Shades of Gray - By Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge Page 0,1
possible—my co-author Caitlin Kittredge, without whom none of this would have happened; Miriam Kriss, the best literary agent in the world; the entire Ballantine Spectra team, most especially Anne Groell, our tireless and phenomenal editor; Heather Brewer and Renee Barr, for their support and humor; my mom and dad, for understanding the importance of comic books in a girl’s formative years; my Precious Little Tax Deductions, Ryan and Mason, who watch the best cartoons; and my Loving Husband, Brett, the thief who stole my heart many years ago.
CAITLIN SAYS …
First and foremost, I have to thank my superb co-author, Jackie Kessler, for being endlessly patient and creative. This book is a true collaboration, and we couldn’t have done it alone … only together. To my lovely agent, Rachel Vater, solver of problems and soother of nerves, and our wonderful editor at Spectra, Anne Groell. All of the readers who enjoy the Icarus Project around the world, my parents, Team Seattle, and Ed Brubaker, a fantastic guy who writes fantastic comics. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Byrne, and Neil Gaiman—for me, they started it all.
Contents
Other Books by this Author
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
What Has Come Before
Prologue: Channel Surfing
Part 1 - Now
Chapter 1 - Jet
Chapter 2 - Iridium
Chapter 3 - Jet
Chapter 4 - Iridium
Chapter 5 - Jet
Chapter 6 - Iridium
Interlude
Part 2 - Then
Chapter 7 - Vixen
Chapter 8 - Angelica
Chapter 9 - Luster
Chapter 10 - Night
Interlude
Part 3 - Now
Chapter 11 - Iridium
Chapter 12 - Jet
Chapter 13 - Iridium
Chapter 14 - Jet
Chapter 15 - Iridium
Chapter 16 - Jet
Chapter 17 - Iridium
Interlude
Part 4 - Then
Chapter 18 - Vixen
Chapter 19 - Angelica
Chapter 20 - Luster
Chapter 21 - Night
Chapter 22 - Vixen
Chapter 23 - Angelica
Chapter 24 - Night
Chapter 25 - Luster
Chapter 26 - Night
Interlude
Part 5 - Now
Chapter 27 - Jet
Chapter 28 - Iridium
Chapter 29 - Jet
Chapter 30 - Iridium
Interlude
Part 6 - Then
Chapter 31 - Vixen
Chapter 32 - Angelica
Chapter 33 - Luster
Chapter 34 - Angelica
Chapter 35 - Night
Chapter 36 - Team Alpha
Interlude
Part 7 - Now
Chapter 37 - Jet
Chapter 38 - Iridium
Chapter 39 - Jet
Interlude
Part 8 - Then
Chapter 40 - Luster
Chapter 41 - Vixen
Chapter 42 - Angelica
Chapter 43 - Night
Chapter 44 - Vixen
Chapter 45 - Angelica
Chapter 46 - Luster
Chapter 47 - Night
Interlude
Part 9 - Now
Chapter 48 - Jet
Chapter 49 - Iridium
Chapter 50 - Iridium and Jet
Chapter 51 - Iridium
Chapter 52 - Jet
Interlude
Part 10 - Then
Chapter 53 - Night
Chapter 54 - Arclight
Chapter 55 - Night
Interlude
Part 11 - Now
Chapter 56 - Jet
Chapter 57 - Iridium
Chapter 58 - Jet
Chapter 59 - Iridium
Chapter 60 - Jet
Chapter 61 - Iridium
Chapter 62 - Jet
And in the End …
Epilogue
About the Authors
Copyright
What Has Come Before
It’s a dark world out there. Whether it’s from the ever-present pollution layer in the sky or from the power-hungry tentacles of corporate consolidation, none can truly say. It’s a world of gangs and guns, of good people scurrying like rats and trying to avoid notice. It’s a world where you have to be some sort of hero to change the way things are.
That’s probably why the heroes—the powerful extrahumans in the Squadron—are all under strict control by the megalomaniacal global enterprise known as Corp-Co. But the heroes are too busy to notice, what with fighting crime and working for their corporate sponsors. (After all, heroes need to earn their keep when they’re not off battling for justice.) Some members of the Squadron, like the Shadow-wielding Jet, resent that photo ops are just as important as keeping the streets safe. But there’s no changing the system.
Then the day comes when Iridium, daughter of New Chicago’s most infamous villain, and Taser, a vigilante, attack Corp through its Academy for extrahuman students. The duo’s intention is to take down Ops, the high-tech operations system that links Corp to the Squadron. Iridium thinks this will simply leave the heroes without Corp eyes and ears.
Instead, it destroys the only mechanism that keeps the extrahumans—all Squadron extrahumans in the United and Canadian States of America—under Corp-Co’s thumb. Once Ops goes down, the subtle brainwashing signal that had reined in the heroes is cut off.
And suddenly, hundreds of superpowered men and women realize they had been slaves. For years.
Most of them don’t take the news very well.
PROLOGUE
Channel Surfing
Nothing good on the tele anymore. Hey, thanks for the drink.”
“No problem. You checked everything already?”
“Mostly. Pretty much everything’s just more of the same. Depressing stuff. Here, see for yourself.”
**BLINK**
[Mega Broadcasting System’s Financial News, with Miles McCormick, already in progress]
MILES: … again, the Dow dropped more than eighteen hundred points today in the wake of what seems to be an unprecedented Squadron rebellion—