It's Official, DOUBLE CROSS is the longest running photostory the Steeles have produced to date.
Ok, the story so far...... Part1 Investigative reporter Mariah Steele meets to interview Jermiah, an undercover operative deep inside Caleb's organization. Jermiah details out Caleb's activities into the disappearances of Julie Marvel and her cousin, Sonja Steele. He explains how with an ancient artifact combined with new technology, Caleb was able to steal Julie Marvel's powers. And, in using an experimental mind control device, now has Sonja Steele doing his bidding. What they didn't realize was that Jermiah was followed, and a bomb was placed in his truck. In a panic, he ran, leaving Mariah to face certain doom. A mistake he would soon pay for, as Mariah's own cover was about to be blown... Literally! Fortunately, she was able to find the bomb in time and hug it close to shield the blast from everyone in the park. Then.. BOOM! When the smoke cleared, there stood Mariah, unharmed. Her normal clothes now in ashes, and her true identity revealed.
Part 2.... Though the explosion failed in killing her, it did however succeed in pissing her off. Thinking Jermiah was responsible for the attempt on her life, she caught up to him within seconds and stopped him in his tracks. Now, being the youngest of the Steele clan, Mariah had a much harder time contoling her anger, and sometimes went too far. And, given that this was the first time someone ever tried to kill her, now was one of those times. She started by tossing him across the parking lot. Then proceeded to put the fear of God (or in this case.. Goddess!) in him. Jermiah wanted to explain that it wasn't him, but for the moment he was too terrified to speak. Plus, Mariah wasn't in much of a mood to believe him anyway. In the midst of his torture he did see Caleb watching and very amused. As he dangled in the air with Mariah's hand on his throat Jermiah managed to sputter one word, "Caleb", and pointed to him. At that point she thanked him and let him go... Well sort of..
Part 3... As brilliant and dangerous as Caleb was, he was also smart enough to know he couldn't go head to head with a Steele without back up, so he fled. However, Mariah proved once again how useless it is to run from a Steele. She blocked the path of his car, but Caleb floored it. "If I can't out run her, I'll just run her down!" he thought as his car barreled towards her. As the car struck her, she simply drove her fist into the hood, and between the force of the impact and the power of her punch, the car crumbled like tin foil against her body and flipped end over end. The car landed nearly 200 feet away and burst into flames. Barely conscious, Caleb managed to crawl out of the wreckage, but his pain was far from over. With no strength to move, all he could do was lay there as Mariah casually walked towards him. If he was to survive he had one chance to act but the timing would have to be perfect. Of course he felt his odds drop sharply when Mariah reached down and with a flick of her arm, swatted his car into the sky.
Part 4 ... With her anger in check, Mariah decided to toy with her prey this time. Now, she should have taken him straight to the authorities, but the Steele's never did play by the rules, and Mariah was the wildest of them all. So she played with him and played with him some more.... However, In the midst of his humilation, Caleb made his move. He pulled a device from his pocket and zapped her at point blank range. At the first the beam froze her in place, then something happened. She smiled. Caleb was confused ( and at this point, probably a bit worried), it should have absorbed her powers, but it didn't. It seemed to make her even more powerfull. Using her heatvision, she vaporized the device and laughed. Now, it was Mariah who was confused. She knew what she needed to do, but didn't care anymore.
Part 5...... Without thinking, Mariah few away, leaving Caleb behind to go clear her head. First came panic.. She didn't know what was happening to her, as her actions betrayed her intentions. Then came confusion. The lines or right and wrong began to blur. She felt her idenity slipping away, and a new one forming in it's place. Then, lastly, pain! Wave after wave of electricity and violent energy poured into her. Then.. It all made perfect sense. Panic was replaced with calm, confusion now clearity, and pain slowly turned to pleasure. Her transformation was now complete.
Part 6..... No longer a superheroine, but still very super, Mariah was out for her own satisfaction. She was now more powerful, and more dangerous than anyone on Earth. As she explored her new self, she discovered that she was being followed. Jermiah! Could he be that stupid? Of all the things she could have done, she decided that a simple warning would be enough. Just this once! With her heatvsion, she vaporized the road in front of his truck, digging a 12 foot trench. Trying to resaon with her, Jermiah yelled out to stop her, but she was long gone. Landing near an abandoned house in the desert, Mariah stopped to plan her next move. Finished with her old life, she realized that she needed a new one. The possibilities were endless. As the minutes turned to hours, Mariah discovered once again, that she was being watched. Ha! Jermiah. He got his warning, now it was time for him to DIE!
Part 7.... Mariah closed in on Jermiah, he raised his weapon and tried to reason with her. He explained that she was infected, and that he could help her. Mariah responded by taking in a breath and blowing him off his feet. He landed over 50 yards away, and when he tried to get up she was already at his feet. Again Jermiah tried to reason with her, and she responded this time with a flash of her heatvision. In a panic he called for back up, and from out of nowwhere, two armed agents appeared. Mariah turned and smiled, excited that she now had two new playthings. Jermiah yelled to hold fire, but before he could finish Mariah seemed to materialize at the toes of the first agent. Out of reflex he fired, but the bullets bounced off of her. In a flash she snatched his weapon away from him, effortlessly folded it in half, and tossed it back to him. Then, just as she was reaching out to do the same to him, the second agent came up from behind and blasted her with an energy weapon. Mariah's body jolted in unbearable pain.
Part 8, With Mariah now bound, Jermiah is able to explain better that his intentions are only to restore her to her former self. Not wanting to harm her, he shows her the device and explain that the process will be painful, but brief. However, as the procedure is cut short as Caleb shows up.
Part 9. Coming soon.