Appearing in "Old Soldier"
Featured Characters:
- Brit (First Appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Global Defense Agency
- Donald Ferguson (First Appearance)
- Steven Erickson (First Appearance)
- Dr. Rodgers (First Appearance)
- Jessica (First Appearance)
- Jessica's mom (First Appearance)
- Jessica's dad (First Appearance)
Villains:
- Mastermind (First Appearance)
Other Characters:
- Principal Winslow (Mentioned)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Old Soldier"
The issue opens with Brit and Donald approaching an enormous traffic jam. The villain Mastermind had just been patrolled six hours earlier and is using his mind control powers to force everyone on the freeway to dance. Donald surmises that he wanted a party to celebrate his release. Brit remarks that he has the perfect gift in mind for him, but Donald reminds him that their superiors at the government want Mastermind alive at all costs. They want to take him apart and see if they can recreate his powers. Brit makes sure that the ear piece he has in will block Mastermind's powers and jumps out of the helicopter and walks into the crowd.
The crowd begs for Brit's help as he walks by and tell him that they can't control what they are doing. Mastermind wonders why he's not dancing like everyone else. Brit tells him that he's not allowed to kill Mastermind but he plans to hurt him real bad. Mastermind just smirks and forces the crowd to form a huge monster looking pile by climbing all over each other.
Mastermind attacks Brit with the pile of humans. The people at the bottom are being crushed to death under the wait of the others. Brit runs off trying to think of a plan. More people get killed as Mastermind forces them to try and crush Brit. Brit climbs onto the back of a semi-trailer and launches off of it when the pile of people hits it. His momentum carries him up to where he can grab Mastermind by the hair. Brit starts punching Mastermind in the face.
Mastermind tries to crush him again with piles of people, killing many more of them. Brit yells at him to stop. He tries to explain that Mastermind can't hurt him, that he's just killing people for no reason. Brit keeps punching Mastermind in the face until he finally passes out. Once Mastermind is unconscious the pile of people collapses to the ground. Brit stands around and stares in disbelief at the wreckage and piles of dead people.
Later at a government facility, Director Erickson is yelling at Donald. He says that the operation was suppose to be discreet. Having to stage a 100 car pile-up to keep this from being public is not discreet. They enter a room where Dr. Rodgers is performing tests on Mastermind. Erickson wants to know how it is going.
Dr. Rodgers explains that he could easily recreate the powers given some time and enough budget. But it would be pointless. They already have a defense against Mastermind's powers and surely their enemies could come up with the same. So it would be a waste of time and money to continue the tests on Mastermind. Dr. Rodgers thinks it would be far more useful to duplicate Brit's powers. They've seen how effective he is but he is old and will be ineffective soon. He thinks they'd be better off trying to build an army with Brit's powers.
Erickson replies that he's tired of Rodgers bringing that up. Brit has served his country for decades and he won't let Rodgers destroy him on the off chance that Rodgers can learn something from him. Plus they can't even get a blood sample from Brit because of his indestructible skin. But Rodgers is sure that if Brit's safety were not an issue that he could find a way to examine him. Erickson still tells him no.
At The Ladies Room, the strip club that Brit owns, Brit arrives home to his apartment above the club to find his stripper girlfriend waiting for him in her underwear. After they get done having sex, Jessica wants to talk about where their relationship is going since they've been together for three years.
Brit replies that he loves her but he's not the kind of guy to settle down, plus he thinks she can do better. But she tells him he's the one she loves. She's not looking for a traditional white picket fence and two and a half kids situation, she just wants someone to hang out with when she's not sexy anymore. Brit tells her that she's got him for as long as she wants him, but he reminds her about how dangerous his job is. She is okay with that. Then she tells him that her parents want to meet him and Brit gets a bit of a panicked look on his face.
Later, Donald calls Brit in to work. The government team has figured out how to open an interdimensional portal and they are about to open it for the first time. Donald wants Brit there in case anything goes wrong.
The portal opens and a monster immediately comes through and kills one of the scientists. Brit jumps into action and the monster tries to bite him but breaks it's teeth on Brit. Brit grabs one of the broken teeth and cuts the monster with it. This doesn't stop the monster so Brit jumps down it's mouth and crushes it's heart from the inside.
Brit grabs a towel and starts to wipe the monster blood off of himself. But once he's cleaned off of his face it looks like his nose is bleeding. Donald looks shocked but Brit tells him that the blood isn't his and walks off.
Later, Donald is talking on the phone while waiting for a meeting with his son's principal. He reports that he saw Brit bleeding. Replying to a question, Donald says that he had to drop him off at the cap pick-up, he couldn't just detain him. Donald says he needs to go when the principal calls him in but he understands what this means and that he'll be there.
At the Pentagon later, Donald is asking if they can do it without killing him. Dr. Rodgers says that if he could do it without hurting him he would but he will do what he has to do for the good of the country. Donald still thinks they might be wasting years of potential service from Brit just for the off chance they can learn something after dissecting him. But Erickson thinks they have no choice now that Brit is deteriorating. He was against it as well but recent events have made him reconsider. Erickson says that they need Brit for one last mission and then he will bring Brit in for Rodgers to work on. Erickson and Rodgers leave the room and Donald looks depressed and wonders what they have done.
Elsewhere, Brit and Jessica are having dinner with Jessica's parents. Jessica's dad is giving her a hard time over how much older than her Brit is. Jessica's dad asks Brit how things are going at the law firm he and Jessica work at. Brit laughs, thinking he is joking and replies that he owns a strip club and Jessica works there as a stripper. Jessica's dad flips out and starts yelling at her and then storms out.
Brit walks outside to talk to him and tells him that he's acting like a child. He's sorry that her dad had to find out like that but Jessica is a grown woman and can live her life how she wants. She's intelligent and levelheaded and her dad is being stupid.
Their conversation is interrupted by a government helicopter arriving to pick up Brit for a mission.
On the plane heading to Asia, Donald tells Brit (who has a nuclear bomb strapped to himself) that he thinks the bomb is a bad idea. But Brit replies that the guy can absorb energy so he's going to give him a buffet that he won't forget. Plus he has other superpowered cronies with him as well so Brit figures he'll need it to level the playing field. They get to the drop point and Brit jumps out of plane.
Brit hits the ground and the bomb goes off. The smoke clears and Brit is sitting down naked. Everything around him is destroyed. The supervillain is still alive though. He walks up and starts beating on Brit, but can't hurt him. Brit just mocks him and lets the guy beat on him. Eventually the guy runs out of all the energy that he absorbed and his hands break when he punches Brit. Brit casually walks up and breaks the guys neck and kills him.
A helicopter arrives and Erickson gets out and congratulates Brit on a job well done. But Brit notices Dr. Rodgers smiling at him and knows something is wrong and he takes off running.
Brit gets back to The Ladies Room and grabs Jessica, telling her to get packed because they have to leave. Jessica wonders how they are going to get money if they are on the run. Brit smiles and says he's never spent any of the money he's earned from the government work he's done for decades. He's always lived on the strip club earnings. He tells her that they are millionaires.
That night at Donald's house, Donald gets home and is startled that Brit is there waiting for him. Donald apologizes for what happened. Brit thanks him for tipping him off before the mission. Brit gives him a secret phone number to contact him at if he needs him and leaves through the window.
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