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Generations
For Agent Profiles, please refer here.
When MASK and VENOM fought their final battle in 1997, many thought it would be the end of the saga. However, the groundwork was being laid for a new conflict even before they fought their first battle. This was a new conflict that would test the mettle of even the original agents of both teams. In 1985, before their first battle against MASK, VENOM searched many facilities for weapons to use in the upcoming war. Their search led them to a college campus where Miles Mayhem ran into a student named Malcolm Darwood. Darwood was in the middle of performing a prank when the meeting occurred. Mayhem saw something in the boy and decided to give him some tutelage instead of killing him. Following the final battle, most VENOM agents were sent to prison where Miles Mayhem died in 2001. Shortly after Mayhem's death, Malcolm Darwood received a letter telling him to put together a new VENOM and not make the same mistakes they had made. Darwood created a team called "the Foxes" after his college nickname. He hired every professional lowlife he could and retrieved mask and transforming vehicle technology. But his actions also caught the attention of the FBI who almost lost some of their best agents in the investigation. Since MASK had disbanded shortly after the final battle, the FBI had to create a new team. They also put one of the agents from the investigation, Jeremy Sanchez, in charge as field commander. In 2006, two years after the first battle between the new MASK and the Foxes, Malcolm Darwood put a new spin on the conflict. It would begin, of all places, in a used car lot in Boulder Hill, Nevada. One of the Foxes, a large, muscular man known as Slash, approached the side of an old Trans-Am with a crowbar. He raised it above his head and was about to smash the window when his partner, Hack, grabbed his arm. "Hold it! Darwood wants the car INTACT!" yelled Hack. "That means 'in one piece'!" "Aw, you never let me have any fun, Hack." complained Slash. "Can't I break something?" Within a minute, Slash's crowbar was breaking through a window of the lot's office. Hack immediately jumped through the broken window and started looking through the keys in the office. "There, you broke something." he said. "Are you happy now?" "Ye-es." was Slash's snide reply.
Across town, auto mechanic Jeff Meyers locked his doors for the night. As he walked towards his car, he was approached by a young man with black, curly hair and glasses. Little did Meyers know that the man was another Fox, Skull. "Excuse me." said Skull. "Are you Jeff Meyers, the auto mechanic?" "Yes." said Jeff. "Tell me, can you restore a 20-year-old car? Say, a Pontiac Trans-Am?" asked Skull. "I suppose I could, depending on the car's condition." said Jeff. "It could take a while as I've always got two or three restoration projects going on at any given time." "Not under these circumstances." said Skull's partner, Crossbones, as he jumped out from behind a row of tires. "What's going on here?" asked Meyers, now scared. He never got a response. Crossbones jumped over and punched him in the center of the chest, knocking him out. "That was too easy." said Crossbones as he helped Skull stuff Meyers into his van. "I'll try to set you up with a sumo wrestler next time." said Skull.
The next morning, the local police were investigating the theft of the Trans-Am. FBI agent Jeremy Sanchez was there as well. "I can't figure out why they stole the Trans-Am." said the salesman. "There are much more expensive and valuable cars on the lot as well as ones in better condition." "I'll say." said the police officer taking his statement. "Two Mercedes, an Explorer, and even a Miata. Hey, Sanchez, is that the guy you're looking for?" Jeremy watched the tape of Hack and Slash breaking into the office. "It's two of them." he said. "Daniel Hurt. Alias: 'Hack'. Craig Hudson. Alias: 'Slash'. Two members of the criminal organization known as 'the Foxes'." "Hack and Slash?" asked the officer. "That's imaginative." "It's also odd." said Jeremy. "Why'd they do this?" He walked out of the office towards fellow MASK agents Rocky Jackson and Caitlin Horowitz. "Well?" asked Caitlin. "It was Hack and Slash." said Jeremy. "They stole the car. But why?" "I know what you mean." said Rocky. "There are several cars on the lot which they could've stolen. Why the Trans-Am?" "And why a car?" asked Caitlin. "The Foxes' last few thefts were all electronic equipment." "Not only that, but they also coincided with the kidnap of a specialist in the field." said Jeremy. "Which reminds me."
Across town, another MASK agent, Max O'Grady, was looking around the garage when fellow agent and girlfriend Laura Kennedy walked up to him. "The garage is locked up but his car is still here." said Laura. "He must've been grabbed on his way to the car. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out." "I know. We have to keep looking for clues." said Max. Suddenly, his communicator beeped. He picked it up and said "O'Grady here." Jeremy was on the other end. "Max, we've confirmed that the Trans-Am theft was the work of the Foxes." "Just like the electronic equipment thefts in the area." said Max. "Right." said Jeremy. "Any luck linking the Meyers kidnapping to the Foxes?" "Not yet." said Max. "Hey, Max." yelled agent Wei Chang as he ran over from the bank across the street. "Scooter's got something."
In the bank, computer expert Jack "Scooter" Marshall set up a videotape player. "I saw the ATM and remembered a trick they did on a few episodes of 'Law & Order'." he explained. "Sure enough, look." The agents watched the tape which showed Crossbones knocking out Meyers and then helping Skull stuff him in the van. "9:05 PM." said Max. "Just after closing time." "Paulsen Plumbing." said Laura as she looked at the side of the van. "It's Crossbones' van, the Beluga." "We have our link." said Max. "I'll call Jeremy and we'll mobilize."
At the Foxes' base, Foxhole, plans were being made. "Excellent." said Malcolm Darwood. "Everything is going according to plan." "We coulda bought that car, chief." said Slash. "Ah, what's one more theft on our records?" said Darwood. About that time, a red Hummer pulled up and the Foxes called Rocks and Dr. Frankenstein climbed out. "Well, how'd it go?" asked Darwood. "All set up." said Rocks in his deep, raspy voice. "But when we got there, one of the towers was knocked over." "What?" screamed Darwood. "B-but we fixed it." said Frankenstein. "It should work now." "It had better." said Darwood. "I've invested too much time and effort to stop now."
Meanwhile, Jeremy and the other MASK agents cruised down the highway in search of the Foxhole. Rocky led the way on his Harley-Davidson, the Warhorse. Jeremy followed right behind in his Corvette, the Skyhawk. Caitlin was next. She was driving a Lamborghini Diablo called Lightning. Max and Laura followed her in Max's Nissan Xterra, the Bear. Wei and Scooter brought up the rear in Wei's Kenworth tanker truck, the Mammoth. "Meyers specialized in automotive restoration." said Max. "Obviously, he was kidnapped to work on the car." "I know, Max." said Jeremy. "But why did they steal the car? That's the really confusing part." "Just put it out of your mind." said Caitlin. "We'll find out." "Hey, you got any idea where the Foxhole could be?" asked Rocky. "Probably in the epicenter of all the thefts." said Jeremy. "Hey, Scooter, you want to punch that up?" "Sure thing." said Scooter. "By the way, check this out. Computer, open map of area." "Scanning GPS coordinates. Map opened." said the computer in a familiar-sounding voice. "Where have I heard that voice before?" said Max. "Okay, you got me." said Laura. "I wasn't busy, so I did some voice tracks for the new computer." "You finished the VIC?" asked Jeremy. "The VIC?" echoed Wei. "Vocal Interface Computer. It's done. We have it now." said Scooter. "Awesome!" said Max. "Okay, there are some old mines in the area." said Scooter. "Anyone of them could be a Foxhole." "Then let's get cracking." said Jeremy. "Masks on, everybody." The agents all pushed the green buttons on their dashboards and their faces were covered by the special helmets common to their team. Jeremy then pushed the red button on the Skyhawk's dashboard. The car's rear wheels rotated back to form jet thrusters and horizontal stabilizers flipped out of the body work. The front wheels rotated to become jet intakes and a pair of wings swung out of the frame. A pair of vertical stabilizers flipped out of the rear hatch and laser blasters emerged from the marker lights. He then guided the Skyhawk over the desert. "Right behind you." said Caitlin. She pushed the red button on the Lightning's dash and the wheels rotated down to form hover jets. The rear deck popped up revealing a pair of jet engines, vertical stabilizers, and two laser cannons. A pair of stabilizers swung out of the fenders and two missile launchers extended from the air intakes. She followed Jeremy. Rocky, Max, and Wei kept their vehicles in civilian form, but drove into the desert anyway. "There's a rest area about a mile back." said Jeremy. "We'll meet there in an hour if we don't find anything. If you do find something..." "We know. Call first, engage later." said Laura.
In the Foxhole, Meyers was just coming to. "Where am I?" he asked. "Mr. Meyers. So nice of you to wake up." said Darwood. "We have a special project for you." Meyers turned around and saw the stolen car. "A Trans-Am?" he said. "You kidnapped me over a Trans-Am?" "I have very special plans for it." said Darwood. "I suggest you start soon." Meyers looked over the car. "It's in relatively good condition. Working on it alone, I could probably finish in a day or two." "HAVE IT DONE BY THIS AFTERNOON!" yelled Darwood. "B-but I can't work that fast!" said Meyers. "I'll need help." "Very well." said Darwood. "Rocks, get Frankenstein and the two of you can..." Suddenly, Dr. Frankenstein burst out of the control room and yelled "Darwood! The intruder alert for the ghost town just went off! Somebody's there that's not supposed to be there!" "No! Not yet!" said Darwood. "We can't let anyone find out about what's there! Skull! Crossbones! Take the Juggernaut out to the ghost town and get rid of the intruders!" "The Juggernaut?" replied Skull. "Isn't that a bit overkill?" "No, I think it's just enough kill!" said Darwood. "Now get out there or I'll show you the meaning of overkill!" "What a grouch!" said Crossbones as he and Skull walked towards the vehicle bay. At the ghost town, Caitlin had just gotten out of the Lightning which had been changed back to a car. She looked around, then turned on her communicator. "Guys, this is Caitlin." she said. "I've found an old ghost town. There's something suspicious about it." "I'm checking your GPS coordinates." said Scooter. "According to the map, there is no ghost town in your area." "Then what am I looking at?" she asked. "Hold on, Rocky's here." Rocky pulled up on the Warhorse. "Need help?" he asked. "Yeah, find a building and search." said Caitlin. She took a step and heard a clunk. "Hey, Rocky. Look at this." she said. "Whoa, what's that doing there?" he said as he looked at the large steel plate the Lightning was parked on. "I don't think they had this in the old west." said Caitlin. "Let's keep looking." Not far away, the Juggernaut, a huge off-road transport, made its way towards the ghost town. "Hurry up, Skull!" yelled Crossbones. "Darwood's gonna have our heads if we don't get there in time!" "Gimme a break! This thing weighs 30 tons!" said Skull. "It's not exactly a Ferrari!" "Oh, no!" said Crossbones. "MASK agents in town!" "Why couldn't it be an animal?" asked Skull. Caitlin finished looking around and returned to her car. "Rocky, I found a power generator in the bank vault and an electrical tower hidden in the saloon." she said. "I found two more electrical towers in the schoolhouse and the inn." said Rocky from a room on the second floor of the train station. "I also found this room which has some kinda control panel." "Don't touch it." said Caitlin. "We need to find out what it does." "Wasn't gonna." said Rocky. Then his eye caught something approaching. "Uh oh, we got company." he said. "There they are!" said Skull. "Let's nail 'em!" said Crossbones. "You got it!" said Skull. "Initiating conversion!" He pushed a red button on the Juggernaut's dashboard and the conversion began. The front wheels moved back and the front part of the vehicle rose up. Then the cockpit angled a little lower to level itself. A pair of missiles emerged from the frame and a pair of laser guns lowered from the cockpit. The sides of the trailer folded down and revealed a mini-jet on a rack and a turret with laser cannons as they swiveled into position. Crossbones sat in the turret and targeted Rocky. "Watch your aim!" said Skull. "Me and Dr. Frankenstein spent 5 hours designing that! I don't want to do it again!" "Uh oh, he doesn't want to talk." said Caitlin. "He wants to shoot, but I won't let him." said Rocky. "Safety, on!" An energy beam shone from his mask and passed through the Juggernaut. At first, it seemed like nothing had happened. Then Crossbones pulled the trigger on the laser cannons and they wouldn't fire. "Hey, Skull! I thought you primed these guns!" said Crossbones. "I did! When we left the base!" responded Skull. "Uh oh!" "What's wrong?" asked Crossbones. "It's that biker!" said Skull as he spotted Rocky. "He must've knocked out our weapons!" he said as he stopped the Juggernaut. "Then we'd better take care of this on foot." said Crossbones as he opened the turret hatch and jumped out. Skull followed by popping open the cockpit and rappelling to the ground. "Let's take 'em down!" said Skull. "Before reinforcements show up!" "You got it!" said Crossbones. He held his hands a foot apart and said "Chi, on!" An energy ball formed between his hands and he threw it at Rocky. Rocky dove out of the way and fell on one of the buttons on the control panel by accident. Lights started flashing and buzzers went off. Electricity started to collect at the tops of the towers. "Oh no!" said Crossbones. "Shut it down! Quickly, shut it down!" "Alright!" said Skull. He reached towards the control panel and said "Hacker..." Before he could finish, the electricity burst from the towers and hit the Lightning, which Caitlin was still trying to start. When the flash cleared, Rocky looked at where the car was parked and to his horror, it was gone. "Caitlin?" he asked. "Caitlin?!" "Uh oh." said Skull. "Darwood is not gonna like this." said Crossbones. Caitlin sat in the Lightning and looked around. The ghost town was gone, leaving the electrical towers, control tower, and generator. "What in the world was that?" she said. She pushed the button on her communicator and said "Rocky, this is Caitlin. Are you there?" She received no answer. She pushed the button again and said "Jeremy, I seem to have lost Rocky. Come back." Nothing but static. She pushed the button again and said "Max? Are you there? Wei? Scooter? Anybody?" Still nothing. "This isn't funny, guys." she said. She started the car and thought "Now it starts." She drove off looking for her friends. She remembered to meet at the rest area, so she drove that way. She looked at the scenery and was confused. She thought "That's strange. I didn't remember a wooden bridge leading to the ghost town." as she crossed it. "I don't remember that outcropping either." she thought as she looked at a cliff wall. She drove to the highway and stopped when she saw a billboard. She looked at it in shock. The billboard was advertising the Ford Taurus...the 1986 Ford Taurus. Meanwhile, 80s MASK agent Dusty Hayes was trying his best to make sure nobody found out his occupation. In other words, he was working his cover job, delivering pizza. Dusty rang the doorbell to a suburban house and a teenage boy answered. "Yeah?" was the kid's response. "You ordered a pizza?" said Dusty. "Thanks, man." said the boy. "How much?" "That'll be ten dollars." said Dusty. "I'll be right back." said the kid. After the boy went back into the house, Dusty's MASK watch started beeping. Dusty took a quick look at it and ran back to his Jeep, the Gator. Just after he drove off, the kid returned to the door with his money. Dusty pushed a button on the Gator's dashboard and 80s MASK leader Matt Trakker appeared on the mini-viewscreen. "What's up?" asked Dusty. "Dusty, we've picked up an electrical disturbance in your area." said Matt. "Take a look." A map overlay of the area appeared onscreen showing a large white flash. "Hoo-wee!" said Dusty. "Something fried!" "Sure looks that way." said Matt. "And I want you to find out what it is." "I'm on it." said Dusty. "Hayes out."
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