CHAPTER 2

            The white rat scurried about on the pillow and Wildcard just watched it. Not a care in the world.

            "You know something Scooter?" The rat perked up at the sound of its name, "You got it good...no worries, no problems. You don't know how good you have it." Scooter seemed to be listening intently, but Wildcard knew that all it wanted was some food. In either case, it made him feel better.

            Wildcard rolled onto his back and looked around his room. He still couldnt get over the size of the damned place. It wasnt huge, but it wasnt small either. It had a comfort to it. Various band posters and skateboarding equipment were around. His long board lay propped in the corner. He lost himself in his daydreams, but they didn't stay good for long. It wasn't long before his thoughts drifted to the Cabal.

            He'd been with the Cabal since before he could remember. They told him that his mother had left him on the steps of their temple. They taught him the power of the Pentalich Tarot, and they trained him in the art of stealth and cunning. In other words, they'd made him a thief. Their temple, now that place was a trip. From the outside it looked like an ordinary church, and masses were even performed there, but once in the back room, things got weird fast. The Cabal were a religious group of Satan worshippers whose fanatical following revolved around sacrifices to Lucifer himself. That was on a good day. Most of the time they performed petty thefts, or disturbances on downtown rooftops.

            Wildcard rolled on his side. That's the part that didn't add up. They had no business on the roof, and Firepower weren't known for being rabble-rousers like that. Then there was the poor schmuck in Flashover's outfit...Things kept getting weirder and weirder.

            As if sensing what was coming, Scooter scurried over to sit on Wildcard's shoulder. Just then, Scorpio's voice boomed over the intercom.

            "Wildcard, Plague, to the interrogation room."

            "Gotcha boss," Wildcard mumbled to himself, scooping Scooter off his shoulder and depositing him in his cage. Guess he wasnt as drained as he looked, he thought. On the way out, he grabbed the green and red globe that held Inferno captive.

            The doors to the room slid open and Scorpio glanced over at them. Wildcard entered.

            "I think it's time to let our friend out," he said.

            Wildcard didn't respond, but instead tossed the sphere into a large cylindrical glass tank that stood in the middle of the room. The tank doors slid closed, and Wildcard released the spell bonding the fire monger. Inferno quickly regained his 6-foot stature and blasted a gout of flame at the doors of the tank. The blast just reflected back into his own face, knocking him down. Scorpio took the time it took him to regain his footing to look him over. Inferno was kind of skinny, but not a toothpick, and wore a bright red and yellow costume. His facemask was red on yellow with black over the nose and mouth. His mop of shaggy brown hair stuck out in sharp contrast from the top of the mask.

            He approached the tank. "Ok pal, talk."

            Inferno glared at Scorpio wearily, "Screw you Defender...I ain't talking."

            "Really? Well, sorry about this, but I dont really have much of a choice," Scorpio said as his tail pushed a button on a nearby control panel, "Nothing personal."

            Suddenly metal cuffs flared out of the ceiling and floor and clamped themselves around Inferno's wrists and ankles. He heard a gurgling sound, and looked down. Water was welling up in the tank. "Oh shit..." he said.

            A few minutes later, the water was up to his chest, and Scorpio pressed another button with his tail, stopping the flow. Inferno looked very pissed.

            "If looks could kill..." he chuckled, "Ok tough guy, talk."

            "Never."

            Scorpio sighed and dropped his head into his hand. Wildcard stood back and watched. The doors to the room once again slid open and Plague walked in.

            Plague was, quite literally, a walking corpse. He didnt seem to be rotting, and his skin was intact, but in all reality, he had been dead a long time, and stunk of wet earth all the time. His eyes were sunken in his skull, and they were bleach white with no pupils. His skin was leathery and gray, but intact. His mouth was sewn shut. He wore a simple white T-shirt and Blue jeans. Over this he wore a long black trench coat, which was frayed and torn in various places.

            {Whats going on in here?} he asked in thought speech, he was incapable of vocalizations, for his vocal cords had long ago rotted away, but he did possess various mystical powers, among them, the ability to thought speak with his friends, and a shape-shifting ability.

            "We're trying to get our buddy here to talk, but he's stubborn." Scorpio replied.

            {Let me give it a try.} Plague said, and approached the tank. He looked Inferno in the eyes and concentrated. He picked up different images, fractured and unreadable, flashing by too quickly to discern, obvious evidence of mental shielding. The same shielding hed experienced when trying to scan Wildcard before he'd joined them.

            "Anything?"

            {His mental shielding is too strong.} Plague replied.

            "You know what we have to do now, right?"

            {Yep.} Plague stared Inferno down, and before his eyes, Plagues features and clothing began to morph and twist until they were an exact copy of Inferno and his costume. Inferno was, needless to say, shocked.

            The three of them headed out the door. "Someone call Minion, let him know what were doing," Scorpio ordered.

            "You cant just leave me here!" Inferno screamed,