Issue #35 (Vol. 2) by Daniel Ingram
February 2018
February 2018
“Siege of Law - Finale”
Dr. Jaeger’s island
Lady Deathstrike had no words to express the amount of pain, anger and heart ache she felt, when she watched the cooler that contained the secrets of Dr. Jaeger begin to smoke and burn.
Dr. Jaeger had promised to return her humanity. Return her beating heart, her true hair, to make steel flesh.
And all of that was going up in flames.
“Kill. Them. All,” said Lady Deathstrike.
Kamau knew that Lady Deathstrike spoke for every criminal present. Griffin, Klaw, Tiger Shark and the U-Foes were consumed with a rage that went far beyond bloodlust.
Klaw unleashed a burst of pure sonic energy as IronClad and Griffin threw themselves against the force field, the only thing that kept Excalibur from being overwhelmed. Two attacks was all it needed to bring the force field to the edge of failing, and they had just begun.
“What did you do?” Kamau grabbed Junta by the shoulder.
“Nothing, I swear!”
Junta sounded convincing, but then, Kamau observed, he always did.
The island shook, and the members of Excalibur watched as the force field sputtered and died, with little fanfare.
“Warn the others,” Kamau released Junta, and summoned his diamond blades to his hands, “I’ll hold them off. Go!”
“Going!” Junta took off in a dead run, his gravity powers allowing him to run almost as quick as the wind itself.
“Step aside, or we bury you, boy,” said Klaw.
“Never,” Kamau replied, “but something you should all know. You may know I’m a geo-morph, Klaw, but what you don’t know is that the longer I’m in one area, the stronger my control.”
Klaw’s rage turned to fear as a fist made entirely of earth tore out of the ground and slammed into his chest.
“So tell me…”
Kamau looked at the remaining criminals, few brave enough to meet his gaze.
“Who do you think is really going to be buried here?”
# # # # #
United Nations building
Persona Grata grabbed the side of her head in shock. The digital information was transmitted to her brain almost instantly, but once the implications hit her computer mind, she still had to do a double take.
“Chapman, the force field is down,” Persona Grata said, “the villains are on the move!”
Chapman paled, “You have got to be kidding me! We can’t move in, the judge denied our warrant!”
“Who gives a damn about our warrant?” Persona Grata spat, “our friends lives are at stake!”
“More than just their lives are at stake,” Chapman said, “we could save hundreds, thousands if we do this right!”
“We have to save our friends!” Persona Grata said, “that needs to be our priority!”
“We…,” Chapman felt a surge of brilliance. He smiled like a shark, “yes, yes you’re exactly right.”
# # # # #
“Crap crap crap!” Cybermancer ran a quick check of her armor’s system. A fight was unavoidable now, and she didn’t want to be caught waiting for her weapons system to be booting up, “defenses are down, people!”
“I believe I should say goodbye,” said Dr. Jaeger, a look of smug satisfaction etched on his face, “my defenses are down, and your man can only hold them off for so long.”
“You make a compelling argument for killing you,” Sabra observed clinically.
Dr. Jaeger simply smirked, “Would you kill a helpless, unarmed man?”
“How many bomb makers do you think asked me the exact same thing over the years?” said Sabra, “and how many do you think are still with us?”
Dr. Jaeger still smiled, but said nothing.
“We have to move fast, Kamau won’t be able to hold them long,” Sabra said, “Chapman will send reinforcements, but we have to buy them time to get here.”
“No shit,” said Shiva.
“We have to bottle neck the attackers,” Sabra said, “Cybermancer, stay with Rock. Everyone else, come on!”
“Good luck,” said Batroc, “this eez, not my fight.”
“Frenchman runs,” said Commando, “shocking.”
“He bought us time,” Sabra said. She nodded towards Batroc, “assuming we make it out, we won’t forget this favor.”
“That’s a pretty big ‘if’,” observed Shiva.
“Yeah it is,” Commando said with a smirk, “so lets go find out.”
# # # # #
New York
“Everyone, get to the Resolute now!” Chapman ordered, “double time, we are moving, people!”
“Finally!” Hellios said.
“The helicarrier?” Darkstar said, “we have a dozen aircraft that are faster. I can teleport and Hellios can fly, why don’t…”
“Because we can’t divide ourselves now,” Chapman said.
“Our warrant was denied,” Guishen said.
“That’s correct, mate.”
“And we are still deploying?”
“Got it in two,” Chapman said, “just trust me.”
“I’ve always found that people who say that, shouldn’t be,” Darkstar observed with a shake of her head.
# # # # #
South America
The man who claimed the title of Minister Blood looked at his fellow vampires, a look of sorrow on his face.
“I’ve met with the government, and the news isn’t good, my brothers,” he said to his fellow vampires, “they say that the loggers have the right to our lands.”
“How can they say that?” said Peter Smith. He had been alive some five hundred years now, and had never heard anything so ridiculous, “we were here before the government! How is this not our land?”
“Because they say it is not,” Minister Blood said, with a heavy heart.
“I know we all came here for peace, to change our lives,” said Saul Knight, “but that does not mean we don’t have the right to defend that which is ours.”
“I don’t disagree,” Minister Blood said, “put there are practical matters to concern ourselves with. Outside of our haven, the sun is as deadly as ever. And our numbers are only in the hundreds, but the soldiers are in the thousands. We would never win.”
“We do have one trump card,” said Betsy Willis, “the tomb.”
Minister Blood swore he could hear his heart pounding, even though it hadn’t beat in centuries.
“No,” he hissed, “we cannot.”
“If not the tomb, then what other weapon do we have?” asked Saul Knight, “this is our home, our land!”
“What other choice do we have?”
# # # # #
Kamau raised a wall of solid stone effortlessly, but Griffin, Ironclad and Tiger Shark went through it as if it were made of paper.
“I’ll tear you into meat chunks!” Griffin spat.
Kamau said nothing, but instead willed a blast of sand from the beach itself to smash into the winged villain.
It bought him a precious three seconds, before Lady Deathstrike, moving with the speed of a jungle cat and finger blades that could cut through anything, lunged at Kamau. He dodged backwards barely in time, and hissed as the Cyborg created four deep gouges in his chest.
“Impressive,” Kamau acknowledged, as he willed his flesh back together, “but not enough.”
“Had I the time, I would split you in two,” said Lady Deathstrike, “but I’ll do that another time. Tiger Shark, deal with this fool.”
Kamau braced himself, but Tiger Shark slammed into him like a freight train.
“Come on,” Lady Deathstrike nodded towards the remaining villains, “we need to find Dr. Jaeger and leave before anyone else tries to rescue these fools.”
Lady Deathstrike flexed her blades.
“Kill anyone who stands in our way.”
# # # # #
Trained instincts brought the internationally feared killer known as Mr. X back to full consciousness as the room around him shook.
It still took him a moment to find his bearings. Zip tied and shoved in a closest, Mr. X scoffed. He couldn’t believe Excalibur had been so careless.
“A pack of lucky amateurs,” Mr. X muttered to himself as he freed his hands. The scratches on his stomach were beginning to smart, a painful reminder of Silverclaw’s victory and one made all the more all the more painful by how easily it came about.
By the time Mr. X had freed himself, he was in a killing mood.
“Excuse me,” Batroc said, as he skulked by.
Mr. X, by most measures, wasn’t a terribly strong telepath. He had long since focused his talent in a narrow, specific manner, meant largely for combat and his own gratification.
But he wasn’t blind, either.
“You were helping them,” Mr. X growled, as he grabbed Batroc by the collar.
The French merc opened his mouth to defend himself, but before a word could pass, Mr. X smashed his fist into Batroc’s jaw, knocking the Savate master on his ass.
“Get up, frog,” Mr. X cracked his knuckles, “because I’m in the mood to beat someone to death.”
# # # # #
Being of equally unsound mind and similar abilities, Shiva and Vapor both came upon the same plan, using their gaseous form to subdue their enemies.
The two met in midair, and what happened next would have baffled anyone without several PHD. The immune systems of the two villains, in their gas form, each rejected the other.
The sensation forced both back to human form.
Vapor fell unconscious, while Shiva was forced back to her human form, which luckily, had no shortage of weapons.
“Heroes never take the easy path,” Lady Deathstrike observed as she strolled towards Shiva, her claws shimmering.
“I’m no hero,” Shiva gripped her hook swords, “you’ll learn as much.”
The two killers lunged for one another.
# # # # #
Cybermancer saw Ironclad barreling towards her, and in her head ran through her tactical options.
Her armor wasn’t in the same league as Iron Man’s, and that was the sort of power she needed just to stand a chance in a straight up fight.
So Suzi decided against a straight fight, and instead decided to cheat.
She made her weapon selection and flew straight at the giant villain.
“One crushed can, coming up,” Ironclad said as he pulled his fist back.
“Smile,” Cybermancer activated a focused flair at Ironclad, and the villain shouted as his retinas burned.
Cybermancer slipped behind Ironclad as the giant slab of steel tried to clear his eyes, and wrapped one arm around his giant neck, and aimed her other gauntlet at the side of his head.
“Dunno what you think you’re doing,” Ironclad blinked the spots from his eyes, “but I’ll crack you like a lobster, and…”
“Hey, listen.”
Cybermancer activated the sonics in her wrist gauntlet.
Ironclad’s metal body absorbed them like a sponge absorbed water, and the agonizing shock knocked him unconscious almost instantly.
“Whew, can’t believe that worked.”
“Sonics?”
Cybermancer felt something smash into her from behind, pitching her into the metal walls of the facility.
“That is my domain,” said Klaw. He aimed his wrist blaster at Cybermancer’s fallen form, “allow me to show you their true power, as I strip the flesh from your bones.”
“Cybermancer,” Sabra stepped in front of her teammate, “stay down.”
Sabra opened her mouth, making sure not to clench her teeth as sonic energy smashed into her, and seemed to soak her body like water soaking a rag, at the same time as it smashed into her like a freight train.
Sabra swore she could feel her brain rattling, as she pushed forward against the sonic energy. It felt as if every cell in her body were on fire.
But Sabra was no stranger to pain. She dug her heels in, and allowed nothing to stop her as she made her way to Klaw.
“I am the master of sound,” Klaw snarled, as he poured more and more energy out of his blaster, “listen well, because you will never stop me!”
Sabra pushed forward one last step, and sank her fingers into the steel of Klaw’s blaster.
To her it felt like she was trying to grab the water of a firehose, and the pain was staggering. But she squeezed, and part of her savored the look on Klaw’s face.
“I’m sorry,”
All the sonic energy Klaw had been pouring at Sabra had bottle-necked, if only for a second, and Klaw found himself unable to make a sound as the processed energy smashed its way back into his energy matrix.
The effect was akin to pouring acid in one’s veins, as opposite and positive fought for dominance inside of Klaw. He passed out immediately.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Sabra!” Silverclaw shouted, “look out!”
“What?”
Griffin back-handed Sabra aside, sending her sailing through the air.
“I think she understand now,” Griffin said with a predatory grin.
“You bastard!”
Silverclaw shifted to her cat-form, and raced at Griffin, who snorted.
“I’m the biggest cat you’ll ever see,” Griffin said. He pulled his claws back, ready to disembowel Silverclaw.
“And the biggest target,” Silverclaw ducked under Griffin’s swipe without breaking stride, and ducked behind him. She leapt on his back, and sank her claws into his back.
“Arrgh!”
Griffin tried to reach for Silverclaw, but his tree-trunk like muscles made it impossible to reach over his shoulder
“Consider this a mouse and the lion reboot, jerk,” said Silverclaw.
She was under no illusions about the difference in power between her and Griffin, but she also knew that she didn’t have to win, per say. All she had to do was survive until reinforcements arrived.
If they arrived.
# # # # #
“We just want our humanity back!”
X-Ray directed a burst of energy at Cybermancer, where it smashed into a force field she barely managed to erect in time.
“Why are you trying to stop us?”
“Because of the victims this leaves behind,” Cybermancer replied.
“Then what’s one more?”
Vector reached out with his powers, and Cybermancer’s programmed defenses shunted all the power to her force fields, and it was barely enough.
Suzi blacked out for a second, and felt bits off her armor flying through the air. She didn’t feel being blasted backwards, but she wasn’t surprised when she realized that she was on her back, and could see a dozen alarms on her visor out of the corner of her eye.
“I’ve stripped the Hulk’s flesh down to the bone,” said Vector, “that was barely a love tap.”
Cybermancer then smiled, grinning like a child at Christmas.
“…why are you smiling?” Vector said.
“Because her ‘Hulk’,” said Hellios, “is standing right behind you.”
# # # # #
Shiva grunted as she landed on her back, a sharp pain spreading throughout her body.
But her training held fast, and Shiva crossed her swords in front of her face, blocking Lady Deathstrike’s blades, at least for the moment.
“You fight well,” Lady Deathstrike said. She pulled a hand back, ready to end this, “but not well enough.”
Blam!
Lady Deathstrike pulled her arm back, and stared at the bullet hole that was now in her wrist.
“You shot me in the back,” Lady Deathstrike said in disbelief.
“I have found it’s the safest way in which to shoot someone,” Guishen replied, “stand down, or I resume.”
Lady Deathstrike willed her right arm to extend, and swept it towards Guishen.
The Chinese Agent back-flipped over the attack effortlessly, but once he landed and raised is guns, Lady Deathstrike was already gone.
“About time you idiots got here,” Shiva said, “did you go for coffee first?”
“I never drink coffee before a fight,” Guishen replied.
# # # # #
Moments later
“Chapman, this is Scarlet Scarab,” the Egyption hero stood over an unconscious Griffin, “situation is contained. Send in the support staff, Silverclaw tells me that Rock has been severely wounded, among other injuries.”
“Understood, standby Scarab, help will be there in a moment.”
“God, I’m so glad to see you guys,” Silverclaw wrapped her arms around Scarab in a hug, “what the hell kept you guys?”
“Poorly written international law,” Scarlet Scarab replied, “we passed Kamau and Junta on our way in, but where’s Commando?”
“I scented him in the northeast section of the building,” Silverclaw said, “he must have heard us, do you think he’s been hurt?”
“My ears are burning,” Commando said casually over the radio, “why don’t you guys come join me? You’ll want to see this, trust me.”
# # # # #
Cybermancer slid her ruined gauntlet off her wrist, and handed it to the Excalibur technician next to her. Even though her armor was little more than scrap, it still required a delicate removal process that went no quicker regardless of the state of her armor.
“Think you’ll be able to salvage anything?” Junta said as he strolled towards her.
“Really?” Cybermancer wished she had enough undamaged systems to fry that look off Junta’s face, “does working in intelligence mean that you think no one else has any?”
“What makes you say that?” Junta sounded surprisingly sincere.
“You sabotaged those supplies that you gave the villains,” Cybermancer said, “it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Then you ran and hid.”
“I did run,” Junta said, “but not to hide. I went to grab this.”
Junta held up a gold cylinder, no bigger than a pen, marked with a radioactive warning.
“Run your scanners over this puppy,” Junta said, “and you’ll see why I went after this for a trump card.”
Cybermancer activated her scanners, and the information they supplied made her sick.
“Gamma irradiated nerve gas?” Cybermancer took a step back on simple reflex, “get that thing to an incinerator!”
“Wasn’t planning o holding onto it for secret Santa,” replied Junta, “but I needed it to bluff the guys who rushed the door.”
“You wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t pulled that stunt!”
“Rock is being treated by rusted medical professionals,” Junta countered, “tell me, if those supplies hadn’t been sabotaged, can you tell me for certain Chapman would have gotten here in time?”
# # # # #
When Scarlet Scarab and Silverclaw found Commando, he was leaning against the wall, blowing rings of smoke in the air as he smoked a Cuban cigar.
Needless to say, both heroes were a little confused.
“Commando, you made it seem there was an urgent matter,” Scarlet Scarab said, “what’s the matter?”
“That”, Commando nodded ahead, “I’d have felt selfish if I kept a fight like this to myself.”
Silverclaw and Scarlet Scarab looked down the hall, and saw Mr. X and Batroc, squaring off, and it had been apparent that the two had been fighting for some time.
Mr. X’s glasses had been shattered, the left side of his face was swollen, and he had purple bruises across his body, mixing with his tattoos.
The sleeve was torn on Batroc’s left arm.
“I can predict every move you make,” Mr. X aid, the left side of his mouth purple and black, “and I’ve studied a hundred different techniques. You can’t win.”
Batroc smiled, “A wise man once said, I do not fear the man who has practiced a thousand different kicks, I fear the man who has practiced the same kick a thousand times.”
Mr. X gritted his teeth.
“Now, I offered surrender…”
“Don’t take it!” Commando shouted.
“Your reply?”
Mr. X tried to lunge for Batroc, but the Frenchman saw it coming a mile.
He unleashed a kick at Mr. X’s head that the mutant sensed and brought his left arm up to defend himself.
Batroc’s foot smashed into Mr. X’s arm, and snapped back with lightning speed to hit Mr. X’s ribs then kidney.
Batroc then flipped to his right foot and lashed out with his left foot, pitching Mr. X backwards.
“I have fought ze Captain,” Batroc said, with a toothy smile, “you are not him.”
“I’m better!” Mr. X spat as he tried to charge again.
Batroc swung his right leg and hooked the back of Mr. X’s knee perfectly, bring him down. Batroc pulled his leg back in a blink and kicked out again, tearing the muscles in Mr. X’s knee.
“Argh!” Mr. X’s powers faltered as pain overwhelmed him.
“Now, zee coup,” Barroc said, “and zee grace.”
Mr. X felt as if three men were attacking at once, as a flurry of boots came crashing at him and when it was over, he felt forward limp and unconscious.
“Tell me you weren’t glad to see that,” Commando smirked.
# # # # #
Dr. Jaeger watched as the Excalibur medics lifted Union Jack onto a gurney, and hurried him away. He sighed, watching a small amount of leverage slip away, but then, he reflected, it didn’t much matter.
“You must be Dr. Jaeger,” Chapman stepped into the room, and helped Dr. Jaeger to his feet, “thank you for hosting my team.”
“It’s not as if I had much of a choice,” said Dr. Jaeger, “when will you be leaving? As I understand, your warrant was rescinded.”
“Amazing that you would know that,” Chapman said, “but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Oh?”
“Several of my agents are severely wounded,” Chapman said, “as per my charter, we can rescue them. That justifies my presence here. I can investigate my team being harmed, that allows me to detain you. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Dr. Jaeger growled underneath his breath.
“I’m going to keep my team here for a while,” Chapman said, “and whether you join us as a prisoner is up to you.”
“Why would I ever do that?” Dr. Jaeger said
“Because if we remain here and don’t take you prisoner, people will think you flipped,” Chapman said, “you’re not the only super scientist doctor out there. What do you think your patients would do, if they thought you betrayed them?”
Dr. Jaeger didn’t have the courage to meet Chapman’s eyes.
“You know, some idiots say that healthcare is a choice,” Chapman said, “that ignores the fact that the outcomes are pretty obvious, when you think about it.”
“So tell me, Doctor, what’s your choice?”
Next Issue: Excalibur finds themselves embroiled in a dispute with no good choices and worse weapons.
Lady Deathstrike had no words to express the amount of pain, anger and heart ache she felt, when she watched the cooler that contained the secrets of Dr. Jaeger begin to smoke and burn.
Dr. Jaeger had promised to return her humanity. Return her beating heart, her true hair, to make steel flesh.
And all of that was going up in flames.
“Kill. Them. All,” said Lady Deathstrike.
Kamau knew that Lady Deathstrike spoke for every criminal present. Griffin, Klaw, Tiger Shark and the U-Foes were consumed with a rage that went far beyond bloodlust.
Klaw unleashed a burst of pure sonic energy as IronClad and Griffin threw themselves against the force field, the only thing that kept Excalibur from being overwhelmed. Two attacks was all it needed to bring the force field to the edge of failing, and they had just begun.
“What did you do?” Kamau grabbed Junta by the shoulder.
“Nothing, I swear!”
Junta sounded convincing, but then, Kamau observed, he always did.
The island shook, and the members of Excalibur watched as the force field sputtered and died, with little fanfare.
“Warn the others,” Kamau released Junta, and summoned his diamond blades to his hands, “I’ll hold them off. Go!”
“Going!” Junta took off in a dead run, his gravity powers allowing him to run almost as quick as the wind itself.
“Step aside, or we bury you, boy,” said Klaw.
“Never,” Kamau replied, “but something you should all know. You may know I’m a geo-morph, Klaw, but what you don’t know is that the longer I’m in one area, the stronger my control.”
Klaw’s rage turned to fear as a fist made entirely of earth tore out of the ground and slammed into his chest.
“So tell me…”
Kamau looked at the remaining criminals, few brave enough to meet his gaze.
“Who do you think is really going to be buried here?”
# # # # #
United Nations building
Persona Grata grabbed the side of her head in shock. The digital information was transmitted to her brain almost instantly, but once the implications hit her computer mind, she still had to do a double take.
“Chapman, the force field is down,” Persona Grata said, “the villains are on the move!”
Chapman paled, “You have got to be kidding me! We can’t move in, the judge denied our warrant!”
“Who gives a damn about our warrant?” Persona Grata spat, “our friends lives are at stake!”
“More than just their lives are at stake,” Chapman said, “we could save hundreds, thousands if we do this right!”
“We have to save our friends!” Persona Grata said, “that needs to be our priority!”
“We…,” Chapman felt a surge of brilliance. He smiled like a shark, “yes, yes you’re exactly right.”
# # # # #
“Crap crap crap!” Cybermancer ran a quick check of her armor’s system. A fight was unavoidable now, and she didn’t want to be caught waiting for her weapons system to be booting up, “defenses are down, people!”
“I believe I should say goodbye,” said Dr. Jaeger, a look of smug satisfaction etched on his face, “my defenses are down, and your man can only hold them off for so long.”
“You make a compelling argument for killing you,” Sabra observed clinically.
Dr. Jaeger simply smirked, “Would you kill a helpless, unarmed man?”
“How many bomb makers do you think asked me the exact same thing over the years?” said Sabra, “and how many do you think are still with us?”
Dr. Jaeger still smiled, but said nothing.
“We have to move fast, Kamau won’t be able to hold them long,” Sabra said, “Chapman will send reinforcements, but we have to buy them time to get here.”
“No shit,” said Shiva.
“We have to bottle neck the attackers,” Sabra said, “Cybermancer, stay with Rock. Everyone else, come on!”
“Good luck,” said Batroc, “this eez, not my fight.”
“Frenchman runs,” said Commando, “shocking.”
“He bought us time,” Sabra said. She nodded towards Batroc, “assuming we make it out, we won’t forget this favor.”
“That’s a pretty big ‘if’,” observed Shiva.
“Yeah it is,” Commando said with a smirk, “so lets go find out.”
# # # # #
New York
“Everyone, get to the Resolute now!” Chapman ordered, “double time, we are moving, people!”
“Finally!” Hellios said.
“The helicarrier?” Darkstar said, “we have a dozen aircraft that are faster. I can teleport and Hellios can fly, why don’t…”
“Because we can’t divide ourselves now,” Chapman said.
“Our warrant was denied,” Guishen said.
“That’s correct, mate.”
“And we are still deploying?”
“Got it in two,” Chapman said, “just trust me.”
“I’ve always found that people who say that, shouldn’t be,” Darkstar observed with a shake of her head.
# # # # #
South America
The man who claimed the title of Minister Blood looked at his fellow vampires, a look of sorrow on his face.
“I’ve met with the government, and the news isn’t good, my brothers,” he said to his fellow vampires, “they say that the loggers have the right to our lands.”
“How can they say that?” said Peter Smith. He had been alive some five hundred years now, and had never heard anything so ridiculous, “we were here before the government! How is this not our land?”
“Because they say it is not,” Minister Blood said, with a heavy heart.
“I know we all came here for peace, to change our lives,” said Saul Knight, “but that does not mean we don’t have the right to defend that which is ours.”
“I don’t disagree,” Minister Blood said, “put there are practical matters to concern ourselves with. Outside of our haven, the sun is as deadly as ever. And our numbers are only in the hundreds, but the soldiers are in the thousands. We would never win.”
“We do have one trump card,” said Betsy Willis, “the tomb.”
Minister Blood swore he could hear his heart pounding, even though it hadn’t beat in centuries.
“No,” he hissed, “we cannot.”
“If not the tomb, then what other weapon do we have?” asked Saul Knight, “this is our home, our land!”
“What other choice do we have?”
# # # # #
Kamau raised a wall of solid stone effortlessly, but Griffin, Ironclad and Tiger Shark went through it as if it were made of paper.
“I’ll tear you into meat chunks!” Griffin spat.
Kamau said nothing, but instead willed a blast of sand from the beach itself to smash into the winged villain.
It bought him a precious three seconds, before Lady Deathstrike, moving with the speed of a jungle cat and finger blades that could cut through anything, lunged at Kamau. He dodged backwards barely in time, and hissed as the Cyborg created four deep gouges in his chest.
“Impressive,” Kamau acknowledged, as he willed his flesh back together, “but not enough.”
“Had I the time, I would split you in two,” said Lady Deathstrike, “but I’ll do that another time. Tiger Shark, deal with this fool.”
Kamau braced himself, but Tiger Shark slammed into him like a freight train.
“Come on,” Lady Deathstrike nodded towards the remaining villains, “we need to find Dr. Jaeger and leave before anyone else tries to rescue these fools.”
Lady Deathstrike flexed her blades.
“Kill anyone who stands in our way.”
# # # # #
Trained instincts brought the internationally feared killer known as Mr. X back to full consciousness as the room around him shook.
It still took him a moment to find his bearings. Zip tied and shoved in a closest, Mr. X scoffed. He couldn’t believe Excalibur had been so careless.
“A pack of lucky amateurs,” Mr. X muttered to himself as he freed his hands. The scratches on his stomach were beginning to smart, a painful reminder of Silverclaw’s victory and one made all the more all the more painful by how easily it came about.
By the time Mr. X had freed himself, he was in a killing mood.
“Excuse me,” Batroc said, as he skulked by.
Mr. X, by most measures, wasn’t a terribly strong telepath. He had long since focused his talent in a narrow, specific manner, meant largely for combat and his own gratification.
But he wasn’t blind, either.
“You were helping them,” Mr. X growled, as he grabbed Batroc by the collar.
The French merc opened his mouth to defend himself, but before a word could pass, Mr. X smashed his fist into Batroc’s jaw, knocking the Savate master on his ass.
“Get up, frog,” Mr. X cracked his knuckles, “because I’m in the mood to beat someone to death.”
# # # # #
Being of equally unsound mind and similar abilities, Shiva and Vapor both came upon the same plan, using their gaseous form to subdue their enemies.
The two met in midair, and what happened next would have baffled anyone without several PHD. The immune systems of the two villains, in their gas form, each rejected the other.
The sensation forced both back to human form.
Vapor fell unconscious, while Shiva was forced back to her human form, which luckily, had no shortage of weapons.
“Heroes never take the easy path,” Lady Deathstrike observed as she strolled towards Shiva, her claws shimmering.
“I’m no hero,” Shiva gripped her hook swords, “you’ll learn as much.”
The two killers lunged for one another.
# # # # #
Cybermancer saw Ironclad barreling towards her, and in her head ran through her tactical options.
Her armor wasn’t in the same league as Iron Man’s, and that was the sort of power she needed just to stand a chance in a straight up fight.
So Suzi decided against a straight fight, and instead decided to cheat.
She made her weapon selection and flew straight at the giant villain.
“One crushed can, coming up,” Ironclad said as he pulled his fist back.
“Smile,” Cybermancer activated a focused flair at Ironclad, and the villain shouted as his retinas burned.
Cybermancer slipped behind Ironclad as the giant slab of steel tried to clear his eyes, and wrapped one arm around his giant neck, and aimed her other gauntlet at the side of his head.
“Dunno what you think you’re doing,” Ironclad blinked the spots from his eyes, “but I’ll crack you like a lobster, and…”
“Hey, listen.”
Cybermancer activated the sonics in her wrist gauntlet.
Ironclad’s metal body absorbed them like a sponge absorbed water, and the agonizing shock knocked him unconscious almost instantly.
“Whew, can’t believe that worked.”
“Sonics?”
Cybermancer felt something smash into her from behind, pitching her into the metal walls of the facility.
“That is my domain,” said Klaw. He aimed his wrist blaster at Cybermancer’s fallen form, “allow me to show you their true power, as I strip the flesh from your bones.”
“Cybermancer,” Sabra stepped in front of her teammate, “stay down.”
Sabra opened her mouth, making sure not to clench her teeth as sonic energy smashed into her, and seemed to soak her body like water soaking a rag, at the same time as it smashed into her like a freight train.
Sabra swore she could feel her brain rattling, as she pushed forward against the sonic energy. It felt as if every cell in her body were on fire.
But Sabra was no stranger to pain. She dug her heels in, and allowed nothing to stop her as she made her way to Klaw.
“I am the master of sound,” Klaw snarled, as he poured more and more energy out of his blaster, “listen well, because you will never stop me!”
Sabra pushed forward one last step, and sank her fingers into the steel of Klaw’s blaster.
To her it felt like she was trying to grab the water of a firehose, and the pain was staggering. But she squeezed, and part of her savored the look on Klaw’s face.
“I’m sorry,”
All the sonic energy Klaw had been pouring at Sabra had bottle-necked, if only for a second, and Klaw found himself unable to make a sound as the processed energy smashed its way back into his energy matrix.
The effect was akin to pouring acid in one’s veins, as opposite and positive fought for dominance inside of Klaw. He passed out immediately.
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Sabra!” Silverclaw shouted, “look out!”
“What?”
Griffin back-handed Sabra aside, sending her sailing through the air.
“I think she understand now,” Griffin said with a predatory grin.
“You bastard!”
Silverclaw shifted to her cat-form, and raced at Griffin, who snorted.
“I’m the biggest cat you’ll ever see,” Griffin said. He pulled his claws back, ready to disembowel Silverclaw.
“And the biggest target,” Silverclaw ducked under Griffin’s swipe without breaking stride, and ducked behind him. She leapt on his back, and sank her claws into his back.
“Arrgh!”
Griffin tried to reach for Silverclaw, but his tree-trunk like muscles made it impossible to reach over his shoulder
“Consider this a mouse and the lion reboot, jerk,” said Silverclaw.
She was under no illusions about the difference in power between her and Griffin, but she also knew that she didn’t have to win, per say. All she had to do was survive until reinforcements arrived.
If they arrived.
# # # # #
“We just want our humanity back!”
X-Ray directed a burst of energy at Cybermancer, where it smashed into a force field she barely managed to erect in time.
“Why are you trying to stop us?”
“Because of the victims this leaves behind,” Cybermancer replied.
“Then what’s one more?”
Vector reached out with his powers, and Cybermancer’s programmed defenses shunted all the power to her force fields, and it was barely enough.
Suzi blacked out for a second, and felt bits off her armor flying through the air. She didn’t feel being blasted backwards, but she wasn’t surprised when she realized that she was on her back, and could see a dozen alarms on her visor out of the corner of her eye.
“I’ve stripped the Hulk’s flesh down to the bone,” said Vector, “that was barely a love tap.”
Cybermancer then smiled, grinning like a child at Christmas.
“…why are you smiling?” Vector said.
“Because her ‘Hulk’,” said Hellios, “is standing right behind you.”
# # # # #
Shiva grunted as she landed on her back, a sharp pain spreading throughout her body.
But her training held fast, and Shiva crossed her swords in front of her face, blocking Lady Deathstrike’s blades, at least for the moment.
“You fight well,” Lady Deathstrike said. She pulled a hand back, ready to end this, “but not well enough.”
Blam!
Lady Deathstrike pulled her arm back, and stared at the bullet hole that was now in her wrist.
“You shot me in the back,” Lady Deathstrike said in disbelief.
“I have found it’s the safest way in which to shoot someone,” Guishen replied, “stand down, or I resume.”
Lady Deathstrike willed her right arm to extend, and swept it towards Guishen.
The Chinese Agent back-flipped over the attack effortlessly, but once he landed and raised is guns, Lady Deathstrike was already gone.
“About time you idiots got here,” Shiva said, “did you go for coffee first?”
“I never drink coffee before a fight,” Guishen replied.
# # # # #
Moments later
“Chapman, this is Scarlet Scarab,” the Egyption hero stood over an unconscious Griffin, “situation is contained. Send in the support staff, Silverclaw tells me that Rock has been severely wounded, among other injuries.”
“Understood, standby Scarab, help will be there in a moment.”
“God, I’m so glad to see you guys,” Silverclaw wrapped her arms around Scarab in a hug, “what the hell kept you guys?”
“Poorly written international law,” Scarlet Scarab replied, “we passed Kamau and Junta on our way in, but where’s Commando?”
“I scented him in the northeast section of the building,” Silverclaw said, “he must have heard us, do you think he’s been hurt?”
“My ears are burning,” Commando said casually over the radio, “why don’t you guys come join me? You’ll want to see this, trust me.”
# # # # #
Cybermancer slid her ruined gauntlet off her wrist, and handed it to the Excalibur technician next to her. Even though her armor was little more than scrap, it still required a delicate removal process that went no quicker regardless of the state of her armor.
“Think you’ll be able to salvage anything?” Junta said as he strolled towards her.
“Really?” Cybermancer wished she had enough undamaged systems to fry that look off Junta’s face, “does working in intelligence mean that you think no one else has any?”
“What makes you say that?” Junta sounded surprisingly sincere.
“You sabotaged those supplies that you gave the villains,” Cybermancer said, “it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Then you ran and hid.”
“I did run,” Junta said, “but not to hide. I went to grab this.”
Junta held up a gold cylinder, no bigger than a pen, marked with a radioactive warning.
“Run your scanners over this puppy,” Junta said, “and you’ll see why I went after this for a trump card.”
Cybermancer activated her scanners, and the information they supplied made her sick.
“Gamma irradiated nerve gas?” Cybermancer took a step back on simple reflex, “get that thing to an incinerator!”
“Wasn’t planning o holding onto it for secret Santa,” replied Junta, “but I needed it to bluff the guys who rushed the door.”
“You wouldn’t have had to do that if you hadn’t pulled that stunt!”
“Rock is being treated by rusted medical professionals,” Junta countered, “tell me, if those supplies hadn’t been sabotaged, can you tell me for certain Chapman would have gotten here in time?”
# # # # #
When Scarlet Scarab and Silverclaw found Commando, he was leaning against the wall, blowing rings of smoke in the air as he smoked a Cuban cigar.
Needless to say, both heroes were a little confused.
“Commando, you made it seem there was an urgent matter,” Scarlet Scarab said, “what’s the matter?”
“That”, Commando nodded ahead, “I’d have felt selfish if I kept a fight like this to myself.”
Silverclaw and Scarlet Scarab looked down the hall, and saw Mr. X and Batroc, squaring off, and it had been apparent that the two had been fighting for some time.
Mr. X’s glasses had been shattered, the left side of his face was swollen, and he had purple bruises across his body, mixing with his tattoos.
The sleeve was torn on Batroc’s left arm.
“I can predict every move you make,” Mr. X aid, the left side of his mouth purple and black, “and I’ve studied a hundred different techniques. You can’t win.”
Batroc smiled, “A wise man once said, I do not fear the man who has practiced a thousand different kicks, I fear the man who has practiced the same kick a thousand times.”
Mr. X gritted his teeth.
“Now, I offered surrender…”
“Don’t take it!” Commando shouted.
“Your reply?”
Mr. X tried to lunge for Batroc, but the Frenchman saw it coming a mile.
He unleashed a kick at Mr. X’s head that the mutant sensed and brought his left arm up to defend himself.
Batroc’s foot smashed into Mr. X’s arm, and snapped back with lightning speed to hit Mr. X’s ribs then kidney.
Batroc then flipped to his right foot and lashed out with his left foot, pitching Mr. X backwards.
“I have fought ze Captain,” Batroc said, with a toothy smile, “you are not him.”
“I’m better!” Mr. X spat as he tried to charge again.
Batroc swung his right leg and hooked the back of Mr. X’s knee perfectly, bring him down. Batroc pulled his leg back in a blink and kicked out again, tearing the muscles in Mr. X’s knee.
“Argh!” Mr. X’s powers faltered as pain overwhelmed him.
“Now, zee coup,” Barroc said, “and zee grace.”
Mr. X felt as if three men were attacking at once, as a flurry of boots came crashing at him and when it was over, he felt forward limp and unconscious.
“Tell me you weren’t glad to see that,” Commando smirked.
# # # # #
Dr. Jaeger watched as the Excalibur medics lifted Union Jack onto a gurney, and hurried him away. He sighed, watching a small amount of leverage slip away, but then, he reflected, it didn’t much matter.
“You must be Dr. Jaeger,” Chapman stepped into the room, and helped Dr. Jaeger to his feet, “thank you for hosting my team.”
“It’s not as if I had much of a choice,” said Dr. Jaeger, “when will you be leaving? As I understand, your warrant was rescinded.”
“Amazing that you would know that,” Chapman said, “but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Oh?”
“Several of my agents are severely wounded,” Chapman said, “as per my charter, we can rescue them. That justifies my presence here. I can investigate my team being harmed, that allows me to detain you. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Dr. Jaeger growled underneath his breath.
“I’m going to keep my team here for a while,” Chapman said, “and whether you join us as a prisoner is up to you.”
“Why would I ever do that?” Dr. Jaeger said
“Because if we remain here and don’t take you prisoner, people will think you flipped,” Chapman said, “you’re not the only super scientist doctor out there. What do you think your patients would do, if they thought you betrayed them?”
Dr. Jaeger didn’t have the courage to meet Chapman’s eyes.
“You know, some idiots say that healthcare is a choice,” Chapman said, “that ignores the fact that the outcomes are pretty obvious, when you think about it.”
“So tell me, Doctor, what’s your choice?”
Next Issue: Excalibur finds themselves embroiled in a dispute with no good choices and worse weapons.