Sherman Center, Lost HavenThe final stage of planning was complete. All that was left was for the team to actually get to West Virginia and take this Doctor Diplodoc guy down. It seemed simple enough a task. Yet, nothing was ever as easy as it seemed. Thunderbolt quickly made his way out of Sherman Center. Finding his sister, Boom, wasn't difficult. They were both intimately connected via the power of the Lightning Effect, the source of their speed. Harvey could track her down rather easily; and vice versa. He found Laura seated on the edge of Sherman center's roof, her feet dangling precariously off. Thunderbolt plopped down beside her, wondering how in the seven layers of hell he was going to convince Laura that they needed her help. Harvey recalled a fond memory of trying (unsuccessfully) to get a pissed off Laura out of the treehouse when they were kids. Dad had ordered her to stop snooping on their elderly neighbors, the Frankfurts. Laura insisted that they were both really aliens disguised as humans and was hellbent on proving it. Barred from her investigation, the Smith girl had decided to hide in her treehouse in protest. A whole day and a half had passed before dad got so fed up that he climbed up the tree and dragged his daughter inside.
"I-" Thunderbolt began, his voice tentative and unsure.
"Yes, I understand that I have a responsible to help. And yes, I believe you when you say that we'll take War-Pulse in the moment Pax is dealt with. It just pisses me off that all of Lost Haven's so called heroes set aside their morals at the first sign of trouble. Whatever happened to integrity?! Shit, you'd think Icon, of all people, would at the very least condemn him for his actions. But no! He's just like the rest. I'm starting to think he's no better than the rest of them. Of us." Boom poured out her thoughts to her brother in the span of a hundredth of a second. She'd obviously thought long and hard about this while the team busied itself strategizing. Harvey stared at her, momentarily stunned as he processed everything she'd said. He understood Laura's position. He even agreed with her to an extent. But something told Thunderbolt that they needed War-Pulse. That this deal with the devil was absolutely necessary to defeat a greater evil.
"How did you know what I was going to say?" He asked, breaking the silence.
Laura gave him a meager smile.
"You're predictable.""Does...this mean you'll help us?" Harvey questioned once more. Boom merely nodded. Thunderbolt jumped to his feet, hands on his hips.
"Great!" He gave an enthusiastic shout.
"Let's get going. We gotta beat the traffic, after all." Boom stood as well; however, she didn't appear quite as ecstatic about the present situation.
"I have some..business..to attend to first. I'll meet you guys in West Virginia." That deflated Harv's joy in a flash.
"Oh. Uhhh...Alright. See you there, I guess. Stay safe." With that, the two speedsters departed.
Pax Metahumana Facility, West VirginiaThe 'trip' to West Virginia hadn't taken Thunderbolt more than thirty seconds. He had to spend an unbearable amount of time just waiting for the slowest members of the rag tag team to arrive via air. Of course, he hadn't just stood around in the airport. Ugh, no. He'd never waste time just standing. Harvey had patrolled a handful of cities, taking down petty criminals attempting to take advantage of the widespread chaos and panic. There was no shortage of conflicts to resolve either. Tensions were high and it looked as if everyone was searching for a reason to break something. Thunderbolt stopped to repair broken shop windows and clean up homes effected by the looting. He had gone so far as to assist the police in organizing the citizens into watch groups, who's sole goal was to report suspicious activity and keep their neighborhoods calm and orderly.
Once everyone had arrived, the heroes made their way to the facility itself. Chris (who had chosen to stay in Lost Haven to coordinate the two teams) gave Team One the go ahead to enter the 'secret' base; which was little more than an abandoned factory of some kind. The place was huge. Absurdly so. Thunderbolt acted as an advanced scout for the team. He would move ahead of them, checking for danger, mostly in the form of traps and dilapidated walls, floors and roofs. Chris warned the team that the enemy was nearby, so the speedster chose to move back to the group to keep a tight formation. He was greeted by the arrival of the Silver Sorceress. Her appearance betrayed the sort of power War-Pulse had warned them of. “I’m surprised it took you all this long to discover our little hideaway. But I guess that what happens when you try to jam several different cogs and gears into a clock and expect it to work.” The woman taunted.
"Pfft. What, you think you can take us on your own? You and what army?!"With a wave of her hands, the rest of the villains appeared out of thin air.
"Me and my big mouth." Harvey muttered. His eyes danced around as he took in his opponents at super speed. The match ups became obvious. Effigy took on War-Pulses powers; those two wanted a rematch to be sure. White Witch would likely take on the magicians, being the only one who had any knowledge of the dark arts. The Black Widow grabbed Sam, whom Lyger was likely to want to save. That only left the Shark for Thunderbolt. He didn't know what Radiance was planning to do, but if he was in her position, he'd help out Witch with the dynamic duo.
"Lyger, save your girlfriend! Shark-face is mine."The speedster twins had plenty of experience dealing with bricks. Concrete and El Toro, two of their more regular rogues, both fit that particular description. Concrete in a more literal fashion. Thunderbolt started with his patented speed blitz. He shot forward, reaching about half speed in three quick steps. He transferred almost all of his momentum into his hips and right fist and slugged Jaws right in the schnoz with all the force of a great typhoon. The shark man felt himself lifted off his feet and tossed backwards at hypersonic speeds. His huge body smashed through a a conveyor belt and various other industrial equipment. Harvey was on the Great White in a moment, not allowing him a second to get his barring. The speedster ran around Jaws, unleashing a hail of quick jabs to vital parts of the body. Thunderbolt's instincts, combined with his martial training and super powers, allowed him to find the perfect spots to strike for maximum effectiveness.
The bout looked to be one-sided until Jaws swung his powerful arm in a wide arc, catching Thunderbolt in the back. The quick little hero was knocked into the air, rocketing toward the ceiling. The blue blur was thrown straight through a metal walkway and collided with the unstable roof with a thud. Harv crashed back to earth, his body cracking the concrete floor when he landed.
"Holy crap." Thunderbolt groaned. Every muscle in his body was overcome with a sharp, stabbing pain. His bones ached and he was pretty sure those were his broken ribs stabbing into his side. Harvey pushed the protruding bones back into place, cringing at the disgusting sound of his healing factor repairing the internal damage. Before Thunderbolt could fully recover, Jaws flew across the room, his body covered in a strange blue aura, and struck Thunderbolt on the jaw. He skidded across the ground and violently slammed into a nearby wall. Blood poured freely from his mouth and nose. Harvey adjusted his broken nose, allowing it to snap back into position.
Jaws hit hard; harder than either Toro or Concrete, that was for sure. He might have been faster too. Thunderbolt's healing factor hadn't permanently fixed his injuries, but the major ones had been patched over until it could finish the job later. Harvey prayed a silent thank you to whoever or whatever had designed his powers so well. The hero pushed himself to his feet and dashed to the side just in time to avoid another charge from the Shark Man.
"Have you ever watched Sharknado?" Thunderbolt suddenly asked between breaths. The monster didn't seem to be in the mood for conversation and attempted to hit Thunderbolt once more. Harvey stepped to the side. He led Jaws away from the wall and into the center of the room. Once he was sure he had enough room to maneuver, Thunderbolt began running circles around the brick. Wind began whipping about the enclosed space as the speedster picked up the pace. It wasn't long before a full on tornado began to form around the shark. The winds strength increased to the point where Jaws' feet left the ground and he started to float. The giant was thrown violently around the cyclone, being deprived of precious oxygen every second he spent stuck there.
"Got ya now, asshole!"As quickly as it had appeared, the tornado dissipated. Magical energy tore the speed-induced phenomenon apart, and the Silver Sorceress used her powers to launch the Shark at the speedster yet again.
"Ahhh!" Thunderbolt screamed. He tried to run, but found his feet held to the ground by vines. Without any time to free himself, he threw up his arms to protect his face from the oncoming flying shark.
There was a crackling of energy. A silver and blue silhouette sped between the various conflicts and smashed into the side of the shark, knocking him away. Thunderbolt recognized his sister instantly.
"Back off!" She shouted. Her voice was as demanding and stubborn as usual; an attitude he'd grown to appreciate at times like this. Thunderbolt freed himself and he joined Boom in attacking Jaws.
"Where have you been?" Harvey didn't bother to hide his wry grin.
"I was getting help. Speaking of which..."A hole was blown through the factory ceiling. Three figures descended to the floor. Skyquake charged full-sail toward the two battling War-Pulses, ready to pound Effigy into the dirt with her super strength. Skull-Thrasher detached himself from his grappling hook and started taking pot shots at Black Widow with his pistols. Meanwhile, Supercell conjured up a tiny storm to launch lightning across the battlefield. "Vanguard, engage!" Skyquake yelled out triumphantly. "Engage?" Skull-Thrasher mocked his Irish leader. "Is that the best you've got?" May ignored her armored compatriot and turned her full attention toward the War-Pulses. "Oy. Name the two speed twins n' where you met them!" She impatiently questioned, floating alongside the two. While the inquiry might seem utterly random at first, her intentions were clear enough after a seconds thought: only the actual War-Pulse would know that bit of information.
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