Atomica #1 (Part 1)

ISSUE 1: TROUBLE BY THE MEGATON! (Part 1)

So much ruin. This used to be a thriving, gigantic city. The capitol of a great nation.

RADIO SIGNAL AVAILABLE.

The President! The United States Still exists!

Atomica listened carefully to the speeches President John Henry Eden gave over the radio. The more she listened, the less she trusted.

Something sounds wrong here. Facist words in dulcet tones backed by stirring patriotic music... Captain Cosmos has dealt with these types before. The Enclave? That sounds like a supervillain group. This will bear careful investigation.

INCOMING HOSTILE.

Atomica spun in time to see the mutated creature lunge for her. Her Suit-assisted reflexes brought the ATOM-1 Cannon to bear.

CLICK.

Click?

CLICK.

Crap.

AMMUNITION DEPLETED.

Dropping to a crouch, she let the wrinkled hairy beast leap over her. The broken, razor sharp teeth of the mutated animal scraped along her arm. The suit sealed around her, but she could feel the wound throbbing.

Spinning, she kicked out in a low sweep, connecting solidly with the monster. The bone in its leg made a satisfying crack. Backing up, she went into stance and prepared for its assault. It lunged at her, its broken forepaw pulling it off balance. A couple of quick blows to the head finished it off.

Checking her wound, she saw that it would not be worth spending her few remaining supplies on. As she came close to Megaton, she felt some small inner voice warn her that the people in the town might react to her with fear and suspicion, like the adults in the vault did.

They made me take the pills.. The pills that made me forget who I am.

“I need a disguise.”

URBAN CAMOFLAGE MODE ACTIVATED.

To her surprise and delight, the material of the suit and cannon flowed and changed. In her Secret Identity, “Allison” entered Megaton.



In short order, she met Sheriff Simms. He showed her around town,. Introducing her to Doc Church, Walter, and Jenny Stahl before showing her the bomb. She was stunned that anyone would live so close to such a horror, much less build an entire town around it. A madman called The Confessor sought to detonate the great beast. So far, the good folk had not fallen sway to his evil machinations.

Simms sort of remembered seeing her father. He let her know that Moira Brown and Colin Moriarty might know more.

Moriarty? I read about him! Consulting Detective comics... They don't even know they have a criminal mastermind living right under their noses! I'll deal with The Professor soon enough.

The topic came up to skills and talents. Simms mentioned that anyone who came from a vault should have the engineering skills to disarm the thing. He had asked James the same thing, but nothing ever came of it. Walter had complained about no one having the talent and time to fix the leaks around town.

“I'm afraid I can't help. But I might know someone who can.”

After the nice “Welcome to town” lunch, she made her way to Craterside Supply. Spare items she got from the Overseer's rooms netted her a few “Caps”.

They use Nuka Cola caps for money... No wonder Moria looked at me funny when I offered her real money.

Turned out she could sell the old currency too. It makes good toilet paper, all told. Sadly, Moria did not have any of the ammo needed for the cannon.

The Professor was silver tongued and corpulent. She avoided bringing up her father. Inside, Gob was stunned when she was nice to him.

All kinds of mutants and aliens used to run around in the old days. Why should these Ghouls be treated any differently than Martian superheroes or any other strange visitors from another planet?

Gob was too scared of The Professor to tell her much other than clueing her in about Galaxy News Radio. She had to admit after listening to what could be heard through the static, she liked the way he talked.

Fighting the good fight.. That's what heroes do.

Nova, however, was something else. The deep hidden part of her that was still Allison reacted with a powerful attraction. Atomica decided to use this to sweet talk this brazen woman of the evening into revealing what she knew. While her body betrayed her with its arousal, her mind was reciting the Captain Cosmos Creed to remain pure.

Meeting Lucy West helped, talking of home and hearth. She gladly accepted a letter to deliver to a place called Arefu.

She was beckoned over to the seedy corner by a disreputable looking man. Mister Burke wanted the unthinkable from her. To detonate the bomb and destroy Megaton! She almost turned him down. But her instinct (Allison?) told her to play along.. to let the Sheriff deal with this threat. He was merely a henchman of a greater evil.. The one called Ten Penny. Between them and The Confessor, this town was in serious trouble. Atomica had her work cut out for her.