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Prologue: This is Not the Beginning
“Leaders of the world: By now you have seen theevent in the Gulf and thus know my threats are not idle ones. The Alchematrix is fully armed and aimedat your precious petroleum. My demands are simple:full international recognition for the island nation of Mulciber, two hundred billion dollars, and seasontickets to the Lakers. Good ones – on the floor near Jack Nicholson. You have 24 hours.”--Memo to the United Nations Security Council
 “You’ll never get away with this, you terrorist bastard!”The villain bit his tongue while making a pained squinting expression. He, like many of hispeers, had a penchant for orating instead of acting at times like these. Too much was at stakethis time. He was so close to having it all.From across the hall, the masked manshouted again. “If you think the world is just going roll over for you, than you’re insane!”The villain could feel his self control melt away as his face went flush red. He was many things: genius inventor, fearless leader, masterplotter, even at time a heartless killer. What he wasn’t was one of those hack, costumed psychosthat made furniture out of their victim’s limbs.He was many things, but a madman wasn’t one of them.“Insane?” He asked, his pursed lips moving from sneer to snarl. “You, who serves as the lapdog of imperialist America, dares to call meinsane? Your nation has held the world hostagefor decades with your nuclear bombs and yourblood stained dollars. You kill to promote peaceand incite fear in the name of freedom. Don’t 
 
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speak to me about sanity, Lieutenant. You arethe very symbol of this mad world we live in.”The masked man paused. He did look garish in his red and white striped armor, his starspangled helmet and cape, and limited edition American flag Nike cross trainers. Lieutenant Liberty opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it.“Oh, and your wife’s a whore.” The villainadded.“Shut up, Vince.” Liberty replied.“Ooh, good one, Larry,” the villain shot back. “And please only address me by my chosen name, Vulkan!”“What kind of name is Vulkan?” It was worth noting that while Lieutenant Liberty  verbally sparred with his foe, he was alsophysically battling a cadre of the villain’s roboticguards, the blood red horned Beelzebots.“Vulkan was the inventor of the gods, thepatron saint of the medieval alchemists, the loverof Venus, the -” it was his turn to pause. “You’retrying to distract me, aren’t you?” Liberty rippeda titanium pitchfork free from one of thedemonic robots and hurled it across the roomlike a javelin. The shot was fired with deadly accuracy at the villain, but Vulkan remainednonplussed and casually waved his hand in theair. The pitchfork dissolved into a liquidsubstance and fell harmlessly to the floor.Lieutenant Liberty shrugged his shouldersdismissively. “I’m just saying the name is kind of generic.”“I’m spelling it with a ‘k’,” Vulkan told him.“Focus group data shows that the ‘k’ makes my name sound more fearsome.”Liberty ripped the head off of a robot deviland used it to bash another’s in. “I liked you
 
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better when you were just a young evil inventorcalling yourself ‘Malevolvince’.” Vulkan smiled. “That was a lifetime ago. I was so young then, so full of schemes, but at thesame time so short sighted. Small minded. Do you remember that time you caught me robbing a bank in Akron in ‘97?” With a Beelzebot hanging from hisshoulders, Liberty was using a disembodied armas a cudgel. He was slowly but surely gaining ground. “I don’t think that was me. I spent most of ’97 in DC. Are you thinking of theCommodore? Ohio is his territory.”“I’m pretty sure it was you. It was mid-summer and I had just completed my personalteleporter prototype.”The masked hero snapped his fingers andthen punched a devil robot in the face. “Yes! Ithink I was just there for the day. Might havebeen the book tour. You emptied the vault but then teleported across the street from me. I seethis guy in purple spandex dragging a duffle bag down the sidewalk.” Both men laughed. “I was just telling some of the guys about the time youkidnapped the Vice President.”“That was a good one,” Vulkan replied.“No one noticed for almost a week! We all just thought he’d gone off on a hunting trip. Ormaybe he was in an undisclosed location. Those were the days,” Liberty said, almost wistfully.“Those were the days,” Vulkan echoed. “I’mglad you were the one that came. My victory willbe that much greater knowing that you were theone I defeated to do so.”“You know I can’t allow you to do that.”Liberty was grim again. Nearly all of the robot guards had been dismissed. Still, Vulkanremained calm and collected. “Besides, youknow they’ll never give in to your demands.”
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