and Dennis were paranormals, and that the two should join forces. Further, he declared their alliance should begin with the destruction of Duncanville and everyone inside it.

Dennis then fought back, finally revealing his paranormal power to control the very air around him. Fighting with Justice for a bit, he then blew the government operative far, far away, ostensibly saving the town that hated him. Liking the idea of a home-grown paranormal that could protect them from the likes of those who trashed the nation's capitol, the mob suddenly decided it loved Dennis, and asked him to stay.

Later, Dennis met with Justice, thanking him for his harebrained idea to change the town's mind about him. Declaring it was only fair, since he had indeed done the time the government called for after his conviction, Justice prepared to leave when he was suddenly felled by a powerful psychic wave from afar. Once he realized it was coming from Washington, DC, Justice rushed back home as soon as he could!

Issue 24 (Backup Tale):
the Weapons of Cowards

After an Iranian border patrol unit stole a shipment of Iraqi nerve gas, the Medusa Web was hired to retrieve the chemical weapons. Giving Potiphar the job despite his strong feelings about the nations involved, the Web then set him loose. Quickly tracking the Iranians down, Potiphar ruthlessly cut many of them down while they played cards, only facing danger when one tried to run him down with a Jeep ®.

As reinforcements arrived, Potiphar took them apart with grenades, leaving him the drivers of the truck holding the nerve gas to deal with. Leaping on top of the truck as it fled the scene, Potiphar pulled the passenger out of the vehicle and then stabbed the driver to death. Having seized the truck, Potiphar drove it to the rendezvous point that the Iraqis had indicated when hiring the Web in the first place.

Arriving before their helicopters, Potiphar stood by as the vehicles landed. As one picked up the truck full of nerve gas, the other disgorged two officers who paid the Medusa Web's exorbitant fee. As they left, however, Potiphar fired a rocket at the Iraqis, detonating one helicopter, whose explosion caused the second to crash as well. Scoffing at the weak men with their weak weapons, Potiphar then stalked off.

Issue 25:
Changes

After arriving at the Dulles International Airport, Elliot Quill needed to secure transportation, as he had none in the Capitol. Approaching a gaggle of limousine drivers, Quill saw one holding a sign for 'Mr. Harris', and posed as the would-be passenger. He then walked off with the driver, Ralph, unaware that he was being observed by the person he had been hired to deal with there in Washington, DC.

Disembarking from his plane, Justice was in a hurry to check on his daughter in the wake of Rodstvow and Psi-Hawk's destructive battle throughout the city. Seeing Quill and his obviously paranormal aura, Justice was momentarily tempted to tail the man to investigate him further, but decided he was tired of being a living shadow. Stalking off, he made his way to the National Security Council building.

As he left the airport with Ralph, Quill directed his driver to take the scenic route instead of rushing to wherever he was supposed to be going, and had Ralph pull over. Striking quickly, Quill broke Ralph's neck before he could react to Quill's sudden grip on the man's head. He then stuffed Ralph into the trunk of his own limousine before driving off, making his way towards the heart of the city.

At the NSC's headquarters, Terrance Updike was having an argument with Creeping Crud, who was insisting that he simply get to go outside for once. As Justice arrived in the building, Updike left Chauncy to deal with the matter, and asked for an update to Justice's mission in Texas. Lying, Justice told Updike that Foley wasn't a paranormal as his prison warden had claimed, and then asked about the attack on the city.

Briefed on the two paranormals who trashed the joint during their battle, Justice confirmed that Psi-Hawk was dead, mainly due to an intuition about the psychic attack he suffered back in Texas. Updike then told him that his job would be to deal with Rodstvow, once the government could figure out exactly where he was, so Justice left to visit his daughter while Updike managed just that.

In his hotel room, Quill was preparing for his hit on Justice, listening to news on the radio as he assembled his rifle. Once he was done, he sat on the bed and focused his thoughts, thinking really hard at one individual in particular. Perceived by Judge Mental, the leader of the Forsaken, he updated the man on his progress. Despite the Judge reiterating his fears of Justice, Quill assured him everything was in hand.

At the hospital, Victor was trying to get a glass of water from Angela when Justice arrived. The two then stepped out to grab lunch, with Justice asking Angela what happened when the Smithsonian was trashed. Confounded when Angela of all people asked him to deal with the paranormals that had hospitalized Victor, Justice was further stressed when Angela told him she'd figured out that she was a paranormal, too.

Across the street from the NSC, Quill picked the lock of an apartment facing the street, and made his way inside. The occupant, who was home sick with a cold, did not like this whatsoever. However, Quill reached out suddenly, killing the man with a single blow to his neck! Quibbling about the man bleeding on his expensive shoes, Quill then chose the spot from which he would fire upon Justice, below.

Inside the NSC, Chauncy was having no luck with the Crud, who explained he was tired of being cooped up inside, and simply wanted some fresh air if he couldn't return to his ordinary life. Dodging the G-Man, he made his way towards the door, only to be momentarily stopped by a returning Justice. When the former vigilante found the Crud's request more than reasoanble, he decided to join him on his walk.

Taking the opportunity, Quill fired at Justice the moment he appeared in the doorway. However, his scope was misadjusted, and he struck the Crud in the head instead, killing him instantly. Opening up with his rifle, Quill tried to finish the job but the element of surprise was gone, and Justice was able to deflect Quill's rounds. Furthermore, he took a direct blast from Justice's sword arm in response!

Attempting to close the door to avoid the incoming gunfire, Updike was stymied by the Crud's body, which was wedged in the doorway. Though nobody could touch his corpse, lest they quickly decompose, it suddenly began crawling forward on its own. Watching in fascinated horror, Angela and the others had nothing to say during the terrifying spectacle, though they were happy they could finally close the door.

Fleeing after his unsuccessful attack on Justice, Quill sprinted away from the apartment he staged his ambush within, taking another shot from Justice's sword arm in the process. As it, too, failed to kill Quill, Justice realized that this was the same paranormal he'd spotted in the airport! Intent on killing him, Justice failed to do so when Quill leapt into a nearby sewer, losing his pursuer in the process.

Unable to find him in the underground tunnel, Justice returned to the surface to check on his daughter and his ostensible coworkers at the NSC. Informing Updike that he'd lost the assassin, Justice nonetheless vowed that he would find and kill Quill. That there would be Justice!

Issue 25 (Backup Tale):
the Real Me

On the side of a rural Wisconsin highway, Nightmask was attempting to hitch a ride. Unsure how he had gotten there, the last thing he remembered being contact with a mysterious cube inside Dave Landers' dream, the young adult was having little success. But then he was inexplicably in his Nightmask costume, which is normally only an unreal ensemble he 'wears' while in the dreams of others.

Attracting the attention of several members of the Cro Mags, a biker gang, Nightmask fled into the nearby woods. Though pursued, Nightmask was able to make short work of a few bikers once they split up to track him down, his Army training making it possible for him to do so. He eventually met a foe he couldn't just punch out, however, and quickly found himself on the receiving end of a beating.

When one of the Cro Mags pulled a gun on him, however, Nightmask panicked. Capable of producing waking dream images due to his intense fear, Nightmask was able to befuddle the assembled gang members and chase them off. Returning to the highway afterwards, Nightmask stole one of the bikes belonging to a thug he had beaten up before being caught, and drove off for Fort Benning once more.

Issue 26:
The Trouble With...

In the tunnels beneath Washington, DC, Elliot Quill was grousing about his ruined clothing, how he'd never get the sewer stench out of them. Passing an inexplicable alligator underground, Quill told it to come along so he could fetch it lunch, and strangely enough it followed him. Nearby, at a manhole left open while the city performed sewer maintenance, Quill climbed up out of the muck into the fresh air.

When questioned by a city worker, Quill stated he was just getting his pet alligator lunch. When the man grabbed Quill in response, the assassin kicked him over the open manhole, causing him to fall in. While he thrashed about after landing on that alligator, his partner tried to help him, so Quill took the opportunity to cave his skull in with the butt of his gun, before subsequently fleeing the scene.

Days later, Justice was attending Creeping Crud's funeral, and found that despite it being a Jewish ceremony, the fundamentals of funerals seemed universal. As it wound down, he overheard Playback talking with Chauncy, stating that she didn't feel like being alone after this somber occasion. Justice then talked with Angela about all the time she'd been spending with Victor lately, wondering what was going on.

Shrugging off his questions, Angela left the funeral to visit Victor at the hospital, as he was still laid up after the Smithsonian fell on him a bit back. Alone with his thoughts, Justice pondered the fate of the Crud, how he had suffered so much more than others his age, and that he intended to make Quill pay for what he'd done. Once he managed to find the murderer, that is.

In his hotel room, while cleaning his rifle after its trip through the sewers, Quill realized that the locals were starting to notice the funk emanating from his stolen limousine. Reminding himself to either ditch Ralph's body or to buy several bags of ice, Quill was suddenly interrupted by the voice of Judge Mental in his mind, and was overcome with pain as the Forsaken's leader screamed for him to get on with his job.

Walking towards the hospital, Angela spied a fresh newspaper in a nearby trash bin. Seizing it, she saw a kitten was tossed in the trash beneath the paper, and picked it up. Thinking it was thrown away because of its deformed back leg, Angela picked the kitten up, at which point it suddenly sprang back to life. Naming it Figaro, Angela carried it off with her towards the hospital.

Meanwhile, at the NSC, Justice was working with Alex, one of the agency's investigators, to identify the man who murdered the Crud. Attempting to produce a sketch of the assassin, Justice managed to give Alex enough to identify Elliot Quill. Justice then asked Terrance Updike if he could have the assistance of Playback in tracking Quill down, which he readily did despite being surprised by Justice's sudden politeness.

Looking for Angela afterwards, Justice instead encountered Rudy Leialoha, otherwise known as Shudderbug. Mocking the fact that Shudderbug was reading comics, and then going on a long diatribe about them, Justice's mockery was countered when Shudderbug simply pointed out the big lightning bolt Justice wore on his chest. Defeated, Justice drifted off to find Playback so she could assist him in finding Quill.

Inadvertently interrupting her private time with Chauncy, Justice waited for her to get decent, at which point he journeyed with her to the apartment from which Quill fired on the NSC. Using her powers, Playback was shaken after witnessing Quill murder its former occupant. Following his ghostly image, she and Justice then pursued it through Washington's streets, making their way to the subway station.

Though momentarily opposed by a police officer, the two completed their pursuit when Playback saw Quill boarding a train - and tried to hop on. Having forgotten she was viewing the past, Playback had to be saved from leaping onto the empty train track by Justice's shields. Crestfallen, Justice nonetheless vowed that this wasn't the end, and that he would ultimately find Quill!

At that time, Quill arrived at the hospital where Angela was visiting Victor, and while posing as a doctor, lured her out of Victor's room. Once he accomplished that, Quill 'admitted' he was an NSC official, and tried to herd Angela into her car. Growing wise to his shenanigans, Angela tried to get away, only to be knocked out for her troubles. Hauling her off to his hotel room, Quill then called the NSC.

He let them know that he had Angela, and stated that if Justice didn't surrender himself to Quill within twenty-four hours, he'd kill her - and mail her back to the NSC one piece at a time!

Issue 26 (Backup Tale):
the Pounding

A peaceful farmer, Nikolai Kolbin only joined the Medusa Web because they promised to move his family out of Russia. Though he sulked over being unable see them, not wishing to burden them more than he already had when his parability drastically increased his size, Web leader Babel shrugged off his feelings. Reminding him that his allegiance provided this opportunity, Nikolai steeled himself for what was to come.

Having agreed to never see them again, no matter how much it hurt, Nikolai began his training. Day in and day out, the Medusa Web prodded him to work his body harder and harder, quickly causing him to shed much of the ponderous bulk he'd been given by the White Event. In time, it quickly became apparent that he was a manipulator of mass, capable of altering his, at the very least, on a subconscious level.

But this physical training was only the beginning. Moving on, the Web taught Nikolai how to walk properly, talk properly, and forced him to memorize the names and backgrounds of everyone in the Soviet Politburo. After the final plastic surgeries, as well as mastery of information on his subject's wife, Raisa, the Web operative known as Toocheetsch was no more. Now, he would only be known as... Mikhail Gorbachev!

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