Fourth Story:
‘Get USAgent out of there before Pointer kills him!’ shouts Agent Brown from the observation booth of the training room at CSIS headquarters, home and operations base for Canada’s premiere super heroes, Omega Flight. ‘We’re trying, Sir’ one of the scientists replies, explaining that somehow, Michael Pointer a.k.a. the new Guardian has jammed the entry. While down in the training room, Pointer, his body distorted into resembling that of the criminal Raptore is ripping apart Johnny Walker a.k.a. the handsome USAgent. Agent Brown points at one of the scientists and tells him to go and get the Doctor. ‘Dr. Benning? The psychiatrist?’ he asks. ‘What? No! She’d be killed in there, you idiot! I mean Dr. Langkowski…Sasquatch!’ Brown shouts.
Within moments, the founding member of Canada’s first super team, Alpha Flight, Sasquatch rips through the walls of the training room, ‘That’s enough!’ he shouts, making his way over to Pointer, he warns him to let USAgent go. Pointer, his form returning to normal, just stares at Sasquatch. ‘This isn’t like you. This isn’t who you are!’ Sasquatch tells him. ‘You’ve got to -’ Walter begins to say, until Pointer blasts him with his powers, right in the eye, disorientating Sasquatch, who suddenly has the images of Pointer murdering his teammates flash through his mind - Mac, Heather, Judd… - ‘Uhhhh…no…you killed my teammates….NOOOO!’ growls Sasquatch.
Pointer returns to normal now, apologizing as he exclaims ‘It wasn’t me!’. Sasquatch slumps to the ground, rubbing his eyes. Agent Brown enters the training room followed by soldiers, one of whom exclaims that they need medics. ‘Prep the infirmary!’ another shouts. ‘Tell them we’re coming in hot!’. ‘It wasn’t me…’ Pointer exclaims, before turning to Agent Brown and telling him that he doesn’t know what happened. While medics tend to USAgent, who is lying in a pool of his own blood, Brown tells Pointer to calm down, before turning to a medic and ordering him to sedate USAgent and get him to the infirmary.
Walker is placed on a gurney and Pointer tells him that he is sorry. Exhausted and badly wounded, John tells Pointer that it’s not his fault. ‘It’s the suit’ he exclaims. ‘They’re feeding ya like a…like a…’ Johnny passes out as the medic injects him with something, unable to finish his sentence. Agent Brown turns to Pointer and tells him that USAgent will be all right. ‘He’s even tougher than he is annoying’.
‘I don’t know what happened…’ Pointer exclaims, before asking Brown how this could have happened. ‘You told me that this suit is supposed to be regulating my powers!’ he reminds him. Agent Brown replies that they are not entirely sure, and reveals that they are hypothesizing that the Collective still somehow fights for control over him. ‘What? Are You saying that the I - that it’s somehow aware?!’. Pointer exclaims. But Brown replies that he isn’t say that at all, and remarks that everything is speculative at best. ‘We’re still analyzing and collecting data’.
‘”Useful”?’ Pointer asks ‘Are you kidding? I might have just killed a man!’. At that moment, Dr. Benning enters and asks Pointer to come with her, telling him that they need to sit down and talk somewhere quietly. ‘Sure, Dr. Benning’ Pointer replies quietly as he walks alongside her. ‘I didn’t mean it that way…’ Agent Brown mumbles. ‘We’ll go somewhere…away from this mess’. Dr. Benning declares.
A scientist asks Brown why he didn’t tell Pointer about the outside power source they detected, to which Brown replies that until they can figure out exactly what it is they don’t need to confuse Pointer anymore than he already is. ‘Agreed?’ Brown asks the scientists, who look at each other a bit puzzled. ‘Well…go and figure it out!’ Agent Brown orders the scientists.
As Pointer makes his way down a corridor with Dr. Benning, he is suddenly confronted by an angry Julia Carpenter a.k.a. Arachne. ‘Pointer!’ she shouts. ‘What the Hell’s going on?’ she demands to know as she walks up to him, followed by her daughter, Rachel. ‘I’m…I…’ begins Pointer, unable to look at Julia, so Dr. Benning steps in for him, explaining that there was an accident while Pointer and USAgent were training. ‘Accident?! What happened? Is USAgent okay?’ Julia asks, concerned for her friend and long-time Avengers West Coast / Force Works teammate.
Benning explains that USAgent has been taken to the infirmary and is being tended to. She adds that the it is her understanding that the wounds Sasquatch sustained are of a superficial nature. Pointer looks at Rachel who is staring at him and asks her if she is okay, while Julia asks ‘Walter was injured as well? What’s going on here, Doctor?’. Pointer looks at Rachel, who is staring blankly at him and asks her to say something as he takes her hand. ‘I hear you…I see you…so many…!’ Rachel exclaims.
(Flashbacks, over the course of recent issues)
‘They’re bringing in more prisoners - ones that aren’t showing up on any manifests. And they’re not sending the prisoners stateside’ Julia told Walker, who remarked that that the $64,000 question is “what are they doing with them”, both unaware that Rachel was hiding in the bushes nearby watching them.
Another time, Rachel listened to a couple of soldiers, one of whom remarked ‘That dude is messed up, man. This morning we practically had to scrape Pointer off the floor. I’ve seen some bad hangovers before - but, man!’. The other soldier replied ‘Should’ve seen him yesterday. If I’d known I’d be cleaning up puke all day, I’d have been a stay-at-home dad!’.
Later, Rachel eavesdropped on Brown and Benning who were arguing over Pointer, with Brown telling Benning that she has to encourage Pointer to stay in the suit as much as possible, as the suit is the only way to control his unstable powers. “Control”? Benning asked. ‘Control. Regulate. Semantics, Doctor. I’m not one of your5 patients. Don’t try reading into any Freudian slips with me’ Brown replied. ‘Yes, but who controls the suit, Agent Brown?’ Benning asked, to which she got no answer, Brown just walked away from her.
(Present)
‘Oh! Hey, Michael!’ Rachel suddenly exclaims. ‘What’s up?’ she asks. Julia pulls her daughter away from Pointer and remarks ‘You’re talking again? Good, at least someone around here is!’ to her daughter, before telling her that they are going to see how Walker is doing, ‘And then I think it’s time for a little visit with Agent Brown!’ she announces angrily. Rachel follows her mother, ‘Okay Mom…um, what’s going on, by the way?’ she asks. Pointer watches them leave, while Benning tells him to come into his office so they can talk. ‘Yes…it’s time to go inside now…’ Pointer replies.
