May 31st, 2021

Stung from their defeat at the hands of the Midnight Crew, the team went about recuperating in their individual ways. Hardback busied himself creating a realistic training simulation to review the battle and find ways to counteract the Crew's powers and tactics; Cameo rededicated himself to watching ALL of the Russel Crowe catalogue, in particular the unsavory *Unhinged*. Justicarius returned to his sacrifices, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they seemed to be increasing in efficacy, each burnt offering yielding more and more divine power for his Goddess. Ghost Dance resumed his quest for mystic power, turning to experts in Native American Mythology at the local University of Chicago to seek answers. He learned that, according to legend, early Native American shamans were taught magic by a pair of reclusive spirits, Hatsu and Matsu, who could potentially be found by those embarking on a perilous spirit journey. He prepared to make exactly such a journey, informing his friends and allies that he soon would be travelling alone to retrace his forebears' steps.

Before he got the chance, however, the Contenders' hidden base was contacted by a crude signal projected onto their TV. A man in Alert, Canada had reached out to the Contenders at the behest of Samson, Hardback's highly intelligent tracking bug, which had located the escaped Ivan but was unable to pursue him further north due to the extreme temperatures. Samson communicated via salt spilled on a dining table and instructed the frightened man on how to create his pirate broadcast and then relayed his message to the Contenders. Pleased with the bug's ingenuity, the team made their preparations to head to the Arctic Circle, taking time only to inform UNTIL of their plans. Since the operation would take place deep in Canadian territory, their UNTIL agency contacts made the decision to contact the Northern Guard for backup. With Cameo's ability to travel long distances, they soon found themselves in Alert, where they met their temporary allies, Captain Halcyon and Coldstar. With Coldstar lifting the team aloft, they went North, following Samson once more onto the trail of the elusive Ivan.

Before long, they saw a powerful flickering orange light source on the frozen ice fields, guiding them like a torch through the Arctic night. Approaching quickly, they saw the enormous Ivan working beside a massive energy cannon made of trash, random parts, and his own fungal essence. The machine was emitting a constant stream of blazing light at a pillar of ice that seemed unusually resistant to damage. The team swooped in, but pulled out of their attack at Hardback's sudden warning: an accumulation of static in the air heralded the explosive arrival of not one but two of Mechanon's retrieval teams. The sinister robots immediately attacked Ivan while the heroes looped back around for a safer approach.

The battle was immediately furious and deadly. The robots had adapted, using their knowledge of the previous battle with the Contenders to enhance their offence, but the fearless heroes managed to put up a valiant fight. Ghost Dance blinded Ivan with a thunderflash (and forced the weaker robots to reboot), and Captain Halcyon took advantage of the opportunity to slug the giant alien on his chin. Both Ghost Dance and Justicarius noted that their powers were increasing near the frozen pillar, and Justicarius put this to good effect as he blasted the robots with his divine flames. Hardback used his superior martial arts to peel apart the smaller robots one by one, while his insect companions slowed the larger ones by spewing hardening mucus on their chassis. Cameo took advantage of the slick battlefield to smash one of the larger robots into Ivan, who grappled with it until he was able to force it into the path of the energy cannon's deadly ray. Meanwhile, thanks to his supernatural hearing, Ghost Dance noticed something approaching from high in the night sky: a falling star of some sort, headed directly towards their battlefield.

Eventually, due to the heat of Justicarius' flames and the weight of the combatants, large gaps broke in the pack ice and more than one fighter on each side found themselves plunging into the icy depths below. Hardback took advantage of this to drop the cannon itself into the water, but it was retrieved by Ivan, who pointed it not at the icy pillar but instead up at the falling star, which defied logic by engaging in sharp evasive maneuvers to avoid the beam. The Contenders were starting to wonder if they might have been too hasty, so while they continued to battle the machines they also took the time to examine the pillar of ice. Inside, a dark frozen figure was spotted in a meditative pose; Hardback identified it as the many-named Eid Prince who had fought beside them against the Time Wizard so many months ago. Cameo questioned Ivan about why he wanted to free the Eid from the ice, but the giant replied that he had intended to kill the frozen alien, as he was a 'beacon.' Growing nervous, Captain Halcyon flew up to meet the falling star, intending to get a closer look and potentially stop it if it proved to be a threat.

Moments later, the falling star finished its approach, and was revealed not to be a meteorite but rather a small, sleek spacecraft. The mysterious craft shot Halcyon out of the sky with little effort, and launched a missile that completely destroyed Ivan, disintegrating him into liquefied fungal goo (and plunging the now-unconscious Hardback into the water, to await rescue by Coldstar). The craft came to rest by the ice pillar, and a humanoid alien emerged to check on the frozen Eid Prince's condition.

After the last of the robots was dispatched, the heroes came to examine the new arrival. After calibrating his universal translator, the alien introduced himself as Gzad, and said that he had come in response to the Eid Prince's 'signal.' Gzad was clearly no stranger to violence, but he was amiable enough and seemed to present no immediate danger, casually informing the Contenders that further tampering with the frozen Eid "wouldn't be smart" but making no other threats. He chatted with the heroes, mentioning how he had heard that Earth was "pretty dang tough" and noting that it had successfully fended off the Blackout when thousands of other civilizations had failed. He gently ribbed the Earthlings about their backwards religion and simple culture, inquired about local drinking establishments, and asked them to keep their meeting secret to avoid unnecessary contact with Earth's governments (and offered them a freshly-hatched 'pleasure worm' to seal the deal). Unable to make any promises but still intrigued by their extraterrestrial visitor, the team saw no reason to challenge Gzad or interfere with his icy objective. As the group parted, Gzad (not knowing exactly to whom he was speaking) made a final request for a meeting with the Contenders: "I hear they're the strongest Earth has. I wouldn't mind a fight with *them!*"

## Table Talk

"It's less of a blood oath, and more of a 'bile order.'"

*- Hardback downgrades his vendetta*

"For the last time, this is not Ice Road Truckers."

"This is Canada. It's all Ice Road Truckers."

"What is this place if not one huge ice road?"

*- the group argues about bullshit as usual*

"Fuck if I know, Bucko."

*- Hardback reacts to the cryptic goings-on*