The Global Protectors – Dawn of the Millennium

By Marcus_Lycus@hotmail.com

The Global Protectors, Ultra Woman and Doctor Droid were created by none other than Doctor Droid (www.superstories.net/droidzone) and as such are copyright Doctor Droid. Other characters and text are copyright Marcus Lycus.

This story is meant for people over the age of 18, please don’t read it if you are younger than that. Any resemblance between characters in this story and any actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental of course.

And finally, please e-mail me with any comments, complaints or suggestions. Remember feedback leads to more stories!

Marcus Lycus

Chapter 3 - Rookie Mistakes

They'd been waiting more than a month for this chance. Weeks of training and practice and arguing and planning, all for this.

Members of the Wulf Pak were holed up in the bank. The Megapolis police had it surrounded but did not dare to move in. The street gang had some serious firepower and fifteen hostages. They trying to negotiate, but like the police in most major cities they were really just waiting for a superhero to come along and take care of things.

They were about to get three heroines.

***

Across the street Megapolis' newest champions looked on from a rooftop.

"Everyone ready?" Jillian asked enthusiastically.

Kanika smiled hungrily imagining herself beating the weak gang-bangers to a pulp. Stupid kids with guns had ruined more than one country in Africa and she was eager to vent her frustrations on their kin in the United States.

Vendla's response was a bit more timid. Even after a month of training with her two teammates (it still sounded strange) she was afraid in a fight, afraid she might be too weak and just as afraid she might make a mistake and seriously hurt someone. Trained as a scientist, she still thought much too much in a fight. But this was it, their debut and she wasn't going to let her fear stop her from being there.

"And remember to use our superhero names ay? We're trying to keep our identities secret." Jillian knew she should not need to add this, they'd been over it a hundred times but it was hard. She just felt silly calling Kanika by some made up name and all three of them had made mistakes in practice. Hopefully they would be OK today.

"All right, we're going to start with that hover maneuver we practiced last week, hopefully that will scare them a bit, then it's the old three-pronged attack. Our top priority is the hostages, if the gang bangers get away that's fine, so long as we save the hostages. Got it?"

The other two nodded.

"Then…"

Jillian fought down the butterflies in her stomach.

"Let's go!"

***

"F'ing pigs!" Leon yelled firing his Ingram in the general direction of Megapolis' finest. He was pissed. It was supposed to be a simple fucking bank job, go in, get out with $20, $30k no one gets hurt, fifteen minutes tops. Except for the two cops who walked in halfway through. Now he and his buddies from the Wulf Pak were trapped in the bank and he was trying to figure a way out. He picked up the bullhorn.

"We want uh… ten millions dollars, in uh, gold and uh a helicopter that will take us to uh, Cuba. Yeah. And I want uh, a case of diet Doctor Pepper and uh Brittany Spears on board the chopper, yeah. Got it pigs?" he fired another burst from his submachine gun to punctuate his point.

Detective Mulligan ducked behind his car and rolled his eyes. Usually he didn't buy it when the liberals said poor education is the cause of crime but these days… hell they need to improve the schools just so the punks' demands would make more sense.

"We have heard your terms and are considering them, please stay calm." He yelled into his bullhorn. "You should get that around the time hell freezes over." He added under his breath.

"Where the hell is Ultra Woman?" He whispered to Sergeant Sharpe. "We called for her a half hour ago!

"Probably doing her fucking nails. Damn superchicks, why can't we work with Nightbat or the Penalizer, at least they're not going to make us wait while they're at the salon."

For some reason Megapolis had always attracted many more heroines than heroes, a fact the notoriously chauvinistic police force was forever lamenting. Mulligan was fucking tired of dealing with underdressed nymphets who could rip apart mountains. Some days it was like trying to run an investigation with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders standing around. Heck, that literally what it had been like when he'd worked with Bikini Force to catch the Scarlet Surfer. Thank God they'd retired after that battle with Captain Cellulite and Commander Calorie. Since then things had been pretty quiet on the heroine front. He just hoped that if, or when, a new batch popped up they'd at least get a heroine who's fully dressed and has a brain in her head.

Which is when he heard a woman overhead yell "Let's go!"

He didn't recognize the voice, and for him that just meant another ulcer…

***

"Attention evildoers we are the Global Protectors!" Jillian yelled in the direction of bank and then caught herself. Evildoers? Did she just say evildoers? Well no time to start over, she just had to keep going.

"Release the hostages and surrender peacefully! This is your only warning!"

Jillian planted her hands on her hips to hide her nervousness. She remembered Linda Carter doing that a lot in the old Ultra Woman show and it always looked cool.

She was hovering in midair in front of the bank with her hands on her hips and her legs apart. Vendla and Kanika were doing the same behind her. She didn't want to think about the crowds around them but she couldn't help but wonder what everyone thought of their new costumes.

***

Fighting over costumes had consumed most of the last month. They had learned in their first battle anything the girls wanted to wear would have to be skintight or it would be destroyed pretty fast. They'd had to flee the airport before reporters arrived just to preserve their modesty.

As Jillian said "what kind of heroines would we be if we keep losing our clothes?"

Vendla had argued for sensible jump suits with kevlar pockets for carrying cell phones, handcuffs and other gear but Jillian had surprised her by vetoing it. Jillian argued that after a decade of 'extreme' heroes like the Blood Corps or the Ex-Titians people were tired of drab utilitarian costumes. Sometimes there's just nothing like going back to a classic look.

Besides as Kanika pointed out they were three beautiful women in perfect condition, it would be shame to hide that under a concealing outfit.

Or as Jillian put it "you've gotta sell the product."

Vendla finally came around after Jillian made up some bullshit about revealing costumes being proven to distract male opponents. Who knows? It could even be true.

So they'd started looking at colorful costumes, everything from Ms. Americana's bikini (too slutty!) to Crimson Hawk's retro costume (too 50's!) to Comet Girl's halter-top and miniskirt (too mall rat!) to the Asian Avenger's body paint (too much work!). But, in the end their meager budget made the decision easy.

Chairman Loveless had graciously offered them a small grant to get started. But even with that and the three girls' savings there wasn't much money to spare. What little they had was being consumed with simple living expenses. Custom costumes made of unstable molecules and nanotechology would have to wait a while longer.

Luckily they'd been able to find some one-piece swimsuits printed with the Canadian, Kenyan and Swedish flags. The tight spandex suits would be protected by their force fields while the national flags would ensure they had a unifying theme but still give them individual identities. Plus it sent a strong international unity, world village sort of message that would resonate with the public.

Matching thigh-high boots, half face masks and elbow length gloves finished the costumes. The thigh-highs provided a place they could put their cell phones, gave them a bit more modesty but still looked sexy as all hell. Jillian had insisted they add masks to the outfits, she liked the idea of being able to take off the costume and not worry about people identifying her or following her home. Or suing her for that matter. Off-the-rack facemasks held in place by spirit gum hid her identity perfectly while still allowing people to see her pretty face. The matching gloves ensured no one would get their fingerprints and added some balance to the costume's colors.

They'd only finalized the costumes the day before, today was the first time they'd worn the whole ensemble.

Jillian really hoped the costumes were worth the work.

***

Leon could not believe his eyes. There was a Goddamn Miss Universe pageant hovering outside. The leader was a brunette dressed up in the Canadian flag and Miss Sweden and Miss Zulu Warrior or something were right there next to her. It was so ridiculous he just had to laugh.

***

Jillian heard the laughter and turned red. Four weeks of hard work and this shithead was laughing at them! Forgetting her own plan she flew through the front door and clocked the gang leader in the face.

Confused, the other two followed her lead inside taking on two more gangers.

The was leader down but Jillian was still savagely kicking him while screaming insults "How you like it if I laugh at your stupid gang wear huh? A wolf head, well that's original! Oh but you spell it 'W-U-L-F' so that makes it cool?"

Kanika crushed her target's AK-47 easily and smashed his head into a marble column for good measure. Vendla punched her target putting him out with minimal amount of force and damage. Which took care of three of them.

Too bad there were four.

***

Don recovered from the shock of seeing a Canadian flag with cleavage stomp on his leader and realized he had to do something or he was next. He grabbed the nearest hostage, a fifty-year old teller, and held his Desert Eagle to her head. "Back off bitches or I'll waste 'er you hear!"

Jillian froze in mid kick. 'My God, what have I done?'

She and her teammates took a step back.

"Listen…" she said impotently "just, just put the gun down, we'll let you go, just don't hurt anyone…"

"FUCK YOU BITCH! Back off now or granny here is getting a new earlobe!"

Kanika started to take a step forward but Jillian restrained her. Not even the Kenyan was faster than a bullet. Vendla was just looking at the floor in utter despair.

Don woke up Mike, Leon and Ralph with kicks and got them on their feet.

Powerless the three heroines stood aside and let the four gang members walk outside. Vendla grit her teeth as Ralph grabbed her ass on the way by.

When he saw the cops Don called back "Hey Miss Canada get out her and make sure they let us go! Come on or we'll be short a hostage."

Jillian wanted to cry but she knew what she had to do. As a lawyer she'd been forced to drop charges before and watch guilty men go free. It wasn't easy but she could do it.

"Officers. We… we have promised them safe passage out of here, please let them through."

Mulligan grit his teeth. Not just new heroines, but incompetent idiots too. He was tempted to have his men open fire in the hopes the new girls would be 'accidentally' shot. But that was the stuff of daydreams, he was a frustrated cop but a good one. Deep, deep down inside.

"Fine. Come down here, you can have this unmarked car. Release the hostages and we'll give you a ten minutes head start. That's your final offer."

Inside he knew that whatever happened he was going to make these new girls lives hell.

***

Six hours later the Global Protectors walked wearily out of Police Headquarters. Their ears were still ringing from Mulligan's insults and curses, he'd done everything short of throwing them in jail. If it hadn't been for Jillian's skillful legal defense he just might have.

The only good part had been the hostages thanking them for saving their lives. At least that was something.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" Vendla muttered voicing all of their concerns.

"To be honest I am glad it is over. Those men were all staring at our breasts the whole time we were in there. And I saw some of them e-mailing our mug shots!"

"Guys come on, we just had a bit of bad luck. Tomorrow we can try again."

"A bit of bad luck!? You are the one who broke with the plan! Your own plan!"

"FINE! You want me to admit I made a mistake, then fine, I fucked up! Next time you can be in charge!"

"What makes you think there will be next time?"

"Excuse me ladies, are you the Global Protectors?"

Jillian spun around but it was just two older men a smiling tall man with a notebook and a stockier man with a cigar and camera. Reporters. Jillian unconsciously fixed her hair and turned her good side towards the camera.

"Name's Stan, this is Jack, we cover super issues for the Megapolis Marvel, I do the words, he does the pictures. I've been covering supers for gosh, forty years now. Jack there's been at it even longer, about as long as there have been superheroes practically. Mind answering a few questions?"

"Uh…"

"Nothing about today of course, that was just some bad luck, and who wants to read about heroines being defeated anyway? Only sickos and freaks that what I say. I figure today was just water under the bridge and this will be like a fresh start. 'Meet the Protectors' something for tomorrow's superheroes section."

Disagreements forgotten, the girls eagerly crowded around the two reporters. After Kanika and Vendla had been questioned they turned to Jillian.

"And you miss, what are you called?"

Jillian stuck out her chest for the camera, smiled and proudly said "They call me… The Prosecutor!"

Unlike the costume, a name had been easy for Jillian. The Prosecutor! Simple, strong, and it tied in with her old career, a perfect superhero name.

"Prosecutor?" Stan asked sounding disappointed. He looked at his partner who shook his head.

"She'll have the Penalizer, the Punisher, the Protector and the Persecuter lining up to sue her in no time. Plus look at that costume, there's nothing there that says 'Prosecution' maybe if you looked like a lawyer…"

"But…"

"Plus you got that whole Canadian theme going in the costume, your name should tie into that."

"But…"

Stan nodded. "Tell you what true believer, we've got till tomorrow right, let me and Jack see what we can come up with OK? We've been at this a long time and sometimes it's better to leave the naming up to the professionals."

"But…"

The two reporters walked away chatting about possible names.

"Aurora?"

"Snowbird?"
"Wolverine Woman?"

As they reached the corner Jack turned back and called out "By the way… those are GREAT costumes!"

Stan added a big thumbs up and cried out "Excelsior!"

And then they were gone.

***

The next morning Jillian got up first and started some coffee. She sat in the kitchenette watching the clock and waiting for the paper. How bad would they end up looking? If the paper stressed the story of their humiliation there was no way she'd be able to get the other two out again. Hell, she wouldn't be able to show her face again. But if they got off OK…

A door opened and Vendla walked in wearing a short thin tee shirt and translucent panties, her nipples and bush clearly showing through the threadbare cotton. With a critical eye Jillian appraised her teammate's form. Much too tall Jillian decided, and her breasts were too large and awkward. There's no way men would find her attractive, especially with all that blond hair, everyone knows men prefer earth toned auburn hair.

For her part Vendla was embarrassed by her outfit (purchased when she was quite a bit smaller in all respects) and hoped Jillian wasn't judging her.

Kanika walked in next stretching in her thin green nighty. Jillian decided her lean muscular limbs were too butch, men wouldn't like them either.

No. Although her ego had taken a blow the day before, Jillian had reaffirmed herself by deciding that she was easily the most attractive of the three. She smiled to herself and nodded.

For her part, Kanika was wondering if the two had heard her last night or seen the bellboy sneak out around dawn. Not that she cared if they had.

***

When they heard the light thud against the door they almost had a catfight as all three dashed out to get the paper first. Kanika's faster reflexes won out and she held it up for the other two to see.

"OK, page 1 - Ultra Woman Defeats Cartel!"

"Right. Page 2 - Ultra Girl Defeated by SPAY!"

"Very well. Maybe we're on page 3, nope that's Ultra Man saves Kentucky!"

"Ms. Americana, Amber, Asian Avenger, Butterscotch Fox, Solar Woman and Comet Girl, Avenging League of Justice, Bikini Force retrospective… ah here we are! Rookie Heroines Let Robbers Escape. That's not good…"

The read it in silence.

"Detective Mulligan declined to identify the rookie heroines involved saying 'What's the point? You've never heard of them and it's not like they'll ever show their faces in this town again.' Ultra Woman agreed adding 'Super heroics should be left up to professionals, not amateurs. No one wants another Bikini Force fiasco.'"

Jillian let out a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens, they don't mention our names. Now what about Stan and Jack?"

"Here they are down with used car ads… 'New International Superhero Team Debuts - Last night your reporter had the honor of meeting three new heroines committed to the cause of world peace and understanding, the Global Protectors. Their leader…'" Kanika started giggling and Jillian snatched the paper from her hand.

"What? What?" She scanned quickly…

"'Their leader the Canadian heroine known as MAPLE LEAF'?!?! What the fuck? I sound like a hockey team."

Vendla put her hand on Jillian's shoulder "It's not that bad a name, and you do have a big Maple Leaf on your boobs."

"Well looks like he kept your name 'Valkyrie a statuesque blonde from Sweden is the team's science expert…' That's something at least."

"Hmm, yes. I've been thinking a lot about that name actually. Vendla… Vendla is who I was, she was small and weak and afraid. I no longer wish to use that name I think. From now on I think I would like to be called Valkyrie."

Jillian looked at her teammate wondering what issues were lurking behind her cold blue eyes, but that was a question for another time. "Sure I guess, do you mind if we call you Val for short though?"

Valkyrie thought about that for a second. "No that should be fine."

"Enough! Where am I in there? Read my description."

"I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it. Ah here 'The third member is the savage African woman…"

"Savage African? Could he be more clichéd?"

"named Tigress."

"Tigress? What happened to Lioness? There aren't any Tigers in Africa! Tigers come from Asia!"

"Not a bad name though, sort of rolls off the tongue better than Lioness. Heck of a lot better than Maple Leaf, I mean who's going to be scared of someone named Maple Leaf ay?"

They all laughed.

"So guys, I guess we're still good? The Global Protectors are go?"

The other two nodded.

"Maple Leaf, Tigress and Valkyrie! That's a pretty good little line up there. Ready to take on the world!"

"After breakfast of course."