![[T2M Logo]](../t2m.gif)
— Raid on Church of Astaroth yields missing novox singer, 42 arrests
St. Louis, Missouri: The search for the singer kidnapped during an attack on a novox-specific concert ended yesterday with a raid on the complex owned by the Church of Astaroth. After a pitched battle with a mixed Team Tomorrow roster, all but one of the members of the Missouri chapter of the church, including all of its nova members except Astaroth, were either killed or captured.
"Pax heard it," Ragnarockette explained. "The victim was sending out a literal SOS below the normal range of human hearing. Once he followed the sound to its source, it didn't take long for us to get a search warrant and bust up their plan. Believe it or not, they were going to actually sacrifice her! The baseline cultists thought it was some sort of demonic spiritual thing, but apparently Astaroth knew better. He had some sort of bizarre quantum-transfer device beneath the victim, and a light show to cover up that the 'ritual sacrifice' was really a technological method of transferring her powers into him."
Though both Utopia and independent scientists have confirmed that the device could have theoretically been effective, the police report on the battle differs somewhat from Ragnarockette's account. According to accounts from both the Utopia support team and the imprisoned cultists, the battle was very even for nearly a half hour, with blacktech-armed 'monks' removing the advantage Team Tomorrow gained with its superior number of novas. After Americas members Pele and the Apollo Kid were seriously injured by the Astaroth cult's "demon of death" Grimskull, Caestus Pax ended the battle decisively with a variation of his 'Fist of Peace' maneuver. Using his enhanced speed, Pax personally destroyed all of the blacktech in the room in a matter of seconds, ignoring several blows by all four church novas. The leader of Team Tomorrow took moderate injuries, but without the aid of the illegal armament, the remaining members of the cult were easily defeated, contained by Quasar's forcefields and Griffin Armstrong's gravity powers, except for Astaroth who apparently teleported away in the confusion.
The only comment made on the record for any church members was from the lawyer retained by the Church of Astaroth. "I expect the case to be dismissed for improper search and seizure. This is a clear violation of my clients' Constitutional rights."
Caestus Pax later replied with the following. "This has nothing to do with anyone's rights. This is a clear-cut case of kidnapping, attempted murder, and several counts of conspiracy. The actions of beings such as Astaroth are a blight on human history. He will be found and brought to justice."
Ironically, while the name "Astaroth" became attached to demonic influences during the Middle Ages, it is originally the name of a Semitic fertility goddess.
© 2002, 2008