Voice emanating from television, barely audible over laughter and chatter from surrounding area:

“… so with the relative success that EXCAL has been having as an independently run special ops program - understanding of course, this is only a portion of the organization's significance - it appears as though the U.S. has implemented a program of its own to try to re-take the lead in the ongoing war with the terrorist network known as MEDUSA. Of course, the standing Executive Order from President Adama is unlikely to be revoked, so members of the U.S. Armed Forces are free to seek transfer whenever EXCAL posts openings. But it is clear that the Pentagon wants a U.S. based elite ops group to lead its forces into battle from here on out, so we can expect no more large scale loans of U.S. Armed Forces to the heroes of EXCAL.”

Studio Host: “Thanks Greta. Makes us wonder what EXCAL will do to make up for the reduction in manpower. Later on we’ll hear how to prepare for the likelihood of a MEDUSA invasion. But next, Hunter Woods brings us this compelling piece about talking kitchen appliances and the next wave of super computers. Will all of our home electronics soon be connected to the net? And what will this mean for you…”

…Voice tapers off

Man seated at bar: “Will you change this junk?”

Bartender: “You got it Tony. Tough day at the office?”

Man seated at bar: “Yeah. I guess you could say I got fired.”

Bartender: “Now I know you’re just messin’ with me. They can’t fire you. You got your own company, you’re like a billionaire or somethin’, ain’t ya?

Man seated at bar: “That’s not the job I’m talking about. Now just change the frakking channel, would you please Johnny?”

Bartender: “Never took you to be an angry drunk Tony, but you got it. If you need me, I’ll be at the end of the bar…”

Television channels click past, and when the clicking stops, a new voice fills the bar:

… “Hector Ramirez, reporting from the Pentagon. Back to you, Slate”

Slate Stone, Studio Host: “Thanks Hector, before we move on, what can you tell us about the leadership of this new SHIELD organization, going forward?”

Hector Ramirez: “Well Slate, like I said it’s anybody’s guess at the moment. We’ve heard rumors in the past about SHIELD and we always heard the name ‘Nick Fury’ associated with it. But most people in Washington have come to think of that story as either an urban legend, like how we all used to think of Area 51, or more recently as even something of an insider joke. You see, nobody has ever actually seen Nick Fury, or if they have, they didn’t know they had. (both chuckle). When we looked into it ourselves, we found out there was a war hero named Nick Fury…but get this, he was a hero in World War 2! I can’t see that this organization, even if it had really existed this whole time, has been run by somebody more concerned about his dentures falling out than about world peace. (more light-hearted chuckling). Now there is a Sgt. Nick Fury, “Jr.” in a military ops program that has also been associated with SHIELD. That unit, known to insiders as the Fury Force, is now confirmed to use the Nick Fury Moniker as a codename only, at least in that instance. I believe we even identified the actual soldier – Fred something…”

Slate Stone: “But what about Tony Stark? We’ve been hearing all day that he just got fired from some top level position within the government that nobody had ever even heard of before. He’s been one of the innovators in military technology for years now, and was often caught live-testing his wares in the field, including that heavy armor suit of his. What has his role been?”

Hector Ramirez: “Well Slate, that’s the million dollar question. And it takes some speculation. But if we want to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, we can guess that if SHIELD really has been a functioning organization for the past decade or more, that Tony Stark has been its Director for at least a portion of that time. If that’s the case, then his firing today must have been a humdinger. I cannot independently verify any of this yet Slate, but there may be something to this story…”

Sound from the television cuts off abruptly amid the noises of electronic popping and sparks flying, as bartender Johnny looks up from his end of the bar to see smoke pouring from the television, and an empty stool where Tony had been sitting. Johnny leans over to add some additional charges to Tony’s tab, including one tv, and one glass, and mutters to himself “so THAT’S the job he meant…”

(These figures come in a 2-pack previously referenced dubbed “A Stark Reality” marking Iron Man’s transition from SHIELD to EXCAL)

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Cut to the darkened back seat of a green-tinted, armored limousine cruising through a quiet area of Brooklyn:

Voice: “Ok, so for purposes of this ‘mission’ I’m Mr. Green. You – you’re ‘Mr. Silver’”

Mr. Silver: “I can dig it.”

Mr. Green: “You’ll be Mr. Blue.”

Mr. Silver: “I vote for Mr. Baby Blues. Damn that’s a pretty tie. But at least it matches those dreamy eyes.”

Mr. Blue: “I knew I should have told Alfred I wanted a black tie. Black. (Growls softly).”

Mr. Green: “Ok, knock it off guys we’re almost there. Our good friend Johnny said that if he was headed home his usual way, he sometimes likes to stop off at M&J’s for a slice. I want you two to corral him before he leaves. I’ll wait in the car”

Mr. Silver: “A simple flank and stick job then?”

Mr. Green: “No, you’re not ‘sticking’ anyone. This isn’t a combat mission Kni…Mr. Silver!”

Mr. Blue: “(growling) You shoot out his knees from behind, I’ll go for the throat.”

Mr. Silver: “I can dig it.”

Mr. Green: “(trying not to smile) Damn you guys. Driver – slow down. Let’s do this.”

Two dark suited men exit the slow moving limo like shadows, the car barely slowing down before accelerating around the corner. For his part, Mr. Green smiles to himself – not at the two jokers that just got out of the car, but at the thought of what the future might hold for his organization with yet another of the world’s premier weapons designers at his disposal.








(The body for Tony Stark has been seen before, as that used to be Bruce Wayne’s. Bruce is an all-new figure, including a newly sculpted and painted clone trooper head. Civilian KH has also been previewed before, but finally got his paint right for his noggin).




Tony Stark: “(speech slurred) Give me one slice – yeah just pepa…what the hell!?”

Mr. Silver: “Get him Mr. Blue!”

Mr. Blue: “Mr. Stark, if you’d just come with us, we have some questions to ask you. Mr. Silver, (growls softly) would you please put the gun away, and remove it from Mr. Stark’s back?”

Mr. Silver: “I can dig it.”

Tony Stark: (speech slurred) “What are you some kind of cops or something? I haven’t been driving, we’re cool… wait a second… Bruce? Bruce Wayne, is that you? Mr. Blue? What the frak is going on here? (turns around and stumbles slightly) And you – Mr. Silver Big Gun? What the? Tristan Frakking Knight…Tristan Frakking KNIGHTHAWK? What’s with the code names fellas?”

Mr. Silver: “Secret Mission.”

Tony Stark: “Secret? Bruce, I was just at your fundraiser Saturday! And you, Knight, you were just on MTV giving an interview not 2 hours ago. Good to know the kids like to follow the cool new war, I guess, right? I have files this tall on both of you jokers.”

Mr. Silver: (mumbling a bit) “We’re on a mission from God?”

Bruce Wayne: (cringing at the joker reference) “ok, enough Knighthawk. Tony, we heard what’s going on at SHIELD. It took us awhile to realize SHIELD was real – and hell, has been in the hero business a lot longer than we have. But we also heard that you’re out, and that they’ve promoted the new hotshot Rogers straight to the top. Mr. Green wants to interview you for a new job.”

Tony Stark: (sobering up even as he speaks)“Wait, Mr. Green? Let me guess - Ollie Queen? What’s with the lame code names guys?”

Queen’s Limo silently pulls up and Queen extends his hand out the open window: Stark? Thought maybe you could use a laugh tonight from some unlikely sources. How’d you like to join the real fight? Get in and we’ll talk.”

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INTERNAL MEMO
TO: EXCAL Board of Directors
FROM: Director Queen
SUBJECT: A new member of the club…

Well gents, Stark accepted our offer, and will step immediately into the role of Director of Military Technology. Mr. Wayne was previously heading up a similar Division, but will now become Director of Business and Finance. With that out of the way, here’s what we now know about our “new” competition.

First. Captain Steve Rogers. We’ve heard the name before, and he is confirmed now to be a recipient of the Super Soldier Serum. He has thus far not demonstrated any of the adverse side effects that serum is known for, and his stability, character, leadership skills, and accomplishments are all off the charts strong. Likewise his hands on combat skills. Stark says that Rogers is capable of besting him, even in his iron armor.

Is Rogers Director material though? Stark confirms this as a definite no. “Captain America” is as much of a figurehead as the name implies. And don’t expect him to be sporting a suit and tie any time soon. He’s in his prime, and won’t be leaving the field of battle any time soon. Hell, they’ve even got him sporting the old red, white and blue. Leave it to the Pentagon to be so “subtle” in their intentions. “Cap” is a posterboy in the traditional sense, and the U.S. hopes to both increase enlistments and decrease EXCAL defections without the messy P.R. hit that would come from abandoning the EXCAL ties outright. (As a side note, I submit that we need to remove the cap on transfer openings immediately, to allow for as many new troop transfers as possible, before the new Captain America propaganda takes over, or they revoke Executive Order 219, or both).








Back on track, if Rogers is just a glorified field commander, it still leaves the question of who is really calling the shots with Stark gone. Stark has the simple answer: Nick Fury. We thought he was joking at first, but he’s as serious as a heart attack, if he’ll forgive the analogy. He’s tight lipped about Fury though, and it seems he’s a bit confused himself. He said Fury is a middle aged former superspy, who nobody has seen in person. But then he said he’s really a WWII vet. Then he said he’s really a younger athletic black man who was a veteran of the Iraqi-Afghan wars. So I said, which is it then? And he hasn’t said another word on the topic since.

We also can expect the costumed hero bit to be a something of a fad over there at SHIELD now, as Cap isn’t the only one suiting up. In addition to the military ops based Fury Force, there is a new team of heroes that is meant to compete with our recent publicity – a sub-team called the Avengers. I say “new” even though Stark confirmed SHIELD has been doing this for decades now – just under the radar. And there is also reason to believe Rogers isn’t the only active member who’s juiced up.

Here’s the roster that Stark filled us in on before taking a break:

Carol Danvers, the so-called Ms. Marvel. Captain Danvers was a successful Air Force officer – and while trained as a pilot spent several years as chief of security for the Chiefs of Staff. We’ve known about Danvers for awhile, and suspected her move to a black ops unit several years ago, after she went off the grid completely. Even before today’s news, we had heard reports of “Ms. Marvel’s” doings, as there’s something about a babe in hot red spandex and hot pants that will get one’s attention…or black spandex thongs, if that is your preference.

But what we DIDN’T know until now is that Carol Danvers is a TWIN. Let that settle in for a moment, and then try to refocus on the task at hand –if you can. Stark tells us that Casey Danvers is the one in the black, and that they go to great lengths to have them operating in opposite theaters of combat at all times. I’m still kind of floored by the concept, really. Oh, and did I mention Stark gave me pics?







As an aside, I’ve customized the hell out of these Ms. Marvel figs, and finally read up on her a bit to realize she is kind of interesting and deserved some custom treatment in her own name. I don’t like to waste figures if they are cool, so that prompted the Marvel Twins over v1 and v2 of the same girl. That, and this photo was too cool to not mimic:


Some won’t care for the thong on Modern Ms. Marvel, but it is comic accurate:



Also, the impetus for the project of making Classic Ms. Marvel look a lot cooler than the factory version was the Marvel Legends Ms. Marvel concept previewed in Toy Fare a couple issues back.


But here is the news of the day. BOTH are on Stark’s payroll, literally (as in at Stark Enterprises) and figuratively (as in will maintain allegiance to him even after being ousted). If you recall, we recruited Carol Danvers at the outset of our own little endeavor. Stark thinks Carol’s prominence means she would be a more valuable asset to us by staying in SHIELD. But Casey has been viewed internally by SHIELD as a loose cannon anyway, and nobody would be surprised if she jumped ship. Obviously we need to all keep in mind our objectives mirror SHIELD’s and those of the U.S. Most of us are Americans and we started this project as patriots and protectors of freedom. But we can’t let ourselves be pushed out, not when we know we can win this fight.

Another name on the roster, we knew before: Eric Brooks. Martial arts specialist. We don’t know much, but he’s another one drowning in unusual rumors. Too unusual to touch on here in fact.





There are more names coming, and Stark said he wanted to talk to me personally about at least one of them before going public. I will keep you all updated.

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Have to give props again to Cap for the sweet city street corner dio. It's one he made for my sister, and this was the last photoshoot for me before delivery to my sister. Eric - my sis and her family had the H1N1 and we didn't get together for Thanksgiving, but I will be delivering soon, and will let you know how she reacts ASAP!

Thanks everyone for looking. And those who humored me by reading the story, thank you very much especially!

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--- so much to say, no time to time to cover it all.

I'll give you my full rundown after I get a chance to read the bios and take a better look, but for now -- DAMN.


Love Cap's scratched-up shield - very nice touch. Need to know what heads you used for Bruce, Steve, Tony, & Blade - awesome stuff.

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well I was reading it and I like your writeups.
Love the figures though, you do such awesome work on face painting and I really enjoy what you've done sofar with your universe.Nice stark and IM, I don't like the delta suit legs though, I tried IM legs on it but looked bad so you did what ya could for making Im.
Bruce kicks ass, Cap does to and man the shield...WOW..
The ladies are good to and I like your thinking too with 2 ladies

Keep it up and will always have fans,
Tim

They are all great, but that Blade is too damn perfect. Just give him a sweet bike.

You know, that accelerator suit is so darned versatile...I barely recognized it at first.

I love all of these, but Tony on a bender has to be my fave.

Really digging the Blade as well.

And your write ups just keep sucking me further into your universe.

Yep, those are all fantastic and the write-ups are a great read. Love the Blade custom; probably my favorite by far. And that's a great paint job on the accelerator suit to represent Iron Man. I've got similar ideas for the suit in my Joe-verse, but never even considered painting it up. Great stuff here. Can't wait to see what else you've got in store.

- Doc

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Awesome as always, Dennis. I enjoy your takes figure-wise and story-wise. I like them all, but IM is the bomb!

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You continue to boggle my brain with your stories and the figures just cap it all off incredibly well.

Stark looks awesome. You pulled off the tuxedo look really well. Like he just walked off the comics page.

Good tweaks to Cap too. The unmasked head fits the character and the weathering on the shield is most impressive.

The Iron Man armor looks good and the Wraith head gives it a really awesome Ultimate Iron Man feel. I'd have gone more vibrant on the red but the weathered look fits in your universe incredibly well.

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Forgot to ask this in my other post....what head did you use for Stark?

- Doc

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thanks for the comments everyone.

You know, the love for Blade is kinda funny, only cause he started out as a "now what I can do with these pieces" custom. lol. But I was very pleased with how he turned out. For those wondering, the head is a cast Snipes head. I got it in trade a long time ago from Tim/Tanstoys, and I assumed it was either a shrunken JFAK creation, or a Trigate head.

Chief - before I planned on making Blade, I think I even offered that one to you when you first posted yours...

Steve Rogers - both the masked and unmasked heads are from a 21st Century German figure I picked up on clearance last year fro Walmart, for $1 each. I hate the MU pea size head, and especially so when it came to trying to find an unmasked head that wasn't grossly out of whack. I was thrilled to get 2 of the German, and a little sculpting later, and I have properly proportioned heads for both.

Tony Stark, I'm going to have to say I don't know. I wish I had taken pics before I went to work on him. I got a lot of heads in an ebay auction, and in it were two heads, I assume from Star Wars. The base head has a scar running over the right eye (which for Tony will be explained later), and the hair was reddish. The facial hair for both version was sculpted by me. That's all I know about that one.

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Kir Kanos from the Crimson Empire 6-pack...

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thanks DJ - I'd have never come up with that. The sculpt looked very similar to Major Barrage actually, but with enough changes that I'm sure it's just a coincidence

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