Alternia Comics

[CENTRAL POWER SYSTEM RE-ENGAGED]

[CHECKING ... READY]

[INITIATING SYSTEMS CHECK]

[... WEAPONS DISENGAGED, AMMUNITION RESERVES EMPTY. ALL OTHER SYSTEMS READY]

[DISENGAGING EXTERNAL POWER SOURCE]

[... COMPLETE]

[ACTIVATING CENTRAL POWER]

[ALL AVAILABLE SYSTEMS ONLINE]

[INITIATING FULL REBOOT – READY IN 3 …]

[2 …]

[1 …]

[ALL SYSTEMS ENGAGED]

She screamed.

Not in pain or surprise or ecstasy, but in ...

... power ... in the feeling that normal men do not know – that
sensation reserved for those who have transcended the boundaries of
what nature had made them capable.

She surged forward, shattering the wall she was held to and sending
her bonds scattering like shrapnel into the delicate equipment around
her. With a howl of rage she turned, grabbed the cord that still ran
from the port at her temple to the computer that had been violating
her mind, and tore it in two with such force that she fell to the
ground.

When she came to her senses, she found herself on her hands and knees,
staring at a blank concrete floor. Light from damaged equipment,
sparking intermittently like a dying man gasping for air, flashed
across is cold surface and reflected off the metal plating on the
backs of her hands.

"Helena," said that voice, again. Someone wearing blue boots and red
pants knelt down before her, and she felt a strong pair of hands grasp
her shoulders and lift her to her feet.

She looked up and recognized the man holding her, but only from his
file. Black hair, hazel eyes, an open face with a straight nose …
Novaman was his chosen handle; he had been gone for the last two
years, disappearing after apparently losing his sanity and causing a
major crisis in the United States, killing several villains and heroes
along with the damage he caused.

Strys had not anticipated him returning ...