Back to Gatefold
Issue #4 by A. Crute
Dec 2008 |
"Caged Animals"
6 months ago…
“So anyone want to play eye spy again?” Danny Rand was sitting on the windowsill of the apartment with his back pressed against the wall around the edge of the wall. He was met with a loud chorus of groans from the children in the room.
“We’ve said everything, Mr Iron Fist, sir,” said Keisha. She was sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by the ten or so other children who currently resided in the apartment block in which they had locked themselves up.
“We could go to a different apartment if you like. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind us crashing his place,” Danny grinned at the children “and how many times do I have to tell you it’s Danny. The days of wearing masks and using other names are over.” He said the last part with a hint of sadness.
A little boy called Carl in an oversized and now frankly filthy basketball jersey put up his hand to speak. “Misty said Iron Fist was a title bestowed upon you after a long line of warriors...” he repeated from memory.
Danny nodded his head. It was a fair point. “Okay you can call me Iron Fist if you want but you have to call Luke Power Man. He loves that.”
“Sweet Christmas you did not tell them to call me that,” Luke leaned up against the door to the apartment in his tightly stretched (and dirty) wife beater. His beard was coming in all across the bottom of his face now without his specially made razors.
The kids burst into life and exploded towards Luke. They jumped at him and clung to his legs, he grunted and pretended to have trouble lifting his feet from the ground. “Hey guys the adults need to talk downstairs for a few minutes, go run upstairs and hide in Danny’s apartment and we’ll come find you when were done.”
The kids laughed as they released his legs and began to move quickly down the corridor. “You wont find us Power Man!” yelled one of the voices as the small heard of elephants could be heard thundering up the stairs.
Danny laughed. “I am going to kill you; you do realise that yes?”
“Completely worth it, what’s up?” Danny rotated so his legs pressed onto the floor and then took his weight. His legs felt stiff, he had been exercising every day but they were screaming for some real exercise.
“Were having a ‘discussion’ in the lobby” Luke made air quotes and nodded behind him. Danny didn’t think it could mean anything good.
The two made their way down the hall and began to go down the staircase which ran down the centre of the building. When in the stairwell they could already hear the raised voices of the people down at the bottom.
When they reached the lowest level they fell into place behind the two women who were their best friends Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. The Daughters of the Dragon were standing halfway up the lowest flight of stairs.
The others who had been living in the building with them were amassed below them in the open space at the bottom of the stairwell. These were the people who the four had managed to save in some way or another; even if it was just to open the front door long enough for them to run inside as they screamed down the street.
They were mostly African American because of their location in Harlem in the apartment building which Luke Cage had made his home. “All right keep quiet,” Misty hollered over the top of them, she was an ex-police officer and had a ‘takes no crap’ attitude, voice and glare. When she spoke people listened “One at a time!”
“What’s going on?” Danny questioned behind Colleen, who was usually the quieter of the two women, though not by much.
“Danny, all were saying is we can’t stay here forever,” answered one of the massed number below them. He was Warren Summerville, he had lived in this building for the past 20 years, his daughter and his grandson were also now residing here (thanks to visiting on THE day.)
“I’m not saying that, it’s safe here. We should stay here and just ride it out until help comes” piped up a woman named Amanda. Her son Jamal was one of the kids currently hiding in Danny’s rooms, his safety was no doubt paramount in her mind.
The crowd again burst into a small discussion/argument amongst themselves. “QUIET!” barked Misty, silence descended again.
“Look, it’s cool y’all dragged me in off the street and put me up in some old woman’s crib but I’m not planning to live here the rest of my life.” One of the young men shouted out.
Misty couldn’t help but think “You sound like an idiot”.
“The food is running low…everything from all the apartments is nearly gone,” said another voice from the crowd of people.
“Food isn’t a problem,” Danny shook his head “Colleen and I can get into any house on this block at least without a problem and raid it without even touching the street.”
“That’s not the point, we can’t just stay hauled up in here forever,” Warren spoke up again. “This place is beginning to feel like a prison and we can’t live on canned fruit and cold soup forever, we need to get out of here and out of the city.”
The four stood on the stairs in silence. Misty turned to look at Luke and Danny. “We haven’t seen any people out there in a week or two,” he bit down on his lip as if thinking “plenty of the monsters though.” He thought for a moment. “I say we go, somewhere outside the city if possible.”
“How’re we supposed to get there?” asked Luke. “This place is safe, we can ride out the worst of things here.”
“It’s not really our job to decide is it?” Colleen asked as she looked down on the number of people standing below them. “Everyone has to decide for themselves what they want to do.”
“So what we separate if we disagree…or let people either stay here to die or go out there to die?” Misty was the most practical of the foursome most commonly known as heroes for hire.
There was silence for a few seconds. “We vote,” offered the young man whom Misty had thought an idiot. “Democratic and everything, majority rules either everyone goes or everyone stays.”
Luke sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Ok, though I know how this is going to go. If we vote to stay it’ll be what a week maybe two before this argument is brought up again. If we go we put everyone at risk…just all of you bare that in mind.” He exhaled slowly again “all of you in favour,”
Two hours later…
Luke and Danny were the first onto the street. They both were wearing thick jackets despite the warmth of the day, to give an extra inch or two of protection and another few second should they run into trouble. The stench of the rotting bodies across the city hung heavy in the air.
They moved to the bottom of the stoop and looked around them. They motioned for the group to follow them as they saw the coast was clear.
The people of the building silently (difficult for the kids) followed, their belongings and what little food they had in bags on their backs. Misty and Colleen followed up the rear. Luke and Danny set of on point and moved down the street.
They were silent and nervous, they exchanged glances as they moved towards the corner keeping an eye out for any of the zombies. Danny was the first to spot one in the reflection of a car windscreen, Luke peered round the corner to see it staggering towards them.
His skin was greying but his features indicated him being African American. “Fight or try to go around him?” Danny questioned Luke, he tightened his fist and rocked back on his foot ready to react.
“We wont be able to get everyone around him before he gets to the corner. You want to take him or should I?” He stooped down and picked up a small stone as he said it and tossed it in the air checking it’s weight. Danny bowed and Luke took it as a signal and brought his arm back. He tossed his weight behind his shoulder and tossed his arm forward releasing the stone.
The power exerted by the super strength of Luke Cage on the small rock made it move like a missile through the air and through the face of the creature who toppled back without a noise as the mush which was it’s brain splattered to the floor behind it.
The stone skipped along the pavement afterwards bouncing until it came to a stop at the intersection of two streets. A shambling figure moved towards it. She looked down at the stone and then turned her head up to look where it came from. She gave a grunt and turned to move towards the two.
Danny was about to ‘call her’ when he stopped. Several more figures moved slowly behind her. They were all dressed in suits or respectable dresses as they in a large group seemed to shamble as one.
“Luke?”
“Sweet Christmas looks like they’ve come straight from the church.” Luke was indeed correct, a funeral service which had been rudely interrupted by the undead outbreak two blocks over. The ‘flock’ had since then remained flocked together driven by some unknown compulsion.
“Misty start backing up!” Luke called to the back of the group.
“No can do Cage,” she added a cuss at the end. Luke took a few steps back and looked along the street. A gang of the freaks dressed in the same general ‘uniform’ making them look like bargain basement hip hop stars were stumbling down a stoop on the opposite side of the street towards them. It seemed the local 2bit gangs of the neighbourhood were flocking together too.
There was a scream from one of the children. It spread quickly and it soon seemed like everyone in the little community they had built up was scrabbling to get hard against the building. Misty pulled her gun and began to fire, she was trying to create a path.
“That’s just going to bring more this way isn’t it?” Danny asked, Luke nodded. “We best get the clean up underway then.”
The four launched into action. Colleen and Danny took a defensive position around the people they had sworn to protect while Misty and Luke each took position on one of the streets and prepared for action.
Luke rushed head first at the zombies dressed in their finery. He counted to three as he did a hop, skip and jump launching himself at the monsters as he got closer. He slammed his weight into the first line of them knocking several back pulverising a number to where they couldn’t even stand.
He was surrounded by them in a matter of seconds. He tossed his hands out in various directions smashing the heads and chests of the zombies with great ease. Their already decomposing bodies crumbled beneath his powerful fists.
One of the zombies he had knocked to the ground grabbed his leg and dragged itself towards him. He raised his leg to shake it off but it had enough strength to hold on, it opened it’s mouth and locked it tightly onto his leg and prepared to sink his teeth in…they went no further.
Luke Cage’s impenetrable skin had worked much like he thought it would, it made him essentially zombie proof. He grinned and began to thrash at the monsters with more renewed vigour now that he knew he could hurt them but they couldn’t hurt him.
Misty’s efforts were arguably less effective. She was keeping the creatures back with a shower of precisely aimed bullets but they kept on coming, every time she had to reload or re aim they were creeping that much closer.
One got in reach of her and stretched out his arms. She swung her mechanical arm up towards him. He grabbed onto it and bit down on the machinery to little avail. She pressed the muzzle of her gun up against his forehead. “You’re just not that bright it would seem,” she emptied the last bullet of the chamber into his brain.
There was a scream from the people. Danny and Colleen turned and began to sprint through their number. They had been pressed up against a crappy little alleyway just big enough for one person to fit through. A string of zombies were now spewing from it having wandered there and shown no interest in leaving up until they could see their food at the end of the alley.
Three had moved into the crowd and attacked two people before the group had reacted. They were pushing and shoving one another to get out of the way in a panic. Colleen launched at the gap sword swinging aiming to dismember anything which would get within her arc of swing.
Danny prepared to take on the three creatures who had spilled through already. The first he dispatched with a quick boot to the head. His skill and precision sent the head soaring from the body and against the wall. He powered up the chi energy of his iron fist and practically blew the head off the second as his fist impacted on it.
There was a scream from they young boy known as Jamal. Danny turned on a dime, the crowd were holding back Jamal’s mother. One of the creatures held her son’s arm and was pulling him towards her mouth while his mother pulled his other arm. She was unable to move in either direction.
Danny launched himself between the two pushing the boy free of the creature’s grasp. The zombie lurched forward and sunk it’s teeth into Danny’s neck. He let out a scream of pain before smashing her skull in with his elbow.
He pressed his hand up against his neck feeling the wound and then launched into a blur of screaming action. His entire arm glowed with golden energy as he sprang over the head of Colleen and ploughed down the length of the cut, his outstretched arm destroying the bodies and heads of the zombies as he went.
Colleen shifted to help Misty. The Daughter’s of the dragon made short work of the zombies. Misty blew the heads off them with ease, any who got through Colleen beheaded without too much effort.
It took a few minutes until there was silence as the groans of the creatures stopped as the last one was taken out. Luke moved around the corner caked in the filth of the creatures he had pounded to death, he was removing his coat and using the inside to wipe what was left of him clean. He had no need for it anymore.
His eyes fell on his bleeding and wounded friend as he moved out of the alleyway he had exploded down. He was glowing with golden energy normally only seen around his fist. Misty and Colleen moved towards him. “Danny?”
“For the minute,” he nodded, wobbled and leaned on the side of the building. “Not for much longer though,” he shook his head.
“Don’t talk like that,” Luke was at his side.
“We know what happens, we’ve seen it…I can feel it. My Chi changing.”
“Danny…” Misty broke off. He was the love of his life, they had separated but she still felt strongly for him.
“Misty…Luke…Colleen…Don’t let me become one of them. Please, I can feel it…don’t let it happen.” Danny shook his head and his friends saw something they had never seen before. There was fear in his eyes.
There was silence for a second. “Colleen, I’ll hold him. You…do what you have to,” Luke hugged his friend tightly and let him bury his face into his shoulder to hide the tears which were forming. He wasn’t afraid of death but he was afraid of the undeath he could feel in his chi.
“I love you all,” Danny sobbed.
Colleen raised her blade high above her head. She was a ninja, trained to take lives when necessarily. The thing most important to her kind was honour, she closed her eyes as she brought the blade down on the most honourable man she had ever known.
It was the start of a bad exodus. In the five days it took them to get out of the city they lost 70% of their party, including all but one of the children.
Now…
Luke leaned up against the wall now looking at the newly arrived X-Men and the blonde haired kid and his dinosaur. He was fully aware of the fact that they had just traded one tomb for another (though mush bigger and luxurious). Every day was the same as the one before, this was something different atleast.
Kurt Wagner had his hand up to stop both those who were ready to attack them and his fellow X-Men to stop them doing anything silly or rash. Luke had a good handle on people, the kid with the force field or telekinesis or whatever, he seemed the kinda kid who would do something stupid.
“Nightcrawler, Colossus….you’re alive,” Misty exclaimed as she moved to hug one and then the other. Colleen followed suit and did the same. They were neither of them strangers to the X-Men. Misty had once shared an apartment with Jean Grey and so knew the X-Men well. Colleen was also good friends with them, especially Cyclops.
“The others?” Colleen questioned. She knew it was always a bad question to ask but she had to ask.
“There’s just us,” Kurt shook his head. “Allow me to introduce Rahne, Sofia and Julian…you already know Lockheed. Rahne was an instructor at the school and Sofia and Julian were our students” The little purple dragon brushed up against Old Lace and cooed at her. The majority of the group recognised Rahne from one place or another such as her time with the government team X-Factor which she was a poster child for.
The three teens acknowledge the group, which had just been joined by Hank and Doc Connors. “The X-Men,” Hank stretched out his hand to shake with Nightcrawler “are there any other…?”
Colleen shook her head silencing the Avenger. “It’s great you’re here,” rounded Hank as he moved the conversation onto something more positive.
Colossus slowly raised his large metal hand to draw attention to himself before he spoke. “Is that Venom?”
The amassed superheroes turned and all looked at the muscular black figure who was crouching on the floor. His long red tongue licked across the surface of his face over his long sharp teeth. He looked as if he was relishing the attention.
“We…” Hank drifted off.
“We got no other choice, he’s human under that gunk.” Luke shook his head. “The minute he steps out of line, he’s gone.”
“Hello!” Chase waved his arms as he stood between the newly arrived heroes and the ones who had been here previously. “Are we forgetting something? Hawkeye? Blonde Avenger handy with a bow who is out there now fighting the zombies? It’s all very well and good that the mutant population here just rose and all but we can’t forget him.”
“How rude,” said Sofia as she turned to Julian.
“Jerk,” he added with a growl and the shake of his head. Old Lace growled at him having picked up some of the animosity between him and her master. “Muzzle it,” Julian added as he flung up his hands and bound her mouth with telekinetic energy.
Chase’s metal fist slammed against his face as the teen jumped at him. “Try and touch her…or not touch her or whatever again X-boy and see what you get.”
Chase was suddenly hurled back and to the floor. Julian grunted as he jumped forward and slammed a blow into Chase as he mounted the top of the boy. “I didn’t fight all the way here from Westchester to have some bigoted punk…”
Colossus and Luke Cage both stepped forward and pulled one of the boys each. “You don’t know a thing about me Jackass!” Chase swung again but was being held out away from Julian at Luke Cage’s arm length.
“Boys calm down,” Hank Pym stepped forward and held out his arms between the two boys who were being held by the strongmen. “I’m sure Chase didn’t mean anything he’s just highly strung at the moment. Chase I need you to calm down, were going to talk about Hawkeye and work out a plan.”
“What plan? Why would we need a plan?” Chase was lowered to the floor and instantly took a step forward to Hank Pym. This was a celebrity and a hero Chase had grown up with over the past decade or so but he was showing no fear in the face of him. “Hawkeye is out there, he needs help…you’re his friend. Lets go and help him. I know you’re know Mr Fantastic in the brain department but it’s not that hard…lets go!”
Hank narrowed his eyes and scowled at Chase. He could see why the young mutant had took a swing at him.
“I’ll go,” Cage nodded and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, this time as a supportive gesture rather than a restrictive one. “Any one else who wants to come is free too.”
“Whatever happened to going with the majority?” Misty raised her eyebrow at her friend.
“Different time, different place….plus I feel a need to get out for a little while.” He shrugged, he’d been feeling restricted for a little while in the base. It was a big enough place and even with all the people living within it’s boundaries there was enough room for everyone. It was no doubt however still a prison, for their own safety yes but Luke Cage did not like prisons.
“Won’t letting you out just let some of them in?” It was a middle aged guy named Arthur. He was one of the few in the first few days here who didn’t seem at all impressed with the ‘celebrities’ none of that lack of ‘impressed-ness’ had faded over the months.
“Not if we can get out without opening the gate,” Colossus ventured. He nodded to Luke Cage as a sign of solidarity. The two couldn’t be hurt by the zombies so they had nothing to lose by getting out there.
Nightcrawler worriedly eyed his steel friend. He had been filled with anger recently and took silly risks, he didn’t seem to care about anything but hurting the zombies. He was slightly taken aback when Colossus turned to him. “I don’t think I could teleport out and back again. I’m too veak.”
“I can help,” Hellion turned to face Colossus. “I can lift us over the fence?”
“You?” Chase queried.
“Yes me, you have a problem with that?” Hellion spat back. The young telekinetic felt he had a lot to prove. He had been promoted to the X-Men because of their current situation but even that couldn’t help his feeling of inadequacy at having survived when everyone else he called a friend had died…survivors guilt they called it. The fact that the WCA had set up in his home city and he was their biggest fan no doubt influenced his decision.
“We’ll come too,” Venom hissed.
“No!” Hank Pym put his foot down as he turned to round on the creature. “I don’t suppose I can persuade the others to stay but you’re more a prisoner than anything else. You can’t just decide…”
“What harm could it do?” Venom tilted it’s head to the side and smiled with it’s massive xylophone smile of sharp teeth.
Hank Pym knew exactly what harm it would do. Venom was kept in line by one thing and one thing only, the threat of being dispelled from them. If he went out and found himself fully capable of surviving then their trump card against him was gone.
“I’m hungry, sooo hungry.” Saliva began to drool through his teeth and along the length of his flickering tongue which sent it spinning through the air. “I need to eat meat…flesh, brains. It can be theirs or yours.”
This argument did indeed tip the balance in the favour of the symbiote.
“I’ll go too,” Crystal spoke. It was a surprise (though not more than Venom) she had never really known Hawkeye that well and had no real personal stake in the matter other than helping a fellow Avenger and life form (her not even being human). The hand which was only a few feet from Venom erupted in flame causing the creature to hiss and slip sideways away from her. “These macho boys need a sensible head and if the symbiote gets out of hand I can deal with him. It’s not my own body I can make erupt in flames.”
There was silence for a moment as they waited for anyone else to volunteer for the ‘mission’. Luke looked around the group and nodded “Lets get going.”
The gates…
Misty, Nightcrawler, Sarah and Sofia accompanied the group down to the fence of the base whereas the rest had left at the door. Old Lace and her new found friend Lockheed were padding along beside the group which they would undoubtedly join.
“Take care you big lug, don’t do anything I would.” Misty kidded as she kissed her friend on the cheek. He nodded, she was always the ‘mother’ of the group even if that did involve being a ‘bad mother F**ker’.
“Piotr, take care my friend. When you get back we must talk, I am worried for you.” Nightcrawler patted his friend on the arm. He was worried. Colossus stared down at him with his unreadable steel face and lifeless eyes of metal and nodded slowly.
“Please don’t go Chase,” Sarah hugged Chase tightly. He patted her back gently as he could with his fistigons.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll be back and I’ll be back with Hawkeye…you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Sarah nodded, her lip still protruding and tears forming in her eyes.
“What if you don’t…like my mommy.”
Chase pulled her tightly to him. “I will, I swear. If I don’t Lace will eat me. Besides Misty is here to keep you safe…anything comes near you and she’ll shoot it in the head.”
Misty turned with a raised eyebrow and looked down at the kneeling Chase. “You have a way with children, A way all your own.”
Chase smiled back. He took it as a compliment.
“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this really?” Sofia shook her head. She and Julian constantly argued.
Hellion was quiet for a few seconds and then shrugged. “Someone has too…it’s about time I made myself useful.” His hands began to glow with energy instantly.
The group one by one (the lightest first) began to rise into the air. They all cleared the fence in a few second and began to drift across the mass of zombies. The creatures panned their heads backwards, several took backward steps and came crashing to the floor. Those who were left began to slowly turn and shuffle forwards.
Hellion’s teeth were gritted tightly as he tried to focus on moving them. There was a lot of weight even for such a strong telekinetic as he was. They were slowly drifting down from the second he had cleared the front line of the zombies as they stumbled forward.
“Hit the ground running straight ahead,” Luke commanded as he pointed through the trees. They couldn’t afford to be held by a fight with the zombies around the base which wouldn’t help them in their search. They each did that as their feet touched down.
Thirty minutes later…
The group walked tightly together picking their way through the fallen logs and upturned stones. It was almost tranquil in these woods…apart from the scattered and groaning zombies.
They had so far only managed to come across a few. One Luke had dispatched with a massive blow directly to her head and the others were far enough away or ensnared enough in the undergrowth that they were of little consequence.
“We thought this would be more fun than staying inside and annoying Pym,” Venom shook it’s head. It’s skin pulsated and twisted as it sloped through the forest on it’s hands like some sort of ape. It bounded effortlessly over the heads of all the others and clung to a tree above them and began to look around.
“I can make it more fun and batter you around if you like,” Luke disliked venom as much as everyone else in the base and he was more than willing to show it if he had the chance.
“Any time Power man,” hissed the figure as he swung under a branch and bound onto the next tree.
“HAWKEYE!” Screamed Chase. He pressed both fistigons against the side of his face as he screamed the man’s name. He had expected to run into him before now. “HAWKEYE!”
Luke who had taken the lead on this ‘mission’ jumped across the distance between them and cupped his mouth. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? All this time and you haven’t figured out these things are attracted by sound. You can get us surrounded.” He released the boy’s mouth.
“I’ve seen you guys in action and I’ve seen the zombies. We haven’t got anything to worry about.”
“I don’t and Colossus doesn’t. Everyone else is in danger all the time were out here, trust me when I say better superheroes than you have fallen to these things….aw S**t!”
Luke released Chase and pushed him away slightly. Three figures were stumbling through the undergrowth towards them. They didn’t seem too slowed down by the greenery and branches. Venom let out a growl as he leapt from the tree and pounced down on the three with his limbs outstretched.
The bush shook violently for a few seconds before the black figure stood back up. It had it’s back to them but the shape of it’s dislocated jaw slamming shut could be seen and the loud crunch of a cracking skull followed. The group let out a collective shiver.
Venom sniffed the air. “Getting water,” he informed and sloped off. The others followed behind him not wanting to lose sight of the black monster, losing sight of him was dangerous.
They picked their way through the small shrubs and the low lying plants and in a matter of minutes found themselves in a clearing. A river pooled up into a small lake not really much bigger than a pond before it flowed away at the other end. “You think we would have noticed this, it’s not too far from the base.”
Venom bent down and sipped the water, Old Lace sniffed it and growled. The heroes peered down into the water at the faces which peered back up, arms flailing above them and teeth clashing. “They seem attracted to the water,” said Crystal, she absent-mindedly caused a ripple to spread out across the surface with and outstretched hand.
“Instinct,” Chase shrugged. “They want to eat and drink…they don’t need to but they want to. They get near the edge and fall in.”
“Uh guys,” Hellion shook his head and took a step back. “It’s not falling in we should be worried about,” he motioned to just a little further down the lake where what looked like an off ramp was now alive (figuratively) as a small number of the creatures stumbled up to their feet, more were following behind.
“Were fenced in by the river,” Luke nodded almost sighing as he said so. His voice was resigned to the fight which was about to come. His eyes flicked to the water’s surface which had more and more heads breaking the surface.
“Yes,” grinned Venom as he burst into a lolloping gallop towards the creatures.
Old Lace and Colossus burst into a run behind him. The black mass met the first few and began to tear away at their flesh. Colossus ploughed into the next few and began to pummel any which came within his arc of fight with massive right hands. Old Lace seemed to be the smartest, she was nipping left and right constantly moving and picking off those creatures who were moving slightly faster than the others.
“We don’t have time for this!” Growled Chase his fistigons burst alive with flame. “Hey Crystal what do you think of this!” He flung out his arms in front of him causing billowing flames. He stopped after a few seconds “Wait let me try again.”
“Was this it?” She flung out her own hands making two concentrated streams of flame arc through the air and blast into a number of the zombies. She stopped only for them to keep coming forward now burning. Crystal had not yet used her flame powers on zombies, she would learn from this experience and not do it again.
“No…that happens when you do that,” Chase shook his head. Crystal recovered quickly from any embarrassment she had and pointed her hands down, the ground began to shake under their feet and several of the zombies stumbled. A rift raced from her position through the ground tearing up the clearing, there were cracks of bones as the creatures began to fall.
Old Lace took advantage of what she had done and began dispatching the zombies with head shots. Colossus was now after beating some of the zombies to little more than pulp moving onto other ones. Venom was still feasting on those he had now torn into bite size pieces.
“Crap!” Hellion let out a yell. Luke, Crystal and Chase turned to see him. Several zombies had managed to clamber out behind them as earth shifted into the lake. He tossed them back with a wave of his hand.
Luke launched forward to tackle these creatures. The two teens and Crystal could handle long range attacks and ‘crowd control’ while the quicker and stronger fighters launched in with melee attacks on the creatures.
Zombie heads were exploding left right and centre as Hellion applied telekinetic pressure either around or from the inside of their heads.
A purple arrow suddenly arced through the air and slid perfectly through one side of a zombie’s head and out the other. Crystal, Hellion and Chase turned to look at Hawkeye, he was crouching in the branches of a tree. He was already reloading his bow.
“We came to rescue you!” screamed Chase. He punched the air.
“A fine job you did too,” called back Hawkeye as he released the second arrow he leapt forward out of the tree and landed in a roll on the grass firing a third as he rolled to his knee. “I didn’t need any help,” he began to sprint towards them “…I was leading them away remember, lucky I heard you shouting.”
“Told you that would work,” laughed Chase as his new hero met the trio.
“Yes it brought me…and them,” Hawkeye pressed his back against the three and began to fire arrows at the tree line where more zombies were stumbling.
Crystal turned and caused the ground to erupt below them. The rupture racing from her feet past Hellion, the teen mutant stumbled sideways and let out a yelp as he shoulder slammed into the Inhuman sending her smaller frame stumbling backwards over the edge of the lake and into the water.
“Crystal!” Hawkeye screamed as the figure of the woman slid noisily into the water and vanished completely from sight below the dirty water. He prepared to launch forward but was met with a hard shoulder from Chase.
“They’re all in there just below the surface, you can’t dive in…”
The gore covered figure of Luke Cage hurtled through the air before them and went head first diving into the water. He vanished too.
Hawkeye, Chase and Hellion immediately changed their stances. They all kept their eyes fixed on the water with their periphery vision whilst now laying down fire at the zombies Luke Cage had been battling.
“C’mon Blondie you need fire-bolts!” Hawkeye growled as he fired another volley of arrows, each finding their mark. Chase nodded and creased his brow as he focused on forming the flame into the needed shape.
“Get it together Valley boy,” Hellion growled. ‘Like you can talk,’ thought Chase, he could detect Hellion’s accent not a million miles (though millions of dollars) different to his own.
Chase let out a grunt of annoyance and let fly. The bolt of electrical energy arced out of the fingers of the gloves as opposed to the palm where the flames originate. The bolts bounced around the ground briefly before channelling into two strong blasts a few feet before them. It drifted across their ranks causing the skin to blister and explode as the energy touched them.
He looked shocked for a brief second before wiping it away to replace it with one of smug arrogant-ness. “How do you like them apples?!”
“I like them just fine,” grinned Hawkeye “Don’t stop.” The archer turned to look at the water as it erupted near the edge and the soaking wet figure of Luke Cage broke the surface and moved to the side. Crystal was draped over his shoulder.
Hawkeye crouched low as Chase let off another blast and pulled Crystal clear of Luke and onto the land. Her full figure glided out of the water, the trail of blood from her leg mixed with water and ran along the bank. It was clearly a bite mark which had ripped part of her flesh away. She was shaking violently.
Luke pulled himself on the bank and began to cough up the water. “I’m sorry, she’d already…” he let out a roar of anger as his sentence drifted off and launched towards the horde of zombies.
Hawkeye strolled Crystal’s face and launched up to his feet firing his bow again. “Keep together, keep focused we’ll make these undead bastard pay.”
The group began to unleash everything they had on the zombies. The men wouldn’t admit it but Hellion and Chase with his new found ability were probably the most effective fighters they had on the field. They could take out more zombies at one time than all of the others could.
“Hawkeye,” the weak voice muttered behind the trio. It was Crystal, he unleashed a flurry of arrows and prepared to turn. He loaded up an arrow and breathed out slowly as tears formed in his eyes. It sounded like she was on her death rattle and when she died it only meant one thing, the archer was ready to do what he had to.
He turned to look at Crystal as she climbed to her feet. The wound on her leg didn’t seem to bother her. She also seemed equally unbothered by the fact parts of her flesh were essentially dripping off her exposing parts of her skeleton as she stood.
“She looked down at her hands,” Hawkeye watched her carefully, his bow loaded. She seemed to be one of them but she was speaking, it was not something he had seen yet out of all the zombies he had to kill.
“This is new isn’t it?” her voice was now a bloody rasp, it held some of Crystal’s tone but the sweetness was gone. The words were forced over a damaged voice box with almost useless lungs. “I didn’t expect this to happen…to feel like this.”
Hawkeye suddenly became aware of the changing surroundings. The earth was rumbling gently and the wind was howling around them, the water in the lake churned and one of Crystal’s arms was beginning to ignite into flame.
“I feel hungry,” she hissed baring her teeth at them “…and it feels so good!” She let out a screech and launched forward towards the trio of heroes closest to her.
To Be Continued…
“So anyone want to play eye spy again?” Danny Rand was sitting on the windowsill of the apartment with his back pressed against the wall around the edge of the wall. He was met with a loud chorus of groans from the children in the room.
“We’ve said everything, Mr Iron Fist, sir,” said Keisha. She was sitting cross legged on the floor surrounded by the ten or so other children who currently resided in the apartment block in which they had locked themselves up.
“We could go to a different apartment if you like. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind us crashing his place,” Danny grinned at the children “and how many times do I have to tell you it’s Danny. The days of wearing masks and using other names are over.” He said the last part with a hint of sadness.
A little boy called Carl in an oversized and now frankly filthy basketball jersey put up his hand to speak. “Misty said Iron Fist was a title bestowed upon you after a long line of warriors...” he repeated from memory.
Danny nodded his head. It was a fair point. “Okay you can call me Iron Fist if you want but you have to call Luke Power Man. He loves that.”
“Sweet Christmas you did not tell them to call me that,” Luke leaned up against the door to the apartment in his tightly stretched (and dirty) wife beater. His beard was coming in all across the bottom of his face now without his specially made razors.
The kids burst into life and exploded towards Luke. They jumped at him and clung to his legs, he grunted and pretended to have trouble lifting his feet from the ground. “Hey guys the adults need to talk downstairs for a few minutes, go run upstairs and hide in Danny’s apartment and we’ll come find you when were done.”
The kids laughed as they released his legs and began to move quickly down the corridor. “You wont find us Power Man!” yelled one of the voices as the small heard of elephants could be heard thundering up the stairs.
Danny laughed. “I am going to kill you; you do realise that yes?”
“Completely worth it, what’s up?” Danny rotated so his legs pressed onto the floor and then took his weight. His legs felt stiff, he had been exercising every day but they were screaming for some real exercise.
“Were having a ‘discussion’ in the lobby” Luke made air quotes and nodded behind him. Danny didn’t think it could mean anything good.
The two made their way down the hall and began to go down the staircase which ran down the centre of the building. When in the stairwell they could already hear the raised voices of the people down at the bottom.
When they reached the lowest level they fell into place behind the two women who were their best friends Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. The Daughters of the Dragon were standing halfway up the lowest flight of stairs.
The others who had been living in the building with them were amassed below them in the open space at the bottom of the stairwell. These were the people who the four had managed to save in some way or another; even if it was just to open the front door long enough for them to run inside as they screamed down the street.
They were mostly African American because of their location in Harlem in the apartment building which Luke Cage had made his home. “All right keep quiet,” Misty hollered over the top of them, she was an ex-police officer and had a ‘takes no crap’ attitude, voice and glare. When she spoke people listened “One at a time!”
“What’s going on?” Danny questioned behind Colleen, who was usually the quieter of the two women, though not by much.
“Danny, all were saying is we can’t stay here forever,” answered one of the massed number below them. He was Warren Summerville, he had lived in this building for the past 20 years, his daughter and his grandson were also now residing here (thanks to visiting on THE day.)
“I’m not saying that, it’s safe here. We should stay here and just ride it out until help comes” piped up a woman named Amanda. Her son Jamal was one of the kids currently hiding in Danny’s rooms, his safety was no doubt paramount in her mind.
The crowd again burst into a small discussion/argument amongst themselves. “QUIET!” barked Misty, silence descended again.
“Look, it’s cool y’all dragged me in off the street and put me up in some old woman’s crib but I’m not planning to live here the rest of my life.” One of the young men shouted out.
Misty couldn’t help but think “You sound like an idiot”.
“The food is running low…everything from all the apartments is nearly gone,” said another voice from the crowd of people.
“Food isn’t a problem,” Danny shook his head “Colleen and I can get into any house on this block at least without a problem and raid it without even touching the street.”
“That’s not the point, we can’t just stay hauled up in here forever,” Warren spoke up again. “This place is beginning to feel like a prison and we can’t live on canned fruit and cold soup forever, we need to get out of here and out of the city.”
The four stood on the stairs in silence. Misty turned to look at Luke and Danny. “We haven’t seen any people out there in a week or two,” he bit down on his lip as if thinking “plenty of the monsters though.” He thought for a moment. “I say we go, somewhere outside the city if possible.”
“How’re we supposed to get there?” asked Luke. “This place is safe, we can ride out the worst of things here.”
“It’s not really our job to decide is it?” Colleen asked as she looked down on the number of people standing below them. “Everyone has to decide for themselves what they want to do.”
“So what we separate if we disagree…or let people either stay here to die or go out there to die?” Misty was the most practical of the foursome most commonly known as heroes for hire.
There was silence for a few seconds. “We vote,” offered the young man whom Misty had thought an idiot. “Democratic and everything, majority rules either everyone goes or everyone stays.”
Luke sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Ok, though I know how this is going to go. If we vote to stay it’ll be what a week maybe two before this argument is brought up again. If we go we put everyone at risk…just all of you bare that in mind.” He exhaled slowly again “all of you in favour,”
Two hours later…
Luke and Danny were the first onto the street. They both were wearing thick jackets despite the warmth of the day, to give an extra inch or two of protection and another few second should they run into trouble. The stench of the rotting bodies across the city hung heavy in the air.
They moved to the bottom of the stoop and looked around them. They motioned for the group to follow them as they saw the coast was clear.
The people of the building silently (difficult for the kids) followed, their belongings and what little food they had in bags on their backs. Misty and Colleen followed up the rear. Luke and Danny set of on point and moved down the street.
They were silent and nervous, they exchanged glances as they moved towards the corner keeping an eye out for any of the zombies. Danny was the first to spot one in the reflection of a car windscreen, Luke peered round the corner to see it staggering towards them.
His skin was greying but his features indicated him being African American. “Fight or try to go around him?” Danny questioned Luke, he tightened his fist and rocked back on his foot ready to react.
“We wont be able to get everyone around him before he gets to the corner. You want to take him or should I?” He stooped down and picked up a small stone as he said it and tossed it in the air checking it’s weight. Danny bowed and Luke took it as a signal and brought his arm back. He tossed his weight behind his shoulder and tossed his arm forward releasing the stone.
The power exerted by the super strength of Luke Cage on the small rock made it move like a missile through the air and through the face of the creature who toppled back without a noise as the mush which was it’s brain splattered to the floor behind it.
The stone skipped along the pavement afterwards bouncing until it came to a stop at the intersection of two streets. A shambling figure moved towards it. She looked down at the stone and then turned her head up to look where it came from. She gave a grunt and turned to move towards the two.
Danny was about to ‘call her’ when he stopped. Several more figures moved slowly behind her. They were all dressed in suits or respectable dresses as they in a large group seemed to shamble as one.
“Luke?”
“Sweet Christmas looks like they’ve come straight from the church.” Luke was indeed correct, a funeral service which had been rudely interrupted by the undead outbreak two blocks over. The ‘flock’ had since then remained flocked together driven by some unknown compulsion.
“Misty start backing up!” Luke called to the back of the group.
“No can do Cage,” she added a cuss at the end. Luke took a few steps back and looked along the street. A gang of the freaks dressed in the same general ‘uniform’ making them look like bargain basement hip hop stars were stumbling down a stoop on the opposite side of the street towards them. It seemed the local 2bit gangs of the neighbourhood were flocking together too.
There was a scream from one of the children. It spread quickly and it soon seemed like everyone in the little community they had built up was scrabbling to get hard against the building. Misty pulled her gun and began to fire, she was trying to create a path.
“That’s just going to bring more this way isn’t it?” Danny asked, Luke nodded. “We best get the clean up underway then.”
The four launched into action. Colleen and Danny took a defensive position around the people they had sworn to protect while Misty and Luke each took position on one of the streets and prepared for action.
Luke rushed head first at the zombies dressed in their finery. He counted to three as he did a hop, skip and jump launching himself at the monsters as he got closer. He slammed his weight into the first line of them knocking several back pulverising a number to where they couldn’t even stand.
He was surrounded by them in a matter of seconds. He tossed his hands out in various directions smashing the heads and chests of the zombies with great ease. Their already decomposing bodies crumbled beneath his powerful fists.
One of the zombies he had knocked to the ground grabbed his leg and dragged itself towards him. He raised his leg to shake it off but it had enough strength to hold on, it opened it’s mouth and locked it tightly onto his leg and prepared to sink his teeth in…they went no further.
Luke Cage’s impenetrable skin had worked much like he thought it would, it made him essentially zombie proof. He grinned and began to thrash at the monsters with more renewed vigour now that he knew he could hurt them but they couldn’t hurt him.
Misty’s efforts were arguably less effective. She was keeping the creatures back with a shower of precisely aimed bullets but they kept on coming, every time she had to reload or re aim they were creeping that much closer.
One got in reach of her and stretched out his arms. She swung her mechanical arm up towards him. He grabbed onto it and bit down on the machinery to little avail. She pressed the muzzle of her gun up against his forehead. “You’re just not that bright it would seem,” she emptied the last bullet of the chamber into his brain.
There was a scream from the people. Danny and Colleen turned and began to sprint through their number. They had been pressed up against a crappy little alleyway just big enough for one person to fit through. A string of zombies were now spewing from it having wandered there and shown no interest in leaving up until they could see their food at the end of the alley.
Three had moved into the crowd and attacked two people before the group had reacted. They were pushing and shoving one another to get out of the way in a panic. Colleen launched at the gap sword swinging aiming to dismember anything which would get within her arc of swing.
Danny prepared to take on the three creatures who had spilled through already. The first he dispatched with a quick boot to the head. His skill and precision sent the head soaring from the body and against the wall. He powered up the chi energy of his iron fist and practically blew the head off the second as his fist impacted on it.
There was a scream from they young boy known as Jamal. Danny turned on a dime, the crowd were holding back Jamal’s mother. One of the creatures held her son’s arm and was pulling him towards her mouth while his mother pulled his other arm. She was unable to move in either direction.
Danny launched himself between the two pushing the boy free of the creature’s grasp. The zombie lurched forward and sunk it’s teeth into Danny’s neck. He let out a scream of pain before smashing her skull in with his elbow.
He pressed his hand up against his neck feeling the wound and then launched into a blur of screaming action. His entire arm glowed with golden energy as he sprang over the head of Colleen and ploughed down the length of the cut, his outstretched arm destroying the bodies and heads of the zombies as he went.
Colleen shifted to help Misty. The Daughter’s of the dragon made short work of the zombies. Misty blew the heads off them with ease, any who got through Colleen beheaded without too much effort.
It took a few minutes until there was silence as the groans of the creatures stopped as the last one was taken out. Luke moved around the corner caked in the filth of the creatures he had pounded to death, he was removing his coat and using the inside to wipe what was left of him clean. He had no need for it anymore.
His eyes fell on his bleeding and wounded friend as he moved out of the alleyway he had exploded down. He was glowing with golden energy normally only seen around his fist. Misty and Colleen moved towards him. “Danny?”
“For the minute,” he nodded, wobbled and leaned on the side of the building. “Not for much longer though,” he shook his head.
“Don’t talk like that,” Luke was at his side.
“We know what happens, we’ve seen it…I can feel it. My Chi changing.”
“Danny…” Misty broke off. He was the love of his life, they had separated but she still felt strongly for him.
“Misty…Luke…Colleen…Don’t let me become one of them. Please, I can feel it…don’t let it happen.” Danny shook his head and his friends saw something they had never seen before. There was fear in his eyes.
There was silence for a second. “Colleen, I’ll hold him. You…do what you have to,” Luke hugged his friend tightly and let him bury his face into his shoulder to hide the tears which were forming. He wasn’t afraid of death but he was afraid of the undeath he could feel in his chi.
“I love you all,” Danny sobbed.
Colleen raised her blade high above her head. She was a ninja, trained to take lives when necessarily. The thing most important to her kind was honour, she closed her eyes as she brought the blade down on the most honourable man she had ever known.
It was the start of a bad exodus. In the five days it took them to get out of the city they lost 70% of their party, including all but one of the children.
Now…
Luke leaned up against the wall now looking at the newly arrived X-Men and the blonde haired kid and his dinosaur. He was fully aware of the fact that they had just traded one tomb for another (though mush bigger and luxurious). Every day was the same as the one before, this was something different atleast.
Kurt Wagner had his hand up to stop both those who were ready to attack them and his fellow X-Men to stop them doing anything silly or rash. Luke had a good handle on people, the kid with the force field or telekinesis or whatever, he seemed the kinda kid who would do something stupid.
“Nightcrawler, Colossus….you’re alive,” Misty exclaimed as she moved to hug one and then the other. Colleen followed suit and did the same. They were neither of them strangers to the X-Men. Misty had once shared an apartment with Jean Grey and so knew the X-Men well. Colleen was also good friends with them, especially Cyclops.
“The others?” Colleen questioned. She knew it was always a bad question to ask but she had to ask.
“There’s just us,” Kurt shook his head. “Allow me to introduce Rahne, Sofia and Julian…you already know Lockheed. Rahne was an instructor at the school and Sofia and Julian were our students” The little purple dragon brushed up against Old Lace and cooed at her. The majority of the group recognised Rahne from one place or another such as her time with the government team X-Factor which she was a poster child for.
The three teens acknowledge the group, which had just been joined by Hank and Doc Connors. “The X-Men,” Hank stretched out his hand to shake with Nightcrawler “are there any other…?”
Colleen shook her head silencing the Avenger. “It’s great you’re here,” rounded Hank as he moved the conversation onto something more positive.
Colossus slowly raised his large metal hand to draw attention to himself before he spoke. “Is that Venom?”
The amassed superheroes turned and all looked at the muscular black figure who was crouching on the floor. His long red tongue licked across the surface of his face over his long sharp teeth. He looked as if he was relishing the attention.
“We…” Hank drifted off.
“We got no other choice, he’s human under that gunk.” Luke shook his head. “The minute he steps out of line, he’s gone.”
“Hello!” Chase waved his arms as he stood between the newly arrived heroes and the ones who had been here previously. “Are we forgetting something? Hawkeye? Blonde Avenger handy with a bow who is out there now fighting the zombies? It’s all very well and good that the mutant population here just rose and all but we can’t forget him.”
“How rude,” said Sofia as she turned to Julian.
“Jerk,” he added with a growl and the shake of his head. Old Lace growled at him having picked up some of the animosity between him and her master. “Muzzle it,” Julian added as he flung up his hands and bound her mouth with telekinetic energy.
Chase’s metal fist slammed against his face as the teen jumped at him. “Try and touch her…or not touch her or whatever again X-boy and see what you get.”
Chase was suddenly hurled back and to the floor. Julian grunted as he jumped forward and slammed a blow into Chase as he mounted the top of the boy. “I didn’t fight all the way here from Westchester to have some bigoted punk…”
Colossus and Luke Cage both stepped forward and pulled one of the boys each. “You don’t know a thing about me Jackass!” Chase swung again but was being held out away from Julian at Luke Cage’s arm length.
“Boys calm down,” Hank Pym stepped forward and held out his arms between the two boys who were being held by the strongmen. “I’m sure Chase didn’t mean anything he’s just highly strung at the moment. Chase I need you to calm down, were going to talk about Hawkeye and work out a plan.”
“What plan? Why would we need a plan?” Chase was lowered to the floor and instantly took a step forward to Hank Pym. This was a celebrity and a hero Chase had grown up with over the past decade or so but he was showing no fear in the face of him. “Hawkeye is out there, he needs help…you’re his friend. Lets go and help him. I know you’re know Mr Fantastic in the brain department but it’s not that hard…lets go!”
Hank narrowed his eyes and scowled at Chase. He could see why the young mutant had took a swing at him.
“I’ll go,” Cage nodded and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, this time as a supportive gesture rather than a restrictive one. “Any one else who wants to come is free too.”
“Whatever happened to going with the majority?” Misty raised her eyebrow at her friend.
“Different time, different place….plus I feel a need to get out for a little while.” He shrugged, he’d been feeling restricted for a little while in the base. It was a big enough place and even with all the people living within it’s boundaries there was enough room for everyone. It was no doubt however still a prison, for their own safety yes but Luke Cage did not like prisons.
“Won’t letting you out just let some of them in?” It was a middle aged guy named Arthur. He was one of the few in the first few days here who didn’t seem at all impressed with the ‘celebrities’ none of that lack of ‘impressed-ness’ had faded over the months.
“Not if we can get out without opening the gate,” Colossus ventured. He nodded to Luke Cage as a sign of solidarity. The two couldn’t be hurt by the zombies so they had nothing to lose by getting out there.
Nightcrawler worriedly eyed his steel friend. He had been filled with anger recently and took silly risks, he didn’t seem to care about anything but hurting the zombies. He was slightly taken aback when Colossus turned to him. “I don’t think I could teleport out and back again. I’m too veak.”
“I can help,” Hellion turned to face Colossus. “I can lift us over the fence?”
“You?” Chase queried.
“Yes me, you have a problem with that?” Hellion spat back. The young telekinetic felt he had a lot to prove. He had been promoted to the X-Men because of their current situation but even that couldn’t help his feeling of inadequacy at having survived when everyone else he called a friend had died…survivors guilt they called it. The fact that the WCA had set up in his home city and he was their biggest fan no doubt influenced his decision.
“We’ll come too,” Venom hissed.
“No!” Hank Pym put his foot down as he turned to round on the creature. “I don’t suppose I can persuade the others to stay but you’re more a prisoner than anything else. You can’t just decide…”
“What harm could it do?” Venom tilted it’s head to the side and smiled with it’s massive xylophone smile of sharp teeth.
Hank Pym knew exactly what harm it would do. Venom was kept in line by one thing and one thing only, the threat of being dispelled from them. If he went out and found himself fully capable of surviving then their trump card against him was gone.
“I’m hungry, sooo hungry.” Saliva began to drool through his teeth and along the length of his flickering tongue which sent it spinning through the air. “I need to eat meat…flesh, brains. It can be theirs or yours.”
This argument did indeed tip the balance in the favour of the symbiote.
“I’ll go too,” Crystal spoke. It was a surprise (though not more than Venom) she had never really known Hawkeye that well and had no real personal stake in the matter other than helping a fellow Avenger and life form (her not even being human). The hand which was only a few feet from Venom erupted in flame causing the creature to hiss and slip sideways away from her. “These macho boys need a sensible head and if the symbiote gets out of hand I can deal with him. It’s not my own body I can make erupt in flames.”
There was silence for a moment as they waited for anyone else to volunteer for the ‘mission’. Luke looked around the group and nodded “Lets get going.”
The gates…
Misty, Nightcrawler, Sarah and Sofia accompanied the group down to the fence of the base whereas the rest had left at the door. Old Lace and her new found friend Lockheed were padding along beside the group which they would undoubtedly join.
“Take care you big lug, don’t do anything I would.” Misty kidded as she kissed her friend on the cheek. He nodded, she was always the ‘mother’ of the group even if that did involve being a ‘bad mother F**ker’.
“Piotr, take care my friend. When you get back we must talk, I am worried for you.” Nightcrawler patted his friend on the arm. He was worried. Colossus stared down at him with his unreadable steel face and lifeless eyes of metal and nodded slowly.
“Please don’t go Chase,” Sarah hugged Chase tightly. He patted her back gently as he could with his fistigons.
“It’ll be okay. I’ll be back and I’ll be back with Hawkeye…you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Sarah nodded, her lip still protruding and tears forming in her eyes.
“What if you don’t…like my mommy.”
Chase pulled her tightly to him. “I will, I swear. If I don’t Lace will eat me. Besides Misty is here to keep you safe…anything comes near you and she’ll shoot it in the head.”
Misty turned with a raised eyebrow and looked down at the kneeling Chase. “You have a way with children, A way all your own.”
Chase smiled back. He took it as a compliment.
“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this really?” Sofia shook her head. She and Julian constantly argued.
Hellion was quiet for a few seconds and then shrugged. “Someone has too…it’s about time I made myself useful.” His hands began to glow with energy instantly.
The group one by one (the lightest first) began to rise into the air. They all cleared the fence in a few second and began to drift across the mass of zombies. The creatures panned their heads backwards, several took backward steps and came crashing to the floor. Those who were left began to slowly turn and shuffle forwards.
Hellion’s teeth were gritted tightly as he tried to focus on moving them. There was a lot of weight even for such a strong telekinetic as he was. They were slowly drifting down from the second he had cleared the front line of the zombies as they stumbled forward.
“Hit the ground running straight ahead,” Luke commanded as he pointed through the trees. They couldn’t afford to be held by a fight with the zombies around the base which wouldn’t help them in their search. They each did that as their feet touched down.
Thirty minutes later…
The group walked tightly together picking their way through the fallen logs and upturned stones. It was almost tranquil in these woods…apart from the scattered and groaning zombies.
They had so far only managed to come across a few. One Luke had dispatched with a massive blow directly to her head and the others were far enough away or ensnared enough in the undergrowth that they were of little consequence.
“We thought this would be more fun than staying inside and annoying Pym,” Venom shook it’s head. It’s skin pulsated and twisted as it sloped through the forest on it’s hands like some sort of ape. It bounded effortlessly over the heads of all the others and clung to a tree above them and began to look around.
“I can make it more fun and batter you around if you like,” Luke disliked venom as much as everyone else in the base and he was more than willing to show it if he had the chance.
“Any time Power man,” hissed the figure as he swung under a branch and bound onto the next tree.
“HAWKEYE!” Screamed Chase. He pressed both fistigons against the side of his face as he screamed the man’s name. He had expected to run into him before now. “HAWKEYE!”
Luke who had taken the lead on this ‘mission’ jumped across the distance between them and cupped his mouth. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? All this time and you haven’t figured out these things are attracted by sound. You can get us surrounded.” He released the boy’s mouth.
“I’ve seen you guys in action and I’ve seen the zombies. We haven’t got anything to worry about.”
“I don’t and Colossus doesn’t. Everyone else is in danger all the time were out here, trust me when I say better superheroes than you have fallen to these things….aw S**t!”
Luke released Chase and pushed him away slightly. Three figures were stumbling through the undergrowth towards them. They didn’t seem too slowed down by the greenery and branches. Venom let out a growl as he leapt from the tree and pounced down on the three with his limbs outstretched.
The bush shook violently for a few seconds before the black figure stood back up. It had it’s back to them but the shape of it’s dislocated jaw slamming shut could be seen and the loud crunch of a cracking skull followed. The group let out a collective shiver.
Venom sniffed the air. “Getting water,” he informed and sloped off. The others followed behind him not wanting to lose sight of the black monster, losing sight of him was dangerous.
They picked their way through the small shrubs and the low lying plants and in a matter of minutes found themselves in a clearing. A river pooled up into a small lake not really much bigger than a pond before it flowed away at the other end. “You think we would have noticed this, it’s not too far from the base.”
Venom bent down and sipped the water, Old Lace sniffed it and growled. The heroes peered down into the water at the faces which peered back up, arms flailing above them and teeth clashing. “They seem attracted to the water,” said Crystal, she absent-mindedly caused a ripple to spread out across the surface with and outstretched hand.
“Instinct,” Chase shrugged. “They want to eat and drink…they don’t need to but they want to. They get near the edge and fall in.”
“Uh guys,” Hellion shook his head and took a step back. “It’s not falling in we should be worried about,” he motioned to just a little further down the lake where what looked like an off ramp was now alive (figuratively) as a small number of the creatures stumbled up to their feet, more were following behind.
“Were fenced in by the river,” Luke nodded almost sighing as he said so. His voice was resigned to the fight which was about to come. His eyes flicked to the water’s surface which had more and more heads breaking the surface.
“Yes,” grinned Venom as he burst into a lolloping gallop towards the creatures.
Old Lace and Colossus burst into a run behind him. The black mass met the first few and began to tear away at their flesh. Colossus ploughed into the next few and began to pummel any which came within his arc of fight with massive right hands. Old Lace seemed to be the smartest, she was nipping left and right constantly moving and picking off those creatures who were moving slightly faster than the others.
“We don’t have time for this!” Growled Chase his fistigons burst alive with flame. “Hey Crystal what do you think of this!” He flung out his arms in front of him causing billowing flames. He stopped after a few seconds “Wait let me try again.”
“Was this it?” She flung out her own hands making two concentrated streams of flame arc through the air and blast into a number of the zombies. She stopped only for them to keep coming forward now burning. Crystal had not yet used her flame powers on zombies, she would learn from this experience and not do it again.
“No…that happens when you do that,” Chase shook his head. Crystal recovered quickly from any embarrassment she had and pointed her hands down, the ground began to shake under their feet and several of the zombies stumbled. A rift raced from her position through the ground tearing up the clearing, there were cracks of bones as the creatures began to fall.
Old Lace took advantage of what she had done and began dispatching the zombies with head shots. Colossus was now after beating some of the zombies to little more than pulp moving onto other ones. Venom was still feasting on those he had now torn into bite size pieces.
“Crap!” Hellion let out a yell. Luke, Crystal and Chase turned to see him. Several zombies had managed to clamber out behind them as earth shifted into the lake. He tossed them back with a wave of his hand.
Luke launched forward to tackle these creatures. The two teens and Crystal could handle long range attacks and ‘crowd control’ while the quicker and stronger fighters launched in with melee attacks on the creatures.
Zombie heads were exploding left right and centre as Hellion applied telekinetic pressure either around or from the inside of their heads.
A purple arrow suddenly arced through the air and slid perfectly through one side of a zombie’s head and out the other. Crystal, Hellion and Chase turned to look at Hawkeye, he was crouching in the branches of a tree. He was already reloading his bow.
“We came to rescue you!” screamed Chase. He punched the air.
“A fine job you did too,” called back Hawkeye as he released the second arrow he leapt forward out of the tree and landed in a roll on the grass firing a third as he rolled to his knee. “I didn’t need any help,” he began to sprint towards them “…I was leading them away remember, lucky I heard you shouting.”
“Told you that would work,” laughed Chase as his new hero met the trio.
“Yes it brought me…and them,” Hawkeye pressed his back against the three and began to fire arrows at the tree line where more zombies were stumbling.
Crystal turned and caused the ground to erupt below them. The rupture racing from her feet past Hellion, the teen mutant stumbled sideways and let out a yelp as he shoulder slammed into the Inhuman sending her smaller frame stumbling backwards over the edge of the lake and into the water.
“Crystal!” Hawkeye screamed as the figure of the woman slid noisily into the water and vanished completely from sight below the dirty water. He prepared to launch forward but was met with a hard shoulder from Chase.
“They’re all in there just below the surface, you can’t dive in…”
The gore covered figure of Luke Cage hurtled through the air before them and went head first diving into the water. He vanished too.
Hawkeye, Chase and Hellion immediately changed their stances. They all kept their eyes fixed on the water with their periphery vision whilst now laying down fire at the zombies Luke Cage had been battling.
“C’mon Blondie you need fire-bolts!” Hawkeye growled as he fired another volley of arrows, each finding their mark. Chase nodded and creased his brow as he focused on forming the flame into the needed shape.
“Get it together Valley boy,” Hellion growled. ‘Like you can talk,’ thought Chase, he could detect Hellion’s accent not a million miles (though millions of dollars) different to his own.
Chase let out a grunt of annoyance and let fly. The bolt of electrical energy arced out of the fingers of the gloves as opposed to the palm where the flames originate. The bolts bounced around the ground briefly before channelling into two strong blasts a few feet before them. It drifted across their ranks causing the skin to blister and explode as the energy touched them.
He looked shocked for a brief second before wiping it away to replace it with one of smug arrogant-ness. “How do you like them apples?!”
“I like them just fine,” grinned Hawkeye “Don’t stop.” The archer turned to look at the water as it erupted near the edge and the soaking wet figure of Luke Cage broke the surface and moved to the side. Crystal was draped over his shoulder.
Hawkeye crouched low as Chase let off another blast and pulled Crystal clear of Luke and onto the land. Her full figure glided out of the water, the trail of blood from her leg mixed with water and ran along the bank. It was clearly a bite mark which had ripped part of her flesh away. She was shaking violently.
Luke pulled himself on the bank and began to cough up the water. “I’m sorry, she’d already…” he let out a roar of anger as his sentence drifted off and launched towards the horde of zombies.
Hawkeye strolled Crystal’s face and launched up to his feet firing his bow again. “Keep together, keep focused we’ll make these undead bastard pay.”
The group began to unleash everything they had on the zombies. The men wouldn’t admit it but Hellion and Chase with his new found ability were probably the most effective fighters they had on the field. They could take out more zombies at one time than all of the others could.
“Hawkeye,” the weak voice muttered behind the trio. It was Crystal, he unleashed a flurry of arrows and prepared to turn. He loaded up an arrow and breathed out slowly as tears formed in his eyes. It sounded like she was on her death rattle and when she died it only meant one thing, the archer was ready to do what he had to.
He turned to look at Crystal as she climbed to her feet. The wound on her leg didn’t seem to bother her. She also seemed equally unbothered by the fact parts of her flesh were essentially dripping off her exposing parts of her skeleton as she stood.
“She looked down at her hands,” Hawkeye watched her carefully, his bow loaded. She seemed to be one of them but she was speaking, it was not something he had seen yet out of all the zombies he had to kill.
“This is new isn’t it?” her voice was now a bloody rasp, it held some of Crystal’s tone but the sweetness was gone. The words were forced over a damaged voice box with almost useless lungs. “I didn’t expect this to happen…to feel like this.”
Hawkeye suddenly became aware of the changing surroundings. The earth was rumbling gently and the wind was howling around them, the water in the lake churned and one of Crystal’s arms was beginning to ignite into flame.
“I feel hungry,” she hissed baring her teeth at them “…and it feels so good!” She let out a screech and launched forward towards the trio of heroes closest to her.
To Be Continued…