Written by Barry Reese
"Men of Steel"
January 3, 2000.
Ferris Winthrop stepped into the refurbished headquarters of Orb Industries, a smug expression on his face. It had been seven long years since he'd last seen Aric Dacia, seven years which had been very kind to Ferris and very hard to Dacia.
In that time, Winthrop had come into possession of a most powerful artifact, one that he had studied and exploited to the fullest*.
(*See Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter # 2.)
In that time, Aric Dacia had lost his company, disappeared for almost three full years and then mysteriously reappeared, regaining control of a newly rebuilt Orb.
In that time, Winthrop had learned Aric's secret.
Like Ferris, Aric was in possession of an alien set of armor, possibly of a similar make and design. Ferris had learned this fact from his former lover, Samantha Jones, who had become curious about Dacia years ago. Samantha hadn't given him this information knowingly, of course -- Ferris made it a common practice to look over the belongings of his employees, checking for any signs of theft or deception. He'd never found Samantha to be less than honest, but her notes on Dacia were quite intriguing...
The notion that another man possessed the same warrior spirit as Ferris himself... it was intoxicating. Winthrop had trained with his armor, working himself to physical and mental perfection. He had dreams of challenging Dacia, not only to a physical contest but a mental one as well. I shall take your empire and humiliate you, he'd dreamed of saying. It was what he'd always wanted -- a chance to experience the visceral rush of true battle, to draw a little bit of the ancient world into the modern.
But it was not to be. Dacia had lost his empire without Winthrop even lifting a finger. And then he had disappeared, feared dead.
But now, he smiled to himself, you're back.
"Mr. Winthrop! Great to see you. Welcome to Orb."
Ferris stopped in front of the elevator. The voice seemed so familiar... "Ken Clarkson?"
Ken, dressed in a finely tailored suit, was walking towards him, a folder in his hand. He looked a bit prissy, as usual, and had his trademark false smile firmly in place. "Um, no. You must be thinking of my twin brother, Ken. I'm Rodrigo." Clarkson made a pained expression as he said the name.
Winthrop couldn't help but smile. "Rodrigo? Well. This is a surprise. I met your... brother... years ago, when he was considering a run for the senate. I was very sorry to hear about his death."
Ken shrugged it off rather easily. "Thanks. So, what brings you here? I was pretty surprised to hear you wanted a meeting with Aric."
Winthrop ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know why Ken was pretending to be someone else, but it was obvious this was the same Clarkson he'd met years ago. The look of hunger, both for power and for sexual thrill, was all to evident in his eyes. "It's a private matter. I think that Aric and I might have something in common, that's all. Is he upstairs?"
"Oh, he'll be right back. C'mon, I'll walk you up and we can talk shop."
Ferris kept his expresson neutral, but inside his emotions were churning. He'd come here in hopes of exposing Dacia, forcing him to accept the gauntlet that Ferris was going to throw down before him. Instead, he was going to have to listen to Clarkson's chattering. Still, perhaps I can find out how and why Clarkson is still alive. Maybe it's tied into Dacia's own reappearance....
X-O Manowar roared as he slammed his blade through the hard carapace of the Spider Alien soldier. The sword was formed from the very fabric of his armor and easily slid deep into the alien's intestines. With a twist and a pull, Aric eviscerated his opponent.
The sudden discharge of an alien weapon made Aric whirl around, but it was too late. A powerful force beam slammed into him, sending pain surging throughout his body. The last of the Spider Aliens lifted his energy cannon to fire again, but X-O wasn't about to let him get off another shot.
Here, in the Northwestern forest, X-O Manowar and a small squad of Spider Aliens had made battle, after a furious chase through the uppermost tip of California. Aric had long ago sworn a blood oath to slay every last member of the vile race who had stolen him from his proper home in Italy, bringing him into the early 1990s. The race's recent increase in activity disturbed him, and fanned the flames of his hatred.
"Lower your weapon and I'll let you die quickly." He strode towards the alien, gore dripping from his blade. "Resist and I'll cut off each of your limbs and feed them to you."
The Spider Alien hissed. "<Meat! You despoil the precious forest of this world and expect me to seek mercy from you? You have stolen what is not yours! But the end is coming for you and your kind....>"
X-O discharged his ion cannon, blowing apart the Spider Alien's weapon. The explosion sent the alien screaming to his knees, bits of shrapnel buried in his flesh.
Aric felt no pity for him, just as he'd felt no pity for the many Roman dogs he'd gutted during his Visigoth days. An enemy was an enemy, and they deserved nothing less than death. X-O pulled the spider alien to his feet and placed his gauntlet at the creature's throat. When he spoke, his armor translated his tongue into the Spider Alien's speech. "<What are you talking about? Tell me!>"
The alien's eyes glittered. He made a rasping attempt at laughter, which forced blood to bubble from his mouth. "The Rock... all reality... will be ours... and the... Dromak...."
Aric saw death in the creature's eyes. He tossed it aside carelessly, then began taking systematic aim at the corpses and the alien vessel. No one must find these things, he knew. The alien's words ate at him. The Spider Aliens and the Dromak, working together. That confirmed what he'd heard from the Armorines -- that some sort of alliance was taking place.
Satisfied at last that no trace of his foes remained, X-O took flight. He'd paid close attention to the armor's performance since he'd bonded with it, in his fight to rid his body of the Immortal Enemy. It seemed normal enough, with no trace of lingering residue from the villain's stay.
Take me home, Good Skin. After my meeting with this Winthrop, you and I will ponder the meaning of this alien alliance. If I must extend my blood-vow to the Dromak, so be it. Our enemies must pay....
Los Angeles
Gamin sat atop a crate, eating an apple and watching as the MacKenzie brothers unloaded their stash. The three of them were old friends, having worked together on heists both large and small. Gamin trusted them as much as any thieves in the business. "Can we cut the cloak and dagger business, guys? I'm on a schedule here," Gamin murmured around her bites of apple.
Roger, the taller of the two, grunted as they set a large coffin on the warehouse floor. "Trust me, Gamin, you're gonna hate yerself if you don't stick around for this. We're talking primo merchandise."
Gamin chuckled. "Sure, sure. Let's see it already. You guys steal the Elephant Man's bones or something?"
Doug answered before his brother could reply. "Better. You know how you asked us to keep a lookout for any kind of black ops material related to aliens? Well, we hit paydirt."
"Hmm. Okay, I'll admit it -- I'm intrigued." Gamin set her apple aside and hopped off the crate. She walked languidly across the floor, very much aware that both brothers were watching her. She was very happy being Aric's girl, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy the occasional ogle from others. "Can I?" she asked, placing her foot at the side of the coffin's lid.
"Go ahead."
Gamin pushed with the toe of her boot, knocking the lid to the floor with a thud. What she saw inside made her heart drop. "Oh, Christ...."
The red and gold tinted body that stared up at her belonged to Alloy, the madman who had bonded with Aric's original xo armor. In doing so, he had become something more... Something sick and twisted, obsessed with slaying Aric in revenge for some imagined slight.
"Gruesome, ain't it?" Roger kneeled beside the crate and nudged Alloy. "We heard that something was being transported out to Nevada -- Area 51. Soooo... We kind of intercepted it."
Gamin couldn't help being impressed. "The two of you? But this thing must have been under a ton of security!"
"It wasn't easy, I admit. Anyway, you should you were going to pay top dollar for this kind of stuff. You interested? We'll give you a discount if you want to party." Roger winked lasciviously.
"Sorry boys, but I'm not a free agent anymore. No playing on the side. I'll give you the usual, plus 40% for keeping your mouths quiet."
"The usual?! For this thing? Look, it's top secret material, probably an alien robot or something. We want twice the usual rate."
Gamin started to make an angry retort when something clenched painfully on her left ankle. With a strangled cry, she looked down to see Alloy's eyes flashing with life. "You. Aric's new plaything."
Gamin kicked hard with her free leg, looking at the brothers. "Run! This bastard's dangerous!"
Alloy tossed her leg aside, shrugging off her blow. He stood unsteadily, as if unused to walking. "So long. I was in Unreality so long*... It's strange. I almost didn't recognize my opportunity. It took me this long to even realize this body was mine. Perhaps I should have come back sooner... No. This is right. This is... the way it happened."
(*Alloy was stranded in Unreality by Solar in Armageddon 1999 # 1.)
Roger drew a pistol, pointing it at the armored being before him. "Hold it right there! I'll shoot if I have to."
"No! Roger -- RUN!" Gamin reached down, pulling up one of her holographic projectors. Alloy was serious business, she knew that from personal experience. She had to take him down fast, distract him enough so that the MacKenzie brothers could escape.
Alloy, however, was too fast. He raised his hand and fired a beam of ionic force. The blast obliterated Roger, sending fragments of his flesh and bones flying. "Roger MacKenzie, born on the third day of October, 1971. Lost his virginity to a girl named Rhonda in the backseat of a pinto, 1987. He collected old Life magazines." Alloy's words came slowly, as if they were a revelation even to himself. He turned to face the other brother, who was standing there in shock. "You're going to turn and run."
With a soft cry, Doug did just that.
Gamin snarled, "You're going to pay for that murder, pal."
"No. Not today. In the future... perhaps. Not all is clear to me. Tell Aric that I've changed. I was in Unreality. I was one with everything and one with nothing. I was slave to time and master of time. I... know things. I'm not Paul anymore. I'm... Alloy."
Gamin was too stunned to respond. Alloy's persona was very different from the man who had tried to kill her*. Maybe being so casually destroyed by Solar had truly changed him somehow. Still, the very presence of Roger's burning corpse was evidence that, changed or not, he was still dangerous.
(*See X-O Manowar # 71.)
Gamin activated one of her holographic displays, seemingly turning invisible. Alloy stared directly at her as she did an acrobatic flip from one crate to another. He sees me. The bastard sees me!
Bracing herself, she threw her body out the window, tumbling down the steep slope of the roof. She caught herself at the last minute by lashing out a hand and gripping the edge. Dropping softly, she bit her lip. She had to get back to Aric... and warn him.
Alloy stood his ground, pondering his return to the world of flesh, for some time.
Orb Industries Headquarters
Aric Dacia sat behind his desk, staring at Ferris Winthrop in silence. Aric had his hair tied back, but his massive frame still looked wild and unkempt in his business suit. "Tell me, again, why you came here?"
"You heard me quite clearly," Ferris began, a slight smile on his lips. "I know about your alien armor, because I have a set very similar to it. And I want to fight you."
"Fight me. You came here to challenge me... Why? How have I wronged you?"
Ferris shrugged. "I was born out of my own time, Aric. I was meant to rule, to lead men into battle. Perhaps I'm the reincarnation of some old warlord of years past, I don't know. But what I do now is that I believe in destiny. The armor came to me because I was meant to have it. I've mastered it, made it my own. And, in all the world, there is only man who can truly stand against me. You. A warrior, gifted with an alien armor. It's kismet."
"You're insane. I don't fight people for sport. Once... perhaps. But I've changed. I've grown. I fight only those who are my enemies."
"I'm glad you're not denying your possession of the armor, Aric. It would have been insulting if you had." Ferris stood up, dispensing with his jacket and beginning to unbutton his shirt. "You've misunderstood something, however."
Aric's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Ferris smiled coldly as the armor beneath his clothes began to spread over the rest of his body. "I am an enemy."
Aric stood, staring at the man in the commando-class battle armor. "I'll give you one last warning, lunatic. Leave."
"You're a barbarian, aren't you? I've studied you, the way you're uncomfortable with the trappings of society. You're a barbarian and I'm a Centurion."
Bekhara suddenly appeared, bursting forth from within Aric. It wrapped around him tenderly. "The Centurions are dead, and so is the old Roman Empire. My people helped bring it down. And that armor," Aric pointed at Ferris, "is a commando class. Mine is xo manowar class. I can carve you into very small pieces."
"So you say, but I imagine all the hours I've put into the use of this weapon might even the score."
The ringing of Aric's phone seemed out of place as the two armored men stared each other down.
Ferris gestured with a hand. "By all means..."
Aric picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"Hiya, Big Guy. Your chickie-poo just called. She needs you to meet her in L.A. pronto. Said it involves Alloy."
X-O put the phone back down without response. "I have to go. You should return home and think about how much you value your life. The next time we meet, I'll teach you about true warfare. It's not the same as in the movies everyone watches in this time. It hurts. Especially when you lose."
The Centurion's armor retreated from him, returning to the small disc he'd affixed to his chest. He picked up his shirt and jacket, grinning. "Aric... This is the most fun I've ever had. I can't wait to see how it goes from here."
As Ferris left, Aric clenched his fist. A madman. I'll have to deal with him eventually, but not here and not now. Orb is still recovering from the Immortal Enemy's assault and Gamin's in danger. I have to remember my priorities... I have to.
X-O departed via his window, his alien armor carrying him far from Orb.
Down below, Ferris Winthrop watched.
Coming up in X-O Manowar # 82 : X-O finds himself beset by enemies on all sides -- the Centurion, the alien alliance and Alloy are all on the loose! And the worst is yet to come....
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Alloy's back! I have to admit, I like the guy and felt a little bad about dispatching him so quickly in Armageddon 1999 # 1. Suffice to say, however, that Alloy is going to be heading into some new directions after this issue. I'm actually building towards X-O # 100, which might very well be the last of the series. We'll see. :-)
Hope you're enjoying things.
Let me know what you think,