Vol. 20 F.AL.C.O.N. DOWN

### Players

Elsbeth Denman as Sage Mark Zurek as Sohcahtoa James Malloy as Puck Rob Harvey as Frequency

## Summary

***Note: Here there be spoilers. Read at your own risk.***

John has been working with Dr. Amari, staying out of the conflict, doing research into helping Windshear get back home. Sage has been interim matron of PCOY ever since Lunar Lens' dissapearance in Vol. 19. Kalino has been in a funk since Vol. 18's events.
Frequency uses Lambda to predict F.A.L.C.O.N.'s next target, which is near Kalino's house, who he contacts to warn. Kalino agrees to help, and Frequency preps for an up comming fight in an attempt to avoid collatoral damage by studying the area and gathering a team.
Near PCOY, Striped Eagles fly over head, putting Sage on edge and making her lock down the orphanage, then rides off after them. Puck takes the subway. Kalino dresses up as D.N.E. for the first time.
The group, minus Puck, arrives at an alley opposite of Jerry's Bar, the mutant bar that's the target of F.A.L.C.O.N. A Striped Eagle catches and confronts them, and after an attempted lie, Sage fires on them. After being hit, she calls into question Frequency's leadership skills and willingness to fight, who steps out into the open to prove her wrong and diffuse the situation by using his powers.
Puck, trailing behind, closes in on the scene, is side-tracked by an explosion and villainous laughter. He finds Mr. Derecho, Ms. Isquierda, and Gloom responsible for blowing up a government building, and steps in with wild arcane power to stop them. As the wave of uncontrolled magic launches back the Hands of Evil, Gloom dives forward through it, sending it back towards Puck.

Puck disperses the storm then attempts to talk down Gloom and the Hands of Evil. They explain that they don't feel like the city is theirs anymore, and they want to take it back. D.N.E. confronts the Striped Eagle and learns what it would take to diffuse the situation, and shares a moment of vulnerability with Frequency over trust. Holly and three more striped eagles arrive, who circle around D.N.E. and Frequency. Sage drives her bike through the bar to warn everyone out.As Puck's attempts to talk them down peter out, he defends Mr. Derecho from Ms. Isquierda, as well as the Striped Eagles who then show up on the scene. Back at the bar, the confrontation with Holly escalates, and despite wanting a peaceful solution, it quickly devolves into a fight. Before it escalates too far, Frequency addresses the growing crowd and redirects them towards the situation in Town Hall with a rousing speech about the true goal being protecting people.Back at Town Hall, Frequency Soft Reboot's everyone around him, trying to gain control of the situation by repositioning everyone to make them forget the conflict. He ties up the villains then poses over them, trying to keep the Striped Eagles away and drop them off in jail himself. They refuse and begin to fight him.
Elsewhere, Hexwyrm speaks to her, driving Sage, telling her she's better than the rest. She rides away on her motorcycle straight to F.A.L.C.O.N. headquarters in hopes of freeing Lunar Lens.

A quick scene shows that Alina and Ramon have no cell phone power to back-up the team. We cut to Sage breaking into the F.A.L.C.O.N base. After assessing the security, she begins her attempt to sneak in while Hexwyrm continues to tempt her to use its power. Climbing over and in, she uses her Striped Eagle Gauntlet to bypass their security and head towards the detention block.The Striped Eagle army, led by Holly, D.N.E., and Frequency, converge on Puck's standoff with other Striped Eagles. Puck forms a defensive Fairy Circle, then sends more to go gather light sources and lie in wait while he makes a 911 call. Holly threatens to take the prisoners, Kalino tries to talk her down, the cops arrive, and she makes her move. Puck holds his ground and pushes back Holly and two other striped eagles, and Kalino tries to step in between, to talk Holly down, who refuses to back down and forces Puck to intervene again. Frequency tries to keep everything orderly, but Holly calls for the S.E.G. to attack.Sage continues to sneak through the mostly abandoned base, while Hexwyrm tries to convince her to let it help. She finds her path blocked by a Striped Eagle who notices her presence and begins to apprehend her. Sage attempts a last-ditch escape in the detention block, stealing the key, narrowly dodging the Striped Eagle's blast, and then unlocking all the cells. A call is sent out to Holly and the other Striped Eagles to return, but the prisoners begin walking out. Sage has an emotional reunion with Lunar Lens.
Back at Town Hall, Holly tries to convince Frequency to stop the breakout, but Puck begins to re-unite her with the memories of F.A.L.C.O.N.'s real doings. In the process, he sees how they manipulated her memories in an electronic water tank. To re-assure her, he reveals his identity and doom through memories, and she blasts off now knowing the truth. Puck tries to comfort D.N.E., but it ends with Kalino calling his dad to head back home.The Issue ends on Frequency calling Sage, apologizing, and warning her of what's to come. She says it's already started, and prompting him to show up and prove his sincerity, and asking "Whose side are you really on?"

We open to a surrounded and beaten down group of escaped mutants, as Sage calls Frequency to war and looks to Lunar Lens for advice. Back at Town Hall, Frequency calls Alina for help, and then The Asset calls with coordinates to Falcon's true center which he plans to strike. Alina drives herself and Kidshear straight to the base. The Director watches over the situation, calls the doctor to prepare a contingency, then heads out.
Back at \*The\* falcon base, Sage uses her bike to create an
explosive distraction and retreats further into the base, where she is found by The Director. Outside, the rest of the team meet up, and overhear The Director asking Holly to activate "The Swarm." Frequency cuts of Holly's communication as Arcana approaches. She finds out the Swarm activates the Striped Eagles' nanobots and traps the city in a dome, and then Puck attacks Holly. Holly goes to attack back but is trapped in electricity by the director, who wants her to turn on the swarm.
Back inside, Lunar Lens asks to go back in the tank. Ben
rushes to their aid. Outside, Puck puts his game face on and commits to saving Sage, and charges his power. Reuniting with Sage, Puck reads Lunar Lens' mind only to find parts where memory is missing. Back outside, Isaac tries to chew through the wires in Holly's suit but accidentally activates self-destruct overheat. D.N.E. tries to help her, but is pulled away by the other Striped Eagles. Back inside, Puck explains what he saw, and they realize she's been
cloned.

infused figure of the Lunar Lens. "Get ready for some explosive action."
The comic opens on a bird before an explosion, and text that warns of what is to come. At the base, Kidshear leaps to defend D.N.E. who is being dragged away by Striped Eagles. D.N.E. runs to Holly's help, cooling her suit down using water orbs.
Back inside, Puck is thrown back by Lunar Lens, who is promptly levitated by Arcana. Sage pushes Frequency to turn the bots off, and he promptly does. Sage begins to breakdown as the group realizes this is a clone Lunar Lens. Arcana reveals the big F.A.L.C.O.N. base where Lens is being held and the Director is preparing to head out in C.O.N.D.O.R. They head out in their car, while fairies lead clone Lens to the lighthouse.
Kalino continues to try to help Holly but realizes he won't have enough time to save her. He creates a barrier from his orbs, which catches on fire from the explosion and sets the square burning. Kalino launches up and is caught by Arcana. Isaac is fine. Holly dies.
Puck tries to transfer Holly's memory to a clone, and seems
to succeed, but at the cost of tying it to Jack Chance. As the group recovers, Kalino is sent to the hospital with Ramon and Ben, while the group prepares for the final assault.
Sage and Alina get into a fight over how Kalino handled the situation. Puck runs away with the New-Holly. Alina and Sage get into a new motorcycle, share a moment, and then head off.

Cover: Across a muted skyline, streaks of fire rip across the night. A huge form arcs down to city center. Against the matt grey skyline, small points of light represent the cities last hope.

We start with recap panels, showing us Puck with the Striped Eagle, the boys rushing to the hospital, and the girls riding across on Sage's motorcycle. The boys sense the C.O.N.D.O.R. armour driven by Virgil Lance. Kalino wants to go help, Frequency tries to resist, but Kalino doesn't relent.

Puck takes the Striped Eagle with Holly's memories to the tower. The influence of the trickster on her becomes more apparent, Puck tells her to stay here where it's safe, then leaves her in the fairy's care.

As the girls drive across an empty city, we cut to the C.O.N.D.O.R. (Control Organize Nonhuman Destroy Opposing Resistance) landing at Holly's body and activating swarm protocol, trapping protean in an energy dome. The girls, trapped outside, realize there's no way but through, and charge into the base. Using Striped Eagle's credential, they enter.

John rushes towards the director and preps for the fight while the boys drive over. Ramon comforts Kalino while Ben activates the mutant resistance across the city in preparation for the final conflict. He also calls the Mayor, who supports the fight against F.A.L.C.O.N. Puck commits to beating Lance, goes to charge his power, and gets blasted to near death. The director threatens Kalino.

Back at the base, the girls split up. Sage enters a lab looking for Lunar Lens. Sage knocks out the only scientist, then finds a variety of tanks containing the "primes" of the prisoners. Sage figures out how to free them, but realizes that they have been filled with the nanotech. She frees Lunar Lens, and is attacked by Alina in a bad to free the Hexwyrm. Alina tries to convince Sage to use the Hexwyrm, who remains adamant of its evil.

At the C.O.N.D.O.R. suit seen through the monitors, Kalino provokes Lance out of the suit for a mano a mano. While they fight, Isaac disables the suit, but the director starts choking D.N.E. Frequency realizes that the high road would anger The Director the most, but violence would bring the quickest end.

Back at the base, Alina volunteers to take the Hexwyrm from Sage in order to end this. Lunar Lens tells her this is not the way, and Sage refuses to back down. She drags the scientist over who gets them into the system but not further. Sage calls Ben, who begins to investigate, while Puck shakes the earth to cataclysmic effect. Frequency shuts down all the nanotech including the swarm protocol.

Puck hits Lance hard, who yells at Puck in anger. Kalino launches an ineffective attack, and the director gets back into his suit, which Voltrons up into a Mega C.O.N.D.O.R. Kalino gets into a suit, loads it up with his orbs, and launches a one man attack at the suit. He weaves through all of the debris and weaponry, and engages with the C.O.N.D.O.R. suit, shooting it point blank. As it crashes, Kalino continues to blast everything he has into the suit, taking Lance out.

## Characters

* Sage
* Frequency
* Sohcahtoa
* Puck
* Arcana
* Kidshear
* Elias
* Virgil Lance
* Tyvon Gill
* Hands of Evil
* Gloom
* Gearhead
* Long Limbed Lad
* Tremor
* Stormcloud
* Four Armed Unnamed Mutant

## Locations

* The Bash
* PCOY
* Town Hall

## Trivia

* Sculp Calls are the main video call applications established during this episode.

### Quotes

* "Everytime we all come together, something terrible happens." - James, 13:25 Issue 1
* "I called the team that I want." - Frequency, 34:44 Issue 1
* "I think you're rolling to provoke." "When am I not?" - Elsbeth, 37:52 Issue 1
* "We really gonna do this again?" - Puck, 55:15 Issue 1
* "Why can't you be better than who you are now?" - Puck, I2 26:47
* "If you're gonna play the bad guy, I'm gonna play the hero." - Kalino, I2 37:12
* "So yeah. You want me to be the vllain, I'll be the fucking villain." - Holly, I2 38:24
* "We should show this city what we can do." - Frequency, Protect the City Speech I2 43:51
* "You're becomming everything you needed to be." - Hexwyrm, I2 56:56
* "You have to charge these things?" - Ramon, I3 1:59
* "Did you ever meet the original Striped Eagle? Is this the F.A.L.C.O.N she would have wanted?" - Puck, I3 46:13
* "Is the C. in F.A.L.C.O.N that stands for Coordination, or does it stand for Control?" - Puck, I3 49:11
* "Whose side are you really on?" - Sage to Frequency, I3 56:02
* "You're not done yet." - Puck, I5 31:05
* "Not everybody heroes in the same way." - Sage, I5 39:27
* "Alina?" "What Sage?" "You know we're going to the big bad now, right?" "I've known all along." "I love you." "I know." - Sage and Alina, I5 41:59
* "This is what Hereos do; they fight villains, and you're the villain." - Puck, I6 1:18:32
* "The director of F.A.L.C.O.N is down." - Newscaster, I6 1:27:10