RECAP: Team America, comprised of Jack Flag, American Eagle, Vagabond, Captain Ultra, Bantam, and Tumbler, were searching for missing teammate Georgiana Castle berry, who had been kidnaped after the team's first official mission. Georgiana had ties to the original Team America and her current teammates had tracked her and her captor back to New York. Meanwhile, Holly Ridley, administrator for Captain America's Hotline, and her teenage son Hiram (Ram), were investigating Team America's mystery benefactor. The strain had begun to take its toll on Holly, but Ram, with his friends serving as a cover, investigated his own lead to an 80's band, whose lead singer was also a member of the original Team America. To his shock, he not only found RU Reddy (alias Winthrop Roan, Jr.), but also learned the man was his long- lost father. Jack and the rest of the team found an unconscious Holly in her apartment in desperate need of medical attention.
And now.....
Each member of the team stood silently outside the ICU window of Holly Ridley. Each had spoken with her over the Team America comm-link, but few of them knew her personally.
Except Jack.
Jack and Holly had grown closer while working for Captain America's Hotline and eventually started going out together socially. Jack had been carefully not to read too much into the relationship, knowing Holly's first marriage had really left her resentful. Perhaps, that feeling came more from the fact that Holly's husband had abandoned her and their child, Hiram aka Ram.
Now, sitting outside her room, watching the monitors and machines keep Holly alive, Jack knew that he had fooled only himself. He truly loved this woman.
And what about Ram? Jack had called Ram's cel phone umpteen times now and still no answer. Ram could probably answer many of the doctors' questions about Holly's medical history.
"Jack? You really need some rest. You've not slept since the whole fiasco with the Serpent Society. You're not going to do Holly or yourself any good if you don't get some sleep," Priscilla said.
Jack knew she was right but his mind was racing as to what should be done next. They needed to find Ram, but they also needed to search for their missing teammate, Georgianna.
Looking at the individuals that had willingly placed themselves under his charge, Jack felt almost guilty. They looked to him for guidance. At that moment, he felt he had none to give.
RULE #10 - Rest stops are necessary, even on the shortest trips.
Ram Ridley stared in disbelief at the man in front of him. 80's rock star RU Reddy, former member of the original Team America, and otherwise known as Winthrop Roan, Jr., estranged heir to a multi-million dollar family fortune.
Reddy stared in disbelief at the teenager in front of him. This feckle-faced, auburn-haired young man who was his son. But that was many lifetimes ago.
"My father?"
"I'm sorry, Ram. I really should have said that more tactfully, but..."
"Just shut up! You're a liar and a fake. And your singing really bites, too!"
The words escaped before Ram could stop them. Then, he turned back to his friends and lost himself in the throng of people.
Reddy was left standing in horror of the thought of letting his son go a second time.
RULE #15 - Learn from your mistakes.
Georgianna sat on the old cot. Her captor had yet to reveal his identity, but she knew it had to be Leonard, her ex-husband.
During their brief engagement and marriage, Leonard had been too wrapped up in his work to notice her, even going so far as to accuse Georgianna of various indiscretions with Cowboy, his teammate in the first Team America.
After the Team disbanded, she really thought that they would be able to make things work, but history soon repeated itself and the two were spending most of their time either yelling at each other or trying to kill the other with complete silence. And that was on the good days. Leonard had agreed to a divorce and Georgianna went on with her life, eventually even running into Cowboy a few months back. Why would Leonard kidnap her, especially now that she was associated with a new Team America? And where were they? Had the survelliance equipment on TARA failed?
Maybe if she had finished her designs...
Maybe if the team had been more prepared before going on their first mission...
Maybe....
Realizing that she could go on playing this "What If?" game forever, she turned her attention to the cell in which she found herself a prisoner. While small, her captor had paid attention to details, which were either intended to comfort her or scare her to death.
Pictures of her in recent days with her new teammates. Personal items from her apartment such as the family quilt her great-grandmother had made. And hanging on the back of the door, her old Team America jumpsuit.
RULE #20 - Sometimes the past can come back to haunt you.
Back at Hotline HQ...
"Okay, the doctors say Holly is stable for the time being, but definitely is not out of the woods yet. We have two priorities right now. One, find Ram and get him to the hospital to help the doctors feel in the rest of her medical history. Two, track our leads on Georgianna and rescue her in we can. I'll go back to the hospital and keep a comm-link open to all of you. Eagle, I want you and Bantam to go to Georgianna's apartment and look for clues here. Tumbler, I want you and Vagabond, sorry, I mean, Gala to locate Leonard Hebb, but do it out of costume. Finally, Ultra, you get to find Ram and take him to the hospital ASAP. Any questions?"
"Yeah, Jack, why do you want Michael and I to track Hebb out of our costumes?"
"Simple, Priscilla. If he's the one who kidnaped Georgianna, he may be looking for one of her costumed teammates to rescue her. Makes sense, don't ya' think?"
RULE #24 - When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
The group of teenagers rode the train silently, swapping glances to each other and back to Ram, who sat uncharacteristically silent, staring out of the window into the night darkness. None of them knew what they should say to Ram in light of the discovery of his long-last father, so they continued the ride in awkward, but necessary silence.
Until Cody spotted something out the window.
"Hey, which one is that?" pointing out the window at the costumed hero flying alongside the train.
Jennifer piped in, "Who can keep track nowadays? You need some sort of chart."
"Looks like some second rate version of Captain America, to me," added Hugh.
The name was enough to shake Ram out of his daze and turn his attention to the opposite window. It looked like Captain Ultra, but the costume's colors were wrong (thankfully, Ram thought). He crossed to the window and caught the hero's attention, watching the grim face change to one of recognition and relief. Ram also noticed the approaching train and tried to warn Ultra.
Ultra was relieved that he had accomplished his mission and had the forethought to check with some of Ram's friends' families in order to track down some possible leads. However, his pride was on the verge on getting him run over by the oncoming train. However, using his ultra-keen senses and his ultra-intangibility, Ultra passed safely and effortlessly through the train. And while he was unscathed in the whole event, Ultra realized from the expressions on the conductor's face, as well as those of the passengers as he phased through them that this was an evening that few of them would soon forget.
Quickly phasing out of the train (before he could be berated by the passengers or the conductor), Ultra picked up speed and caught up with the train where he had seen the objective of his mission. It had just pulled into the station as the group of teenagers exited and gathered in wait. Ram, obviously trying to play it cool so his friends wouldn't catch on to the possible connection between the Sentinels of Liberty Hotline and Team America, tried to portray youthful enthusiasm at the chance to meet a real live super hero. Ram soon realized Ultra was going to play along.
As he landed on the platform, Ram sensed something wasn't right. The expression of Ultra's face was, to put it simply, wrong.
"Ram, you've got to come with me."
Hanging onto the threads of the charade, Ram started to respond as his friends stood in complete
disbelief and utter shock that Ram might know an actual super hero, even one like Captain Ultra.
"Ram, I'm sorry, but it's your mom."
Ram's face drained of all color, as Ultra picked the boy up and slowly ascended into the air, leaving the quartet of Ram's friends in wonder and now worry of the events of the evening.
Rule #16 - Dangerous curves ahead.
Georgianna had paced the room for what felt like hours, scanning for any clue to her captor's identity as well as for anything to use as a possible weapon of defense.
Suddenly, she heard the click of the lock and half-jumped, half-ran away from the door.
It slowly opened, and at first she thought the figure was standing in complete shadow. Then, she realized that he was clad from head to toe in black leather. Georgianna's memory sparked and she suddenly felt very sick and very scared.
It was the Masked Marauder, the persona the collective minds of the original Team America could project onto another person.
As silent as ever, he closed the door, took down the jumpsuit and handed it to Georgianna.
Too scared to speak, Georgianna simply shook her head in protest, but the Marauder stepped forward, grabbing her hands and forced the jumpsuit into them, not speaking a word, simply nodding.
She watched the Marauder turn and leave the room, locking the door behind him. Feeling very alone and very frightened, she had to remain hopeful that her new teammates were on their way to her rescue. Figuring she had to play along for just a while longer, she began to undress very slowly and unsteadily, unable to stop herself from shaking.
Rule #35 - Be weary of strangers.
Jack paced the waiting room, having just gotten off the comm-link with Captain Ultra. Jack dreaded seeing Ram, but was relieved that Ultra had found him safe. Jack knew he'd need to be strong for Ram, whom he'd come to think of a son.
Lost in what he was going to say to Ram, Jack failed to notice the approaching man until he was standing silently in front of Jack with his fists clenched.
"Mr. Flagg?"
"Yeah, what can I do for you, Mr....?"
"Roan. Winthrop Roan."
"Listen, Mr. Roan, now isn't exactly the best time. I'm about to break some bad news to a special young man."
"Yes, how is Holly?"
The question caught Jack so off-guard that he fell back into the chair with a thud, looking at the man in utter amazement. And once he looked at the man, really looked at him, he began to notice the striking resemblance to Ram. The freckles. The red hair. His entire face was a somewhat aged version of Ram's.
"Mr. Flagg, I'm Hiram's father, Holly's ex-husband. I believe I have a right to...."
Jack didn't, he couldn't, let him finish the sentence.
Leaping from the chair, Jack tackled the man and began to punch Roan with all of his might. It wasn't just for ditching Holly and Ram so many years ago and it wasn't for showing up now talking about his rights. This was for Georgianna and for not training the team properly and for lots of other reasons that were lost in the glaze of red anger that dominated his vision.
"Jack?"
Like the bell sounding the end of a boxing round, Ram's voice cleared Jack's mind and brought him to the realization of what he was doing.
Ram stood, seeing the man who had been more like a father to him than anyone else, pummel the man who claimed to be his real father. Forcing Ultra to fill him in on what was going on with his mom, Ram, tears streaming down his face, turned and broke into a full run down the hall.
As a hospital aide assisted Roan, Jack sat silently, wondering what else could possibly happen.
Rule #39 - Falling rocks ahead.
NEXT ISSUE: We check in on the other two teams as they search for their missing teammate. Ram copes with his "fathers" and shares the reason behind Holly's medical problems as Jack must face the consequences of his actions.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm sure that some of you were beginning to wonder what had happened to me. One word: life. I could offer many excuses but I won't burden you with them. We all have things come up that we allow to side-track us. In recent months, I had questioned my commitment to Team America as well as my ability to finish my run. While I had told Randy (Branch Editor) that I'd end my run with this issue, after I started writing it, I realized that I wasn't finished yet. I still had some stories I wanted to write and share. And despite my work at Faux DC with Aquaman and the Titans, Team America was my first foray into fan fiction and for that reason, holds a very special place for me.
So, with that bit of emotionality out of the way, I renew my commitment to Jack Flag, Vagabond (and yes, I will be changing her name back), Bantam, American Eagle, Tumbler, Georgianna, Ram, Holly, RU Reddy, and of course, Captain Ultra (whose name will remain the same) (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). And I renew my commitment to you, the few loyal readers of Team America
#5 will be coming in about a month, so enjoy this issue and give me some feedback at mstewart@cennet.mc.peachnet.edu.
Thanks for hanging in there with me gang. I'll do my best to make sure the ride is enjoyable.
Seeya in the funny papers,
Michael