AUTHORITY - AMERICAN BADASS
By: Kevin "Ramiel" Schmidt
Beta Reading by Dex and Christina Gasko


OCTOBER 5TH, 1989

U.S. APOCALYPSE CLASS SUBMARINE ULYSSES

DEEP WITHIN THE MARINAS TRENCH

   The spy crawled quickly through the air vent, micro lenses in
his glasses letting him see clearly in the darkenss.  Behind him,
the marine followed clumsily behind.  "Just a bit further, chap and
we'll be on the bridge."

   The marine grunted and followed behind, his bulk making his trip
through the confines of the vent difficult.  The spy continued
forward, relying on a memorized map that M had given him before he
set out on this mission.  If he and the one soldier he managed to
recruit from the crew quarters alive didn't make it to the bridge
in the next three minutes, the free world as they knew it would
cease to exist.

   The spy had been inserted stealthily while the giant submarine
was beginning its descent into the darkest depths of the Atlantic
Ocean.  He had been fired, inside a specially constructed torpedo,
from a speeding hydrofoil into the side of the Ulysses.  He had
managed to sneak deeper inside the gargantuan vessel until he made
it to the crew quarters.  He had hoped to rally the super-sub's
company of U.S. Marines to his aid, but what he found was a
slaughterhouse.  Fifty-five U.S. fighting men were scattered about
the crew quarters all of them dead.  It looked like they had all
been shot or had even exploded.  There was one survivor however,
who had only been wounded in whatever heinous attack their enemy
had undertaken.  He didn't remember what had occurred though. 
Considering the viciousness of the attack, the spy was not
surprised.

   The spy reached the end of the vent and carefully peaked through
the slots.  "There's our man, Lancaster Creed in the flesh.  I hope
you're ready for a bit of the rough and tumble, chap."  The Marine
grunted in acknowledgement.  The spy began to silently cut through
he grate covering the vent with the laser concealed in his watch.  

   "Ready...  Go!"  The spy leapt out of the air vent and landed on
the ground, his Walther PPK barking out two quick shots, slaying
two of Lancaster's henchmen.  The Marine hopped out after him,
brandishing his sidearm menacingly.  

   The bridge was a sprawling affair, filled with lights and
computer displays.  In the center of the room was a massive
holographic projection that showed the Earth and seemed to be
showing targeting information for the sub's array of nuclear
warheads.  All the technicians were dead, slumped at their
controls, their brains ruptured from within.  Standing confident,
despite his two dead henchmen, was a man with close cropped gray
hair and an air of smug control.  A scar ran down the right side of
his face.  He smiled as he saw the intruders and gestured for his
other henchmen, six in total, to hold their fire.  They were all
dressed in dark black jumpsuits like their leader was, but none of
them could match his peerless aura of menace.

   He began to speak in calm mocking tones.  "Why Agent Jack Black,
I see that MI-Omega has sent their best man to assist the
Americans.  Isn't that always the way, you Brits always so quick to
help us clean up our messes?  Of course you may be their best, but
you obviously weren't good enough to kill me in Cape Town."  He
touched his cheek and his tone turned cold.  "I owe you for that,
Mr. Black."

   Black's eyes gleamed and he gave a wry grin, "I do like to leave
my mark."  Black sprung into motion, firing two shots right at
Lancaster's head, however, the bullets stopped and hung motionless
inches away from their intended target.

   "You see, Mr. Black.  I've gotten better at the game...  Much
better.  My superiors decided to place me in charge of some of
their more delicate international operations.  With access to all
that wonderful information it's amazing how one can better himself.
I am now beyond human."

   Black fired again, the bullets stopping once again, inches away
from Lancaster.  "You never were human, you scum."

   "Perhaps.  But now, you realize just how futile it was to
attempt to stop my plan.  I've seized control of this battlecruiser
and will now unleash its nuclear payload at my old employers in
Washington and our Soviet counterparts.  Then, with the world at
war, I will arise from the ashes and take absolute control over
what's left.  What do I have to fear from an irradiated world? 
Radiation is nothing to me!  Until then, my ninety-nine acolytes
and I will live here within this veritable submersible city in
peace.  They have been selected from the best the elite of the
world had to offer.  Already some of them are showing signs of
evolving into supra-humans thanks to exposure to my mutageneic
sperm.  Nothing can stop me, especially not some Limey bastard.

   "Die, Mister Black."

   The bullets reversed their direction and shot back at Agent
Black.  He dodged and rolled, narrowly avoiding death from his own
bullets.  He attempted to charge the psionic madman only to be
flung across the bridge into a wall by the force of Creed's
thoughts.  He collapsed into a heap at the base of the wall.  
Suddenly Her Majesty's greatest spy was lifted up into the air by
invisible force.  Lancaster smiled and with a sickening wrench,
Black's spine snapped.  The secret agent did not scream though and
bit down on his lip until blood began to run down his chin. 

   "Go on... stop the launch...  you must..."

   Lancaster arched a brow.  "Finding solace from the pain in
madness, Black?  There's no one with you."

   Black blinked through a haze of agony and looked to where the
Marine was approaching Lancaster from behind.  He then let out a
scream as his bones continued to snap under Creed's mental
pressure.  

   Lancaster laughed.  "Oh how I've longed to hear you scream,
Mister Black.  No one will save you now, for you are alone here."

   "Well, he was prob'lly talkin' bout me, ol' hoss."

   Lancaster whirled at the sound of the voice, dropping Black's
tortured form.  "Who is that?  Who's there??  He lashed out with
his mind, finding nothing.  

   One of the guards yelled, "Sir, he's right there in front of
you!"

   Lancaster stumbled backwards.  "Then kill him!"

   The guards all leveled their machineguns at the Marine who was
just casually walking towards Lancaster Black.  As a one they
opened fire on the approaching figure and watched as their attack
did absolutely no damage, bullets even ricocheting off his muscular
form.  Suddenly there was a blur where the Marine was and two of
the guards were instantly ripped apart.  Then two more, and finally
the last two, who didn't even have time to react.  

   Lancaster tried to run away from the seemingly exploding guards,
but a powerful impact knocked him back to the ground.  "What's
going on?  Who are you?  One of England's monsters like that Sparks
woman?"

   "You better not let me catch ya comparin' me to a goddamned
limey or a frail, boy.  Not that it matters much at this point. 
You already done gone and screwed the pooch."

   Psionic energey erupted around Lancaster, cascading out in a
destructive wave, ripping the bridge apart in a thirty-foot radius
around the madman.  Still, the Marine was unmoved.  He bent down
over Lancaster, his features beginning to shift.  "Ya see, boy,
when they done gave you yore powers, they made sure that you
weren't never gonna see me comin'."

   "Who the fuck are you?"

   The form that hulked over Lancaster bore little resemblance to
anything human.  It was a powerful mass of gray flesh etched with
embedded cybernetics.  It stood on robotic legs that ended in metal
hooves.  It looked at Lancaster with a face that consisted of a
reflective visor and a maw of gaping teeth.  "You were supposed to
just get this foreign bastard to track you down here where you
could kill him and sink the damn boat.  Whut's all this shit `bout
formin' a cult?  Did anyone tell ya to form a damn cult?  I don'
think so.  So now I get to take ya back home with me."

   "Oh god, no one gave me powers, I did it myself!"

   "That's whut you remember.  Lemme take care of them while I'm at
it."  The creature's tongue snaked out from its gaping maw and
narrowed down to a point.  It then shot through the side of
Lancaster's skull.  The villian writhed and convulsed and finally
ceased struggling.  The creature's tongue retreated.

   "Uhhh... oh god... I see you.  What..guh... guh... are you? 
What did you do?"

   The mouth formed into a grin.  "I just took care of those powers
so you'd stop making a mess out of things.  You ain't gonna be
using them ever again.  Course you're also gonna be wearin' diapers
for the rest of yore short life too.?  The creature began to drool
viscous liquid from his mouth, covering the weakly struggling
Creed.  Soon, he was sealed into a gelatinous bag.  The creature
hefted the bag and slung it over his shoulder.  He then looked over
to where the still living Jack Black lay, broken, in a pool of
blood.  Black stared in amazement at the creature in front of him. 
"Boy, you ain't lookin' too good.  Too bad yore bosses decided that
you were too blasted dangerous ta live, huh?"  The creature loped
over to Black's paralyzed body and had a small snack.

   "Seth to HQ.  Job's done, it's quittin' time."

   Seth vanished in a twinkling of lights.

   The Ulysses, America's only APOCALYPSE Class submarine,
continued its descent into the Marinas Trench and crashed into the
bottom.  There were no survivors.