Back to GatefoldIssue #8 by Cory Wiegel
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The Indian Ocean.
Several miles off of the coast of Hammer Bay, Genosha.
“It’s been half an hour since mutant terrorists have stormed the decontamination facility, yet there appears to be no word as to what their demands are,” a news reporter said from the front of her network’s helicopter as it circled the decontamination facility in the ocean below. The pilot patted her on the shoulder and pointed down to the platform. “Just a moment. There appears to be some activity on the platform. We’re going to try to get a closer look.”
She nodded to the cameraman in the back of the helicopter, who moved to the open cabin door in his harness, and directed his camera to the platform.
Several men and women in professional attire were lined up on their knees with their hands restrained behind their backs. The mutant identified as Cyclops paced about them, then began calling out to a dark haired woman – Mastermind – and pointed up to the helicopter. She nodded and walked towards the building on the platform, seemingly relaying instructions to somebody unseen.
After a moment, a dark green humanoid pteranodon – Sauron – flew from the facility’s entrance holding a limp man by his arms with his feet. Sauron ascended quickly above the platform on his powerful wings. Cyclops and Mastermind watched on.
“One of the mutants is flying up here,” the reporter narrated to the viewers at home as the cameraman tried to keep Sauron in his view. “It’s holding somebody in its talons... It’s coming towards us!”
Sauron darted directly towards the helicopter, flapping his wings at rapid speeds. He then abruptly halted his trajectory while simultaneously flinging his legs outwards, launching the man from the sharp talons on his feet towards the aircraft, before darting out of its way. The man struck the windshield of the helicopter, belly flopping against it with a sickening thud, a bloody and mangled mess devoid of life.
“Oh, my God!” the reporter cried out in horror.
The news helicopter began to spiral as the impact and weight of the corpse on the small craft’s windshield set its course off balance. The pilot tried to compensate, but to little avail.
“Everybody hang on to something!” the pilot yelled as he prepared to bank sharply to the left. “I have to get it off the windshield or we’re going down!”
The reporter grabbed the pilot by his shoulder.
“Wait! There’s writing on it,” she said, pointing and leaning towards the corpse’s torso. Blood was scrawled out crudely against the white dress shirt. “What does it say?”
From behind the pilot’s shoulder, the cameraman sitting in the back zoomed his camera’s lens in on the corpse. The pilot leaned his face closer to the windshield, focusing his eyes on the bloodied corpse’s torso, then looked back to the reporter.
“It says… ‘Give us Dr. McCoy’…”
Several miles off of the coast of Hammer Bay, Genosha.
“It’s been half an hour since mutant terrorists have stormed the decontamination facility, yet there appears to be no word as to what their demands are,” a news reporter said from the front of her network’s helicopter as it circled the decontamination facility in the ocean below. The pilot patted her on the shoulder and pointed down to the platform. “Just a moment. There appears to be some activity on the platform. We’re going to try to get a closer look.”
She nodded to the cameraman in the back of the helicopter, who moved to the open cabin door in his harness, and directed his camera to the platform.
Several men and women in professional attire were lined up on their knees with their hands restrained behind their backs. The mutant identified as Cyclops paced about them, then began calling out to a dark haired woman – Mastermind – and pointed up to the helicopter. She nodded and walked towards the building on the platform, seemingly relaying instructions to somebody unseen.
After a moment, a dark green humanoid pteranodon – Sauron – flew from the facility’s entrance holding a limp man by his arms with his feet. Sauron ascended quickly above the platform on his powerful wings. Cyclops and Mastermind watched on.
“One of the mutants is flying up here,” the reporter narrated to the viewers at home as the cameraman tried to keep Sauron in his view. “It’s holding somebody in its talons... It’s coming towards us!”
Sauron darted directly towards the helicopter, flapping his wings at rapid speeds. He then abruptly halted his trajectory while simultaneously flinging his legs outwards, launching the man from the sharp talons on his feet towards the aircraft, before darting out of its way. The man struck the windshield of the helicopter, belly flopping against it with a sickening thud, a bloody and mangled mess devoid of life.
“Oh, my God!” the reporter cried out in horror.
The news helicopter began to spiral as the impact and weight of the corpse on the small craft’s windshield set its course off balance. The pilot tried to compensate, but to little avail.
“Everybody hang on to something!” the pilot yelled as he prepared to bank sharply to the left. “I have to get it off the windshield or we’re going down!”
The reporter grabbed the pilot by his shoulder.
“Wait! There’s writing on it,” she said, pointing and leaning towards the corpse’s torso. Blood was scrawled out crudely against the white dress shirt. “What does it say?”
From behind the pilot’s shoulder, the cameraman sitting in the back zoomed his camera’s lens in on the corpse. The pilot leaned his face closer to the windshield, focusing his eyes on the bloodied corpse’s torso, then looked back to the reporter.
“It says… ‘Give us Dr. McCoy’…”
“SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL – PART THREE”
PREVIOUSLY IN NEW X-MEN #7: Deus launched the next phase of his plan with a three prong attack on the world: undermine the Xavier Institute’s mission, kidnap high-level figures across the United States, and take over a decontamination platform off the coast of Genosha. Meanwhile, after a team meeting, Phoenix decided to seek out Wolverine and confront him about his recent behavior. To her horror, she learned that he was deathly ill beyond his healing factor’s repair and that he had scoured the world for a cure to no avail. Before she could convince him to tell their teammates, Beast summoned them in preparation for their next mission: rescue the hostages on the decontamination platform and take down Cyclops and the Brotherhood!
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Gamma Base One.
The Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA.
Director Abigail Brand stepped off of the stairs that led down from the catwalk over the operations room. She looked about her staff and zeroed in on Agent Sean Watanaba – Brass – working at a tactical station with a female intelligence agent. Making her way towards him, she barked off a command to a portly agent in an ill-fitting uniform dallying about.
“Ingram, coffee,” Director Brand said. Agent Ingram promptly scurried away. “Brass, report.”
Brass turned towards his supervisor and stood at half-attention with a computer tablet in his hand.
“Our response teams are assembling in the hangar. We’ll be ready to depart in twenty minutes,” he reported, handing her the tablet. “Havok has also been in contact with Beast. The X-Men are ready for transport.” Director Brand skimmed the information on the tablet screen.
“Is our link with HERMES active?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Director Brand nodded. “Bring them in then.”
Brass turned to the intelligence agent at his station and said something to her. She moved to a computer and typed in some commands. The power in the operations room dimmed for a brief moment and the sound of swirling energy followed. Director Brand turned to a corner of the room where a platform stood. Flashes of blue and white light illuminated the platform. It quickly vanished and a handful of X-Men stood there. Dr. Henry McCoy (Beast) stood at the forefront with Jean Grey (Phoenix) to his right. Marie Charleston (Rogue) and the man whose only real name was Logan, but was more commonly known as Wolverine, stood behind them. Bobby Drake (Iceman) had remained behind at the Xavier Institute to watch over the school and its students.
“Dr. McCoy, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Director Brand said as she approached the group. Dr. McCoy stepped down from the platform followed shortly by his teammates.
“Of course,” Beast said as he observed the operations room curiously. “Thank you for having us…”
“We’ve prepared a situation report for you,” Director Brand said, handing him the very tablet that Brass gave her. “Please follow me to our briefing room.” She didn’t hesitate to lead the way. Brass followed.
Beast glanced back to his teammates and cleared his throat, nodding for them to follow as well. The X-Men were uncomfortable in their new surroundings, particularly Phoenix and Wolverine. Despite being repurposed and only being vaguely connected to the Nevada base, they quickly sensed the similarities of Gamma Base One to that of their prison during the Operation: Zero Tolerance episode of their lives.
In mere moments, Director Brand led them into the X.S.E.’s briefing room and the X-Men settled around a long rectangular table. Brass stood in the corner near the head of the table. She activated a large screen at the head of the table and uploaded the most recent intelligence report that they were sharing with S.H.I.E.L.D. and other law enforcement agencies. As was her signature leadership style, Director Brand wasted no time to get to the point.
“In addition to the hostages on the decontamination platform, at least ten kidnappings have occurred across the United States. All high level government affiliates; military personnel, contractors, politicians…” Director Brand said as their images and corresponding locations on a map flashed across the screen. “We’re certain the Brotherhood was involved.”
Rogue chimed in: “Any ideas as t’ what they want?”
Director Brand stared at her for a moment, her dark green glasses hiding any tail she may have, before she pressed a few commands into the computer near the monitor. An image of a corpse lying on a stretcher appeared. It appeared as if it was drenched in water, but the blood scrawled out on the white dress shirt was clear:
Give us Dr. McCoy
“S.H.I.E.L.D. fished this out of the Indian Ocean after the Brotherhood lobbed it at a news helicopter,” Brass said from the corner of the room. Beast sighed. Ice water ran through Phoenix’s veins. Rogue and Wolverine clearly wanted to hit something or someone.
“It goes hand in hand with the Mutant Genome leak that occurred earlier in the week,” Director Brand added to Brass’s report. “The Brotherhood clearly has some type of vendetta against you and the work the Xavier Institute is doing. That or they’re trying to rattle your cage.”
“Perhaps we should give them what they’re asking for then…” Beast mused with a touch of sorrow.
“Like hell!” Wolverine growled. Director Brand nodded.
“We’re in agreement then, Mr. Logan.”
“So what’s the plan?” Phoenix asked.
Brass looked to Director Brand, who stepped out of the way and directed him to the head of the table. He stepped up and began to brief them.
“Havok’s in charge of this operation. We’re deploying all of you in three teams and have assembled over a dozen X.S.E. and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the hangar. Havok will lead Alpha Team with Rogue. Shard will be in charge of Beta Team with Wolverine. I’ll take Gamma Team. Each team will strike simultaneously at three different points. Our primary objective is to free the hostages and retake the platform before any collateral damage can be done. Ideally, we’ll bring Cyclops and the Brotherhood in as well.”
“What about Hank and Jean?” Logan asked. The two of them exchanged a look. Brass looked to Director Brand with some hesitation. She spoke up from the sidelines.
“Beast and Phoenix will be with me in operations,” Director Brand explained. “Though Havok’s in charge in the field, we’ll be managing things from here. In case the mission goes south, which I highly doubt, they’ll be our aces in the hole.”
Beast glared skeptically at Director Brand. “You’re asking a lot of us to sit this one out.”
“Try to think of the situation as objectively as possible, Dr. McCoy,” Director Brand retorted. “Or don’t. I could care less. The Brotherhood are making us look like fools. It’s time we put a stop to that.”
The X-Men exchanged several glances amongst themselves. It was difficult to disagree.
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Antarctica
Deep within the Brotherhood of Mutants’ Antarctic Citadel, tucked away in its lowest level, was a poorly lit surgical laboratory which resembled more of an archaic and nightmarish butcher’s shop. At its center, Roy McConnell laid upright strapped on a surgical bed positioned at a 45 degree angle. His face was framed by the bed’s head rest with his eyes pried wide open in agony and a block in his mouth. Blood leaked over his lips and tears streamed from his eyes as he screamed to the heavens, but unfortunately for him the heavens weren’t listening that day.
The only light that illuminated the lab came from the video monitors and flickering lights from computer terminals. It was a wonder how the brute with grayish fur and simian-like features who sat over him, wearing filthy goggles and a bloodied lab coat, could see anything. Roy’s upper torso had been carved open in an inverted Y-shaped incision, all the way up to the top of his skull. The flaps created with his skin were folded open for surgical purposes.
Henry Philip McCoy, or at least his otherworldly counterpart, hummed a spiritual melody while he utilized twin laser scalpels to manipulate the man’s central nervous system.
“The dorsal ramus is connected to the… spinal nerve…” the Dark Beast sang to the tune of Dem Bones. “The spinal nerve is connected to the… dorsal root… And the dorsal root leads to the white matterrrr….”
Roy’s screams faded as the pain subsided in a rare instance of respite. He breathed heavily with exhaustion for several moments and then slowly began to weep. The telepathic blocks and psychic shielding were expertly installed by the congressman’s government, but there were ways around that and his captors did not hesitate to exploit them.
It was then Roy heard another voice for the first time since he had awoken.
“This is quite the procedure that you’ve developed, McCoy,” Deus remarked from over the mad scientist’s shoulder as he walked into the lab.
“Ah. You flatter me, Signore Deus!” the Dark Beast replied with a toothy grin and a playful Italian accent. “I do believe that I like it when you do that.”
Roy’s weeping gradually grew louder, like a wailing child lost in the woods being circled by wolves. Deus shot him a contemptuous glare, more annoyed than anything by his pathetic whimpers. The Dark Beast turned down the corners of his mouth and pushed out his lower lip.
"Oh, I know this is painful, my friend,” he said as if a tiny violin were playing for Roy before he continued working. “Bear with us, please. It will all be over… um, eventually…”
Roy tensed up and began squealing horrifically as the Dark Beast continued to manipulate his nervous system and mechanically access his memories. Those very memories began flashing on the monitors throughout the laboratory as they were recorded into the Brotherhood’s database.
Deus clasped his hands behind his back and sneered. He found the whole affair rather distasteful.
“Is all of the screaming really necessary?” he asked, his inquiry a mix of abhorrence and genuine curiosity. The Dark Beast shrugged, indifferent.
“I suppose that with some modifications I could make our telepathic probe significantly less painful, but that would require us to waste precious seconds recalibrating the temporal lobe implant that we installed, but as they say... Time is of the essence..."
“Hmph,” Deus nodded his head, somewhat satisfied with the Dark Beast’s response. He patted him on the back before turning around and strolling out of the laboratory. “Indeed it is. Indeed it is...”
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Three of the X.S.E.’s jump ships jetted across the Indian Ocean with an ease that betrayed their maximum speed. The ships flew in an arrow-like formation towards the decontamination platform on the horizon. They would be at their destination soon.
“This is where we break off,” the pilot said to Havok. The former X-Man and current X.S.E. liaison took a headset off of its hook and put it over his ears, then activated it.
“Everyone report,” Havok said into the radio. “Alpha Team is a go.”
{{ “Beta Team is a go,” }} Shard replied.
{{ “Gamma Team is a go,” }} Brass replied.
Havok gave the jump ship’s pilot a thumbs-up. The pilot nodded in response and began pressing a few buttons on the console in front of him, then adjusted the control stick.
“This is the X.S.E.’s first big showing, team. Let’s make it a successful one…”
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The Brotherhood escorted the final group of hostages into the platform’s conference room. It had become their command center, so to speak, as well as a staging area for the hostages. A dark skinned woman with half of her head shaved off – Frenzy – and a tall, muscular man with metallic skin – Mercury – saw to it that each of them was on their knees, bound with their hands behind their backs with their mouths gagged and their eyes blindfolded. Numerous other hostages were staged elsewhere, but for reasons other than leverage…
Suddenly, amongst his comrades, the cybernetic enhanced Hard-Drive lifted his head up as his internal sensors came to life. His face reflected that of deep concentration as he analyzed the incoming data. Despite the X.S.E.’s attempts to shield their approach, the technology in their jump ships had a presence that was quite distinct. Several of the Brotherhood took notice of the change in his demeanor and, noticing he was at their attention, he nodded to them.
“Incoming,” Hard-Drive confirmed.
“Right on time,” Mastermind observed with a slight smile. “Everybody ready?”
Avalanche and Senyaka flanked her, eager to take action. The Brotherhood’s mission was going according to plan and they were ready to finally see it through.
“Everybody to your intercept points, on the double,” Cyclops said from the head of the room. “And remember... nobody dies. Not unless I say so.”
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The X.S.E. Alpha Team’s jump ship circled around the platform’s heliport, slowly easing down towards its landing pad. Alpha Team was the primary assault team. With any luck they would draw the Brotherhood’s attention to the top of the platform and engage in a direct confrontation with the mutant terrorists, giving Beta Team and Gamma Team time to infiltrating.
{{ “On station at the helipad,” }} the jump ship’s pilot said over the radio from the cockpit. {{ “Preparing for descent. Opening rear cargo doors.” }}
Havok stood at the forefront of the cargo doors as they opened, Rogue at his side and several X.S.E. agents at their back. The jump ship would descend only to a height safe for them to leap out, then would ascend and depart the area before any fighting could start. That was the plan, anyway.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
That familiar sound ripped through the air followed by crunching metal and jump ship alarms blaring as the aircraft buckled. Alpha Team was tossed about the cargo area as the jump jet begun to twist in midair. A powerful force had struck it and pushed it away from the helipad.
“Holy -- !” Rogue hollered with her usual drawl. The turbulence sent her hurtling forward out of the open cargo door. She twisted and grasped the ledge of the exit, barely hanging from the edge of the jump ship as its pilot struggled to stabilize the aircraft.
“Rogue!” Havok called out to her as he braced himself. His team was similarly struggling to stay inside the aircraft as Rogue hung in peril.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
Another blast rocked the jump ship and it begun to ascend rapidly, moving away from the helipad.
{{ “We’re under fire! Aborting descent.” }} Alpha Team’s pilot reported.
Havok dropped to his hands and knees, crawling to Rogue’s hand and reaching out to her. She reached out to him, but they were too far apart, so she closed her eyes and tried to access her power catalogue: a mutant ability to grant her flight. It was too late, though.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
One last blast overtook the X.S.E. aircraft, shaking it even more violently than before. Rogue’s grasp broke as the tail end of the jump ship buckled, sending her flailing towards the platform.
“ROGUE!” Havok cried as the jump ship spiraled out of control.
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Beta Team arrived at their infiltration point swiftly and with no sign of the Brotherhood. They exited the X.S.E. jump ship urgently and made their way into a residential building as it vacated the area.
According to the schematics reviewed at their briefing, this area of the plant would be the start of an indirect route to the conference room, where they believed the Brotherhood would hold the bulk of the hostages. It was large enough for the Brotherhood to occupy and stow the hostages, but strategically placed well enough to defend against a direct assault, and it was up to Beta Team to scout it out.
The group walked carefully and quietly through the hallways of the residential building, passing empty living quarters, restrooms, and showering rooms along the way. It wasn’t long before Alpha Team’s reports came through their radios.
{{ “MAYDAY! MAYDAY!” }} Alpha Team’s pilot cried over the radio. {{ “We’re go-- CRRKT!“ }}
The transmissions ended abruptly.
“Alpha Team’s been shot down outside of their landing zone,” one of the X.S.E. agents reported to Shard. “Should we respond?”
“Negative,” Shard replied. “Brand assigned three teams for a reason. We stick to the mission.”
The agent nodded reluctantly and Beta Team continued through the hallways of the residential building. When they reached the end of the hall they entered what looked like a type of cafeteria or mess hall. Shard and Wolverine walked forward together as the agents spread out gradually, exploring the room carefully. It seemed as if whoever had been in there before them had suddenly been rushed out, leaving personal belongings and half-ate food behind.
Wolverine stopped suddenly and raised a hand, halting the movement of the rest of Beta Team. He sniffed at the air and took a deep breath. When he exhaled, a low growl came from his mouth.
“What is it?” Shard asked.
“Exactly what you’d expect,” Wolverine replied. He unsheathed his claws, blood spewing from the wounds created over his hands and onto the floor. “Trouble.”
Shard looked around just as the illusion of an empty cafeteria dissipated and was replaced with reality: the Brotherhood of Mutants had Beta Team surrounded and outnumbered, three to one.
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{{ “Gamma Team, this is Ops. Give us a sit rep,“ }} Director Brand said over the radio.
Brass walked about a collection of towering shipping containers, eyeing the area cautiously, his rifle at the ready. After a moment of examining the area, he made a sign to get the attention of a couple of other X.S.E. agents and gestured for them to continue searching the area. He then knelt down and tapped his earpiece to respond to Director’s Brand call.
“We’ve secured the platform’s shipping warehouse,” he said. “No hostiles yet. We’ll continue to the infiltration site and report in again from there.”
{{ “Stay sharp. Alpha Team and Beta Team have been ambushed. You may be next.” }}
“Acknowledged.”
Brass slowly stood back up and looked about the area. He was never the world’s strongest telepath, let alone the X.S.E.’s, but he was typically able to detect nearby individuals and anticipate their actions. There was no one around aside from his fellow agents, at least as far as he could tell. However, that meant little when their targets were other mutants.
Gamma Team continued to search the area. Little did they know that they were not, in fact, alone. A creature stalked them from the rafters high above the shipping containers. It hopped from support beam to support beam with avian-like ease and reptilian-like sneakiness, talents which betrayed its monstrous size and features. As the agents spread out, it waited for the perfect moment to strike… and as a sole agent stepped beneath the beam it stood on, it found that moment and capitalized on it.
“Contact!” the agent yelled as he was attacked. “CONTACT!”
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Images of the battle with the X.S.E. and the Brotherhood flashed across multiple large screens in Gamma Base One’s operations room. The X.S.E. and the X-Men had successfully infiltrated three points of the decontamination plant, but it was if the Brotherhood had anticipated each strike and responded with extreme prejudice. Reports were being traded back and forth between work stations. Agents were either falling quickly or being repelled and the hostages were being locked down.
“Damn it!” Director Brand cursed, taking off of her headset and throwing it at the console. “This is becoming a shit show quicker than I expected.”
Agent Ingram gave her a cockeyed look.
“You expected this?”
Director Brand shot a dangerous look back at him. A lump quickly developed in his throat. He swallowed it down hard, nearly choking in the process, then went back to work. Director Brand looked to the X-Woman and her colleague working at a station nearby.
“Phoenix, how’s my ace in the hole?”
Phoenix shook her head. “I lost telepathic contact with all three teams as soon as they reached the perimeter of the platform,” she said as she removed a golden helmet attached to a portable Cerebro unit. “It’s very strange. Short of Charles Xavier and En Sabah Nur, I haven’t come across very many mutants, if any, who could completely block my telepathy on such a large scale.”
“What does that mean?” Director Brand asked.
“It means the decontamination plant may be protected by a telepathic dampener,” Phoenix explained. Beast nodded and brought up a map of the facility on a large monitor. He directed Director Brand to it.
“Assuming the dampening field ranges from oil fence to oil fence then that would roughly be a one mile radius,” Beast said.
“Doesn’t sound like something you would have at a decontamination plant, even if it is off the coast of Genosha,” Director Brand commented as she studied the map.
“Indeed. If manmade, such a device would be quite large, require a significant power source, and require specialized maintenance,” Beast extrapolated. “It’s unlikely the Brotherhood simply brought something like that with them before their attack.”
Director Brand crossed her arms as she considered the implications of what they were saying. Phoenix and Beast exchanged a glance then looked to Director Brand.
“Is it possible the Brotherhood want something more with the platform?” Phoenix asked her.
Director Brand took a deep breath and exhaled through her nostrils, clearly bothered by the question. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Agent Hand pacing about in a far corner of the operations room while speaking on a cell phone.
“I have a feeling that S.H.I.E.L.D. may have the answer to that question…”
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In a matter of moments, Rogue had phased through nearly a dozen stories of metal during her freefall, twisting and flailing in her intangible state. She short circuited numerous computers and equipment on several floors along the way before she willed herself solid after regaining control of her senses. Little did she know in that second that if she had solidified a moment too late and she would have phased through the last floor and ended up in the ocean below the facility.
Rogue hit the final metal floor with a loud clang. The impact from the fall knocked the wind out of her. Disoriented, she rolled onto her side, gasping and coughing as she struggled to breathe. As she stirred about, catching her breath and allowing the pain to subside, a call came over her radio.
{{ This is Brass! We’ve been ambushed in Strut B’s Deep Sea Dock. We need -- ! }}
The transmission cut out. Rogue heard frantic gunfire and a loud cry from the distance. She shuffled to her feet and broke into a run towards the battle. The sounds of struggling grew louder as she came across a storage area in the docks filled with shipping crates and large containers. She skidded to a stop and her eyes grew wide as she came upon the perimeter of the firefight.
Several X.S.E. and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had fallen at the hands of Brotherhood recruits, who had scattered and were searching the area. They wore black garb and dark gray plates of armor. Rogue ducked behind a large crate and peaked over its corner. Sauron was across the room, draining a final S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of life energy, before he dropped him to the floor. Sauron let out a piercing, invigorating cry and took to the air, his veins surging with power.
Rogue watched on, trying to come up with some kind of plan. A light clang rang out to her left. She glanced over and saw Brass several feet across the way by several other crates. Clearly weakened, he was crawling away from his assailants for a few short yards before he collapsed.
“Brass!” Rogue called out to him in a whisper. His head tilted up slightly and he looked in her direction.
“R-Rogue…” Brass muttered with surprise. He watched her look in both directions, then sprint out from behind her hiding place toward him. She reached him and quickly touched his cheek, causing him to gasp suddenly. In seconds, she absorbed years of his tactical training and experience, as well as hand-to-hand combat prowess; she would need it. Veins bulged and his head dropped as he passed out.
“Ah’m sorry, Brass,” Rogue said as she stood up. ”But ah think ah’m gonna need these more‘n you.”
Two of the Brotherhood’s recruits turned towards Rogue, overhearing her and Brass’s interaction.
“There!” one yelled to his comrades.
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Alpha Team’s jump ship had crashed on a section of the platform several hundred yards from the helipad, a mangled and burning mess of machinery. The muffled sounds of Gamma Base One’s communications agent could be heard over the aircraft’s radio, cutting in and out in static-filled intervals. However, unanswered radio calls were the last of Alpha Team’s worries.
The door to the jump ship’s cockpit exploded off of its hinges, propelled by circular waves of plasma energy, and smoke streamed out of it like a chimney. As the door tumbled and skidded across the platform, Havok stepped out of the jump jet with its pilot hanging off of his shoulder. An automatic pistol was in the pilot’s free hand, likely his only defense besides Havok. His leg was twisted in the wrong direction and blood was spewing from a wound on his forehead.
Several other members of Alpha Team emerged haphazardly from the jump ship, their X.S.E. uniforms torn and burnt in various places. As Havok was helping the pilot away from the jump ship, he stopped suddenly and realized they weren’t alone. The Brotherhood led by Cyclops approached and surrounded them, Alpha Team’s backs to the flaming wreckage of their jump ship.
“Looky who we have here…” Landslide said in his usual slow southern drawl. He grinned a devilish grin and said, “Outta the fryin’ pan and into the fire. Should we kill ‘em, hoss?”
A beat of silence between the X.S.E. and the Brotherhood followed. Only nature’s elements could be heard: A cold breeze blew across the decontamination platform. The waves of the ocean crashed against its towering support beams far below them. Seagulls cawed to each other in the distance. Cyclops seemed to consider the question carefully.
Finally he answered.
“All of them except for this one,” Cyclops said, gesturing to his brother. Havok’s brow furrowed and his nostrils flared in response. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
“Damn it, Scott! You know you’ll have to kill me before you get to any of them!”
The Brotherhood stepped past their leader and began closing in on Alpha Team.
“We’ll see, little brother,” Cyclops said, a ruby glimmer running off the lens of his visor. “We’ll see…”
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As one of the Brotherhood’s recruits shot golden energy beams from his fist towards her, Rogue disappeared in a flash of smoke and brimstone with a bamf! She reappeared behind another recruit and elbowed him in the side of the neck, then again in the temple. He dropped to the floor, unconscious. A third massive recruit charged at Rogue from behind. She tucked and rolled out of his way, then released several waves of plasma into him. The brute doubled over and groaned, dazed.
Rogue moved to her feet and clenched her fists, her body exploding with thermo-chemical energy. The explosion launched her into the recruit at an angle and knocked him back into a crate, and she ricocheted off of him surrounded by a blast field.
The initial recruit ran towards their location, shooting more golden energy beams at her as she bounced about the storage area. She struggled to regain control and ceased access to the power set, dropping to the ground and skidding to a stop. A reptilian like recruit emerged from the shadows, camouflaged, and took hold off her around the waist. She grabbed his wrists and grappled with him, before twisting his fingers opposite of his hand, maneuvering one of his arms over her shoulder, and then catapulting him over her head into the energy shooting recruit.
Up until then, Rogue had used Brass’s powers and training to anticipate all of her opponents’ attack, but there was one last foe who was not to be anticipated.
Sauron collided with Rogue shoulder first, sending her tumbling to the floor. She looked up at her assailant and disappeared in another puff of brimstone, but Sauron was already twisting about in anticipation of her counter attack, knocking her away with his powerful wings as soon as she reappeared. Rogue was knocked up against a shipping crate, left barely able to stand. Sauron grabbed her with his sharp talons and flung her against an opposing crate, then back to the initial one, tossing her about like a rag roll.
Rogue’s skin began to shimmer and convert to a metallic form during mid-toss, when Sauron grasped her head and directed it towards his. Hypnotic waves erupted from his beady orange eyes, piercing hers, and suddenly her skin reverted back to its natural state.
“Submit,” he said to her soothingly. “Submit. Submit…”
********************************************************************
Havok dropped Alpha Team’s pilot to the ground, carefully but quickly, and stepped in front of his team with clenched fists at his sides. Explosive waves of plasma began radiating from his body as several members of the Brotherhood charged them.
“Get back!” he screamed to his teammates.
Before the Brotherhood had a chance to reach any of the X.S.E. agents, Havok’s body exploded with continuous waves of plasma that collided into them like a powerful bomb. They all flew through the air in all directions, caught off-guard by the counter attack, all except for one.
Cyclops stepped through the waves, seemingly untouched by them as his body absorbed the plasma, and he stomped on one end of the jump jet’s door that Havok blew off. In one swift motion, it bounced up in front of Cyclops’s face just as he unleashed a powerful optic blast into its center, propelling it through Havok’s plasma waves and into Alpha Team’s leader with an audible smack! Havok was knocked flat onto his back and his plasma waves dissipated as he lost his concentration.
With their leader down and the Brotherhood having been suddenly scattered, Havok’s teammates in the X.S.E. took that opportunity to attack the oncoming Cyclops. The pilot opened fire, but Cyclops nimbly leapt into a dive towards the gun, unleashing an optic blast at the platform beneath the pilot’s hand. The ruby beam ricocheted off of the metal floor into the handle of the gun, pushing the barrel back into his face like a hammer.
When Cyclops rolled out of the dive, two of the agents rushed him from both sides. He unleashed a sidekick into one’s throat while simultaneously punching the other in the solar plexus, causing the first to collapse onto his side and the other to double-over onto his knees. The last standing agent drew his rifle up to take aim, but with a quick glance Cyclops fired a wide optic blast toward him. It washed over the agent before he could open fire and slammed him into the mangled remains of Alpha Team’s jump ship, knocking the wind out of him and breaking a few ribs in the process.
Havok shoved the jump jet off of him as he regained his senses. He looked up and started to scramble to his feet, but stopped short when he said his brother face him.
“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be, Alex,” Cyclops said as he approached his brother, stepping past the fallen X.S.E. agents. “It’ll only make things worse.”
********************************************************************
Rogue’s struggling grew weaker as she felt her body freeze in place. Her strength was waning and her mind had started to drift. Sauron smiled deviously and then began to absorb her mutant life force. He was in for quite the incredible sensation: all of the life forces, mutant abilities, and metahuman powers that she had absorbed into her catalogue surged through his finger tips.
“Rogue,” Sauron said with a shiver of pleasure. “You taste… delicious… so delicious…!”
Rogue’s head lulled to the side as she struggled to remain conscious. She was beginning to black out when she heard the sound of elevator doors opening nearby.
“Get down!” a man’s voice called out.
Sauron’s concentration was broken by the sudden distraction and Rogue’s body jolted to life. She used all of her strength to kick both of her feet into his torso, pushing herself out of his grasp and onto the ground. Before Sauron could react, gunfire erupted from the interloper’s rifle and peppered Sauron’s hide.
“ARHHHHH!!” He let out an agonizing wail similar to that of an avian and reptilian hybrid.
Rogue rolled out of the way of Sauron’s grasp crawled to safety as Sauron frantically flew out of the dodge. She looked up to see a masked X.S.E. agent in tactical gear eject a magazine from his rifle and load it with another one from an elevator doorway. He then crouched low and readied his rifle, slowly and deliberately stepping into the doorway as he searched the area.
Silence filled the dock as the agent searched about. Rogue wanted to call out to the man, who had barely given her a second glance when he stepped by her and the blood spilled from the gunfire, but she was struggling to regain her strength from Sauron’s assault. Somehow he had disappeared amongst the shipping crates, support beams, and high rafters. The agent made calculated and deliberate movements as his eyes darted about the dock, the barrel of his rifle following his every glance.
Another high pitched wail broke the silence. Rogue watched helplessly as the agent spun around towards the sound with his rifle at the ready, but Sauron was already on him. He drove his feet into the agent’s chest. The agent dropped the rifle as he was slammed into a large shipping crate with a painful groan. Sauron pinned him by his sharp talons and immediately began draining him of his life force.
Rogue saw the rifle slide away from the two as they grappled. She gathered all of her strength and darted up from the floor, making way for the gun behind Sauron. She dived toward it, tucking and rolling into a crouch with the rifle aimed at Sauron’s back. Brass couldn’t have done it better himself.
“Argh!” the agent cried and looked to Rogue. “What are you waiting for?! Shoot him!”
Sauron glanced over his shoulder just as Rogue let loose a volley of bullets into his backside. Sauron roared in pain and released the agent in a slump on the floor, then extended his wingspan. He took flight and darted through the air towards the nearby elevator shaft as Rogue continued to fire. He flew up the shaft, crowing and moaning from his injuries, and was gone in a matter of moments.
Rogue took a deep breath, released the rifle, and let her body go limp on the floor for a moment of rest.
********************************************************************
“Scott… ” Havok began to say as he rose to his feet, picking up the jump jet door like a shield as he did so. “When I came back from the other universe, I knew that you hadn’t been yourself after Professor Xavier’s death. Everybody was worried about you and you were skating dangerously close to the edge, but now…” Disgust was leaking from his words. “I don’t even know what to say to you!”
With an unusual coldness in his heart, Cyclops stared a hole through his brother’s soul.
“Then don’t say anything.”
Havok grit his teeth as Cyclops fired an optic blast at his chest. He lifted his makeshift shield up in preparation for the impact and braced against it. Cyclops was unleashing a continuous stream into the door, pushing Havok gradually back towards the burning wreckage of Alpha Team’s jump jet. Havok let out a fierce battle cry as he unleashed an explosive blast of plasma into the door and released it. The blast propelled the door flat through Cyclops’s optic blast and straight for him.
Undeterred by the counterstrike, Cyclops broke off his stream and sprinted directly towards the door. He jumped up into it foot first and peddled up and over it, at least five feet into the air, and unleashed a powerful beam at Havok’s feet. Havok instinctively jumped out of its way, not thinking that he would have just absorbed the blast with minor consequence, but that’s exactly what his brother anticipated.
The beam punched the metal platform and ripped through a support beam just underneath, causing the platform to suddenly begin sinking in under the weight of the jump ship’s wreckage. Havok cursed himself for being such a fool and jumped out of the way of the jump ship as it sunk with the platform, narrowly avoiding getting taken with it. His fellow agents weren’t so lucky.
“NO, GODDAMNIT!” he screamed as they disappeared under the wreckage of the ship and the collapsing platform. “NO!!”
Cyclops had landed safely at the front of the collapse, only inches away from the gaping hole that developed on the platform. Havok shot him a deadly stare. After a moment, he caught a glimpse of something on the platform floor from his peripheral and suddenly bolted around the breach, picking up one of the X.S.E.’s agents fallen rifles along the way. He took aim at his traitorous brother in a blind rage and opened fire on him, determined to put a stop to the Brotherhood leader’s bloodshed.
However, to Havok’s surprise, Cyclops side-stepped the gunfire with an uncanny ease and darted towards Havok from an angle, closing the gap between them in a flash. He sent a right hook rocketing into his brother’s jaw. The former X-Man must have struck a nerve because a sharp, crippling pain sent Havok reeling to the side. When Havok turned and took a swing at Cyclops with the rifle, Cyclops grabbed him by the arm and judo threw him into the chasm of twisted wreckage and mangled bodies.
********************************************************************
When Rogue opened her eyes after a moment of rest, she heard what sounded like the intervening agent staggering to his feet and stumbling away from her with little more than a groan. He quickly collapsed with a deafening bang against the metal floor only a dozen or so feet away. Rogue looked up towards him just in time to see him fall flat on his face and moved to her feet urgently.
“You alright, tough guy?” she called out to him. He lay on his side with no response. When she looked down she saw a trail of blood going from where he stood to where he moved; large cuts across his forearm. She took a deep breath and limped across the dock to his side. Reaching him, she knelt to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey now, don’t go scarin’ me…” Rogue said as she shook him on the shoulder, but his body was still. “Hey!” She shook him again and patted him on the face. No reaction. She pulled off the face mask.
The man’s head lulled to the side and his eyes began to flutter open. They flashed with a weak ruby red light as he blinked and looked up to her. Rogue’s eyes grew wide in disbelief. She recognized the disoriented, unshaven face, but it couldn’t possibly be who she thought it was.
“Scott…?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
NEXT ISSUE: The X.S.E. and the X-Men continue to duke it out with the Brotherhood of Mutants, but the strike team’s rescue mission doesn’t appear to be going very well. Not only that, it appears not everything is as it seems on the decontamination platform!
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
Feedback is as feedback does.
Any love, hate, or meager shrugs can be sent to [email protected]!
Two issues of New X-Men in two months? Surely this must be a fluke! Thanks for all of the feedback from last issue. I hope to have another issue to you guys shortly.
Cory Wiegel
August 18th, 2016
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Gamma Base One.
The Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA.
Director Abigail Brand stepped off of the stairs that led down from the catwalk over the operations room. She looked about her staff and zeroed in on Agent Sean Watanaba – Brass – working at a tactical station with a female intelligence agent. Making her way towards him, she barked off a command to a portly agent in an ill-fitting uniform dallying about.
“Ingram, coffee,” Director Brand said. Agent Ingram promptly scurried away. “Brass, report.”
Brass turned towards his supervisor and stood at half-attention with a computer tablet in his hand.
“Our response teams are assembling in the hangar. We’ll be ready to depart in twenty minutes,” he reported, handing her the tablet. “Havok has also been in contact with Beast. The X-Men are ready for transport.” Director Brand skimmed the information on the tablet screen.
“Is our link with HERMES active?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Director Brand nodded. “Bring them in then.”
Brass turned to the intelligence agent at his station and said something to her. She moved to a computer and typed in some commands. The power in the operations room dimmed for a brief moment and the sound of swirling energy followed. Director Brand turned to a corner of the room where a platform stood. Flashes of blue and white light illuminated the platform. It quickly vanished and a handful of X-Men stood there. Dr. Henry McCoy (Beast) stood at the forefront with Jean Grey (Phoenix) to his right. Marie Charleston (Rogue) and the man whose only real name was Logan, but was more commonly known as Wolverine, stood behind them. Bobby Drake (Iceman) had remained behind at the Xavier Institute to watch over the school and its students.
“Dr. McCoy, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Director Brand said as she approached the group. Dr. McCoy stepped down from the platform followed shortly by his teammates.
“Of course,” Beast said as he observed the operations room curiously. “Thank you for having us…”
“We’ve prepared a situation report for you,” Director Brand said, handing him the very tablet that Brass gave her. “Please follow me to our briefing room.” She didn’t hesitate to lead the way. Brass followed.
Beast glanced back to his teammates and cleared his throat, nodding for them to follow as well. The X-Men were uncomfortable in their new surroundings, particularly Phoenix and Wolverine. Despite being repurposed and only being vaguely connected to the Nevada base, they quickly sensed the similarities of Gamma Base One to that of their prison during the Operation: Zero Tolerance episode of their lives.
In mere moments, Director Brand led them into the X.S.E.’s briefing room and the X-Men settled around a long rectangular table. Brass stood in the corner near the head of the table. She activated a large screen at the head of the table and uploaded the most recent intelligence report that they were sharing with S.H.I.E.L.D. and other law enforcement agencies. As was her signature leadership style, Director Brand wasted no time to get to the point.
“In addition to the hostages on the decontamination platform, at least ten kidnappings have occurred across the United States. All high level government affiliates; military personnel, contractors, politicians…” Director Brand said as their images and corresponding locations on a map flashed across the screen. “We’re certain the Brotherhood was involved.”
Rogue chimed in: “Any ideas as t’ what they want?”
Director Brand stared at her for a moment, her dark green glasses hiding any tail she may have, before she pressed a few commands into the computer near the monitor. An image of a corpse lying on a stretcher appeared. It appeared as if it was drenched in water, but the blood scrawled out on the white dress shirt was clear:
Give us Dr. McCoy
“S.H.I.E.L.D. fished this out of the Indian Ocean after the Brotherhood lobbed it at a news helicopter,” Brass said from the corner of the room. Beast sighed. Ice water ran through Phoenix’s veins. Rogue and Wolverine clearly wanted to hit something or someone.
“It goes hand in hand with the Mutant Genome leak that occurred earlier in the week,” Director Brand added to Brass’s report. “The Brotherhood clearly has some type of vendetta against you and the work the Xavier Institute is doing. That or they’re trying to rattle your cage.”
“Perhaps we should give them what they’re asking for then…” Beast mused with a touch of sorrow.
“Like hell!” Wolverine growled. Director Brand nodded.
“We’re in agreement then, Mr. Logan.”
“So what’s the plan?” Phoenix asked.
Brass looked to Director Brand, who stepped out of the way and directed him to the head of the table. He stepped up and began to brief them.
“Havok’s in charge of this operation. We’re deploying all of you in three teams and have assembled over a dozen X.S.E. and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the hangar. Havok will lead Alpha Team with Rogue. Shard will be in charge of Beta Team with Wolverine. I’ll take Gamma Team. Each team will strike simultaneously at three different points. Our primary objective is to free the hostages and retake the platform before any collateral damage can be done. Ideally, we’ll bring Cyclops and the Brotherhood in as well.”
“What about Hank and Jean?” Logan asked. The two of them exchanged a look. Brass looked to Director Brand with some hesitation. She spoke up from the sidelines.
“Beast and Phoenix will be with me in operations,” Director Brand explained. “Though Havok’s in charge in the field, we’ll be managing things from here. In case the mission goes south, which I highly doubt, they’ll be our aces in the hole.”
Beast glared skeptically at Director Brand. “You’re asking a lot of us to sit this one out.”
“Try to think of the situation as objectively as possible, Dr. McCoy,” Director Brand retorted. “Or don’t. I could care less. The Brotherhood are making us look like fools. It’s time we put a stop to that.”
The X-Men exchanged several glances amongst themselves. It was difficult to disagree.
********************************************************************
Antarctica
Deep within the Brotherhood of Mutants’ Antarctic Citadel, tucked away in its lowest level, was a poorly lit surgical laboratory which resembled more of an archaic and nightmarish butcher’s shop. At its center, Roy McConnell laid upright strapped on a surgical bed positioned at a 45 degree angle. His face was framed by the bed’s head rest with his eyes pried wide open in agony and a block in his mouth. Blood leaked over his lips and tears streamed from his eyes as he screamed to the heavens, but unfortunately for him the heavens weren’t listening that day.
The only light that illuminated the lab came from the video monitors and flickering lights from computer terminals. It was a wonder how the brute with grayish fur and simian-like features who sat over him, wearing filthy goggles and a bloodied lab coat, could see anything. Roy’s upper torso had been carved open in an inverted Y-shaped incision, all the way up to the top of his skull. The flaps created with his skin were folded open for surgical purposes.
Henry Philip McCoy, or at least his otherworldly counterpart, hummed a spiritual melody while he utilized twin laser scalpels to manipulate the man’s central nervous system.
“The dorsal ramus is connected to the… spinal nerve…” the Dark Beast sang to the tune of Dem Bones. “The spinal nerve is connected to the… dorsal root… And the dorsal root leads to the white matterrrr….”
Roy’s screams faded as the pain subsided in a rare instance of respite. He breathed heavily with exhaustion for several moments and then slowly began to weep. The telepathic blocks and psychic shielding were expertly installed by the congressman’s government, but there were ways around that and his captors did not hesitate to exploit them.
It was then Roy heard another voice for the first time since he had awoken.
“This is quite the procedure that you’ve developed, McCoy,” Deus remarked from over the mad scientist’s shoulder as he walked into the lab.
“Ah. You flatter me, Signore Deus!” the Dark Beast replied with a toothy grin and a playful Italian accent. “I do believe that I like it when you do that.”
Roy’s weeping gradually grew louder, like a wailing child lost in the woods being circled by wolves. Deus shot him a contemptuous glare, more annoyed than anything by his pathetic whimpers. The Dark Beast turned down the corners of his mouth and pushed out his lower lip.
"Oh, I know this is painful, my friend,” he said as if a tiny violin were playing for Roy before he continued working. “Bear with us, please. It will all be over… um, eventually…”
Roy tensed up and began squealing horrifically as the Dark Beast continued to manipulate his nervous system and mechanically access his memories. Those very memories began flashing on the monitors throughout the laboratory as they were recorded into the Brotherhood’s database.
Deus clasped his hands behind his back and sneered. He found the whole affair rather distasteful.
“Is all of the screaming really necessary?” he asked, his inquiry a mix of abhorrence and genuine curiosity. The Dark Beast shrugged, indifferent.
“I suppose that with some modifications I could make our telepathic probe significantly less painful, but that would require us to waste precious seconds recalibrating the temporal lobe implant that we installed, but as they say... Time is of the essence..."
“Hmph,” Deus nodded his head, somewhat satisfied with the Dark Beast’s response. He patted him on the back before turning around and strolling out of the laboratory. “Indeed it is. Indeed it is...”
********************************************************************
Three of the X.S.E.’s jump ships jetted across the Indian Ocean with an ease that betrayed their maximum speed. The ships flew in an arrow-like formation towards the decontamination platform on the horizon. They would be at their destination soon.
“This is where we break off,” the pilot said to Havok. The former X-Man and current X.S.E. liaison took a headset off of its hook and put it over his ears, then activated it.
“Everyone report,” Havok said into the radio. “Alpha Team is a go.”
{{ “Beta Team is a go,” }} Shard replied.
{{ “Gamma Team is a go,” }} Brass replied.
Havok gave the jump ship’s pilot a thumbs-up. The pilot nodded in response and began pressing a few buttons on the console in front of him, then adjusted the control stick.
“This is the X.S.E.’s first big showing, team. Let’s make it a successful one…”
********************************************************************
The Brotherhood escorted the final group of hostages into the platform’s conference room. It had become their command center, so to speak, as well as a staging area for the hostages. A dark skinned woman with half of her head shaved off – Frenzy – and a tall, muscular man with metallic skin – Mercury – saw to it that each of them was on their knees, bound with their hands behind their backs with their mouths gagged and their eyes blindfolded. Numerous other hostages were staged elsewhere, but for reasons other than leverage…
Suddenly, amongst his comrades, the cybernetic enhanced Hard-Drive lifted his head up as his internal sensors came to life. His face reflected that of deep concentration as he analyzed the incoming data. Despite the X.S.E.’s attempts to shield their approach, the technology in their jump ships had a presence that was quite distinct. Several of the Brotherhood took notice of the change in his demeanor and, noticing he was at their attention, he nodded to them.
“Incoming,” Hard-Drive confirmed.
“Right on time,” Mastermind observed with a slight smile. “Everybody ready?”
Avalanche and Senyaka flanked her, eager to take action. The Brotherhood’s mission was going according to plan and they were ready to finally see it through.
“Everybody to your intercept points, on the double,” Cyclops said from the head of the room. “And remember... nobody dies. Not unless I say so.”
********************************************************************
The X.S.E. Alpha Team’s jump ship circled around the platform’s heliport, slowly easing down towards its landing pad. Alpha Team was the primary assault team. With any luck they would draw the Brotherhood’s attention to the top of the platform and engage in a direct confrontation with the mutant terrorists, giving Beta Team and Gamma Team time to infiltrating.
{{ “On station at the helipad,” }} the jump ship’s pilot said over the radio from the cockpit. {{ “Preparing for descent. Opening rear cargo doors.” }}
Havok stood at the forefront of the cargo doors as they opened, Rogue at his side and several X.S.E. agents at their back. The jump ship would descend only to a height safe for them to leap out, then would ascend and depart the area before any fighting could start. That was the plan, anyway.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
That familiar sound ripped through the air followed by crunching metal and jump ship alarms blaring as the aircraft buckled. Alpha Team was tossed about the cargo area as the jump jet begun to twist in midair. A powerful force had struck it and pushed it away from the helipad.
“Holy -- !” Rogue hollered with her usual drawl. The turbulence sent her hurtling forward out of the open cargo door. She twisted and grasped the ledge of the exit, barely hanging from the edge of the jump ship as its pilot struggled to stabilize the aircraft.
“Rogue!” Havok called out to her as he braced himself. His team was similarly struggling to stay inside the aircraft as Rogue hung in peril.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
Another blast rocked the jump ship and it begun to ascend rapidly, moving away from the helipad.
{{ “We’re under fire! Aborting descent.” }} Alpha Team’s pilot reported.
Havok dropped to his hands and knees, crawling to Rogue’s hand and reaching out to her. She reached out to him, but they were too far apart, so she closed her eyes and tried to access her power catalogue: a mutant ability to grant her flight. It was too late, though.
ZZZAAAAAAKTTT!
One last blast overtook the X.S.E. aircraft, shaking it even more violently than before. Rogue’s grasp broke as the tail end of the jump ship buckled, sending her flailing towards the platform.
“ROGUE!” Havok cried as the jump ship spiraled out of control.
********************************************************************
Beta Team arrived at their infiltration point swiftly and with no sign of the Brotherhood. They exited the X.S.E. jump ship urgently and made their way into a residential building as it vacated the area.
According to the schematics reviewed at their briefing, this area of the plant would be the start of an indirect route to the conference room, where they believed the Brotherhood would hold the bulk of the hostages. It was large enough for the Brotherhood to occupy and stow the hostages, but strategically placed well enough to defend against a direct assault, and it was up to Beta Team to scout it out.
The group walked carefully and quietly through the hallways of the residential building, passing empty living quarters, restrooms, and showering rooms along the way. It wasn’t long before Alpha Team’s reports came through their radios.
{{ “MAYDAY! MAYDAY!” }} Alpha Team’s pilot cried over the radio. {{ “We’re go-- CRRKT!“ }}
The transmissions ended abruptly.
“Alpha Team’s been shot down outside of their landing zone,” one of the X.S.E. agents reported to Shard. “Should we respond?”
“Negative,” Shard replied. “Brand assigned three teams for a reason. We stick to the mission.”
The agent nodded reluctantly and Beta Team continued through the hallways of the residential building. When they reached the end of the hall they entered what looked like a type of cafeteria or mess hall. Shard and Wolverine walked forward together as the agents spread out gradually, exploring the room carefully. It seemed as if whoever had been in there before them had suddenly been rushed out, leaving personal belongings and half-ate food behind.
Wolverine stopped suddenly and raised a hand, halting the movement of the rest of Beta Team. He sniffed at the air and took a deep breath. When he exhaled, a low growl came from his mouth.
“What is it?” Shard asked.
“Exactly what you’d expect,” Wolverine replied. He unsheathed his claws, blood spewing from the wounds created over his hands and onto the floor. “Trouble.”
Shard looked around just as the illusion of an empty cafeteria dissipated and was replaced with reality: the Brotherhood of Mutants had Beta Team surrounded and outnumbered, three to one.
********************************************************************
{{ “Gamma Team, this is Ops. Give us a sit rep,“ }} Director Brand said over the radio.
Brass walked about a collection of towering shipping containers, eyeing the area cautiously, his rifle at the ready. After a moment of examining the area, he made a sign to get the attention of a couple of other X.S.E. agents and gestured for them to continue searching the area. He then knelt down and tapped his earpiece to respond to Director’s Brand call.
“We’ve secured the platform’s shipping warehouse,” he said. “No hostiles yet. We’ll continue to the infiltration site and report in again from there.”
{{ “Stay sharp. Alpha Team and Beta Team have been ambushed. You may be next.” }}
“Acknowledged.”
Brass slowly stood back up and looked about the area. He was never the world’s strongest telepath, let alone the X.S.E.’s, but he was typically able to detect nearby individuals and anticipate their actions. There was no one around aside from his fellow agents, at least as far as he could tell. However, that meant little when their targets were other mutants.
Gamma Team continued to search the area. Little did they know that they were not, in fact, alone. A creature stalked them from the rafters high above the shipping containers. It hopped from support beam to support beam with avian-like ease and reptilian-like sneakiness, talents which betrayed its monstrous size and features. As the agents spread out, it waited for the perfect moment to strike… and as a sole agent stepped beneath the beam it stood on, it found that moment and capitalized on it.
“Contact!” the agent yelled as he was attacked. “CONTACT!”
********************************************************************
Images of the battle with the X.S.E. and the Brotherhood flashed across multiple large screens in Gamma Base One’s operations room. The X.S.E. and the X-Men had successfully infiltrated three points of the decontamination plant, but it was if the Brotherhood had anticipated each strike and responded with extreme prejudice. Reports were being traded back and forth between work stations. Agents were either falling quickly or being repelled and the hostages were being locked down.
“Damn it!” Director Brand cursed, taking off of her headset and throwing it at the console. “This is becoming a shit show quicker than I expected.”
Agent Ingram gave her a cockeyed look.
“You expected this?”
Director Brand shot a dangerous look back at him. A lump quickly developed in his throat. He swallowed it down hard, nearly choking in the process, then went back to work. Director Brand looked to the X-Woman and her colleague working at a station nearby.
“Phoenix, how’s my ace in the hole?”
Phoenix shook her head. “I lost telepathic contact with all three teams as soon as they reached the perimeter of the platform,” she said as she removed a golden helmet attached to a portable Cerebro unit. “It’s very strange. Short of Charles Xavier and En Sabah Nur, I haven’t come across very many mutants, if any, who could completely block my telepathy on such a large scale.”
“What does that mean?” Director Brand asked.
“It means the decontamination plant may be protected by a telepathic dampener,” Phoenix explained. Beast nodded and brought up a map of the facility on a large monitor. He directed Director Brand to it.
“Assuming the dampening field ranges from oil fence to oil fence then that would roughly be a one mile radius,” Beast said.
“Doesn’t sound like something you would have at a decontamination plant, even if it is off the coast of Genosha,” Director Brand commented as she studied the map.
“Indeed. If manmade, such a device would be quite large, require a significant power source, and require specialized maintenance,” Beast extrapolated. “It’s unlikely the Brotherhood simply brought something like that with them before their attack.”
Director Brand crossed her arms as she considered the implications of what they were saying. Phoenix and Beast exchanged a glance then looked to Director Brand.
“Is it possible the Brotherhood want something more with the platform?” Phoenix asked her.
Director Brand took a deep breath and exhaled through her nostrils, clearly bothered by the question. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Agent Hand pacing about in a far corner of the operations room while speaking on a cell phone.
“I have a feeling that S.H.I.E.L.D. may have the answer to that question…”
********************************************************************
In a matter of moments, Rogue had phased through nearly a dozen stories of metal during her freefall, twisting and flailing in her intangible state. She short circuited numerous computers and equipment on several floors along the way before she willed herself solid after regaining control of her senses. Little did she know in that second that if she had solidified a moment too late and she would have phased through the last floor and ended up in the ocean below the facility.
Rogue hit the final metal floor with a loud clang. The impact from the fall knocked the wind out of her. Disoriented, she rolled onto her side, gasping and coughing as she struggled to breathe. As she stirred about, catching her breath and allowing the pain to subside, a call came over her radio.
{{ This is Brass! We’ve been ambushed in Strut B’s Deep Sea Dock. We need -- ! }}
The transmission cut out. Rogue heard frantic gunfire and a loud cry from the distance. She shuffled to her feet and broke into a run towards the battle. The sounds of struggling grew louder as she came across a storage area in the docks filled with shipping crates and large containers. She skidded to a stop and her eyes grew wide as she came upon the perimeter of the firefight.
Several X.S.E. and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had fallen at the hands of Brotherhood recruits, who had scattered and were searching the area. They wore black garb and dark gray plates of armor. Rogue ducked behind a large crate and peaked over its corner. Sauron was across the room, draining a final S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of life energy, before he dropped him to the floor. Sauron let out a piercing, invigorating cry and took to the air, his veins surging with power.
Rogue watched on, trying to come up with some kind of plan. A light clang rang out to her left. She glanced over and saw Brass several feet across the way by several other crates. Clearly weakened, he was crawling away from his assailants for a few short yards before he collapsed.
“Brass!” Rogue called out to him in a whisper. His head tilted up slightly and he looked in her direction.
“R-Rogue…” Brass muttered with surprise. He watched her look in both directions, then sprint out from behind her hiding place toward him. She reached him and quickly touched his cheek, causing him to gasp suddenly. In seconds, she absorbed years of his tactical training and experience, as well as hand-to-hand combat prowess; she would need it. Veins bulged and his head dropped as he passed out.
“Ah’m sorry, Brass,” Rogue said as she stood up. ”But ah think ah’m gonna need these more‘n you.”
Two of the Brotherhood’s recruits turned towards Rogue, overhearing her and Brass’s interaction.
“There!” one yelled to his comrades.
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Alpha Team’s jump ship had crashed on a section of the platform several hundred yards from the helipad, a mangled and burning mess of machinery. The muffled sounds of Gamma Base One’s communications agent could be heard over the aircraft’s radio, cutting in and out in static-filled intervals. However, unanswered radio calls were the last of Alpha Team’s worries.
The door to the jump ship’s cockpit exploded off of its hinges, propelled by circular waves of plasma energy, and smoke streamed out of it like a chimney. As the door tumbled and skidded across the platform, Havok stepped out of the jump jet with its pilot hanging off of his shoulder. An automatic pistol was in the pilot’s free hand, likely his only defense besides Havok. His leg was twisted in the wrong direction and blood was spewing from a wound on his forehead.
Several other members of Alpha Team emerged haphazardly from the jump ship, their X.S.E. uniforms torn and burnt in various places. As Havok was helping the pilot away from the jump ship, he stopped suddenly and realized they weren’t alone. The Brotherhood led by Cyclops approached and surrounded them, Alpha Team’s backs to the flaming wreckage of their jump ship.
“Looky who we have here…” Landslide said in his usual slow southern drawl. He grinned a devilish grin and said, “Outta the fryin’ pan and into the fire. Should we kill ‘em, hoss?”
A beat of silence between the X.S.E. and the Brotherhood followed. Only nature’s elements could be heard: A cold breeze blew across the decontamination platform. The waves of the ocean crashed against its towering support beams far below them. Seagulls cawed to each other in the distance. Cyclops seemed to consider the question carefully.
Finally he answered.
“All of them except for this one,” Cyclops said, gesturing to his brother. Havok’s brow furrowed and his nostrils flared in response. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
“Damn it, Scott! You know you’ll have to kill me before you get to any of them!”
The Brotherhood stepped past their leader and began closing in on Alpha Team.
“We’ll see, little brother,” Cyclops said, a ruby glimmer running off the lens of his visor. “We’ll see…”
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As one of the Brotherhood’s recruits shot golden energy beams from his fist towards her, Rogue disappeared in a flash of smoke and brimstone with a bamf! She reappeared behind another recruit and elbowed him in the side of the neck, then again in the temple. He dropped to the floor, unconscious. A third massive recruit charged at Rogue from behind. She tucked and rolled out of his way, then released several waves of plasma into him. The brute doubled over and groaned, dazed.
Rogue moved to her feet and clenched her fists, her body exploding with thermo-chemical energy. The explosion launched her into the recruit at an angle and knocked him back into a crate, and she ricocheted off of him surrounded by a blast field.
The initial recruit ran towards their location, shooting more golden energy beams at her as she bounced about the storage area. She struggled to regain control and ceased access to the power set, dropping to the ground and skidding to a stop. A reptilian like recruit emerged from the shadows, camouflaged, and took hold off her around the waist. She grabbed his wrists and grappled with him, before twisting his fingers opposite of his hand, maneuvering one of his arms over her shoulder, and then catapulting him over her head into the energy shooting recruit.
Up until then, Rogue had used Brass’s powers and training to anticipate all of her opponents’ attack, but there was one last foe who was not to be anticipated.
Sauron collided with Rogue shoulder first, sending her tumbling to the floor. She looked up at her assailant and disappeared in another puff of brimstone, but Sauron was already twisting about in anticipation of her counter attack, knocking her away with his powerful wings as soon as she reappeared. Rogue was knocked up against a shipping crate, left barely able to stand. Sauron grabbed her with his sharp talons and flung her against an opposing crate, then back to the initial one, tossing her about like a rag roll.
Rogue’s skin began to shimmer and convert to a metallic form during mid-toss, when Sauron grasped her head and directed it towards his. Hypnotic waves erupted from his beady orange eyes, piercing hers, and suddenly her skin reverted back to its natural state.
“Submit,” he said to her soothingly. “Submit. Submit…”
********************************************************************
Havok dropped Alpha Team’s pilot to the ground, carefully but quickly, and stepped in front of his team with clenched fists at his sides. Explosive waves of plasma began radiating from his body as several members of the Brotherhood charged them.
“Get back!” he screamed to his teammates.
Before the Brotherhood had a chance to reach any of the X.S.E. agents, Havok’s body exploded with continuous waves of plasma that collided into them like a powerful bomb. They all flew through the air in all directions, caught off-guard by the counter attack, all except for one.
Cyclops stepped through the waves, seemingly untouched by them as his body absorbed the plasma, and he stomped on one end of the jump jet’s door that Havok blew off. In one swift motion, it bounced up in front of Cyclops’s face just as he unleashed a powerful optic blast into its center, propelling it through Havok’s plasma waves and into Alpha Team’s leader with an audible smack! Havok was knocked flat onto his back and his plasma waves dissipated as he lost his concentration.
With their leader down and the Brotherhood having been suddenly scattered, Havok’s teammates in the X.S.E. took that opportunity to attack the oncoming Cyclops. The pilot opened fire, but Cyclops nimbly leapt into a dive towards the gun, unleashing an optic blast at the platform beneath the pilot’s hand. The ruby beam ricocheted off of the metal floor into the handle of the gun, pushing the barrel back into his face like a hammer.
When Cyclops rolled out of the dive, two of the agents rushed him from both sides. He unleashed a sidekick into one’s throat while simultaneously punching the other in the solar plexus, causing the first to collapse onto his side and the other to double-over onto his knees. The last standing agent drew his rifle up to take aim, but with a quick glance Cyclops fired a wide optic blast toward him. It washed over the agent before he could open fire and slammed him into the mangled remains of Alpha Team’s jump ship, knocking the wind out of him and breaking a few ribs in the process.
Havok shoved the jump jet off of him as he regained his senses. He looked up and started to scramble to his feet, but stopped short when he said his brother face him.
“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be, Alex,” Cyclops said as he approached his brother, stepping past the fallen X.S.E. agents. “It’ll only make things worse.”
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Rogue’s struggling grew weaker as she felt her body freeze in place. Her strength was waning and her mind had started to drift. Sauron smiled deviously and then began to absorb her mutant life force. He was in for quite the incredible sensation: all of the life forces, mutant abilities, and metahuman powers that she had absorbed into her catalogue surged through his finger tips.
“Rogue,” Sauron said with a shiver of pleasure. “You taste… delicious… so delicious…!”
Rogue’s head lulled to the side as she struggled to remain conscious. She was beginning to black out when she heard the sound of elevator doors opening nearby.
“Get down!” a man’s voice called out.
Sauron’s concentration was broken by the sudden distraction and Rogue’s body jolted to life. She used all of her strength to kick both of her feet into his torso, pushing herself out of his grasp and onto the ground. Before Sauron could react, gunfire erupted from the interloper’s rifle and peppered Sauron’s hide.
“ARHHHHH!!” He let out an agonizing wail similar to that of an avian and reptilian hybrid.
Rogue rolled out of the way of Sauron’s grasp crawled to safety as Sauron frantically flew out of the dodge. She looked up to see a masked X.S.E. agent in tactical gear eject a magazine from his rifle and load it with another one from an elevator doorway. He then crouched low and readied his rifle, slowly and deliberately stepping into the doorway as he searched the area.
Silence filled the dock as the agent searched about. Rogue wanted to call out to the man, who had barely given her a second glance when he stepped by her and the blood spilled from the gunfire, but she was struggling to regain her strength from Sauron’s assault. Somehow he had disappeared amongst the shipping crates, support beams, and high rafters. The agent made calculated and deliberate movements as his eyes darted about the dock, the barrel of his rifle following his every glance.
Another high pitched wail broke the silence. Rogue watched helplessly as the agent spun around towards the sound with his rifle at the ready, but Sauron was already on him. He drove his feet into the agent’s chest. The agent dropped the rifle as he was slammed into a large shipping crate with a painful groan. Sauron pinned him by his sharp talons and immediately began draining him of his life force.
Rogue saw the rifle slide away from the two as they grappled. She gathered all of her strength and darted up from the floor, making way for the gun behind Sauron. She dived toward it, tucking and rolling into a crouch with the rifle aimed at Sauron’s back. Brass couldn’t have done it better himself.
“Argh!” the agent cried and looked to Rogue. “What are you waiting for?! Shoot him!”
Sauron glanced over his shoulder just as Rogue let loose a volley of bullets into his backside. Sauron roared in pain and released the agent in a slump on the floor, then extended his wingspan. He took flight and darted through the air towards the nearby elevator shaft as Rogue continued to fire. He flew up the shaft, crowing and moaning from his injuries, and was gone in a matter of moments.
Rogue took a deep breath, released the rifle, and let her body go limp on the floor for a moment of rest.
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“Scott… ” Havok began to say as he rose to his feet, picking up the jump jet door like a shield as he did so. “When I came back from the other universe, I knew that you hadn’t been yourself after Professor Xavier’s death. Everybody was worried about you and you were skating dangerously close to the edge, but now…” Disgust was leaking from his words. “I don’t even know what to say to you!”
With an unusual coldness in his heart, Cyclops stared a hole through his brother’s soul.
“Then don’t say anything.”
Havok grit his teeth as Cyclops fired an optic blast at his chest. He lifted his makeshift shield up in preparation for the impact and braced against it. Cyclops was unleashing a continuous stream into the door, pushing Havok gradually back towards the burning wreckage of Alpha Team’s jump jet. Havok let out a fierce battle cry as he unleashed an explosive blast of plasma into the door and released it. The blast propelled the door flat through Cyclops’s optic blast and straight for him.
Undeterred by the counterstrike, Cyclops broke off his stream and sprinted directly towards the door. He jumped up into it foot first and peddled up and over it, at least five feet into the air, and unleashed a powerful beam at Havok’s feet. Havok instinctively jumped out of its way, not thinking that he would have just absorbed the blast with minor consequence, but that’s exactly what his brother anticipated.
The beam punched the metal platform and ripped through a support beam just underneath, causing the platform to suddenly begin sinking in under the weight of the jump ship’s wreckage. Havok cursed himself for being such a fool and jumped out of the way of the jump ship as it sunk with the platform, narrowly avoiding getting taken with it. His fellow agents weren’t so lucky.
“NO, GODDAMNIT!” he screamed as they disappeared under the wreckage of the ship and the collapsing platform. “NO!!”
Cyclops had landed safely at the front of the collapse, only inches away from the gaping hole that developed on the platform. Havok shot him a deadly stare. After a moment, he caught a glimpse of something on the platform floor from his peripheral and suddenly bolted around the breach, picking up one of the X.S.E.’s agents fallen rifles along the way. He took aim at his traitorous brother in a blind rage and opened fire on him, determined to put a stop to the Brotherhood leader’s bloodshed.
However, to Havok’s surprise, Cyclops side-stepped the gunfire with an uncanny ease and darted towards Havok from an angle, closing the gap between them in a flash. He sent a right hook rocketing into his brother’s jaw. The former X-Man must have struck a nerve because a sharp, crippling pain sent Havok reeling to the side. When Havok turned and took a swing at Cyclops with the rifle, Cyclops grabbed him by the arm and judo threw him into the chasm of twisted wreckage and mangled bodies.
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When Rogue opened her eyes after a moment of rest, she heard what sounded like the intervening agent staggering to his feet and stumbling away from her with little more than a groan. He quickly collapsed with a deafening bang against the metal floor only a dozen or so feet away. Rogue looked up towards him just in time to see him fall flat on his face and moved to her feet urgently.
“You alright, tough guy?” she called out to him. He lay on his side with no response. When she looked down she saw a trail of blood going from where he stood to where he moved; large cuts across his forearm. She took a deep breath and limped across the dock to his side. Reaching him, she knelt to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey now, don’t go scarin’ me…” Rogue said as she shook him on the shoulder, but his body was still. “Hey!” She shook him again and patted him on the face. No reaction. She pulled off the face mask.
The man’s head lulled to the side and his eyes began to flutter open. They flashed with a weak ruby red light as he blinked and looked up to her. Rogue’s eyes grew wide in disbelief. She recognized the disoriented, unshaven face, but it couldn’t possibly be who she thought it was.
“Scott…?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
NEXT ISSUE: The X.S.E. and the X-Men continue to duke it out with the Brotherhood of Mutants, but the strike team’s rescue mission doesn’t appear to be going very well. Not only that, it appears not everything is as it seems on the decontamination platform!
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
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Two issues of New X-Men in two months? Surely this must be a fluke! Thanks for all of the feedback from last issue. I hope to have another issue to you guys shortly.
Cory Wiegel
August 18th, 2016