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Issue #43 by Daniel Ingram
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“SUMMER OF TERROR - CONCLUSION”
North Korea
“Why did I ever agree with Technocrat?”
Nova the Human Rocket watched as the phalanx creature that he’d unleashed tore through dozens of North Korean soldiers. Blood bath didn’t even begin to cover it. Steel tentacles lashed out, slicing panicking soldiers in two. It was a slaughter that went against every instinct Nova had, yet it while he was far from comfortable he felt no real urge to intervene for their sake.
As far as he was concerned, releasing the beast was the only way his team had a chance in hell of getting out of this situation alive. But as it tore through more and more soldiers like they weren’t even there, he was beginning to wonder how long it would take the creature to finish with the army, and begin to tear into his people.
“Better hope Technocrat comes through with the second part of the plan,” Nova shot through the air like a bullet, landed at Mirage’s side like a missile, shaking the earth and raising a cloud of dust. The Native American mutant didn’t even flinch.
“Mission accomplished?”
“Yes,” Nova paused, “and leave the passive aggressiveness to Technocrat, he does it better.”
“What on earth is that?” Sidewinder’s jaw went slack as he saw the phalanx towering in the distance. It was surrounded by gunfire and tank shells, but hardly seemed to notice as he sliced through the North Korean army. It was like an angry beanstalk from hell.
“That is a distraction,” Mirage replied, “and this base’s CPU. Can you teleport out now?”
Sidewinder pressed his hand to his temple, “I can feel whatever was blocking me growing weaker, but I don’t think I could teleport out now. Not less we wanted to keep all out atoms.”
“Yeah, I could tell by you still being here,” observed Nova.
“Guys, we got a problem,” Arsenal pointed at their enemies. The mixed army of half built cyborgs, attempts at recreating other famous lab accidents and everything in between were fleeing as fast as their legs, wheels or rocket boosters would allow.
“Come back, coward dogs!” Black Brigade shouted. In the span of thirty seconds, Black Brigade and Panzer were left alone against the Serpent Society and Force Works.
“This…is not good,” observed Panzer.
“Like rats deserting sinking ship,” Black Brigade chuckled darkly.
“Keep laughing asshole,” Puff Adder cracked his knuckles, “I intend to finish what me and my old lady started.”
“Guys,” Tarene looked in the opposite direction of the misfit army, “what were they running from?”
Superhero and villain alike turned their head, and took a step back.
Coming at them like a wave were dozens of emasculated, rail thin blood starved vampires, drool falling from their cheeks and sunken, empty eyes.
“Oh God…,” was all Sidewinder could think to say before a stampede of fangs and supernatural muscle came crashing towards them.
# # # # #
The moment Clarice Ferguson felt her powers return in strength, she disappeared with a half dozen children in her signature –blink!-.
“About damn time,” Hardcastle muttered. By now, Wolfsbane, Black Racer and the rest were on their feet, but given the odds against them, Hardcastle didn’t feel much relief. To him, they were just a few more bullet sponges.
And when Blink reappeared and fell to one knee, forehead covered in sweat, Hardcastle felt his lack of optimism was completely justified.
“Blink!” Wolfsbane ran to the girl’s side, “wha’s wrong? Yuir heart beat is through the bleedin’ roof!”
“The field,” Blink coughed a cough that sounded like it belonged to a pack a day smoker, “it’s still there, lingering…like…like fog. I can get through, but…it’s not easy.”
“Then we’ll jus’ have to wait,” Wolfsbane replied. With her keen sense of hearing and smell, she could tell exactly how much strain the teleporter was under, “the others are still out there. They can protect us…”
“Are you kidding me?” Black Racer shouted. She paced back and forth at superspeed, “she’s probably the only way out of here at this point!”
“I have to agree with the slimy snake,” Hardcastle growled, “look, Blink, I admit I have no idea how you do what the hell it is that you do. But you got to get off your ass, and get these kids outta here. Everything’s gone to shit and they’re about all we can salvage at this point.”
Blink wiped the layer of sweat from her forehead and just smirked, “If you want to give me a pep talk that makes a dent, put on a few hundred pounds and grow some claws. I’m just catching my breath, old man.”
-blink!-
# # # # #
“Come on, come on,” Technocrat tapped his fingers against his keyboard. Blessed with a genius mind with computer like ability to absorb and process information, there were times when the young genius felt as if life were moving in slow motion, and it was absolutely infuriating.
The sensors at their designated ‘Landing Zone’ told him that Blink was managing to evacuate some of the kidnapped mutant kids, but not nearly quickly enough. Satellite imaging indicated that the phalanx was on the move and that his team was completely surrounded. And in the face of all that, all Technocrat could do was bounce a signal in the hopes that something would detect it.
For all intents and purposes, it wasn’t much different than fishing. Now more than ever, Technocrat felt his disdain for that sport was entirely justified.
“How goes it?” Namorita said.
“Poorly,” said Technocrat, “they’re outnumbered, and the situation keeps getting worse.”
Namorita was about to say something, when the ground began to rumble as if an earthquake was building. They looked out the window, and saw the helicarrier that was supposed to be their plan B was beginning to take off. A quick sensor scanned revealed it had no occupants, and that was all part of the plan C.
Technocrat jumped up and pumped his fists in the air, “Yes! It worked! …oh crap.”
“What?”
“I think I finally understand fishing.”
# # # # #
X-Treme’s head whipped backwards, and blood flew through the air as Gorgon’s knee smashed into his face.
Gorgon had to chance to take advantage, Death Adder stepped in and raked his claws across the mutant’s chest. Gorgon stepped back, Death Adder ducked and X-Treme used him as a springboard, and slammed his knee into the zealot’s face.
Gorgon swept his sword backwards as X-Treme landed, and clipped the alien’s shoulder. He kicked Death Adder upside the head, and then spun around and blocked X-Treme’s blade from carving him in two with his own.
“Nice sword,” X-Treme grunted, as Gorgon began to push back, “what do you humans call it?”
“It’s a shirasaya,” Gorgon said, “simple, elegant and far superior to your double bladed mockery of a sword.”
“It’s in honor of a friend,” said X-Treme, “and I know one way my sword is superior.”
“Oh?”
“It has a hand guard.”
X-Treme swept his blade down the length of Gorgon’s sword, neatly severing the fingers in his right hand.
“Death Adder, now!”
The Serpent came up from behind Gorgon and grabbed him in a full-nelson, and sank his claws into pale flesh and bone to anchor them, while his tail wrapped around Gorgon’s left leg. Gorgon was left immobilized as X-Treme kicked him in the throat with his steel toed boots, but to the Shi’ar warrior’s shock, the madman was still standing.
“I hate to do this,” X-Treme sheathed his sword and removed two daggers. He drove them into Gorgon’s thighs, and dragged them down, releasing thick rivers of blood.
Gorgon merely clenched his teeth.
“But I don’t have a choice. Burn!”
X-Treme was born with the ability to ignite the oxygen in a person’s blood. The few people who suffered through it and still be amicable enough to talk to him later said it felt as if their blood was replaced with acid. Shortly after joining Force Works, Mirage had asked Adam never to use his power unless he received a direct order or it was an emergency.
And if this wasn’t an emergency, X-Treme didn’t know what was.
But almost immediately, he felt as if something were wrong. Normally the energy ripped out of him like a fire-hose, and though he had control over it, it still never felt like it did now. The power flowed out of X-Treme smooth, almost effortlessly.
And X-Treme watched in shock as the result was like nothing he’d ever seen. Instead of screaming in pain, Gorgon’s wounds cackled with energy, and then sealed up seamlessly without so much as a scar. By the time X-Treme had stopped the flow of energy, Gorgon’s fingers had regrown and his face was plastered with a smirk.
“Am I to be thankful?” Gorgon threw his head back and smashed Death Adder in the face.
A right cross knocked X-Treme back. Gorgon slid his foot underneath his blade and flipped it up into his hand.
X-Treme braced himself. He and Death Adder had barely managed to fight Gorgon to a standstill before, and now they were bleeding and bruised.
And Gorgon looked as fresh as a summer flower.
“Alright,” X-Treme assumed a fighting stance. His wrist trembled, not in fear but X-Treme didn’t have the will to stop, “lets get serious.”
# # # # #
Clarice Ferguson, Blink, felt as if the ground beneath was flipping upside down, and her head was three sizes too big. As she returned to the hangar, she fell to both knees, and dry heaved. The strain, the sheer amount of effort and energy needed to teleport through the field had taken everything and more from her, and she knew she still wasn’t done.
“…Blink, for God’s sake, sit down!”
Blink could feel Wolfsbane hand on her shoulder, and could hear her voice, but it felt as if it were coming from a million miles away.
“Just a few more,” Hardcastle said, “just hold on, kiddo.”
Blink felt as if she were thinking through mud, and just listening to Wolfsbane and Hardcastle was enough to cause a splitting migraine.
“Get them together,” Blink tried to stand, but the world flip-flopped all around her, “and get them over here.”
“Come here, please,” Wolfsbane coaxed the six remaining children over. After everything they had suffered through, a humanoid wolf wasn’t the least bit intimidating.
They gathered around Blink, and the lavender mutant took a minute to catch her breath.
“Can she get us out again?” Sabre asked.
“She gets these kids out, then we worry about that,” said Black Mamba.
“Agreed,” Hardcastle chambered a round, “get out of here, kid.”
When Blink disappeared with the remaining children, there was a collective sigh of relief, from soldiers, super hero and serpents all. The situation was still a disaster, but at least the people in the line of fire were the people who deserved to be there.
“So,” Asp rubbed her wrist uncomfortably, “…now what?”
# # # # #
Elsewhere
Faced with a wall of sharp teeth covered in human drool, anchored to beings that had the strength to tear her in two without breaking stride, Mirage fell back on her training even as fear washed over her.
It was the wrong training, yet ironically, it saved her life.
Mirage had intended to create a barrage of her psychic arrows, to drive a wedge through the vampires. She was concerned too much about her team, as the members with her were pretty damn tough physically. As for the Serpent Society, Mirage had mentally forgotten to take them into account when deciding on tactics.
No one was perfect.
But the mixture of fear and panic made her reach into her first developed power. She projected the worst fear of every vampire in front of their own eyes, holy symbols from the Star of David, the Christian Cross and even Hindu bent cross, and it stopped every single one in their tracks.
“Damn,” Nova whistled, only a few feet apart from a blood thirsty creature that wanted to literally eat his throat, “good thinking, chief.”
“Uhh, yeah,” Mirage said, “Arsenal, Nova, start blasting! Sidewinder…!”
Mirage glanced over her shoulder and saw the leader of the Serpent Society, in fact every member of the Serpent Society, holding a cross.
“We spent some time on the West Coast, and they pack easily,” Sidewinder explained.
“This is insane, I didn’t sign on for this,” Arsenal took several steps back. The vampires were hissing like rattle snakes, but were unable to move forward.
“Hold it together, Arsenal,” Mirage said. She was trying to think of what to do next, and was coming up blank. She didn’t know if they could handle all these creatures, she didn’t know if Blink had made it out with all the kidnapped children, she didn’t know if X-Treme had managed to hold back Gorgon.
With so many unknowns staring her in the face, Mirage struggled to find a course of action. And crippled by indecision, however briefly, left her vulnerable.
“Die, whore!”
“Chief, look out!”
Nova threw himself in front of Mirage as an optic blast from Panzer came within inches of slicing her in two. The Human Rocket only grunted when struck, but the distraction was enough, the illusions and the vampires attack.
“Blue blazes,” Nova backhanded two vampires with ease, “that guy is an asshole.”
“He doesn’t get away,” Mirage ordered, as her arrows flew.
“Right.”
Panzer unleashed every ounce of energy his eyes could channel at Nova as flew at him, and it didn’t even slow him down. Nova grabbed him by the neck, and threw him to the ground.
“Your friends are all dead,” Panzer chuckled despite himself. He had good reason to be cocky, after six years as a mercenary he still hadn’t found anything that could really hurt him. Even Nova’s strength felt more like being pushed around than an actual punch, “your friends will be overwhelmed, if not by the vampires, then by the alien you unleashed!”
“Right,” Nova looked across the battlefield where the phalanx was finishing off the remains of the North Korean army. Soon, very soon, that thing would become involved in the larger battle, “lets see what you can do to help, then.”
“What do you ahhhhh!”
Nova grabbed Panzer by the ankle, and then shot towards the phalanx. He’d read reports about the species, both before this mission and a member of the intergalactic police force, the Nova Corps, and he wasn’t about to take chances. He swung Panzer like a bat at the creature’s center mass. The monster roared as it was knocked back, and Nova kept swinging away with his human flail.
# # # # #
“Vermin!”
Tarene felt the rage of battle well up in her, and she struggled to control herself as vampire after vampire tackled her like ants. She swatted seven away effortlessly, but another six just took their place. Tarene swept outwards with her war mallet, and those vampires even brushed by it turned to dust.
“Mirage!” Sidewinder was spending the battle teleporting from spot to spot, like he was the mole in Wack-A-Mole, “your blond powerhouse just vaporized the creatures!”
“Tarene…!” Mirage felt a light bulb go off in her head. Tarene was an Asgardian, and by default, a goddess. Anything of hers would be a holy symbol, and…
“Foood!”
A vampire tackled Mirage from behind before she could finish her thought. She felt steel like fingers wrap around her throat, and in what she expected to be her last thought, Danielle apologized to her team for leading them into this disaster.
But before the monster could tear out her throat in a blind lust for blood, a missile of red fur knocked it aside, and held it back with a simple cross.
“Rahne!”
Sabre and Black Racer rocketed into one blood starved monster after the other, Coachwhip severed the head of one with her weapons while Vibraxis and Rattler blasted a human wave of the monsters away.
“Finally, reinforcements,” muttered Mirage, “Wolfsbane, report!”
“Blink got all o’ the children out o’ here!” Wolfsbane replied.
“Good,” Mirage scanned the battlefield, still swarming with vampires, and in the distance, Nova was doing what he could to hold off the phalanx that they still had to deal with.
“Okay, we saved the kids, now we get to save ourselves,” Mirage turned to Tarene.
“Tarene, make it rain, and then bless it!”
“What?” Tarene looked at Mirage, and then her own war mallet, “why?”
“Just do it!”
Tarene thrust her war mallet into the air, and said a silent prayer that she just somehow knew. Thunder cracked, the sky rumbled, rain began to fall, and the vampires screamed.
“What the heck is goin’ on?” Puff Adder looked around, baffled.
“Holy rain,” Mirage just smiled.
But the smirk disappeared from her face as energy blasts flew overhead. Mirage swung her head, and saw dozens of members of the North Korean army. Their eyes glowed blue, and the veins in their neck were a bright, ugly yellow. Their bodies were in various states of disrepair. A missing arm, a caved in skull or a gaping hole in their chest, the only commonality was the fact that they were all dead. Mirage didn’t need Technocrat to tell her that the phalanx had somehow reanimated all the soldiers it had killed into cannon fodder.
“Techno organic zombies?!” Wolfsbane couldn’t believe the words that slipped from her mouth, “bleedin’ hell!”
“Great, now all we have to do is deal with the giant rampaging alien and it’s undead army,” Sidewinder said.
“…right,” Mirage looked around, “hey, where’s Hardcastle and his team?”
# # # # #
X-Treme caught Gorgon’s sword between his double blades, and with just a twist, he managed to disarm the cocky, self proclaimed master swordsman.
It was the first real luck the’d had since the fight resumed, and it didn’t last. Gorgon’s fist slammed into X-Treme’s stomach, but as Adam fell, he twisted to his side, his left elbow hitting the side of Gorgon’s knee, making the mutant madman stumble.
Death Adder came up from behind X-Treme, using his fallen ally as a springboard, brought his knee up at the exact second needed to catch Gorgon in the in the face, whipping his head backwards. Death Adder lunged forward with his claws, and sank them into the Albino’s chest like a spoon sinking into ice cream.
Gorgon coughed blood, but he still grabbed Death Adder by the wrists, and pulled the Serpent’s blood and poison laced claws free of his stomach. Gorgon’s eyes flared, but before he could turn the Snake to stone, a blade sank into his neck and eye socket.
Gorgon mule kicked Death Adder in the stomach, and then just barely managed to duck a slice from X-Treme.
“Congratulations alien,” Gorgon caught X-Treme’s sword arm by the wrist, “you have managed to annoy me. A rare few ever have.”
“I’d be honored if I thought you were worth a damn,” X-Treme dropped his sword, grabbed Gorgon by his wrist, and with his other arm swung his elbow into Gorgon’s face.
It should have been a crippling blow, but X-Treme was exhausted. Gorgon then brought his knee up to Adam’s face, and the alien warrior stumbled, just barely managing to hold on.
“Any last words?” Gorgon smiled.
“Yeah,” X-Treme coughed, his face a map of blood and bruises, “Death Adder, get the other one!”
Gorgon just rolled his eyes as the Serpent grabbed his free arm, sinking his claws into muscle and bone. A lesser man would have been crippled by the pain, but Gorgon stopped paying attention to pain a long, long time ago.
“And just what is this supposed to accomplish?”
Gorgon was still smiling when the side of his head exploded in blood and gore. Able Squad sniper Jackson O’Hare smiled, and pulled the trigger again, and the result was a section of Gorgon’s neck popping like a water balloon.
“Move, you idiots!”
X-Treme and Death Adder leapt aside as Hardcastle and his men unloaded their weapons into Gorgon. The mutant zealot jerked like a fish on a hook as hollow point bullets smashed move, tore arteries and severed tendons.
“Barnes, Mayfield! Dart rounds!” Hardcastle snapped.
The Able Squad ceased fire as Corporal Barnes and Mayfield drew special pistols issued for just this mission. The bullets were all in a specially sealed magazine, each of the twelve bullets were hollow, and contained several drops of the world’s deadliest poison.
Not a single one of the bullets failed to enter Gorgon.
When it was all done, Gorgon lay on the tarmac in a puddle of blood.
“You guys really do believe in overkill, huh?” X-Treme said.
“There is no overkill,” said Hardcastle, “there is only open fire, and reload. Words to live by.”
“I’ll have to remember that, if we actually live,” X-Treme said, “lets meet up with the others, and see if there’s an actual plan for getting out of here, or if we have to fight out way out.”
“You couldn’t fight through a paper bag right now,” Hardcastle observed.
“Then lets hope there’s a plan.”
# # # # #
“Keep it up!” Mirage shouted, as she struggled to create a psychic arrow, “we just have to hold out a little longer!”
Asp pointed her hand at one of the undead soldiers, summoned a venom bolt, but watched in horror as the energy refused to leave her hand, “I’m out! Anyone…!”
“Down!”
Asp threw herself to the ground, as Anaconda swept her arm outwards like a wrecking ball, and swept aside dozens of the monsters.
“This is great!” Anaconda laughed despite herself. The mindless, guilt free violence was like a drug to the mercenary
“Sidewinder!” Mirage shouted, “how much longer?!”
“I don’t know!” replied the leader, “it’s like there’s a heavy fog over this entire area! I can’t get us out without help!”
-Blink!-
Clarice Ferguson appeared out of thin air behind Mirage, and fell over.
“Blink!” Mirage was at the teleporter’s side in a second.
“Hey…chief…” Blink muttered. It sounded as if the mere act of speaking was exhausting.
“Tell me you came back for a reason,” Mirage said.
“Think…I can get us all out,” said Blink, “felt…Sidewinder’s teleporting. If we work together…”
“Got it,” Mirage said, “Sidewinder, max out your teleporter now!”
The leader of the Serpent Society gave Mirage a ‘Are you kidding’ look, but said nothing when he realized he had no other idea how they might get out of here.
Sidewinder concentrated, and when Blink felt his teleport signature she activated her own. The two energies mingled, and a tear in reality appeared before them.
“Oh thank the Spirits!”
“We out!” Puff Adder and Anaconda stampeded through the portal, followed by Death Adder, Black Mamba and Asp.
“Lets go people, we are leaving!”
Mirage’s heart stopped as the hole shrank an inch.
“No…”
“I got it!” Tarene flew into the portal, and pushed the corners outwards, “go!”
“Got it!” Sabre and Black Racer grabbed their teammates, and tossed them through the portal past Tarene.
Mirage blinked, and found herself flung through Tarene’s legs like an arrow. She was followed by Wolfsbane, Sidewinder and three members of Able Squad.
The two speedsters zig-zagged all over the battle field, sweeping up teammates and tossing them past Tarene as she struggled to keep the tear in reality open.
Sweat trickled down her brow, and her hands felt as if they were clutching knives, as the natural order of the universe bared down on the young Goddess, but she swore she wouldn’t buckle, swore that even as reality itself came down on her, even as her muscles felt as if they would snap at any second, she would not budge, she would not break.
The second the entire Serpent Society was evacuated, Black Racer had slipped past Tarene without a second thought, leaving Sabre to handle the rest of the evacuation, but to her credit, the speedster didn’t even notice. She was focused on the mission and nothing else, and was speeding towards one of the last remaining members of Able Squad, Colonel Hardcastle, when a stray shot lanced through her shoulder.
Sabre’s mind had barely registered the pain, but it was still enough to make her stumble. But at the speed she was travelling, she skidded a good ten feet before stopping.
“Kid!”
Nova the Human Rocket landed next to Sabre, and swept his hands outwards unleashing a wall of energy that knocked back the techno-zombies.
“Crap, is she alright?” Hardcastle was at Nova’s side in seconds.
“Hard to tell,” Nova rolled Sabre on her back, and saw her face was covered in bruises and smeared with blood, “but I don’t think she’s getting up any time soon.”
“Guys…” Tarene was a few feet away, still struggling to keep the portal open, “…hurry!”
Nova was about to say something, when he heard a loud roar and a rush of air. He looked up, and saw the old helicarrier that was meant to be their backup evacuation plan descending from the sky.
Almost immediately, the phalanx and its legions turned away from the heroes, and towards the ship.
“That can’t be good,” Hardcastle muttered.
“It’s perfect,” Nova found himself genuinely smiling.
“Guys…” Tarene felt her arms beginning to waver.
“We’ll be fine!” Nova pointed his fist at Tarene, and unleashed a short blast of energy. It wasn’t enough to truly hurt Tarene, but more than enough to push her through the portal itself.
“Guess it’s piggy back?” Hardcastle asked.
“Stay by Sabre, I’ll be right back,” said Nova.
The Human Rocket took off towards the helicarrier, while at the same time bringing up his helmet’s HUD. It was already programmed, and highlighted the carrier’s cooling tanks.
Nova tore through the five inches of steel like it was tissue, and coolant spilled out everywhere. The phalanx and its drones screamed, and instantly turned their weapons on him.
Nova arced up drawing fire, before he shot back down, slammed through the horde like a cannon ball, and then scooped up Hardcastle and Sabre.
“What the hell did you do?” said Hardcastle.
Nova didn’t stop until the training camp was little more than an indeterminate dot in the distance. He began counting down in his head, remembering what Technocrat had said. But he was only on three before the dot in the distance turned bright orange.
“Without coolant, that thing was little more than a Roman candle,” Nova explained.
“And with all our people out, we’re free to purge the site,” Hardcastle smiled, “I like the way you kids think.”
“You want to know the scary thing?” Nova watched as smoke curled into the air. He turned, and sped towards Japan, towards their temporary operating base.
“Oh, I already know it,” said Hardcastle, “this mission went to shit. Everything that happened today, everything we barely survived?”
“By tomorrow, that will have been the easy part.”
THE END
NEXT ISSUE: Fall out! Force Works pays the price for a mission that spiraled out of control, and they struggle to recover both professionally and emotionally.
“Why did I ever agree with Technocrat?”
Nova the Human Rocket watched as the phalanx creature that he’d unleashed tore through dozens of North Korean soldiers. Blood bath didn’t even begin to cover it. Steel tentacles lashed out, slicing panicking soldiers in two. It was a slaughter that went against every instinct Nova had, yet it while he was far from comfortable he felt no real urge to intervene for their sake.
As far as he was concerned, releasing the beast was the only way his team had a chance in hell of getting out of this situation alive. But as it tore through more and more soldiers like they weren’t even there, he was beginning to wonder how long it would take the creature to finish with the army, and begin to tear into his people.
“Better hope Technocrat comes through with the second part of the plan,” Nova shot through the air like a bullet, landed at Mirage’s side like a missile, shaking the earth and raising a cloud of dust. The Native American mutant didn’t even flinch.
“Mission accomplished?”
“Yes,” Nova paused, “and leave the passive aggressiveness to Technocrat, he does it better.”
“What on earth is that?” Sidewinder’s jaw went slack as he saw the phalanx towering in the distance. It was surrounded by gunfire and tank shells, but hardly seemed to notice as he sliced through the North Korean army. It was like an angry beanstalk from hell.
“That is a distraction,” Mirage replied, “and this base’s CPU. Can you teleport out now?”
Sidewinder pressed his hand to his temple, “I can feel whatever was blocking me growing weaker, but I don’t think I could teleport out now. Not less we wanted to keep all out atoms.”
“Yeah, I could tell by you still being here,” observed Nova.
“Guys, we got a problem,” Arsenal pointed at their enemies. The mixed army of half built cyborgs, attempts at recreating other famous lab accidents and everything in between were fleeing as fast as their legs, wheels or rocket boosters would allow.
“Come back, coward dogs!” Black Brigade shouted. In the span of thirty seconds, Black Brigade and Panzer were left alone against the Serpent Society and Force Works.
“This…is not good,” observed Panzer.
“Like rats deserting sinking ship,” Black Brigade chuckled darkly.
“Keep laughing asshole,” Puff Adder cracked his knuckles, “I intend to finish what me and my old lady started.”
“Guys,” Tarene looked in the opposite direction of the misfit army, “what were they running from?”
Superhero and villain alike turned their head, and took a step back.
Coming at them like a wave were dozens of emasculated, rail thin blood starved vampires, drool falling from their cheeks and sunken, empty eyes.
“Oh God…,” was all Sidewinder could think to say before a stampede of fangs and supernatural muscle came crashing towards them.
# # # # #
The moment Clarice Ferguson felt her powers return in strength, she disappeared with a half dozen children in her signature –blink!-.
“About damn time,” Hardcastle muttered. By now, Wolfsbane, Black Racer and the rest were on their feet, but given the odds against them, Hardcastle didn’t feel much relief. To him, they were just a few more bullet sponges.
And when Blink reappeared and fell to one knee, forehead covered in sweat, Hardcastle felt his lack of optimism was completely justified.
“Blink!” Wolfsbane ran to the girl’s side, “wha’s wrong? Yuir heart beat is through the bleedin’ roof!”
“The field,” Blink coughed a cough that sounded like it belonged to a pack a day smoker, “it’s still there, lingering…like…like fog. I can get through, but…it’s not easy.”
“Then we’ll jus’ have to wait,” Wolfsbane replied. With her keen sense of hearing and smell, she could tell exactly how much strain the teleporter was under, “the others are still out there. They can protect us…”
“Are you kidding me?” Black Racer shouted. She paced back and forth at superspeed, “she’s probably the only way out of here at this point!”
“I have to agree with the slimy snake,” Hardcastle growled, “look, Blink, I admit I have no idea how you do what the hell it is that you do. But you got to get off your ass, and get these kids outta here. Everything’s gone to shit and they’re about all we can salvage at this point.”
Blink wiped the layer of sweat from her forehead and just smirked, “If you want to give me a pep talk that makes a dent, put on a few hundred pounds and grow some claws. I’m just catching my breath, old man.”
-blink!-
# # # # #
“Come on, come on,” Technocrat tapped his fingers against his keyboard. Blessed with a genius mind with computer like ability to absorb and process information, there were times when the young genius felt as if life were moving in slow motion, and it was absolutely infuriating.
The sensors at their designated ‘Landing Zone’ told him that Blink was managing to evacuate some of the kidnapped mutant kids, but not nearly quickly enough. Satellite imaging indicated that the phalanx was on the move and that his team was completely surrounded. And in the face of all that, all Technocrat could do was bounce a signal in the hopes that something would detect it.
For all intents and purposes, it wasn’t much different than fishing. Now more than ever, Technocrat felt his disdain for that sport was entirely justified.
“How goes it?” Namorita said.
“Poorly,” said Technocrat, “they’re outnumbered, and the situation keeps getting worse.”
Namorita was about to say something, when the ground began to rumble as if an earthquake was building. They looked out the window, and saw the helicarrier that was supposed to be their plan B was beginning to take off. A quick sensor scanned revealed it had no occupants, and that was all part of the plan C.
Technocrat jumped up and pumped his fists in the air, “Yes! It worked! …oh crap.”
“What?”
“I think I finally understand fishing.”
# # # # #
X-Treme’s head whipped backwards, and blood flew through the air as Gorgon’s knee smashed into his face.
Gorgon had to chance to take advantage, Death Adder stepped in and raked his claws across the mutant’s chest. Gorgon stepped back, Death Adder ducked and X-Treme used him as a springboard, and slammed his knee into the zealot’s face.
Gorgon swept his sword backwards as X-Treme landed, and clipped the alien’s shoulder. He kicked Death Adder upside the head, and then spun around and blocked X-Treme’s blade from carving him in two with his own.
“Nice sword,” X-Treme grunted, as Gorgon began to push back, “what do you humans call it?”
“It’s a shirasaya,” Gorgon said, “simple, elegant and far superior to your double bladed mockery of a sword.”
“It’s in honor of a friend,” said X-Treme, “and I know one way my sword is superior.”
“Oh?”
“It has a hand guard.”
X-Treme swept his blade down the length of Gorgon’s sword, neatly severing the fingers in his right hand.
“Death Adder, now!”
The Serpent came up from behind Gorgon and grabbed him in a full-nelson, and sank his claws into pale flesh and bone to anchor them, while his tail wrapped around Gorgon’s left leg. Gorgon was left immobilized as X-Treme kicked him in the throat with his steel toed boots, but to the Shi’ar warrior’s shock, the madman was still standing.
“I hate to do this,” X-Treme sheathed his sword and removed two daggers. He drove them into Gorgon’s thighs, and dragged them down, releasing thick rivers of blood.
Gorgon merely clenched his teeth.
“But I don’t have a choice. Burn!”
X-Treme was born with the ability to ignite the oxygen in a person’s blood. The few people who suffered through it and still be amicable enough to talk to him later said it felt as if their blood was replaced with acid. Shortly after joining Force Works, Mirage had asked Adam never to use his power unless he received a direct order or it was an emergency.
And if this wasn’t an emergency, X-Treme didn’t know what was.
But almost immediately, he felt as if something were wrong. Normally the energy ripped out of him like a fire-hose, and though he had control over it, it still never felt like it did now. The power flowed out of X-Treme smooth, almost effortlessly.
And X-Treme watched in shock as the result was like nothing he’d ever seen. Instead of screaming in pain, Gorgon’s wounds cackled with energy, and then sealed up seamlessly without so much as a scar. By the time X-Treme had stopped the flow of energy, Gorgon’s fingers had regrown and his face was plastered with a smirk.
“Am I to be thankful?” Gorgon threw his head back and smashed Death Adder in the face.
A right cross knocked X-Treme back. Gorgon slid his foot underneath his blade and flipped it up into his hand.
X-Treme braced himself. He and Death Adder had barely managed to fight Gorgon to a standstill before, and now they were bleeding and bruised.
And Gorgon looked as fresh as a summer flower.
“Alright,” X-Treme assumed a fighting stance. His wrist trembled, not in fear but X-Treme didn’t have the will to stop, “lets get serious.”
# # # # #
Clarice Ferguson, Blink, felt as if the ground beneath was flipping upside down, and her head was three sizes too big. As she returned to the hangar, she fell to both knees, and dry heaved. The strain, the sheer amount of effort and energy needed to teleport through the field had taken everything and more from her, and she knew she still wasn’t done.
“…Blink, for God’s sake, sit down!”
Blink could feel Wolfsbane hand on her shoulder, and could hear her voice, but it felt as if it were coming from a million miles away.
“Just a few more,” Hardcastle said, “just hold on, kiddo.”
Blink felt as if she were thinking through mud, and just listening to Wolfsbane and Hardcastle was enough to cause a splitting migraine.
“Get them together,” Blink tried to stand, but the world flip-flopped all around her, “and get them over here.”
“Come here, please,” Wolfsbane coaxed the six remaining children over. After everything they had suffered through, a humanoid wolf wasn’t the least bit intimidating.
They gathered around Blink, and the lavender mutant took a minute to catch her breath.
“Can she get us out again?” Sabre asked.
“She gets these kids out, then we worry about that,” said Black Mamba.
“Agreed,” Hardcastle chambered a round, “get out of here, kid.”
When Blink disappeared with the remaining children, there was a collective sigh of relief, from soldiers, super hero and serpents all. The situation was still a disaster, but at least the people in the line of fire were the people who deserved to be there.
“So,” Asp rubbed her wrist uncomfortably, “…now what?”
# # # # #
Elsewhere
Faced with a wall of sharp teeth covered in human drool, anchored to beings that had the strength to tear her in two without breaking stride, Mirage fell back on her training even as fear washed over her.
It was the wrong training, yet ironically, it saved her life.
Mirage had intended to create a barrage of her psychic arrows, to drive a wedge through the vampires. She was concerned too much about her team, as the members with her were pretty damn tough physically. As for the Serpent Society, Mirage had mentally forgotten to take them into account when deciding on tactics.
No one was perfect.
But the mixture of fear and panic made her reach into her first developed power. She projected the worst fear of every vampire in front of their own eyes, holy symbols from the Star of David, the Christian Cross and even Hindu bent cross, and it stopped every single one in their tracks.
“Damn,” Nova whistled, only a few feet apart from a blood thirsty creature that wanted to literally eat his throat, “good thinking, chief.”
“Uhh, yeah,” Mirage said, “Arsenal, Nova, start blasting! Sidewinder…!”
Mirage glanced over her shoulder and saw the leader of the Serpent Society, in fact every member of the Serpent Society, holding a cross.
“We spent some time on the West Coast, and they pack easily,” Sidewinder explained.
“This is insane, I didn’t sign on for this,” Arsenal took several steps back. The vampires were hissing like rattle snakes, but were unable to move forward.
“Hold it together, Arsenal,” Mirage said. She was trying to think of what to do next, and was coming up blank. She didn’t know if they could handle all these creatures, she didn’t know if Blink had made it out with all the kidnapped children, she didn’t know if X-Treme had managed to hold back Gorgon.
With so many unknowns staring her in the face, Mirage struggled to find a course of action. And crippled by indecision, however briefly, left her vulnerable.
“Die, whore!”
“Chief, look out!”
Nova threw himself in front of Mirage as an optic blast from Panzer came within inches of slicing her in two. The Human Rocket only grunted when struck, but the distraction was enough, the illusions and the vampires attack.
“Blue blazes,” Nova backhanded two vampires with ease, “that guy is an asshole.”
“He doesn’t get away,” Mirage ordered, as her arrows flew.
“Right.”
Panzer unleashed every ounce of energy his eyes could channel at Nova as flew at him, and it didn’t even slow him down. Nova grabbed him by the neck, and threw him to the ground.
“Your friends are all dead,” Panzer chuckled despite himself. He had good reason to be cocky, after six years as a mercenary he still hadn’t found anything that could really hurt him. Even Nova’s strength felt more like being pushed around than an actual punch, “your friends will be overwhelmed, if not by the vampires, then by the alien you unleashed!”
“Right,” Nova looked across the battlefield where the phalanx was finishing off the remains of the North Korean army. Soon, very soon, that thing would become involved in the larger battle, “lets see what you can do to help, then.”
“What do you ahhhhh!”
Nova grabbed Panzer by the ankle, and then shot towards the phalanx. He’d read reports about the species, both before this mission and a member of the intergalactic police force, the Nova Corps, and he wasn’t about to take chances. He swung Panzer like a bat at the creature’s center mass. The monster roared as it was knocked back, and Nova kept swinging away with his human flail.
# # # # #
“Vermin!”
Tarene felt the rage of battle well up in her, and she struggled to control herself as vampire after vampire tackled her like ants. She swatted seven away effortlessly, but another six just took their place. Tarene swept outwards with her war mallet, and those vampires even brushed by it turned to dust.
“Mirage!” Sidewinder was spending the battle teleporting from spot to spot, like he was the mole in Wack-A-Mole, “your blond powerhouse just vaporized the creatures!”
“Tarene…!” Mirage felt a light bulb go off in her head. Tarene was an Asgardian, and by default, a goddess. Anything of hers would be a holy symbol, and…
“Foood!”
A vampire tackled Mirage from behind before she could finish her thought. She felt steel like fingers wrap around her throat, and in what she expected to be her last thought, Danielle apologized to her team for leading them into this disaster.
But before the monster could tear out her throat in a blind lust for blood, a missile of red fur knocked it aside, and held it back with a simple cross.
“Rahne!”
Sabre and Black Racer rocketed into one blood starved monster after the other, Coachwhip severed the head of one with her weapons while Vibraxis and Rattler blasted a human wave of the monsters away.
“Finally, reinforcements,” muttered Mirage, “Wolfsbane, report!”
“Blink got all o’ the children out o’ here!” Wolfsbane replied.
“Good,” Mirage scanned the battlefield, still swarming with vampires, and in the distance, Nova was doing what he could to hold off the phalanx that they still had to deal with.
“Okay, we saved the kids, now we get to save ourselves,” Mirage turned to Tarene.
“Tarene, make it rain, and then bless it!”
“What?” Tarene looked at Mirage, and then her own war mallet, “why?”
“Just do it!”
Tarene thrust her war mallet into the air, and said a silent prayer that she just somehow knew. Thunder cracked, the sky rumbled, rain began to fall, and the vampires screamed.
“What the heck is goin’ on?” Puff Adder looked around, baffled.
“Holy rain,” Mirage just smiled.
But the smirk disappeared from her face as energy blasts flew overhead. Mirage swung her head, and saw dozens of members of the North Korean army. Their eyes glowed blue, and the veins in their neck were a bright, ugly yellow. Their bodies were in various states of disrepair. A missing arm, a caved in skull or a gaping hole in their chest, the only commonality was the fact that they were all dead. Mirage didn’t need Technocrat to tell her that the phalanx had somehow reanimated all the soldiers it had killed into cannon fodder.
“Techno organic zombies?!” Wolfsbane couldn’t believe the words that slipped from her mouth, “bleedin’ hell!”
“Great, now all we have to do is deal with the giant rampaging alien and it’s undead army,” Sidewinder said.
“…right,” Mirage looked around, “hey, where’s Hardcastle and his team?”
# # # # #
X-Treme caught Gorgon’s sword between his double blades, and with just a twist, he managed to disarm the cocky, self proclaimed master swordsman.
It was the first real luck the’d had since the fight resumed, and it didn’t last. Gorgon’s fist slammed into X-Treme’s stomach, but as Adam fell, he twisted to his side, his left elbow hitting the side of Gorgon’s knee, making the mutant madman stumble.
Death Adder came up from behind X-Treme, using his fallen ally as a springboard, brought his knee up at the exact second needed to catch Gorgon in the in the face, whipping his head backwards. Death Adder lunged forward with his claws, and sank them into the Albino’s chest like a spoon sinking into ice cream.
Gorgon coughed blood, but he still grabbed Death Adder by the wrists, and pulled the Serpent’s blood and poison laced claws free of his stomach. Gorgon’s eyes flared, but before he could turn the Snake to stone, a blade sank into his neck and eye socket.
Gorgon mule kicked Death Adder in the stomach, and then just barely managed to duck a slice from X-Treme.
“Congratulations alien,” Gorgon caught X-Treme’s sword arm by the wrist, “you have managed to annoy me. A rare few ever have.”
“I’d be honored if I thought you were worth a damn,” X-Treme dropped his sword, grabbed Gorgon by his wrist, and with his other arm swung his elbow into Gorgon’s face.
It should have been a crippling blow, but X-Treme was exhausted. Gorgon then brought his knee up to Adam’s face, and the alien warrior stumbled, just barely managing to hold on.
“Any last words?” Gorgon smiled.
“Yeah,” X-Treme coughed, his face a map of blood and bruises, “Death Adder, get the other one!”
Gorgon just rolled his eyes as the Serpent grabbed his free arm, sinking his claws into muscle and bone. A lesser man would have been crippled by the pain, but Gorgon stopped paying attention to pain a long, long time ago.
“And just what is this supposed to accomplish?”
Gorgon was still smiling when the side of his head exploded in blood and gore. Able Squad sniper Jackson O’Hare smiled, and pulled the trigger again, and the result was a section of Gorgon’s neck popping like a water balloon.
“Move, you idiots!”
X-Treme and Death Adder leapt aside as Hardcastle and his men unloaded their weapons into Gorgon. The mutant zealot jerked like a fish on a hook as hollow point bullets smashed move, tore arteries and severed tendons.
“Barnes, Mayfield! Dart rounds!” Hardcastle snapped.
The Able Squad ceased fire as Corporal Barnes and Mayfield drew special pistols issued for just this mission. The bullets were all in a specially sealed magazine, each of the twelve bullets were hollow, and contained several drops of the world’s deadliest poison.
Not a single one of the bullets failed to enter Gorgon.
When it was all done, Gorgon lay on the tarmac in a puddle of blood.
“You guys really do believe in overkill, huh?” X-Treme said.
“There is no overkill,” said Hardcastle, “there is only open fire, and reload. Words to live by.”
“I’ll have to remember that, if we actually live,” X-Treme said, “lets meet up with the others, and see if there’s an actual plan for getting out of here, or if we have to fight out way out.”
“You couldn’t fight through a paper bag right now,” Hardcastle observed.
“Then lets hope there’s a plan.”
# # # # #
“Keep it up!” Mirage shouted, as she struggled to create a psychic arrow, “we just have to hold out a little longer!”
Asp pointed her hand at one of the undead soldiers, summoned a venom bolt, but watched in horror as the energy refused to leave her hand, “I’m out! Anyone…!”
“Down!”
Asp threw herself to the ground, as Anaconda swept her arm outwards like a wrecking ball, and swept aside dozens of the monsters.
“This is great!” Anaconda laughed despite herself. The mindless, guilt free violence was like a drug to the mercenary
“Sidewinder!” Mirage shouted, “how much longer?!”
“I don’t know!” replied the leader, “it’s like there’s a heavy fog over this entire area! I can’t get us out without help!”
-Blink!-
Clarice Ferguson appeared out of thin air behind Mirage, and fell over.
“Blink!” Mirage was at the teleporter’s side in a second.
“Hey…chief…” Blink muttered. It sounded as if the mere act of speaking was exhausting.
“Tell me you came back for a reason,” Mirage said.
“Think…I can get us all out,” said Blink, “felt…Sidewinder’s teleporting. If we work together…”
“Got it,” Mirage said, “Sidewinder, max out your teleporter now!”
The leader of the Serpent Society gave Mirage a ‘Are you kidding’ look, but said nothing when he realized he had no other idea how they might get out of here.
Sidewinder concentrated, and when Blink felt his teleport signature she activated her own. The two energies mingled, and a tear in reality appeared before them.
“Oh thank the Spirits!”
“We out!” Puff Adder and Anaconda stampeded through the portal, followed by Death Adder, Black Mamba and Asp.
“Lets go people, we are leaving!”
Mirage’s heart stopped as the hole shrank an inch.
“No…”
“I got it!” Tarene flew into the portal, and pushed the corners outwards, “go!”
“Got it!” Sabre and Black Racer grabbed their teammates, and tossed them through the portal past Tarene.
Mirage blinked, and found herself flung through Tarene’s legs like an arrow. She was followed by Wolfsbane, Sidewinder and three members of Able Squad.
The two speedsters zig-zagged all over the battle field, sweeping up teammates and tossing them past Tarene as she struggled to keep the tear in reality open.
Sweat trickled down her brow, and her hands felt as if they were clutching knives, as the natural order of the universe bared down on the young Goddess, but she swore she wouldn’t buckle, swore that even as reality itself came down on her, even as her muscles felt as if they would snap at any second, she would not budge, she would not break.
The second the entire Serpent Society was evacuated, Black Racer had slipped past Tarene without a second thought, leaving Sabre to handle the rest of the evacuation, but to her credit, the speedster didn’t even notice. She was focused on the mission and nothing else, and was speeding towards one of the last remaining members of Able Squad, Colonel Hardcastle, when a stray shot lanced through her shoulder.
Sabre’s mind had barely registered the pain, but it was still enough to make her stumble. But at the speed she was travelling, she skidded a good ten feet before stopping.
“Kid!”
Nova the Human Rocket landed next to Sabre, and swept his hands outwards unleashing a wall of energy that knocked back the techno-zombies.
“Crap, is she alright?” Hardcastle was at Nova’s side in seconds.
“Hard to tell,” Nova rolled Sabre on her back, and saw her face was covered in bruises and smeared with blood, “but I don’t think she’s getting up any time soon.”
“Guys…” Tarene was a few feet away, still struggling to keep the portal open, “…hurry!”
Nova was about to say something, when he heard a loud roar and a rush of air. He looked up, and saw the old helicarrier that was meant to be their backup evacuation plan descending from the sky.
Almost immediately, the phalanx and its legions turned away from the heroes, and towards the ship.
“That can’t be good,” Hardcastle muttered.
“It’s perfect,” Nova found himself genuinely smiling.
“Guys…” Tarene felt her arms beginning to waver.
“We’ll be fine!” Nova pointed his fist at Tarene, and unleashed a short blast of energy. It wasn’t enough to truly hurt Tarene, but more than enough to push her through the portal itself.
“Guess it’s piggy back?” Hardcastle asked.
“Stay by Sabre, I’ll be right back,” said Nova.
The Human Rocket took off towards the helicarrier, while at the same time bringing up his helmet’s HUD. It was already programmed, and highlighted the carrier’s cooling tanks.
Nova tore through the five inches of steel like it was tissue, and coolant spilled out everywhere. The phalanx and its drones screamed, and instantly turned their weapons on him.
Nova arced up drawing fire, before he shot back down, slammed through the horde like a cannon ball, and then scooped up Hardcastle and Sabre.
“What the hell did you do?” said Hardcastle.
Nova didn’t stop until the training camp was little more than an indeterminate dot in the distance. He began counting down in his head, remembering what Technocrat had said. But he was only on three before the dot in the distance turned bright orange.
“Without coolant, that thing was little more than a Roman candle,” Nova explained.
“And with all our people out, we’re free to purge the site,” Hardcastle smiled, “I like the way you kids think.”
“You want to know the scary thing?” Nova watched as smoke curled into the air. He turned, and sped towards Japan, towards their temporary operating base.
“Oh, I already know it,” said Hardcastle, “this mission went to shit. Everything that happened today, everything we barely survived?”
“By tomorrow, that will have been the easy part.”
THE END
NEXT ISSUE: Fall out! Force Works pays the price for a mission that spiraled out of control, and they struggle to recover both professionally and emotionally.