Micheal King was found dead.   His heart was removed from his body.   The cause of death?  Suffocation.  He suffocated when he choked on his own heart.  Something made it move up his throat until it closed off his windpipe, crushing his esophagus, and ripping all the arteries and veins.  As far as deaths go, this was slow and painful.

Liam "Skip" Tracer would not let his friend's death go unsolved.   


Unknown to Skip The Metaforce was investigating four identical murders.    They had information the local police didn't have.   There were already four such murder in four months.   If the pattern held the fifth would be tonight.  One every 28 days on the new moon.   Mapping out the locations of the murders, an incomplete pentagram was created.   Either the fifth murder would be in southern Canada, or New Orleans.  They guessed New Orleans, as the star would be pointing down.  They were right and arrived in New Orleans.  However, they didn't know who would be the next victim.   

Violet Rivers thought she saw a cockroach just sitting there looking at her.  When she noticed it,  it seemed to react to her and flee.   She thought it odd and told everyone.   They didn't thing a bug was any big deal.

The only thing that linked the victims were that they were male, under thirty and believed to be virgins. They were at a dead end as to what do next when Skip Tracer arrived.

He looked around with glowing white eyes, and left.  He was looking intense.  Some of the Metaforce followed him.  He said he could see an energy trail in the sky.   It took him to the woods.  When they stepped into the wood, owls screeched.  One screech for each member of the party.

They followed Tracer to a large Ash Tree.   Tracer said looking at it made his head hurt.   Before he could explain why they were attacked by five tall men.

Well they weren't exactly men.  They were nine feet tall,  thin and had six arms!   Their faces were gray and their eyes were big as saucers and jet black.  Their mouths were thin and sealed.

Violet Rivers popped her claws and slashed at one.   Haywire grabbed the tree and tried to uproot it.  Skip Tracer fired at the thin threads they were producing from between their legs.   

Minerva acted as a shield  and Singularity ran in smashing.

The five Harvestmen were formidable.  They raked with claws, and tried to strangle with silk nooses.

Haywire gave up on trying to uproot the tree and attacked the five Harvestmen.

Skip saw that somehow, the tree could be entered.  So he did.  Minerva followed him.

Inside the tree was a witch.  She called herself Mother Ash, and she was the serial killer known as the Queen of Hearts.  She had five hearts in clay kettles on a painted pentagram on the floor of her den.  She was green and warty.    

Haywire entered the tree.   Mother Ash pulled a potion from her apron and shrank Krogan.  He shrank to microscopic size.  He heard Mother Ash call Philbert.


Philber came.   It was a tardigrade.   Krogan jumped away from it in fear.

When the Harvestmen were finally beaten they all entered the Tree.

Minerva's blasts, Singularity's smashes, Tracer's bullets, nor anything could pass her circle of protection.   Will Power's somehow got inside her circle.  Skip Tracer says he teleported, but  what does he know?

Will Wrestled with her and broke the circle.   Singularity then bashed her over and over again with her own bottles.   

Haywire, lost and tiny,  asked for his friend Mindgames to link his mind with his friend's.   Being a good friend,  Mindgames did what was asked.   A mindlink was established and everyone knew where Haywire was.

The fight continued, and Mother Ash proved to be a powerhouse.   Haywire's curse wore off and he regained his normal size.  Angry beyond belief he grabbed the witch by the head and smashed her skull into the ground killing her.  This caused her death curse to fire off. Everyone made it out of the Tree safely except for Minerva.  She was saved by her force field.

The harvestment changed.  They looked more like spider men than men now.   Nothing could be found of Mother Ash.

Haywire recovered from his madness and made peace with the death of his friend Mindgames.   

How ever, everyone else is starting to think, that just maybe,  Mindgames is still around some how...