Back to GatefoldIssue #4 by D. Golightly
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“THE WEAPON”
“There is no time, Failsafe! As Agent Zero you alone are now responsible for carrying out the prime directive. Please, abscond from this facility and carry out your orders.”
That’s what the bizarre floating robot had said to him. HERB had proven to be less helpful than intended, though, by ushering Nathan Summers into a life he wasn’t yet prepared to handle. Freshly awoken in a world of chaos, Agent Zero now found himself boarding a hover-copter with two women that were armed to the teeth.
Oddly enough, he didn’t think there was any cause for alarm. After having met Mother, the de facto leader of the Resistance, much of the wool that had lain over his eyes was now removed. Despite the fact that he had only been self-aware for less than twelve hours, Nathan was beginning to understand how the world worked and what his place in it was.
The Failsafe.
That’s what they called him. It meant he was their last resort. He didn’t know the details of what plans had previously resulted in total failure while trying to topple Apocalypse, but he believed that this Resistance had attempted everything they could. He had seen the hall of the fallen warriors. This group, this ragtag family of fighters, had come face to face with very real loss.
“Your aircraft is fully operational and ready to propel you to your target position,” the hovering eyeball robot, HERB, stated from outside the copter. The whirling turbines atop the vehicle nearly drowned it out. “Please make sure to—”
“HERB, you worthless piece of junk,” Natasha shouted. “If you tell us to buckle our safety belts I’m going to have Forge melt you down for parts.”
While the floating red eyeball did not have an iris to shutter closed, it still seemed like it was blinking as a deflection of Natasha’s comment. Its red light dimmed slightly before saying, “Have a safe trip, please!”
HERB turned and slipped into a pneumatic tube a few dozen feet away from the heliport, vanishing down into the mammoth structure beneath them. Several dozen floors above ground level, the general chaos of whatever city this area used to be called almost seemed like a memory. The occasional shelling served as a reminder to their location.
“Shouldn’t we bring HERB with us?” Shadowcat asked as she casually checked that her automatic pistol was loaded. “What if we need to hack into something?”
“Do you really want that thing hovering over your shoulder like a babysitter?” Natasha shot back. She turned to Nathan and motioned with her head to the rear of the copter. “Zero, come with me.”
As he stepped away from the copter’s entry hatch, it slid shut and sealed them away inside the man-made beast. The whirring of the overhead turbines was quieter somehow, but he still felt the vibrations running throughout the aircraft.
Natasha led him to the rear of the central cabin and tapped the console embedded into the wall. Several shelves were revealed as the wall opened and he was suddenly standing in front of a miniature arsenal. Combat rifles, knives, grenades, and shaped charges were just a few of the trinkets presented to him.
“I assume you know how to work these?” Natasha asked.
Nathan picked up a fully automatic rifle with a cut down suppressor, flicking back the firing pin as he did so. He looked down the sight line over the barrel, and seemingly pleased, snatched a clip of ammunition from the shelf and slapped it into place. He smoothly slid the armed rifle over his shoulder, where it adhered to his outfit diagonally across his back.
Natasha motioned to his right hip. “You hanging onto that?”
He glanced down at the weapon he had taken with him only hours ago from the same facility he had awoken in. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“No. I just like to have a firm grasp of what my unit has access to.”
He nodded. “You’re a good leader.”
“Not as good as Scott was.”
“Scott,” Nathan repeated. “That visor you showed me. That was his?”
“Yes. Scott could rally people under him like no one else I’ve ever seen. The day we lost him was…”
He heard a sniff from behind him and turned to see Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, doing her best to look like she wasn’t about to cry. “He meant a lot to your Resistance,” Nathan stated.
“Scott was responsible for keeping most of us safe during several Marauder raids,” Shadowcat responded without looking up. “He was a hero.”
“He was also what most of us were betting on to end this living nightmare,” Natasha added. “Until we found you.”
“So I’ve been told. But here’s what I don’t understand. If I’m the Failsafe, the last chance you have of taking this Apocalypse guy down, why do we need to go after this special weapon?”
“It’s more than just a weapon” Natasha said. “The first thing that you need to understand about Apocalypse is that he’s unkillable.”
“You mean immortal.”
Natasha shook her head. “Not quite the same thing. Apocalypse can be killed; we just don’t know how yet. Charles Xavier came the closest to killing Apocalypse when he put him into a coma about ten years ago.”
“Why didn’t he finish the job?” Zero asked.
“He tried. Apocalypse woke up out of the coma after only being out for a minute, and snapped Xavier’s neck.”
Zero’s eyes widened.
Natasha led Zero back to the helm of the cabin. “So…now we need you,” she said. “We don’t have anyone else in the Resistance who can operate the weapon.”
“And that weapon is…”
“Xavier’s brain,” Shadowcat responded without taking her eyes away from the navigation controls.
“He’s still alive?” Zero questioned. “That doesn’t make any sense. I thought you said—”
“Apocalypse snapped Xavier’s neck, yes,” Natasha said. She paused, glancing toward Shadowcat. “Take us down there. Get as low are you can. I don’t want anyone picking us up too early.”
“I know, I know,” Shadowcat replied. “Just get him up to speed. I’ll take care of getting us there.”
The copter went down low, mixing itself amongst the ruined towers of a forgotten city. Zero wondered if this place had been ravaged by Avalanche and his Marauders, too, or if this area was just another part of a long war he was bred into.
He heard what sounded like either small explosives or shelling on the far side of whatever city this used to be. He couldn’t tell the difference and he wasn’t sure that he needed to know, because from what he understood they needed to get back underground again. That was where all of this had started for him, and it was likely that this is where it would all end.
“Are you listening?” Natasha asked. She slapped a magazine into an obnoxiously huge rifle. “We don’t have time to go through this more than once.”
“What’s with the short timetable?” Zero asked. “You’ve been fighting for…how long? You don’t have another day to make sure we plan this right?”
“Everything has been planned, Nathan,” she shot back. “We were just waiting for you to show up. Look, just follow my lead when we get in there. I’ll get you to Xavier and then your programming should take over from there.”
“That still doesn’t answer—”
Another explosion, this one much closer, caused Shadowcat to bank hard to the right. Zero slipped and Natasha caught him by the arm to help steady him again. She avoided Zero’s eyes and jumped back into the cockpit.
“Cat!” she shouted. “What’s—”
“Marauders are in front of the Baxter Building!” Kitty responded. “You said they would be occupied!”
“I said that Pilot and Gomi would keep them busy for us. If Avalanche is here then…then they’re down. We are way passed the point of no return. Just get us in close and we’ll make the jump.”
Zero thrust his head into the cockpit. “Shouldn’t we—”
“Connect your line!” Natasha ordered as she got up. “We’re jumping. Cat, you know what to do.”
“Oh, I’ve been waiting for this, boss.”
Following Natasha’s lead, Zero slapped a carabiner with a long zip cord attached to it to a hook just above the side hatch. He slapped the other end onto his belt. Natasha ripped open the hatch and a fury of wind assaulted the inside of the copter. In response Zero pulled his facemask back down, protecting him from the harsh maelstrom.
One quick glance over her shoulder offered Kitty a chance to trade glances with them, and then they were gone. Natasha plummeted out of the copter, her zip line spooling out an incredible length of tether that seemed like it would never end. Zero tossed himself out of the side hatch without hesitation, trusting in his equipment and Natasha’s leadership.
The freefall lasted for an eternity. He watched as Natasha’s body finally snapped back just a few feet from the ground, her cord stretched and still pliable enough to break her fall, lest her spine take the brunt of the sudden stop. A split-second later, Zero felt the pull at his own waist and was surprised at how little he actually felt jerked around like a marionette. The sudden yank of the cord still attached to the copter’s cabin was braced by the harness he wore, and after one quick bounce and smacked the carabiner loose and fell to his feet.
In an instant he was in a crouch, his rifle drawn off of his back. He swept the general area through the sight and then was off seeking cover, Natasha beside him. Gunfire rattled nearby, but they ignored it, racing over the rubble toward what had once been the Baxter Building.
Natasha took cover behind one of the main pillars just in front of the building’s entrance. Zero took up residence in a juxtaposing pillar that had been cut down by the area’s turmoil. He followed Natasha’s anxious gaze up to the copter, where he saw Kitty piloting the craft around in a loop to come back toward the Baxter Building.
“What is she—”
Natasha waved him off, focusing on the copter. “C’mon…” he heard her mutter.
Atop the remnants of a building across the street from the Baxter Building Zero watched a man perch himself on the edge of the roof. His white and grey uniform was in much better condition than his surroundings, suggesting he was either a newcomer, or more likely, the one who had caused the destruction in the first place.
The copter whirled around and headed straight for the corner of the building the man in white was standing atop. Zero saw his face grimace as he extended his arms and a wave of nearly invisible power pulsed outward. The air rippled in waves heading toward the copter, but to no effect.
“His shockwave powers won’t do much to something that’s not grounded,” Natasha said. “It may mess with her systems a bit, but her trajectory is already set.”
Zero watched as Kitty maintained course. The copter was headed dead center for where the man stood. The closer it came, and the less it was affected by his mutant abilities, the more he screamed.
He screamed right up until the moment the aircraft slammed into the rooftop.
A deafening explosion rattled the streets below and Zero watched in shock as the helicopter fell apart from the impact, breaking up into pieces like a child’s toy that had accidentally been stepped on. The corner of the roof had been obliterated, and Avalanche was gone, likely crushed beneath several tons of steel.
“Come on!” Natasha roared.
Zero pulled himself back into focus, ripping his eyes away from the sight of sacrifice. Gunfire seemed like it was coming from nowhere, but everywhere. He felt an exertion even though he wasn’t breathing heavy yet. Almost like his senses had left him, he ran after Natasha, barely paying attention to his surroundings, as if he were on autopilot and someone else was guiding his body through the hostile territory.
Natasha tossed two concussion grenades at the cargo bay entrance to the Baxter Building. The explosion ripped off the already bruised and beaten door, allowing them access. Once inside, Natasha ducked down and placed her back against the wall, watching to make sure that Zero did the same.
“You okay?” she asked between breathes.
He nodded.
“It’s okay if you’re not,” she continued. “You were pretty much just born yesterday.”
“Let’s just get this done with.”
Natasha pressed her lips together firmly and stood up, leaving behind any semblance of empathy. She ran deeper into the building, through the massive warehouse-like chamber where the owners had once taking in deliveries of large equipment, supplies, and other things. Zero kept pace behind her, relying on his implanted training to keep him aware of any oncoming threats.
They didn’t have to wait long. Security robots roughly of the same design as HERB, only with rail-thin pikes jutting down from their floating heads, whisked into their path. The red eyes glowed hot red and began peppering them with blaster fire.
Instinctively, Agent Zero ripped the sidearm free of restraint and returned fire expertly. Two shots slammed into the two closest droids, hitting them dead center in their glowing eyes, making them explode.
Natasha tucked herself into a ball and somersaulted for cover. Her wristbands, gold and sparking with electricity, ignited as she then leapt up between bursts of enemy fire. With a stunning display of acrobatics that carried her from safety into danger, she flipped and cartwheeled between two more of the hovering droids. Electricity lashed out from her wristbands and the droids fell to the floor, dormant.
Three more droids dropped down behind her and Zero abruptly stood up and raised his arm toward them. With instinctual knowledge that had been programmed into him by Mother, he unleashed a telekinetic wave of pure force that slammed the droids back against the wall. When he released them from his invisible grip, they were battered and broken, their eyes dimming.
He breathed heavily even though he hadn’t exerted that much effort. He looked at his hand, amazed. Natasha quickly snapped him out of his funk with a shout to follow her deeper into the complex.
The Baxter Building seemed like it could have housed an endless array of technologies. They shot by room after room, floor after floor of what seemed like dozens of laboratories, storage areas, and research hubs. Most of the building was as lifeless as the droids that occasionally sauntered forward to halt their progress, but were ultimately doomed.
It wasn’t until they hit the seventh floor that they encountered more serious opposition. A huge door slid back after Natasha had smashed open the control panel, revealing a thin blonde man in a tight red suit. He winked at them just before he ignited a twin pair of flame throwers mounted on each wrist.
“Damn!” Natasha said as she tackled Zero just in time to avoid being singed by the intense flames.
“You know him?” Zero asked. He watched overheard as the flames danced upward to the height of the tall ceiling and amazingly condensed into different shapes. The waves of heat and fire swirled until they settled into the shape of a towering dragon, its wingspan covering the width of the room.
“You could say that,” Natasha muttered. “I’m going to distract him while you get into the next chamber.”
“Are we close to the weapon?”
Natasha nodded. “I think so. Just keep moving. When you get there your programming will take over. Now move!”
Nastasha went left as Zero went right a second later. Natasha’s early movement proved enough to capture the attention of their assailant, who released a burst of controlled flame that Zero could feel on his back as he ran. The flames tracked Zero for a moment, but a few pops from Natasha’s weapon drew all of the attention to her.
Ducking into the next chamber, Zero continued running at top speed. The long corridor led him to the heart of the complex, although aside from a general sense of direction telling him that he was pointing toward the East, he was completely lost.
Then he felt it. A pull. Something tugging at his consciousness. He stopped short of entering the next chamber and instead looked at a door embedded in the wall that he hadn’t particularly noticed before. A huge combination lock was at the center of the door, a dial larger than his fist.
Kneeling down, he could see that there were several hundred characters on the dial, none of them written in English. In fact, the symbols didn’t seem to be numerical at all.
Let me in.
Zero jumped back, automatically raising mental barriers to keep out whatever had just invaded his mind. It was similar to how he felt when meeting Mother, but something more pervasive. More forceful.
Had that thought projection come from the other side of this door? He couldn’t help but wonder, and he knew that ultimately this was the reason he had been brought here. The Failsafe. Natasha’s sense of urgency. He felt that same sense again, pushing him. Ushering him.
He slowly knelt down again and lowered his guard, allowing his mind to freely absorb any wayward thought. As soon as his defenses were down he was hit by the forceful voice again.
Let me in.
“Who are you?” Zero asked.
Let me guide your hand and bring you to me. You will understand then, and only then.
Looking down, Zero saw that his left hand was on the dial. He didn’t recall placing his hand there. Slowly, he watched as someone other than him commanded his wrist to turn the dial to the right.
Yesssss…
Even though it was against his better judgement, Zero allowed the mental passenger to keep turning the dial. After it paused at specific characters four times, he heard a loud metal cylinder inside the thick door slide out of the way. The door opened and a dark blue light shown from within.
Richards was brilliant, the voice told him. But even his sprawling intellect did little to save him against Apocalypse.
Zero stood, saying, “Who are you?”
I’m the very person you were created to save. A long time ago a friend of mine predicted my death at the hands of Apocalypse. I knew that the inevitable would claim me, so I put into motion subliminal controls amongst the Resistance to create you and bring you to me.
Zero stepped into the room, now bathing in the blue light. In the center of the room was a large prism; the source of the light. While the door suggested that this room was some type of prison or vault, the interior looked more like a waystation. Various tubes and wires lined the floor, all feeding into the prism.
When he was just a few feet away, the prism opened, revealing a transparent container filled with viscous fluid. Within that fluid was suspended the very thing that Natasha had told him he was there to capture for the Resistance: a human brain.
Not human, the voice said to him. Mutant. This brain is unlike any other on Earth. I should know. It’s mine.
“You’re—”
Charles Xavier. Some called me Professor, once upon a time. Jean seemed to like calling me that, anyway.
Zero looked blankly at the brain floating in the jar of fluid, somehow kept alive by the various cables and whatnot that were connected to the prism. When Charles Xavier’s thoughts briefly focused on Jean, images of Mother filled his mind. Finally, he said, “Jean. She created me.”
Indeed. Decades ago, a woman named Irene Adler told me my destiny. Her mutant ability allowed her to see segments of the future. Then, she uncovered my own death at the hands of Apocalypse. Knowing that should I be allowed to perish that all mankind would be doomed, I placed subliminal programming into select Resistance members. Jean used her genetic material, along with Scott Summers’, to create you. She mentally programmed you herself. You were intended to be the perfect weapon with focused mental powers should I fall.
“A failsafe.”
He couldn’t be sure, but he sensed Xavier smirking within the mindscape. Quite. That term became a moniker for you it seems. After I was killed, Reed Richards recovered my body and brought me here, to the Baxter Building, for safekeeping. My body died, but my brain lived on, as you can see.
“But I was lost somehow.”
Yes. Apocalypse’s forces tried to destroy Resistance facilities. I can see from your own memories that your complex was buried beneath rubble. I estimate that you were lost for something around five years.
“Your brain has been trapped here for five years?”
It feels ten times that. But now we can finally join together and bring an end to Apocalypse.
Without realizing it, Zero had disconnected all of the cables that were plugged into the prism. The transparent cage that held Xavier’s brain was in his hands, wrenched free from the prism and spilling its fluid all over his feet. He had been so caught up in Xavier’s explanation that he didn’t even realize that his body was still being controlled.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Zero said, but Xavier kept his feet motionless. Zero tugged but could not psychically move his own body. “What are you doing? We need to get out of here. We have to get Natasha and get back to the Resistance.”
Unfortunately, I won’t survive that journey. We need to activate your primary programming immediately.
Zero could feel Xavier pulling at his mind. He watched his hands extract the brain from the container and hold it up at eye level. Immense pain wracked his mind and he nearly fell over.
“What are you doing?”
I’m very sorry that you’ve developed a sense of identity within your short lifespan. Nathan Summers. I assume that this personification of personality came from Jean. Yes, that sounds like something she would instill in you. It’s a shame that in order for me to survive I’ll need to overwrite that personality.
“No! You’ll kill me!” Zero felt like his brain was splitting in two. “You can’t just download your mind into my body!”
Nathan…that is the very reason why you were created.
Zero screamed under the intense pressure that Xavier was putting him under. His entire world was on fire and her body was violently reacting to being detached from his own consciousness.
I’m truly sorry. But you are the Failsafe, a fresh body trained and ready to accept my psyche. When we merge I will be able to take the fight anew to Apocalypse. The Resistance is already crumbling, Nathan. Without firm leadership and a real chance at stopping Apocalypse’s tyranny, all will be lost.
“No! Not like this!”
You must stop fighting me! Open your mind!
A scuffle behind him. Zero heard footsteps and a gasp. Out of the corner of his eye he saw red hair and a black bodysuit. Natasha. She was here now; she could help him.
But she was just standing there. Zero pondered why she wouldn’t help him. Maybe she was stunned. Maybe she hadn’t expected to see that he was under assault. Maybe…
PAIN!
The backlash of pushing his powerful mind against Xavier’s was killing him. The realization struck him like a blow to the head. If he didn’t break away from the brain he clasped in his hands, or allow Xavier to take over his body, both of them would die. The struggle alone would kill them.
You must open your mind! Xavier’s brain was screaming at him. All will be lost! Look! Look at Adler’s prophecy and see for yourself!
“Zero?” Natasha said from behind them. She smelled of burnt flesh and molten plastic. “What are you doing? Put it back in the container! Now!”
And then Zero’s mind was filled with images from long ago. His psyche was peppered with splashes of a war not just between mutants, but of an entire humanity. Apocalypse, twenty feet tall, stomped down on cars and people alike. His Marauders obliterated entire neighborhoods in single afternoons. His Horsemen, now defeated, had once been his generals of destruction.
He saw Scott Summers, his genetic father, perish in battle. He saw Natasha and Jean, Mother, openly weeping at his side. He saw Pilot fearlessly throw back an entire alien battalion that had been recruited by Apocalypse. He saw Gomi, and Forge, and even Kitty Pryde, so full of life. He saw them fighting for their very existence.
At the helm of their plight was Charles Xavier, a fearless leader that led a suicide mission into Apocalypse’s tomb headquarters in Egypt. He witnessed the greatest champion of the human and mutant races engage in a last stand with the world-destroyer. He watched a fleeting moment of triumph when Apocalypse was brought down under the mercy of Xavier’s powerful mind.
He saw Apocalypse rise and snap Xavier’s neck.
…but then he also saw them as they could be. Another prophecy revealed to Xavier, showing his return. Xavier, seemingly risen from the grave, using a new body, could restore faith to the world. He could once more rise to challenge Apocalypse again. He could save thousands of lives, unite the planet, and begin to restore a decimated world.
He could win.
“Zero!” Natasha called out.
He dropped the brain. It fell to the floor with a splatter, lifeless as the now inert organ that it truly was. He fell to his knees, panting heavily. Natasha brushed by him, scrambling to pick up the brain, praying that she could somehow return it to its container before it was too late.
“What did you—how could you—why would—” she muttered as she tried to focus on accomplishing an impossible task. The slick brain, wet from the chemical bath that had kept it alive for so long, slipped from her fingers and fell to the cold floor again. She screeched and whirled around to confront the man who had, in her eyes, was responsible for extinguishing her last hope.
But she paused when she looked into the man’s eyes. The intense stare held her back and she found herself backpedaling. She couldn’t bring herself to confront this man, who now looked like someone else entirely.
“Zero?” she quietly asked.
“No,” he responded as he stood upright. “Not anymore.”
“But…how?”
The man took in a deep breath, relishing the sweet taste of air, as stale as it was in this vault of a room. Finally, he said, “Nathan Summers is here. I can feel him at the back of my mind, but in a few moments his memories will be absorbed into my own as the astral exchange is complete. We will merge, one body and one soul…if such a thing existed within him.”
“…Charles?” Natasha asked.
He nodded. “Thanks to a heroic sacrifice, I’ve returned.”
A blazing aura of psionic power erupted from his body to encapsulate him, raising him from the floor. Xavier threw his head back, excited by the ability to feel physical form again. “What power!” he said. “His telepathy and psionic abilities were astounding! Combined with my own I will finally be stronger than Apocalypse!”
He lowered to the ground again and looked at Natasha, who was still cowering in disbelief and fear. “Come,” he said. “We have work to do.”
END
Author’s Notes: This story was originally meant to be an ongoing series for Tom Moses’ shared site, Epic, which would have been an imprint for Altered Visions (a site Doug Bookey used to run, which seems to have died off in recent years). With Tom never getting around to actually launching Epic, the first two issues of Agent Zero just sat on my computer for years. Then I decided to just post them at M2K and wrap it up in three issues. Given that you’ve just read #4, obviously that didn’t happen. This took me so long to finish off because I didn’t know how to cram ideas from an entire series into what essentially became a miniseries. At one point Zero was going to confront Apocalypse directly, then it became an Apocalypse-possessed Scott Summers, and then it became Xavier. I figured to finally just turn the tables on my main character completely and just kill off Zero (sort of). I think it worked out okay, and hopefully you enjoyed the outcome!
-D. Golightly
“There is no time, Failsafe! As Agent Zero you alone are now responsible for carrying out the prime directive. Please, abscond from this facility and carry out your orders.”
That’s what the bizarre floating robot had said to him. HERB had proven to be less helpful than intended, though, by ushering Nathan Summers into a life he wasn’t yet prepared to handle. Freshly awoken in a world of chaos, Agent Zero now found himself boarding a hover-copter with two women that were armed to the teeth.
Oddly enough, he didn’t think there was any cause for alarm. After having met Mother, the de facto leader of the Resistance, much of the wool that had lain over his eyes was now removed. Despite the fact that he had only been self-aware for less than twelve hours, Nathan was beginning to understand how the world worked and what his place in it was.
The Failsafe.
That’s what they called him. It meant he was their last resort. He didn’t know the details of what plans had previously resulted in total failure while trying to topple Apocalypse, but he believed that this Resistance had attempted everything they could. He had seen the hall of the fallen warriors. This group, this ragtag family of fighters, had come face to face with very real loss.
“Your aircraft is fully operational and ready to propel you to your target position,” the hovering eyeball robot, HERB, stated from outside the copter. The whirling turbines atop the vehicle nearly drowned it out. “Please make sure to—”
“HERB, you worthless piece of junk,” Natasha shouted. “If you tell us to buckle our safety belts I’m going to have Forge melt you down for parts.”
While the floating red eyeball did not have an iris to shutter closed, it still seemed like it was blinking as a deflection of Natasha’s comment. Its red light dimmed slightly before saying, “Have a safe trip, please!”
HERB turned and slipped into a pneumatic tube a few dozen feet away from the heliport, vanishing down into the mammoth structure beneath them. Several dozen floors above ground level, the general chaos of whatever city this area used to be called almost seemed like a memory. The occasional shelling served as a reminder to their location.
“Shouldn’t we bring HERB with us?” Shadowcat asked as she casually checked that her automatic pistol was loaded. “What if we need to hack into something?”
“Do you really want that thing hovering over your shoulder like a babysitter?” Natasha shot back. She turned to Nathan and motioned with her head to the rear of the copter. “Zero, come with me.”
As he stepped away from the copter’s entry hatch, it slid shut and sealed them away inside the man-made beast. The whirring of the overhead turbines was quieter somehow, but he still felt the vibrations running throughout the aircraft.
Natasha led him to the rear of the central cabin and tapped the console embedded into the wall. Several shelves were revealed as the wall opened and he was suddenly standing in front of a miniature arsenal. Combat rifles, knives, grenades, and shaped charges were just a few of the trinkets presented to him.
“I assume you know how to work these?” Natasha asked.
Nathan picked up a fully automatic rifle with a cut down suppressor, flicking back the firing pin as he did so. He looked down the sight line over the barrel, and seemingly pleased, snatched a clip of ammunition from the shelf and slapped it into place. He smoothly slid the armed rifle over his shoulder, where it adhered to his outfit diagonally across his back.
Natasha motioned to his right hip. “You hanging onto that?”
He glanced down at the weapon he had taken with him only hours ago from the same facility he had awoken in. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
“No. I just like to have a firm grasp of what my unit has access to.”
He nodded. “You’re a good leader.”
“Not as good as Scott was.”
“Scott,” Nathan repeated. “That visor you showed me. That was his?”
“Yes. Scott could rally people under him like no one else I’ve ever seen. The day we lost him was…”
He heard a sniff from behind him and turned to see Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, doing her best to look like she wasn’t about to cry. “He meant a lot to your Resistance,” Nathan stated.
“Scott was responsible for keeping most of us safe during several Marauder raids,” Shadowcat responded without looking up. “He was a hero.”
“He was also what most of us were betting on to end this living nightmare,” Natasha added. “Until we found you.”
“So I’ve been told. But here’s what I don’t understand. If I’m the Failsafe, the last chance you have of taking this Apocalypse guy down, why do we need to go after this special weapon?”
“It’s more than just a weapon” Natasha said. “The first thing that you need to understand about Apocalypse is that he’s unkillable.”
“You mean immortal.”
Natasha shook her head. “Not quite the same thing. Apocalypse can be killed; we just don’t know how yet. Charles Xavier came the closest to killing Apocalypse when he put him into a coma about ten years ago.”
“Why didn’t he finish the job?” Zero asked.
“He tried. Apocalypse woke up out of the coma after only being out for a minute, and snapped Xavier’s neck.”
Zero’s eyes widened.
Natasha led Zero back to the helm of the cabin. “So…now we need you,” she said. “We don’t have anyone else in the Resistance who can operate the weapon.”
“And that weapon is…”
“Xavier’s brain,” Shadowcat responded without taking her eyes away from the navigation controls.
“He’s still alive?” Zero questioned. “That doesn’t make any sense. I thought you said—”
“Apocalypse snapped Xavier’s neck, yes,” Natasha said. She paused, glancing toward Shadowcat. “Take us down there. Get as low are you can. I don’t want anyone picking us up too early.”
“I know, I know,” Shadowcat replied. “Just get him up to speed. I’ll take care of getting us there.”
The copter went down low, mixing itself amongst the ruined towers of a forgotten city. Zero wondered if this place had been ravaged by Avalanche and his Marauders, too, or if this area was just another part of a long war he was bred into.
He heard what sounded like either small explosives or shelling on the far side of whatever city this used to be. He couldn’t tell the difference and he wasn’t sure that he needed to know, because from what he understood they needed to get back underground again. That was where all of this had started for him, and it was likely that this is where it would all end.
“Are you listening?” Natasha asked. She slapped a magazine into an obnoxiously huge rifle. “We don’t have time to go through this more than once.”
“What’s with the short timetable?” Zero asked. “You’ve been fighting for…how long? You don’t have another day to make sure we plan this right?”
“Everything has been planned, Nathan,” she shot back. “We were just waiting for you to show up. Look, just follow my lead when we get in there. I’ll get you to Xavier and then your programming should take over from there.”
“That still doesn’t answer—”
Another explosion, this one much closer, caused Shadowcat to bank hard to the right. Zero slipped and Natasha caught him by the arm to help steady him again. She avoided Zero’s eyes and jumped back into the cockpit.
“Cat!” she shouted. “What’s—”
“Marauders are in front of the Baxter Building!” Kitty responded. “You said they would be occupied!”
“I said that Pilot and Gomi would keep them busy for us. If Avalanche is here then…then they’re down. We are way passed the point of no return. Just get us in close and we’ll make the jump.”
Zero thrust his head into the cockpit. “Shouldn’t we—”
“Connect your line!” Natasha ordered as she got up. “We’re jumping. Cat, you know what to do.”
“Oh, I’ve been waiting for this, boss.”
Following Natasha’s lead, Zero slapped a carabiner with a long zip cord attached to it to a hook just above the side hatch. He slapped the other end onto his belt. Natasha ripped open the hatch and a fury of wind assaulted the inside of the copter. In response Zero pulled his facemask back down, protecting him from the harsh maelstrom.
One quick glance over her shoulder offered Kitty a chance to trade glances with them, and then they were gone. Natasha plummeted out of the copter, her zip line spooling out an incredible length of tether that seemed like it would never end. Zero tossed himself out of the side hatch without hesitation, trusting in his equipment and Natasha’s leadership.
The freefall lasted for an eternity. He watched as Natasha’s body finally snapped back just a few feet from the ground, her cord stretched and still pliable enough to break her fall, lest her spine take the brunt of the sudden stop. A split-second later, Zero felt the pull at his own waist and was surprised at how little he actually felt jerked around like a marionette. The sudden yank of the cord still attached to the copter’s cabin was braced by the harness he wore, and after one quick bounce and smacked the carabiner loose and fell to his feet.
In an instant he was in a crouch, his rifle drawn off of his back. He swept the general area through the sight and then was off seeking cover, Natasha beside him. Gunfire rattled nearby, but they ignored it, racing over the rubble toward what had once been the Baxter Building.
Natasha took cover behind one of the main pillars just in front of the building’s entrance. Zero took up residence in a juxtaposing pillar that had been cut down by the area’s turmoil. He followed Natasha’s anxious gaze up to the copter, where he saw Kitty piloting the craft around in a loop to come back toward the Baxter Building.
“What is she—”
Natasha waved him off, focusing on the copter. “C’mon…” he heard her mutter.
Atop the remnants of a building across the street from the Baxter Building Zero watched a man perch himself on the edge of the roof. His white and grey uniform was in much better condition than his surroundings, suggesting he was either a newcomer, or more likely, the one who had caused the destruction in the first place.
The copter whirled around and headed straight for the corner of the building the man in white was standing atop. Zero saw his face grimace as he extended his arms and a wave of nearly invisible power pulsed outward. The air rippled in waves heading toward the copter, but to no effect.
“His shockwave powers won’t do much to something that’s not grounded,” Natasha said. “It may mess with her systems a bit, but her trajectory is already set.”
Zero watched as Kitty maintained course. The copter was headed dead center for where the man stood. The closer it came, and the less it was affected by his mutant abilities, the more he screamed.
He screamed right up until the moment the aircraft slammed into the rooftop.
A deafening explosion rattled the streets below and Zero watched in shock as the helicopter fell apart from the impact, breaking up into pieces like a child’s toy that had accidentally been stepped on. The corner of the roof had been obliterated, and Avalanche was gone, likely crushed beneath several tons of steel.
“Come on!” Natasha roared.
Zero pulled himself back into focus, ripping his eyes away from the sight of sacrifice. Gunfire seemed like it was coming from nowhere, but everywhere. He felt an exertion even though he wasn’t breathing heavy yet. Almost like his senses had left him, he ran after Natasha, barely paying attention to his surroundings, as if he were on autopilot and someone else was guiding his body through the hostile territory.
Natasha tossed two concussion grenades at the cargo bay entrance to the Baxter Building. The explosion ripped off the already bruised and beaten door, allowing them access. Once inside, Natasha ducked down and placed her back against the wall, watching to make sure that Zero did the same.
“You okay?” she asked between breathes.
He nodded.
“It’s okay if you’re not,” she continued. “You were pretty much just born yesterday.”
“Let’s just get this done with.”
Natasha pressed her lips together firmly and stood up, leaving behind any semblance of empathy. She ran deeper into the building, through the massive warehouse-like chamber where the owners had once taking in deliveries of large equipment, supplies, and other things. Zero kept pace behind her, relying on his implanted training to keep him aware of any oncoming threats.
They didn’t have to wait long. Security robots roughly of the same design as HERB, only with rail-thin pikes jutting down from their floating heads, whisked into their path. The red eyes glowed hot red and began peppering them with blaster fire.
Instinctively, Agent Zero ripped the sidearm free of restraint and returned fire expertly. Two shots slammed into the two closest droids, hitting them dead center in their glowing eyes, making them explode.
Natasha tucked herself into a ball and somersaulted for cover. Her wristbands, gold and sparking with electricity, ignited as she then leapt up between bursts of enemy fire. With a stunning display of acrobatics that carried her from safety into danger, she flipped and cartwheeled between two more of the hovering droids. Electricity lashed out from her wristbands and the droids fell to the floor, dormant.
Three more droids dropped down behind her and Zero abruptly stood up and raised his arm toward them. With instinctual knowledge that had been programmed into him by Mother, he unleashed a telekinetic wave of pure force that slammed the droids back against the wall. When he released them from his invisible grip, they were battered and broken, their eyes dimming.
He breathed heavily even though he hadn’t exerted that much effort. He looked at his hand, amazed. Natasha quickly snapped him out of his funk with a shout to follow her deeper into the complex.
The Baxter Building seemed like it could have housed an endless array of technologies. They shot by room after room, floor after floor of what seemed like dozens of laboratories, storage areas, and research hubs. Most of the building was as lifeless as the droids that occasionally sauntered forward to halt their progress, but were ultimately doomed.
It wasn’t until they hit the seventh floor that they encountered more serious opposition. A huge door slid back after Natasha had smashed open the control panel, revealing a thin blonde man in a tight red suit. He winked at them just before he ignited a twin pair of flame throwers mounted on each wrist.
“Damn!” Natasha said as she tackled Zero just in time to avoid being singed by the intense flames.
“You know him?” Zero asked. He watched overheard as the flames danced upward to the height of the tall ceiling and amazingly condensed into different shapes. The waves of heat and fire swirled until they settled into the shape of a towering dragon, its wingspan covering the width of the room.
“You could say that,” Natasha muttered. “I’m going to distract him while you get into the next chamber.”
“Are we close to the weapon?”
Natasha nodded. “I think so. Just keep moving. When you get there your programming will take over. Now move!”
Nastasha went left as Zero went right a second later. Natasha’s early movement proved enough to capture the attention of their assailant, who released a burst of controlled flame that Zero could feel on his back as he ran. The flames tracked Zero for a moment, but a few pops from Natasha’s weapon drew all of the attention to her.
Ducking into the next chamber, Zero continued running at top speed. The long corridor led him to the heart of the complex, although aside from a general sense of direction telling him that he was pointing toward the East, he was completely lost.
Then he felt it. A pull. Something tugging at his consciousness. He stopped short of entering the next chamber and instead looked at a door embedded in the wall that he hadn’t particularly noticed before. A huge combination lock was at the center of the door, a dial larger than his fist.
Kneeling down, he could see that there were several hundred characters on the dial, none of them written in English. In fact, the symbols didn’t seem to be numerical at all.
Let me in.
Zero jumped back, automatically raising mental barriers to keep out whatever had just invaded his mind. It was similar to how he felt when meeting Mother, but something more pervasive. More forceful.
Had that thought projection come from the other side of this door? He couldn’t help but wonder, and he knew that ultimately this was the reason he had been brought here. The Failsafe. Natasha’s sense of urgency. He felt that same sense again, pushing him. Ushering him.
He slowly knelt down again and lowered his guard, allowing his mind to freely absorb any wayward thought. As soon as his defenses were down he was hit by the forceful voice again.
Let me in.
“Who are you?” Zero asked.
Let me guide your hand and bring you to me. You will understand then, and only then.
Looking down, Zero saw that his left hand was on the dial. He didn’t recall placing his hand there. Slowly, he watched as someone other than him commanded his wrist to turn the dial to the right.
Yesssss…
Even though it was against his better judgement, Zero allowed the mental passenger to keep turning the dial. After it paused at specific characters four times, he heard a loud metal cylinder inside the thick door slide out of the way. The door opened and a dark blue light shown from within.
Richards was brilliant, the voice told him. But even his sprawling intellect did little to save him against Apocalypse.
Zero stood, saying, “Who are you?”
I’m the very person you were created to save. A long time ago a friend of mine predicted my death at the hands of Apocalypse. I knew that the inevitable would claim me, so I put into motion subliminal controls amongst the Resistance to create you and bring you to me.
Zero stepped into the room, now bathing in the blue light. In the center of the room was a large prism; the source of the light. While the door suggested that this room was some type of prison or vault, the interior looked more like a waystation. Various tubes and wires lined the floor, all feeding into the prism.
When he was just a few feet away, the prism opened, revealing a transparent container filled with viscous fluid. Within that fluid was suspended the very thing that Natasha had told him he was there to capture for the Resistance: a human brain.
Not human, the voice said to him. Mutant. This brain is unlike any other on Earth. I should know. It’s mine.
“You’re—”
Charles Xavier. Some called me Professor, once upon a time. Jean seemed to like calling me that, anyway.
Zero looked blankly at the brain floating in the jar of fluid, somehow kept alive by the various cables and whatnot that were connected to the prism. When Charles Xavier’s thoughts briefly focused on Jean, images of Mother filled his mind. Finally, he said, “Jean. She created me.”
Indeed. Decades ago, a woman named Irene Adler told me my destiny. Her mutant ability allowed her to see segments of the future. Then, she uncovered my own death at the hands of Apocalypse. Knowing that should I be allowed to perish that all mankind would be doomed, I placed subliminal programming into select Resistance members. Jean used her genetic material, along with Scott Summers’, to create you. She mentally programmed you herself. You were intended to be the perfect weapon with focused mental powers should I fall.
“A failsafe.”
He couldn’t be sure, but he sensed Xavier smirking within the mindscape. Quite. That term became a moniker for you it seems. After I was killed, Reed Richards recovered my body and brought me here, to the Baxter Building, for safekeeping. My body died, but my brain lived on, as you can see.
“But I was lost somehow.”
Yes. Apocalypse’s forces tried to destroy Resistance facilities. I can see from your own memories that your complex was buried beneath rubble. I estimate that you were lost for something around five years.
“Your brain has been trapped here for five years?”
It feels ten times that. But now we can finally join together and bring an end to Apocalypse.
Without realizing it, Zero had disconnected all of the cables that were plugged into the prism. The transparent cage that held Xavier’s brain was in his hands, wrenched free from the prism and spilling its fluid all over his feet. He had been so caught up in Xavier’s explanation that he didn’t even realize that his body was still being controlled.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Zero said, but Xavier kept his feet motionless. Zero tugged but could not psychically move his own body. “What are you doing? We need to get out of here. We have to get Natasha and get back to the Resistance.”
Unfortunately, I won’t survive that journey. We need to activate your primary programming immediately.
Zero could feel Xavier pulling at his mind. He watched his hands extract the brain from the container and hold it up at eye level. Immense pain wracked his mind and he nearly fell over.
“What are you doing?”
I’m very sorry that you’ve developed a sense of identity within your short lifespan. Nathan Summers. I assume that this personification of personality came from Jean. Yes, that sounds like something she would instill in you. It’s a shame that in order for me to survive I’ll need to overwrite that personality.
“No! You’ll kill me!” Zero felt like his brain was splitting in two. “You can’t just download your mind into my body!”
Nathan…that is the very reason why you were created.
Zero screamed under the intense pressure that Xavier was putting him under. His entire world was on fire and her body was violently reacting to being detached from his own consciousness.
I’m truly sorry. But you are the Failsafe, a fresh body trained and ready to accept my psyche. When we merge I will be able to take the fight anew to Apocalypse. The Resistance is already crumbling, Nathan. Without firm leadership and a real chance at stopping Apocalypse’s tyranny, all will be lost.
“No! Not like this!”
You must stop fighting me! Open your mind!
A scuffle behind him. Zero heard footsteps and a gasp. Out of the corner of his eye he saw red hair and a black bodysuit. Natasha. She was here now; she could help him.
But she was just standing there. Zero pondered why she wouldn’t help him. Maybe she was stunned. Maybe she hadn’t expected to see that he was under assault. Maybe…
PAIN!
The backlash of pushing his powerful mind against Xavier’s was killing him. The realization struck him like a blow to the head. If he didn’t break away from the brain he clasped in his hands, or allow Xavier to take over his body, both of them would die. The struggle alone would kill them.
You must open your mind! Xavier’s brain was screaming at him. All will be lost! Look! Look at Adler’s prophecy and see for yourself!
“Zero?” Natasha said from behind them. She smelled of burnt flesh and molten plastic. “What are you doing? Put it back in the container! Now!”
And then Zero’s mind was filled with images from long ago. His psyche was peppered with splashes of a war not just between mutants, but of an entire humanity. Apocalypse, twenty feet tall, stomped down on cars and people alike. His Marauders obliterated entire neighborhoods in single afternoons. His Horsemen, now defeated, had once been his generals of destruction.
He saw Scott Summers, his genetic father, perish in battle. He saw Natasha and Jean, Mother, openly weeping at his side. He saw Pilot fearlessly throw back an entire alien battalion that had been recruited by Apocalypse. He saw Gomi, and Forge, and even Kitty Pryde, so full of life. He saw them fighting for their very existence.
At the helm of their plight was Charles Xavier, a fearless leader that led a suicide mission into Apocalypse’s tomb headquarters in Egypt. He witnessed the greatest champion of the human and mutant races engage in a last stand with the world-destroyer. He watched a fleeting moment of triumph when Apocalypse was brought down under the mercy of Xavier’s powerful mind.
He saw Apocalypse rise and snap Xavier’s neck.
…but then he also saw them as they could be. Another prophecy revealed to Xavier, showing his return. Xavier, seemingly risen from the grave, using a new body, could restore faith to the world. He could once more rise to challenge Apocalypse again. He could save thousands of lives, unite the planet, and begin to restore a decimated world.
He could win.
“Zero!” Natasha called out.
He dropped the brain. It fell to the floor with a splatter, lifeless as the now inert organ that it truly was. He fell to his knees, panting heavily. Natasha brushed by him, scrambling to pick up the brain, praying that she could somehow return it to its container before it was too late.
“What did you—how could you—why would—” she muttered as she tried to focus on accomplishing an impossible task. The slick brain, wet from the chemical bath that had kept it alive for so long, slipped from her fingers and fell to the cold floor again. She screeched and whirled around to confront the man who had, in her eyes, was responsible for extinguishing her last hope.
But she paused when she looked into the man’s eyes. The intense stare held her back and she found herself backpedaling. She couldn’t bring herself to confront this man, who now looked like someone else entirely.
“Zero?” she quietly asked.
“No,” he responded as he stood upright. “Not anymore.”
“But…how?”
The man took in a deep breath, relishing the sweet taste of air, as stale as it was in this vault of a room. Finally, he said, “Nathan Summers is here. I can feel him at the back of my mind, but in a few moments his memories will be absorbed into my own as the astral exchange is complete. We will merge, one body and one soul…if such a thing existed within him.”
“…Charles?” Natasha asked.
He nodded. “Thanks to a heroic sacrifice, I’ve returned.”
A blazing aura of psionic power erupted from his body to encapsulate him, raising him from the floor. Xavier threw his head back, excited by the ability to feel physical form again. “What power!” he said. “His telepathy and psionic abilities were astounding! Combined with my own I will finally be stronger than Apocalypse!”
He lowered to the ground again and looked at Natasha, who was still cowering in disbelief and fear. “Come,” he said. “We have work to do.”
END
Author’s Notes: This story was originally meant to be an ongoing series for Tom Moses’ shared site, Epic, which would have been an imprint for Altered Visions (a site Doug Bookey used to run, which seems to have died off in recent years). With Tom never getting around to actually launching Epic, the first two issues of Agent Zero just sat on my computer for years. Then I decided to just post them at M2K and wrap it up in three issues. Given that you’ve just read #4, obviously that didn’t happen. This took me so long to finish off because I didn’t know how to cram ideas from an entire series into what essentially became a miniseries. At one point Zero was going to confront Apocalypse directly, then it became an Apocalypse-possessed Scott Summers, and then it became Xavier. I figured to finally just turn the tables on my main character completely and just kill off Zero (sort of). I think it worked out okay, and hopefully you enjoyed the outcome!
-D. Golightly