ALL GOD'S CHILDREN Giant-Size 5

TRICOLOUR

France, Soviet Europe

Tricolour has become leader of the Saviors in the wake of Empire's death. Her real name is Jenette LeVoir, a thirty-two year old woman born and raised in Paris. S

ibearia is a genetically and evolutionally-evolved Russian bear, created through a highly classified Soviet European military program.

Together they are 1/4 of the Saviors, the United League of Nations sponsored super-team charged with protecting the Earth from all threats on-and off-planet.

SIBEARIA

Russia, Soviet Europe

Sibearia moved his large frame through the halls of the Cathedral, musing about the unexpected turns life had provided him. As a cub he had been captured in the northern Russian woods, and subjected to genetic and evolutionary experimentation, giving him a more human appearance, as well as the human abilities of advanced thought, dexterity, and language skills. He had been pressed immediately into military service for the defense of Soviet Europe's eastern border where he had been allowed to grow into his abilities and body slowly, and out of the public eye. It had been a shock to him when he was ordered by his commander to try-out for the Saviors in mid-2199, and an even bigger shock when he was admitted to the team later that year.

Coming to a large wooden door on the right side of the hallway, Sibearia paused. The Cathedral was located in the Out of Time Dimension, but accessible from churches all across the Earth. Down here in the lower levels of the Saviors' headquarters, they were connected to the Infinite Roads, paths that led, so the myths believed, anywhere and everywhere in the Everything. Through this door was one of the Infinite Roads, which was surrounded by a particularly lovely stretch of dense forest.

"Do not even think about it," a sharp voice said to him over the Saviors com-net. "We need to talk."

The French heroine Tricolour spread the data sheets over a large, rectangular wooden table while she waited for Sibearia to join her. For the past six hours she'd been filling out various reports and paperwork relating to Empire's death. * She'd spent the first half-year being pissed at Empire simply because he was chosen to lead the team over her, then was equally pissed when he was chosen to become the Earth Ambassador to the Asgardian Council.

It was irrelevant that his absence allowed her to gain the leadership role she craved. She should have been chosen the Ambassador, after all, since sending Empire weakened the Saviors by creating a void at the leadership position, and it would have appeased her for passing her over at the start.

And now the United League of Nations had chosen the time-traveler Cable as Ambassador. They played it to the media that he was chosen because they could not risk losing another Savior, and perhaps that was why they had done it. Tricolour had decided she didn't care, though she knew, deep inside, that she didn't believe that. Leadership in the Saviors was hers now, and she would see to it that this team was ready for anything and everything.

The door was opened and Sibearia entered the stone-walled room. He nodded to Tricolour, who didn't look up from the papers she was signing. "Just finishing up, Sibearia. Be with you in a moment."

Sibearia nodded and sat down in a large chair by the fireplace. He knew this was one of her games, to reinforce that she was in charge, and he let her have the moment. Games like this were not healthy to the team, and Sibearia saw no need to challenge Tricolour outwardly. Her gamesmanship had been born the day Empire - the former United States hero originally named Eagle One - was named as commander of the Saviors. He'd heard rumors she had always been like this, that other members of the Soviet European superhero community thought her cold and ego-centric, but he never judged a person by who they might have been when he could directly judge who they were now.

"I am finalizing the paperwork on the loss of Empire," she said formally, finally looking up from her papers. "But that is not why I called you. There are two issues on the table; one that I may decide, and the other that has been made for the Saviors by the ULN."

Sibearia remained seated. "You need to choose your second-in-command, and we need to have the ULN decided on Empire's replacement."

Tricolour folded her arms across her chest. "It was either you or Bonzai Betty. You are the most trusted member of this team, Sibearia, which is why I can confide in you that Betty's lust for this position worries me."

Sibearia nodded, but said nothing. He knew that Betty wanted to lead the Saviors as much as he did - which was to say, not at all. It was the government in Pacific China that wanted her to lead the team, and not Bethelda herself. What failed to worry Tricolour about himself, Sibearia believed, was that he was not formerly a "superhero," but a soldier. He understood the chain of command, while Betty, a research scientist, came from a background of competition, having to continually produce results and increase her stature to remain employed.

"The ULN rejected my request," Tricolour said flatly. "They felt that you were qualified, of course, but that your elevation in rank to second-in-command would give too much power to Soviet Europe. I am told by our liaison to the ULN that the United American States, the Confederation of Desert Kingdoms, and Pacific China all objected."

Siberia rose from his chair and moved to the table. "It is an understandable decision."

"I am glad you feel that way," Tricolour informed him, moving to stand on the opposite side of the table.

Tricolour nodded. "Madronn's skills as a spy, in addition to his standing as one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world, does not make him an ideal candidate to lead. His interests lie elsewhere." Tricolour frowned, "Such as capitalizing on our status to increase his own wealth." She moved to the large screen at the far wall, and began to punch at buttons on the control panel. The SAVIORS logo on the screen faded to black, replaced by a commercial for a Saviors' collectable card game.

Sibearia shook his head. "You would think a multibillionaire would not bother himself with the pittance he earns from selling trinkets."

"He finds the concept of superheroes ridiculous," Tricolour said, shutting off the commercial. "He is the only member of this team that did not have to undergo the trials of admission, I needn't remind you."

"He is valuable, Jenette," the bear said lowly. "Surely we get as much from him, as he gets from us."

"I don't trust him," Tricolour said flatly. "His operational headquarters lie too close to Wakanda for my comfort."

Siberia did not want to go down this road again, so he changed the subject. "Have you talked to Princess Sand and Doc Tech about their activities, yet?"

"To Eesa, but not Shinobin," she replied. "Though she wields great power, Eesa is young and growing." Tricolour shook her head. "I have requested, as Empire did before me, that a junior Saviors squad be formed. They refused. Sand's father is too powerful within the CDK, and until we can change his mind that Sand needs more experience, she will remain with the Saviors."

"I would appreciate that," Tricolour nodded. "He has been warned in the past about not including her in his activities." She shook her head, growing angrier by the moment. "Stealing from the Vatican itself. Unacceptable. I do not care what ancient tomes they have he claims he needs to protect, he must obey the regulations set forth in our Charter." Tricolour slammed her fist down on the table, then gave herself a few moments to calm. "Unofficially, I couldn't care a whit about his breaking of the Charter in an instance like this. Shinobin has strongly held beliefs, and I trust that what he steals he does so for the right reasons. I am willing, even as a strong Catholic, to allow that some items are too dangerous for the Vatican to hold." She looked up at Sibearia, and for the first time he could see lines of concern begin to touch her face. "But Siobhin makes a game of it, and includes Princess Sand in his surface frivolity. He steals for a reason, she steals because he has made it fun for her."

Sibearia started to respond, but was cut off as a holographic image of Bonzai Betty's face appeared in the air before them. "Tricolour, we have a visitor seeking entrance to the Cathedral from our Door in Chicago."

"Visual," Tricolour ordered as she turned to the screen. They saw a superhero dressed in a red, white, and blue costume arguing loudly with the ULN operative that worked out of the Chicago church that held a doorway into the Cathedral. "Do you know who I am?" the young hero screamed. "I'm the most popular superhero in the world, Jack, now open up the god-"

"Is that who I fear it to be?" Sibearia asked behind her, cutting off the young hero's profanity.

"It is," Tricolour nodded. "Eagle 2, the former teen-aged sidekick of Empire, from when he was Eagle One."

Tricolour turned to look at her teammates. "He is our newest member, the United American States-sanctioned replacement for Empire."

"Wonderful," Sibearia and Betty deadpanned together. The UAS could not have picked a worse replacement. The serenity that the Saviors had enjoyed for most of their existence was about to be broken. A hotshot was about to be introduced into a team of professionals.

Egypt, Confederation of Desert Kingdoms

Princess Sand (Eesa Komein) is the youngest member of the Saviors at 19 years of age. She is the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in all of the CDK region.

Eagle 2 (Washington Ames) is Empire's replacement, and his former sidekick. At 25, he is the hottest superhero in the world, and represents the United American States.

Together they are 1/4 of the Saviors, the United League of Nations sponsored super-team charged with protecting the Earth from all threats on-and off-planet.

EAGLE 2

United States, United American States

Princess Sand was greeted with a whistle. She stood in the entrance hall of the Cathedral, a stone walled room with a ceiling 100 feet high. Bright white light poured down on the hall from above, and the walls were adorned with statues of each member of the Saviors. She was here to meet Eagle 2 alone. The remaining members of the Saviors were busy running an operation against Countess Hammer of Symkaria, leaving her to welcome Eagle 2 into their ranks.

"Eagle 2," she smiled politely, "welcome to the Cathedral, headquarters of the Saviors."

"What?" Washington replied, folding his hands over his heart. "No love for your knight in shining armor?"

"Better'n bein' a sidekick." He flashed her the patented smile that had made him Super Magazine's Most Eligible Bachelor every year for the past five, and Teen Super Magazine's Hottest Hero the four years previous to that. His costume was new, Eesa noted, mostly red with a solid blue stripe down each side. The red of his chest was dotted with stars. To think she had once been smitten with this jerk. "What was the deal with the priest in Chicago not letting me into headquarters?" *

"We were not aware you were named as Empire's replacement," Sand replied honestly. "Tricolour received official notification only this afternoon, and we have not met for our daily briefing, let alone sent word out to our support staffs." She looked behind him. "You have not brought any personal belongings?"

Washington reached his hand into his pocket and removed a sleak titanium box, less than half the size of his palm. "All in here," he beamed. "Gift from the Pacific China government on my appointment to the Saviors. The titanium is coated with the same particles Bonzai Betty developed that allows her to shrink and grow. It secretes the stuff onto whatever I put in the box. I can make the box as small as this, and as big as a two-story house."

"Yeah," Eagle 2 tossed the box casually in the air. "Each of the four governments gave me a gift." He winked at her, "Wanna know what your government gave me?"

"I'm not kidding," he said, walking away from her to examine the statue of her that stood a few meters away. "You're to be my date for this year's International Cinema Awards. With our combined 'Q' ratings, we're sure to be one of the hottest couples in attendance."

Eagle 2 circled Sand's statue, looking up to the face as he moved around the base. "Think what you want," he said, not bothering to look over at her. "You'll be receiving your official orders shortly. By the way, your father says hello." At that, Washington reached into his pocket and retrieved a red ruby, then tossed it to Eesa. "He's liked me ever since I saved you from the fiendish clutches of Nightdagger." Washington reached his hand out to lean on the statue's leg, suppressing a laugh.

"You were seventeen, he was nineteen," Eagle 2 shrugged. "I was saving you from being raped."

"No?" Eagle 2 said, moving away from the statue, on a path directly towards Eesa. "What other kind of person kills 8000 civilians for no good reason? Tell me, Eesa, were you thinking of him fondly when you heard the news that he wiped out an entire Polish village last month?"

"Who he is now," she fumed, "is not who he was then, Washington. If people like you had given him a chance he wouldn't have ended up like his father."

"You mean, if I had let him rape you, he wouldn't have turned into a psychotic criminal mastermind?" Eagle 2 asked.

"Stop saying that." She put her finger in his chest. "The legal age in my country for an unmarried woman to engage in sexual activities is seventeen, Washington. I was seventeen."

"Not yet," Eagle 2 replied to her back, "but I will be. Man, Eesa," he said, looking between the statue and her, "you're figure's gotten a heck of lot nicer since they built that statue. You should have it redone."

Eesa turned back to him. "Empire spoke so fondly of you, Washington. When he took on the name 'Empire' at your government's insistence, and you took up the name Eagle, he was so proud of how far you had come. I always wondered how he could be so wrong about you. You're nothing but a lame sequel."

Eagle 2 shrugged. "Maybe it's not him who's wrong about me, Eesa." He moved to stand close to her. "Look, I'm sorry your father paid me to spy on you when he did. I couldn't say no. Eagle One and I had been trailing Nightdagger's father for three months leading up to that point. We thought he was using Nightdagger to channel classified information out of the country. When your father gave us the chance to tail you, we had to accept. It was the only way we could get that close to Nightdagger."

Eesa's angry face softened only slightly, but it caused Eagle 2 to smile all the same. "C'mon," she said, "let me show you to your quarters."

IMAGE COMING SOON

FAMILIA

Brazil, United American States

Stealth (Madronn Haka) is a late-30's wealthy businessman and master spy from the Congo.

Familia is a Brazilian family of adventurers that were fused together after an accident with alien chemicals, where only one body can appear at a time. Familia contains: Father: Roberto (45); Mother: Maria (39); Son: Miguel (24); Daughter: Anna (10), the Perez family.

Together they are 1/4 of the Saviors, the United League of Nations sponsored super-team charged with protecting the Earth from all threats on-and off-planet.

STEALTH

Congo, Confederation of Desert Kingdoms

"Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and aliens of all sizes to the coolest, hippest, grandest party of the century! My name is Wisbin Wasban, star reporter extraordinaire for Super Magazine! We're coming to you live from the Golden Castle, the glimmering, glistening, glowing gold center of Manhattan and family home to America's numero uno family, the Starks! I'm joined now by my co-host. You know her as the hottest new superheroine on the block, the luscious, lusty, lickable Candy Girl!"

"Now, tell me, Candy Girl, what flavor are you tonight? You're skin is all red and white swirled. Is that cherry? I looooooooove cherry!"

"No, Wisban, tonight I've transformed my skin into a very special strawberry and crème concoction!"

"Strawberry and crème? Mmm-mmm, you are sooooooo lickable! Tell me, Candy Girl, you wouldn't be strawberry and crème because that's rumored to be Michelangelo Stark's favorite flavor, would you? Oh, wait, before you answer, coming up to us on the red carpet right now is international gazillionbazillionaire Madronn Haka! Tell me, Madroon, how is life treating you in the Saviors? And will the entire team be here tonight, or are you stag! Because if you are, I know one reporter who would loooooooooove to go home with you tonight, and I'm not talking about Candy Girl, if you catch my drift! Yowza!"

"Hello, Wisban, it is good to be here." Madronn Haka smiled at the two co-hosts of the Super Channel Network's coverage of the red carpet entrance to the Golden Castle. He ran his right hand down the front of his dark-grey Italian suit as he turned his attention to Wisban's cohost. "Candy Girl, as beautiful as always."

Candy Girl beamed at Madroon, then turned and beamed into the camera. "I think I'd blush if I wasn't already 75% red! Ha!" She turned back to the handsome hero. "But seriously, Madronn,: she said, without turning serious, "will we see the rest of the Saviors here this evening?"

Madronn kept smiling. "No, I'm afraid not, Candy. Someone's got to keep the world safe, after all." The three laughed in the highly energetic, yet totally fake way of celebrities. Madroon turned to the ten-year old Brazilian girl beside him. "This is my date for the evening. May I present to you Anna, the daughter of one of my most valuable employees."

"How cute!" Wisban beamed. "Aren't you the cutest little thing with those red sunglasses on. Tres chic!"

Madronn finished the interview and pushed further down the red carpet. He looked down at Anna. "You are doing fine, child. Remember, keep smiling, no talking."

"I don't like using Anna like this," Roberto Perez said to his wife, Maria, and their son, Miguel. "Madronn is a target for threats of various natures." The three members of the Perez family currently out of phase with the main reality sat in a dark room around a small wooden table, all dressed elegantly. Before them, on a giant screen, they saw the world through the glasses that Anna wore.

"Relax, dear," Maria patted her husband on his hand. "Madronn's security is top-notch, and Tricolour herself is on monitor duty for this mission. And as we know, only Anna could get inside without detection. Our faces would all be recognized by the outside media."

"Yeah, pops," Miguel said, watching the screen intently. "'Sides, we're just a split second phase away. I wish Anna would go back to looking at Candy Girl."

"Quiet," Roberto ordered. "They've entered the Castle's garden. Be on the look out for Countess Hammer."

Madronn leaned down close to Anna's ear. "I have spotted the Countess, young one. I will move to make contact with her. You will move ten paces behind you, to stand by the oak tree. When the time to phase is at hand, move behind the tree."

Anna nodded and moved to the tree as Madroon approached an aging woman, Countess Hammer of Symkaria. Her two bodyguards moved to intercept him, but she waved them aside. "Countess, so good to see you."

"Hello, Mr. Haka," the older woman replied icily. "I see that you have brought a child to tonight's festivities. No matter. This old heart will not be swayed by the sight of a little girl. Children are the best workers for the Symkarian mines."

"Countess," Madronn opened his arms, looking offended. The Countess lost track of the little girl that had been standing with Madroon. All she saw now by the tree was a young man, looking at his shoes. Madronn continued, "We are drawing attention. Walk with me and keep your voice down." Madronn took the Countess gently by the arms and led her towards the tree. Her two bodyguards followed. He spoke to her in a harsh whisper. "Do you really think it matters to me that you use child labor to empty your mines? I want the vibranium - I don't care how you dig it from the earth. My scientists tell me it is a near match for what Wakandan vibranium offers. I needn't tell you how … beneficial it would be to me if someone were to flood the market with a cheaper strain of the metal and crush the Wakandan economy."

Lying in the bushes beneath the tree, Miguel Perez waited for Madronn to angle the Countess of Symkaria into position. When he did, Miguel reached out and grasped the Countess' left ankle, then phased immediately.

Roberto and Maria Perez watched one of their children disappear as another returned. Anna popped out of sight just before Miguel popped into sight, his right hand grasping the Countess' left ankle.

"Countess Hammer of Symkaria," Maria announced, "you are hereby placed under arrest by orders of the United League of Nations for failing to comply with international child labor law. You are remanded into custody of the Saviors."

BONZAI BETTY

Japan, Pacific China

Bonzai Betty (Bethelda Chon) is a Japanese scientist who has perfected a formula that allows any object or person to be shrunk or enlarged.

Doc Tech (Shinobin Tzetzu) is one of the world's only formidable technowizards, combining science and magic. He is in his late 20's and represents Pacific China.

Together they are 1/4 of the Saviors, the United League of Nations sponsored super-team charged with protecting the Earth from all threats on-and off-planet.

DOC TECH

Hong Kong, Pacific China

Betty looked up at the giant children walking past her, feeling something give inside at the sight of their tired, dirty bodies.

"Tunnel entrance," she replied. She stood to the side of the tunnel entrance, shrunk down to a size of 4 inches. It was nightfall in Symkaria, and the changing of shifts was just ending. The Saviors had learned that Countess Hammer of Symkaria had been using child labor to mine the underground tunnels for a new strain of vibranium. Her costume - all white except for a large red sun on her chest, and smaller suns on her arms and legs - had stuck out too much for her liking, so she had rubbed some of the grey muck over her suit. "Our intelligence reports appear to be accurate," she said into her com-device to Shinobin. "Hammer is pulling out all the stops to get this vibranium out of here as fast as she can. Round the clock operations. Child labor to support the large operation. I'm going in. If communication is lost-"

"Chill, Bets, it won't be," Doc Tech said confidently in her ear. "If the tunnels play havoc with our com devices, I've got plenty of magic spells at the ready to boost and clean the signal. Only way we won't be talking is if one of us can't talk."

"Remind me to gain the confidence in you that you have in abundance, Shinobin," Betty said caustically.

"Betty, out!" she snapped. This team would miss Empire greatly, she thought to herself as she moved into the mines. Sibearia was as professional as they came, but he wasn't from the hero community and thud didn't have the automatic respect from Doc Tech that Empire did. And now that they added the pompous, glory-chasing Eagle 2 to the roster, they needed a strong hand to keep these two in line. Stealth and Roberto Perez either didn't care, or couldn't control, Doc Tech, and he was, by all account, far easier to work with that Eagle 2 was.

Moving into an open area, Betty saw three tunnels leading into deeper sections of this underground lair. To her far right was an elevator, but since no one was getting on, she didn't want to risk taking that path. There were nearly fifty people mulling about the large area, mostly adults coming back up from the mines. The children that had passed her at the entrance were being led down the far-left tunnel, and Betty decided she would take-

"What?" Shinobin asked, all business. Thank the ancients for that, at least, Betty mused. Shinobin lost all humor the second things got tight.

"The vibranium," Betty replied. "I haven't seen them take one load of the material to the surface. I'm at the main loading area now and there's not a single load of the material anywhere."

She could almost hear the technowizard thinking. "Unusual, but not out of the realm of possibilities. They might remove the material only after …" Shinobin let his voice drift away in thought. "But our intelligence estimates that there's nearly 5,000 Symkarians working throughout this area on the mines. They should have plenty to bring to the surface every day."

"Damnit," she swore. "Madronn has rushed us into this procedure. We haven't properly scoped out this mission, Shinobin. Most of our intel gathering has been focused on the time-space energy surges we've been noticing in England. We could have used more-"

"We're the Saviors, luv," the technowizard replied. "We shouldn't need anything but location. Are you suggesting we pull out? There's no word that Madroon and Familia have nabbed the Countess, yet, so there's time."

Betty could hear the questioning in his voice. She was second-in-command now, and Shinobin wanted to find out, right here, what kind of leader she was going to be. She gritted her teeth. "Of course we're not pulling out. I'll stay the course we planned. I want you to head to the storage hangars to your right. Check out what's inside."

Betty moved quickly across the open ground, staying tight against the wall. Too slow. All the advantages gained by shrinking were now muted by the slowness of her travel. Could she risk enlarging her size? No. Too many people still about. If there were too many people to risk on-sight detection, she'd have to risk mechanical detection. She reached into a small compartment on her utility belt and removed a skate-glider. Triggering the growth particles she kept in her gloves, the skate-glider grew from the infinitesimal board in her hand to a size large enough to stand on. The glider had two anti-gravity devices built into the front and back of the glider, and Betty clamped her feet down onto the board's surface, then sped quickly towards the tunnel.

Doc Tech cast a simple invisibility spell around him, allowing him to move unnoticed across the compound to the series of aircraft hangars that dotted this side of Hammer's complex. 'Interesting,' he noted. None of the workers were moving into, or out of, the hangars. Slipping around back, careful to avoid any sections of mud so as to avoid leaving foot prints, Shinobin stood in a small alley between two buildings. Reaching into his void cloak, the technowizard removed a round, flat piece of glass. Working quickly, but certainly, he placed the glass on the outside wall of the hangar, then cast two spells, one to hold the glass in place, and the other to allow himself to use the glass to peer through the wall of the hangar and view the interior. Like a cloud moving across the sky, the image of the hangar's wall drifted away, revealing …

The next four hangars were different only in that some of them contained actual aircraft..

"Betty," he snapped into his com device as he moved to the fifth hangar. "There's no vibranium here."

"Checked five of the eight and they are all devoid of vibranium. Think Hammer's taking Madronn for a ride? That there isn't any vibranium down there?"

"Can't be," Betty answered. "Madroon received a piece from her already. His scientists- oh, wow …"

Bonzai Betty moved into a huge open area of the tunnels and couldn't quite believe her eyes for a moment. There was vibranium down here, but she could understand why the Countess' workers weren't pulling the vibranium to the surface - the vibranium under Symkaria was in one solid chunk.

Although they had only cleared away a two hundred-foot square section, Betty wouldn't have needed a quarter of that to realize she was looking at a spacecraft, it's hull constructed of this new vibranium.

There was no way to get the metal to the surface without destroying the ship, and they clearly did not want to do that.

"Meet me at the rendezvous point," she ordered Doc Tech. "Let's get the hell out of here."