Adventure: The Great Wrath of Ellipsis 
Prelude: Ellipsis has been sorely taxed by recent adventures.  As such, his mental control has eroded a bit more .
He realizes he may be a danger to anyone close to him; however, he also realizes he needs help if he is to maintain his control.  Stephen decides his relation with Julie is very conducive to this control; it always has been.  When he first stood upon the edge, she was the one who helped him back. 
Therefore, he intends to propose engagement to her.  He feels no guilt at this.  She is not required to place herself in th!s danger he proposes to her; he can state the entire case to her, and she may decide for or against as she wishes.  

Part I: Stephen takes Julie out to dinner in Manhattan, at the top of the Rockefeller Center, to pop the question.  He states the question several ways each time she sees through it and accepts his engagement.  
Suddenly masked gunmen burst into the restaurant.  They shout to all-the people within not to move.  Stephen and Julie indeed do not move; they mentally discuss options.  Julie suggests that Stephen send mental distress messages to the pol ice (and, of course, her newspaper) for starters. Stephen responds, the concept of “mental distress message” is unknown to this society.
Meanwhile, someone decides to resist.  He ducks beneath his table and begins to crawl out.  One of the gunmen sees the move, and fires.  Stephen and Julie are directly in the line of fire.  Stephen activates his personal energy field which protects him from all physical missile attacks.  Julie has no such field; she takes three shots before Stephen can get a force field up to protect her.  
Stephen is overcome with anger.  He rises, and changes to Ellipsis in front of all present, materializing his costume around him.  
In his great anger he subdues all gunmen within the restaurant with one flex of his mind.  He turns to the man who fled, and subdues him as weTI.  
He then takes Julie up: she is in poor shape.  After briefest examination, he flies her to the nearest hospital and insists immediate treatment.  As she is wheeled into surgery he accompanies.  

Apparently several major points in Manhattan have been captured simultaneously by a large grouping of international terrorists.  If any post under their control is attacked, they intend to slay all hostages within another arbitrarily selected post under their control.  
National news bulletins cut into all programming nationwide; one ends by waxing poetic on popular antiterrorist heroes, and says, 'Tonight America truly needs all its heroes.' 
In East Lansing, Michigan, the Balance hears and answers.  

Part II: The superhero team known as the Balance, the unofficial superhero team of Michigan, has gathered.  Present are the Mighty Tim (the acting leader since the departure of Ellipsis), Morningstar (the other original member), and FOAD.  All have agreed to fight the terrorists in New York City, to the best of their ability.  
Mighty Tim suggests that they try to link forces with Ellipsis (the most powerful member of the Balance, and the only surviving former member) in Manhattan.  Though Ellipsis stated his desire to leave the team as he moved to New York City, Mighty Tim figures he is involved in the crisis already.  When the Balance agrees, he teleports them to Stephen Wolcott's address just outside New York City.  
Neither Ellipsis (Stephen Wolcott) nor his fiancée, Julie Moretti, is present.  The team goes on patrol in Manhattan - together.  (The team's communications between separate members on patrol were severely handicapped by the departure of Ellipsis with his psionic abilities.) 
Stephen Wolcott revives.  He is slumped in a chair next to an empty bed within the hospital.  He remembers the surgery with Julie.  Apparently she made it through the surgery, with all the mental support he could provide.  But something must have happened, else she would not have been removed from him! 
Desperately he mentally quests throughout the hospital for her.  He cannot find her.  
In the operating room,one of the assisting surgeons is relieved.  During the first session with the patient they had a time bomb on their hands! The man who rushed into surgery with her, over all objections, showed every sign of being the notorious mutant Ellipsis!  Fortunately the patient was amazingly more resilient than expected (thus she survived); and the mutant within the room was mollified.  Ana now, for this second session, the surgeons have a special protection, ordered on high priority from the Department of Internal Security: a special psionic screen against unexpected mental interruption.  Thus the surgeons will be able to do their job without fear' of sudden Ellipsis! 
The Department of Internal Security has known of Stephen Wolcott for several months, ever since the affair where he was hospitalized - shortly before the downfall of Dominatra at the hands of the Balance.  The evidence, sketchy though it was, suggested that he was at least connected with the dangerous mutant Ellipsis - and this latest episode proves it. At first sign of the involvement of Ellipsis, they rushed the psionic equipment to New York City where it could possibly bring him to security analysis.  
Stephen Wolcott unable to sense Julie; concludes: Dead she is dead - and none have seen fit to tell him in fear of the retribution he shall bring upon her murderers!  Nonetheless due is the retribution due! 
In the full cloak of his powers, he explodes through the hospital wall into the night.  
He settles atop a nearby building.  Someone within this metropolis did command Julie's murder, and by GOD he shall find him.  His mind quests outward.  
 The Innocent throughout NYC feel his mind.  Oh Shit - for a moment.  But shortly their nightmare is over.  At least that one is for the moment.  
The Balance feel his mind.  Oh Shit - we've found Ellipsis, and he's mad!! 
Special agents of the United States feel his mind.  Oh Shit - that bastard on the loose will fuck everything up!  Divert that special weapons team from hostage duty to get the hell after him!! 
Some of the guilty within NYC feel his mind.  God/Allah/Krishna/Buddha Preserve Us - he's after us! But he discards them as totally worthless, and only wrings the knowledge of where they got their orders.  Worthless ••• 
Ellipsis has just run rampant over the minds of ten mill ion people.  All of them now know t at he is Ellipsis, and he is power.  

Part III: He, as Ellipsis, has determined where to look for the villain.  The minds of a few onlookers tell him where the locale is.  He blasts off to the locale.  

The Balance together teleport to the observation deck of the Empire State Building.  The Mighty Tim goes alone to the spire of the building.  They determine that Ellipsis has flown somewhere to the Lower East Side.  They follow.  
Ellipsis invades the warehouse where his terrorist foes are headquartered.  As chance would have it, he lands on the floor where lie most of the defenses.  They have been armed with exotic weapons, able to stand against superhumans.  For about 50 seconds they keep him occupied.  But finally, even as reinforcements arrive, Ellipsis explodes and destroys the floor.  As his opponents tumble below, he mentally knocks them all out.  
The Balance arrive outside the warehouse.  FOAD begins to charge up to combat, but Mighty Tim, alarmed, teleports him back.  Tim exclaims, "Are you crazy? The entire building could fall at any moment the way things are going, with Ellipsis inside!' (Morningstar realizes: the power of Mighty Tim to lead and control the team might Just be the equal of Ellipsis in the former days!) 
The special weapons team, having tracked Ellipsis, arrives.  They direct the costumed heroes aside.  Mighty Tim, in return, suggests they-all wait things out till the firefight inside dies down.

Part IV: The leader of the terrorists, a renegade Sikh known as Golden Raj, has a dilemma.  The attacking force is but one man - the one he felt earlier! The man is obviously Ellipsis; and, if his spies in the Department of Internal Security can be trusted, Ellipsis is obvious y not a government agent.  
This intervention disrupts the precarious balance between the terrorists and the U.S. special agents rushed in during the last several hours.  More reaction against hostages due to the attack of Ellipsis might lead to U.S. attempts to free all remaining hostages, thus removing the-final bargaining chip.  And now that Ellipsis has neutralized his secret backup force, and now that the special agents have found him, the outcome is likely to cripple all of international terrorism while strengthening the resolve of its opponents.  
(The woman alongside Golden Raj - a prize of his position,-with her face behind a veil - only knows that the foe is coming for her once more.  Never again will she let them repeat what they did to her once!) 
Golden Raj makes his decision: he must flee to his friendly forces, and simultaneously make it known that if the United States cannot restrain its citizens from attacking the forces of international justice, they must take retal iatory measures by any means available.  Maybe counter- measures now, against selected hostages, would help drive that point home...
But"before his entourage can move, Ellipsis bursts through the floor! With one great explosion the fight is knocked out of his retainers!  Golden Raj himself is sent reeling.

The Balance and the special weapons team scout the floor where the battle of Ellipsis took place.  It looks like a battleground all right: the building's about to fall down! 
Mighty Tim divides the team: he teleports the wounded out to the special weapons team, Morningstar holds up the building, and FOAD charges after Ellipsis.  
Ellipsis advances upon Golden Raj.  He says, 'HOW shall I destroy you for taking the life of my love? Perhaps like this ...”  He builds up energy around his field, swirling around him.  His hands glow white with power.  The power finally explodes.  The floors above fall upon them.  
Golden Raj looks up from his crouch.  Ellipsis says to him, "No ••• that would be too merciful.”· The force field of Ellipsis has spared them - so far.  
Morningstar, several floors below, barely keeps the building up.  The Mighty Tim barely intercepts the flying hunks of building from falling on the U.S. forces outside.
Ellipsis says, 'Yes, your proper punishment is ...”  Then FOAD arrives.  He looks at the terrorists and says, "Boy, is U.S.  military justice gonna have fun with you.' 
Golden Raj says, ·”Then you ARE a government agent!" 
'Government ••• NEVER!' Ellipsis raises his hands, crackling with electricity.  It almost strikes FOAD, but he dodges.  Ellipsis turns on FOAD and decrees, 'You shall HALT!"   And then against the Raj, "My justice is purely my own - and it shall be served!" 
FOAD jumps between him and Golden Raj, and responds, ·'Giye it time - we've got 'em now!' 
Ellipsis has an answer.  All within the former room - now open at the top of the building - see a vision of him grown giant, ripping the sky apart! Things fall from the sky, leaving trails of smoke.  All who see it are stunned, at least.  
Tom Juergens followed the Space Shuttle program: he had friends who wanted to be on it, even though it was Air Force and they were Army.  He had nightmares the night after the space shuttle exploded.  This IS worse! FOAD stumbles to the nearest wall and leans upon it blankly.  
Ellipsis has finally found a way to neutralize the rebellious mind of FOAD, which defied all his power to analyze throughout his tenure at Nichigan State.  	" But he only continues, against his real target.  His mind begins to strike at Golden Raj.  
The woman beside Golden Raj actually feels the strike!  It stirs something in her.  She grabs for the throat of Ellipsis - and reaches it before he can react! He responds with cascading bolts of electricity  -and she withstands them! 
(Golden Raj himself can only think: what by hell is this?) 
FOAD has recovered.  He says, “That's enough, cunt!”· and body-blocks her into the corner.  Ellipsis, freed, gasps for a moment.  	" 
The woman says, "I know you, Ell i~sis' And for what you did to me - I WILL KILL YOU!!" 
FOAD says, ·”Who the hell are you?“
�hDominatra!' says Ellipsis.
'Yes, Dominatra! And I SHALL kill you - when none are there to save you!' Throwing FOAD away, she slams 	the floor.  The top of the building finally falls.

(Prelude 1: From near-Earth orbit the spaceship has scanned, and determined two targets.  The first has been acquired...) 

Mighty Tim, beneath the fallen building, manages to escape with Morningstar, who has gone beyond the end of her endurance.  Ellipsis and FOAD each survive in their own ways.  
Golden Raj grabs one of his fallen men's machine guns, jumps out a window, grabs a telephone wire, and slashes it with his knife to swing to another building.  As he lands.  he moves toward freedom - and whips out his pocket communicator, to coordinate his response with his forces." 
But Eil ipsis, singl~minded, finds him first.  
"I swore you would gain punishment for your efforts - and you shall.  First ...”· Ellipsis strikes with his mind and-forces into Golden Raj the urge to surrender, both himself and all his followers.

(Prelude 2:: .... and it is time for the spaceship captains to acquire the second target.  Now that the target is stationary, the captains give the order to transport.) 

"And now, •• " But before Ellipsis can do anything else - he disappears in a flash of light!
FOAD1 having seen Ellipsis on the move, finds Golden Raj in time to see Ellipsis disappear.  He takes Golden Raj into custody, and the Raj quickly (and surprisingly) commands his followers to surrender unconditionally.  (Some don't, but that's another story, for another decade...)
(Postlude 1: The second round of surgery on Julie Moretti was successful; with any lUCK, the patient will recover fully.) 
(Postlude 2: As the Balance regroups, FOAD comments how Mighty Tim saved the terrorist guy from Ellipsis.  Mighty Tim replies, “What are you talking about?") 

(Prelude 3: The aliens have come for Ellipsis.)