Justice Issue Guide #3

Issue 7:
A Mirror, Darkly

On the twentieth of December, Tensen took Zirco to Arnie's apartment, tying him up. Interrogating the drug dealer, Tensen had little luck prying information out of the man until he began torturing him with his sword hand, crisping up one of his legs. When Zirco finally revealed that his source was the Villalobos family and where they could be found, Tensen vaporized the criminal, leaving no trace of his existence.

Days later, on Christmas Eve, Tensen and Arnie attended Sara's funeral, where they met her grandfather. Thanking the two for trying to help Sara, even if the girl was ultimately murdered by drug dealers, Tensen had difficulty accepting his gratitude considering how things turned out. Fuming and wanting to make things right, however minimally, he began to focus on his next step: dealing with the Villalobos family!

Meanwhile, in the Far Side, Rebecca stalked her prey in the Dank Glade, a sort of border region between the land of Spring and the Winterlands. Her mind twisted by Daedalus Darquill, she hunted several Justice Warriors on their way to attack the wizards of Winter, easily slaying them from ambush with her firearm. Inexperienced with such weaponry, the Justice Knights were no match for her prowess!

Appearing in person within the Glade, Darquill congratulated Rebecca for her victory, and used the opportunity to reinforce his manipulation of her intentions. Corrupting her as he had everyone else under his thumb, Darquill was preparing to send her back to earth to eliminate Tensen once he considered her ready. But he still had use for her in the Far Side, so he kept Rebecca close for the time being.

Sensing a change in the world, Webstral attempted to reason with King Therion, informing him that they were losing the war against Winter. Deep in his cups over the current state of his kingdom, in particular his wife and Tensen's betrayal of his person, Therion wasn't having it, and dismissed his vizier. Webstral then unsuccessfully tried to recruit Therion's banished wife, who was in her current predicament precisely because of him.

After bringing Tensen to the lair of the Villalobos family, Arnie tried to convince him to let him help him this time, but Tensen again refused. Though Arnie was a competent driver and a good friend, Tensen didn't want to risk him dying at the hands of vicious Colombian drug dealers. Relenting, Arnie waited for Tensen to do what he needed to, and the Justice Warrior proceeded to attack the warehouse.

Slaying one guard and forcing another to let him inside, Tensen cut loose on the Villalobos family and their minions, venting all of his frustrations over recent events on the hapless criminals. Fighting his way through the facility, Tensen eliminated one thug after another, using his sword, his shield, and even his bare hands as necessary, leaving no one alive as he pursued his hapless targets.

With the Villalobos' pawns taken off the board, Tensen approached their main office, chucking their final bodyguard out a window. As he confronted them, the dealers proclaimed that their customers knew what they were getting when they bought from the Villalobos, enraging Tensen. Letting them know a four year old girl died due to their product, Tensen vaporized one of the remaining Villalobos brothers.

Grappling the last Villalobos family member present, Tensen demanded he reveal who his new drug source was, but the man refused. Even under the same torture he inflicted upon Zirco, the Villalobos man refused to talk, so Tensen was forced to get his hands dirty. Very dirty. After twenty minutes of such interrogation, Tensen finally got the name he wanted, that of one Dr. Peter Sanborn, working out of Montreal.

Elsewhere, while conversing with one of Darquill's Hounds, Rebecca almost remembered who she was and how she'd gotten into her current predicament, prompting Tensen to sense her despite her being worlds away. Before he could process what had happened, however, Tensen was approached by several US Marshals. They then arrested him... for the apparent murder of Rebecca Chambers!

Issue 8:
Blind-Sided

As he tried to argue his way out of being arrested for the murder of Rebecca Chambers, Tensen was manhandled by one of the US Marshals before him, who was trained by Rebecca herself! Growing tired of their abuse of his person, Tensen began to fight his way free, but was shot by one of the government operatives as a result. Just a flesh wound, mind you, but it was enough to convince Tensen to play along.

After all, who else but his foes from the Winterlands even knew Rebecca was missing? Speaking of Rebecca, she was idling in the Winterlands at that moment, where Damon Conquest attempted to woo her with wine imported from earth. Scoffing at the man and flinging his drink in his face, she knocked him onto the floor and rejected his weak advances once more, only stopped from beating him senseless by Daedalus Darquill.

Back on earth, as he was interrogated by the US Marshals, Tensen attempted to explain what had happened to Rebecca. When he implicated Damon Conquest, he piqued the interest of the Marshals, but they stated they'd been investigating him for months to no end. Sensing that speaking with his obstinate captors would serve no purpose, Tensen quit cooperating, prompting them to order him sent back to his cell.

As Tensen was led away, his captors called their superior, who refused to meet with Tensen, proclaiming he was incredibly dangerous. This was because he was in the thrall of Darquill, who he called with a crystal ball he kept in his office for just such an occasion. Calling his master for aid and instructions, he then decided to 'disappear' for a while, proclaiming it was time for him to go on vacation.

In the Winterlands, Rebecca was given the task of summoning Tattoo to Darquill's chambers. The two talked as they walked, and upon meeting Darquill, Tattoo was given two missions on earth. The first was to meet with another of Darquill's minions, a laywer by the name of Danielle Towson, and the other was to plant evidence framing Tensen for Rebecca's murder. With his orders given, Tattoo was then sent to earth!

In Manhattan, Tensen was fingerprinted and led to his new cell, where he would stay with Wicks, who the other prisonsers thought would do something terrible to him. Tensen did indeed catch Wicks copping a feel on him come morning, but the criminal was interrupted by the guards as they did their roll call. During this inspection, another inmate, Gordon Johnson, suddenly experienced an epileptic seizure!

Taking advantage, the guards began to beat Johnson with their night sticks, but Tensen took exception to this, and roundly trounced the abusive guards for their misdeeds. At the same time, he prevented the other prisoners from escaping, proclaiming that they still needed to pay for their crimes. While none of them liked this, they all saw Tensen dismantle six guards with his bare hands, so they didn't push back.

In the Far Side, deep within the Winterlands, Rebecca was completing her final training exercise as designed by Daedalus Darquill, the man she now called 'Dad' as well. Handily succeeding in this final test, which ended with her killing a cardboard cutout of Tensen himself, she was congratulated by Damon Conquest. Of course, as detestible as she found him, she immediately scoffed at his endless fawning.

On earth, Tensen's unanticipated lawyer, Danielle Towson, came to meet with him. Tensen could sense the taint of Conquest on her, but played along as she explained her legal strategy. Sure enough, she had him out on bail within a few hours due to the authorities' lack of evidence, and brought him back to her apartment to celerbrate. While there, though, Tensen saw something disturbing on the news.

Apparently, in the desert of New Mexico, a trucker had happened upon a dead body, that of Rebecca Chambers! Distressed, Tensen immediately left Towson's apartment, claiming he didn't want to further implicate her in his mess, though he knew this latest twist was another part of Conquest's plot against him. Fleeing into the night, he meant to avoid the law for as long as he could, while he planned his next move.

Issue 9:
Haunted Heart

Drifting through back alleys in the harsh New York winter, Tensen was morose over the apparent death of Rebecca. Though she was alive when he last saw her, the government believed he had killed her, and actively sought him out. Convinced he was at least the cause of her apparent demise, Tensen wished he could return home to dispense justice to her killers, but found himself distracted by someone in the street.

His aura, black as night, was like a beacon to one such as Tensen. Instead of just slaying him outright, however, Tensen followed him at a distance. Distracted only by the continuing pain of the gunshot he'd received when he was arrested, Tensen felt compelled to learn more about this dark stranger. He thought that maybe, if he understood him, he could understand the corrupt nature of this world he'd landed in.

Focused as he was on the evil he followed, Tensen missed the stranger speaking to him until he was on top of him. Attempting to ward him off, this man told Tensen to go home. Tensen couldn't, however, and continued on after the evil that drew him to it. So intent on the evil was Tensen, in fact, that he almost missed the stranger attempting to kill him with a switchblade, only barely saving himself with his sword hand.

Further ahead, Tensen's quarry met with Boo-Boo, an illicit gun and drug dealer. Purchasing a new firearm, one to his exacting specifications, the man then wandered off again. Picking up his trail, Tensen followed him once more, ruminating on the nature of good and evil all the while. Finally locating his quarry's home, Tensen learned that he was Leon Crisp, and then broke into his second story apartment.

Observing Leon as he slept, Tensen could see his uniformly black aura, something that would've prompted him to kill without hesitation back home. But there, standing in the doorway to his bedroom, Tensen could only watch. Eventually drifting around in his apartment, Tensen blanked out momentarily, the pain from the gunshot wound in his shoulder temporarily overwhelming him, until he forgot why he was even there.

Losing time once more, Tensen came to in front of a bookshelf, ultimately finding Leon's trophy book - a series of clippings detailing the brutal murders of good samaritans all over the country. His mind reeling, Tensen held back despite his compulsion to slay Leon immediately, losing his focus and blanking out a third time from the pain he was in. When he came to, Tensen found himself outside again.

Unsure how he got there, Tensen wandered off into the frozen winter night, only stopping when he heard screams in the distance. Discovering a murdered woman, Tensen tried to slay her killer on the spot, but his sword hand malfunctioned again, allowing the murderer to escape. Distraught about the corruption that seemed to have overwhelmed his powers, Tensen finally had a moment of clarity on the subject.

Retracing his steps, Tensen made his way back to Boo-Boo's establishment, and interrogated him about Leon. Learning little about his obsession, Tensen nonetheless forced Boo-Boo to give him a firearm, and explain to him in great detail how it worked. He then drifted off into the night, only for the pain and the cold to overwhelm him anew, prompting him to fall unconscious in a large snow drift.

Eventually coming to, Tensen was stiff and numb from the cold and ice that had swaddled him, but found himself drawn once more to the aura of Leon Crisp. Seeing him in the distance, Tensen realized that he had struck again, killing another good person. Not sure why anyone would slay the heroes of their world, Tensen ultimately decided it didn't matter, and emptied his magazine into Crisp's body.

Watching Leon slowly die despite his numerous bullet wounds, Tensen decided his sword hand dispensed a much more merciful death. Feeling that he himself may die if he lingered outside much longer, Tensen did the only thing he felt he could, and called Arnie. Though he was mad that Tensen had ditched him days ago, Arnie nonetheless agreed to pick his friend up, and to help patch him back up once more.