The Reliance, #3

Facing the powerful "Arbitrator", servant to the alien Khund, The Reliance was nearly outmatched.

Without warning, Road Warrior and "The Beast" evaporated from the scene, leaving Surge sitting on the floor of the alien craft.
Likewise, a sinister blur of a figure slammed into Chronos, speeding him away, beyond his will, to vanish somewhere over the horizon. This left only Iron Hand, Candice, and Surge.

Iron Hand elected to patrol the perimeter, making sure that no more innocents were pulled into this conflict.
Candice quickly swooped in to join Surge, and the two combatants faced off against the alien menace.

At first, it seemed the battle would be over quickly. Surge summoned his maximum level of power, pushing himself to the absolute limit of his ability. A massive blast of electricity sent the Arbitrator slamming into the wall of the craft. Determined to win however, the Arbitrator tapped into reserves of strength and will, shaking off most of the attack.

A second major blow was dealt in the form of a mystical attack from Candice. Although the Arbitrator's powers of defensive adaptation protected him from further electrical attacks, he found no defense from a second mystical assault and was defeated.

Bound by his honor, the alien servant of the Khund de-activated the planetary doomsday mechanism, instead vowing to leave earth and never return.

In the aftermath of their first true test as heroes, members of the Reliance are beginning to develop greater potential as a result of their experience. No doubt their abilities will need to grow quickly as they face their next challenge...




THE KING OF CRIME, Chapter 1

A call for help went out from the Mayor of Central City. Since the death of Bart Allen, the Flash, Central City has been without a defender, and the criminal underworld is taking advantage.

Road Warrior and Chronos are still missing, causing their companions to fear for the safety of their friends.
Although Iron Hand was forced into spending more time at work to compensate for his recent "time off", Alex Noir booked a hotel and flight for Candice and Surge to visit Central City with instructions to notify him if they require back-up.

With the full support of the Mayor, Surge and Candice began an immediate investigation of the local criminal activity. Villains already spotted in the area include: Captain Cold, Heatwave, The Pied Piper and The Weather Wizard. In addition, a disturbing message was sent to the Mayor that The Reliance is currently using to fuel their investigation:

Greetings Mayor Field,
It has come to our attention that you have called in a group of would be heroes to stop our advancing agenda in your fair city. But while your ranks are growing, we're making the choice to thin ours a little. Central city has become the proving ground for those who will soon be part of the most elite criminal undergound network the world has ever known. So by all means, we'd like to make their auditions as telling as they can be.

All this to say that we invite your support of our efforts to create the underworld of tomorrow using only the finest of today. You'll find one among our number enjoying a nice cold drink of Central City's finest. A second will be having some fun with the sound of music. And our last potential of the day is looking to steal Central City's biggest diamond.

We know you'll make us proud by providing a good challenge for our subjects. See you soon...

So far, investigation of Central City's largest diamond store turned up no unusual signs.
Although Evan McCulloch (AKA, The Mirror Master) was captured by police earlier, the heroes' questioning of him yielded few results. The Scottish rogue seemed confident that he would be broken out of prison by his allies very soon.

Meanwhile, at the police station, The Reliance wonders who might strike at either tonight's performance of the "Sound of Music" downtown, or at the outdoor orchestral concert in the park at around the same time.

It is now 1pm, and they have 6 hours remaining until both events begin at 7pm tonight...