#16 by John Cheese
January 2018
January 2018
"The Charnal House"
Doctor Noah Black leaned forward as he watched the woman in the hologram display in front of him stand to attention. Behind him his bodyguard gave a slight nod and moved to a position out of the display unit’s lens. He had just confirmed that there was no tracking software or trojan software being transmitted, in other words the message was just a message. Normally that would be all that was required to calm the nerves of the viewer, but Black knew everything about this woman, that she was an enemy of the people he worked with. Eventually caution was silenced by curiosity and he pressed the accept button.
“Good Evening Centurius, at least its evening here, I have come to you in response to the job offer you were advertising on the ‘Dark Web.” The woman announced as she shifted slightly as something streaked through the background of the transmission on her end. “I would like to request that you give me and my team the job.”
“And why is that, Headhunter?” Dr Black asked as he gestured off camera to his bodyguard, the silent figure cloning the message and transmitting it via a one-way frequency to Centurius’s partners. “Why would I hire Crossfire’s rejects, who not only were part of his plot to destroy the planets ecology, but who were mining into the computer networks of their employers.”
“Because we are no longer in Crossfire’s employ.” The Headhunter replied as she subtly shifted her stance and body language to appear friendlier and more desperate then she actually was. “And this job you were advertising, well its perfect for us, especially with our diminished reputations and trustworthiness. It involves no digital contact besides this conversation, there is little chance of trouble; both from us and your own enemies, and best of all, at least from your perspective, it’s a job that won’t cost you very much.”
“You assume a lot of things.” Dr Black stated coldly as six amber lights appeared on the console before him, indication that his co-conspirators on the board of the ultra-secret criminal cartel, the Conspiracy, were listening. “No I think I will seek out more reputable scum to carry out this task.”
“But would they be willing to go as low as we are?” The Headhunter asked. “Think about it, you’d have the underlings of a man who almost ruled the world in your employ, even if it were just for one job. And since we plan to deliver no strings attached it will show that you are not a man to be crossed, because let’s face it, we crossed everyone in the last nine months.”
“I have no need to increase my reputation among my colleagues.” Dr Black told her as he watched the green lights flicker. “However, I am in need of the item you would be retrieving for me, and since you appear to be willing to take only a small fee, I see no reason other than those mentioned prior to his, that would dissuade me from hiring you. There are however, conditions I would impose on you, just to ensure my ‘trust’ in you is not squandered.”
“Name them?” The Headhunter stated.
“Firstly the item I seek is a body held at a facility in Arizona, the owners of the facility have fitted it with a GPS tracker, you are not to disable it.” Dr Black ordered. “Secondly transport will be arranged by me, you may arrive at the facility anyway you seek, but you will leave on the truck provided, then the transport plane, and finally another truck when you land and then deliver it to my chosen location. And finally, I want biometric data from the body once you recover it and following that a constant stream of updates about the chemical, bioelectric, technopathic and mystical energy readings it gives off. Do you think you can manage all that?”
“We can.” The Headhunter replied. “I want a concrete agreement about our fee though, ten-thousand US dollars per member of my crew plus reasonable expenditure in regards with getting the package through customs.”
“I think I can agree to that.” Dr Black sighed as he gestured for the VR floating keyboard to activate and quickly sent off a stream of information. “As we speak you should be receiving a location for the package and details of transport. Once loaded on the plane, your final destination will be provided. We won’t speak again, but let it be known, if you fail me or screw me over, you won’t live long enough to look for more work. Do you understand?”
“We do.” The Headhunter replied as the hologram winked out. Taking a deep breath Dr Black ran his hands over the lights on the desk, a hologram appearing from each one.
“I want your opinions on the final actions for the matter regarding Crossfire’s former crew members.” Dr Black asked. “They would be useful assets, but I suspect their loyalty would be…tenuous at best.”
“Are you asking for a vote in regards to their termination Noah?” The Chairman, the leader of the Conspiracy asked.
“I am old friend.” Dr Black replied. Nodding the Chairman made a gesture and suddenly the green lights on the desk changed to red. “Then our action is set, since I engaged the Headhunter, I will assemble a team for this duty.”
“Then let it be known that once they are killed, that the blight of Crossfire and his actions will have been cleansed.” The Chairman stated as the holograms flickered out one by one, the lights fading to black.
“Mr Garcia.” Dr Black stated, the words causing his bodyguard to stir. “Call up Manfredi, Rambo and Porter, they are just the men I need for this assignment. I want them online and ready to talk within the hour, no excuses, no exceptions.”
# # # # #
House of Twisted Roses, Charleston, South Carolina
Gillette Wilkerson AKA the Headhunter walked into the gymnasium and looked at the rest of her team gearing up for the mission. Smiling slightly, she walked over to them and picked up a pair of throwing knives and a small pouch containing small laser edged discs. “Gentlemen, we are back in business.” She announced, her friends stopping and letting out a little cheer. “No more hiding, no more spying on the Avengers, the New Warriors and those Kid Avengers or whatever they call themselves to figure out who is chasing us, its time to take that step into a brave new frontier.”
“What step are we taking today?” Lancaster Sneed AKA Shockwave asked as he disconnected his armour from the wall mounted charging point.
“We’re doing a delivery run from Phoenix to Turin.” Gillette replied. “Boring, but ultimately that’s what we need right now. So we pick up the stiff, take him to a plane, take him off a plane and deliver him to the client.”
“Sweet so we’re flying long haul?” Jasper Daniels AKA the Spear asked as he finished slotting the last of his ammunition into a quiver. “I have so much Yellow Cat to catch up on.” He added his gleeful smile eclipsed as he slipped his mask on.
“Are we going to Phoenix or just outside Phoenix?” Calvin Carr AKA Chemistro asked as he looked up from the weapon he was tweaking. “Because there’s stories about this place out in the desert called the Charnel House. Apparently, it’s a SHIELD facility that takes the bodies of dead super-villains and experiments on them.”
“We’re not going to this Charnel place right boss, you wouldn’t walk us into a zombie factory right off the bat right?” Spear asked as he slipped his trident into his quiver.
“No this is just a morgue in the city, no zombies, no SHIELD black-ops facilities, just walk in, grab John Doe #22 and walk out.” Gillette reassured them. “I am not going to tempt fate like Cross did when he was in charge. We are not going to take silly risks, or go on complex revenge schemes or get ourselves arrested just to bust some low life like the Constrictor out of jail.”
“No fighting the Avengers?” Spear asked sadly.
“Not even the Kid Avengers.” Gillette announced. “On a related note, we need to take scans of the body. Between us we can handle chemical, technological and mechanical, but it appears we need to cover the occult too, and unfortunately that’s something we can’t currently do, what with Makro being gone.” She sighed before turning to Shockwave. “Any idea where she is, we could really use her.”
“I haven’t heard a thing.” Sneed sighed. “As for magic users, I know a few but none who’ll work with us, not after Killgrave blabbed about us bugging him.”
“I think I know a guy.” Spear announced as he slipped his quiver over his shoulder. “Guys not exactly Doctor Strange, but he’s good with the hocus pocus and best of all, he likes to keep himself apart from the villain community. It’s likely that he won’t care about our bad reputation.”
“What’s his name and where do I find him?” Gillette asked, a smile forming on her face. As far as she was concerned the dark days were over and everything was going according to plan.
# # # # #
The Former Offices of Nero and Hannigan Supernatural Consulting
Not interested.” The man dressed in a blue bodysuit accented with a silver mask stated as he cleaned the barrel of his pistol, not daring to look at the two-people sitting across the table from him. The woman, who called herself the Headhunter, was beautiful enough, albeit in a creepy kind of way, her red eyes, pale skin and cropped hair making her look to much like a vampire. Her bodyguard the Spear, not that she needed one, was dressed in blue and yellow ballistic armour, a quiver of spears and a trident slung over his back. “I’m not a joiner.”
“Neither was the original Enforcer.” Spear stated as he looked at the array of knives and firearms resting on the rack behind him. “But this isn’t the same as when he was plying his trade, the underworld is unionising in the form of the Conspiracy, and anyone who doesn’t join them becomes their enemy.”
“Is that a threat?” The Enforcer asked as he stopped polishing his weapon and looked at the pair of them.
“Not at all, we’re not even asking you to join full time.” The Headhunter purred. “We need an occult expert to confirm the status of a body we’re being paid to pick up. It should be a milk run, but the client wants chemical, mystical and technological confirmation that the body is dead.”
“What kind of payment are you looking at?” The Enforcer asked cautiously, as he put the gun down and unsheathed a silver bladed dagger and began cleaning it.
“Only five grand each plus expenses.” The Headhunter answered. “It’s on delivery unfortunately, but at least we’re going somewhere exotic to drop it off.”
“I’m curious, but I need to set down some guidelines about my service.” The Enforcer stated as he removed a piece of paper and slipped it over to the woman. “Firstly, I am a hireling not a teammate, I don’t want to know all about your problems and pet peeves. Secondly, if for any reason I want to opt out, you let me go no strings attached and finally, if you don’t want any of your secrets getting out, then don’t tell me anything confidential.”
“Sounds fair.” The Headhunter purred as she signed the contract, before returning it to the Enforcer who added his own signature to the document. “Welcome to the Fantastic Five Mr Nero, now how do you feel about a trip to Turin via Arizona?”
# # # # #
The Charnel House, Phoenix, Arizona
The canary yellow Chevy Van pulled off the main road and through the checkpoint, the guards following the path of the vehicle with their guns until it reached another checkpoint, this one sporting a vehicle proof gate. In the drivers seat Chemistro turned to look at the Headhunter, the sunglasses and blue ballcap she was wearing that covered her red hair doing wonders to hide her identity when paired with the jeans and blue tank-top she wore. “How did we get here again.” Chemistro sighed. “I remember you saying that we were not going to the Charnel House.”
“We weren’t.” Gillette replied, “While Daniels picked the van up, I went to the morgue and it turns out that someone informed SHIELD that our body was a person of interest, hence why they transferred it here.” She continued as a guard dressed in a blue jumpsuit walked over. “I have no idea how we’re getting in, but I think we should be ready for a fight.”
“I wouldn’t worry.” The Enforcer stated as he slipped something into the duffel bag at his feet. “If the project director is the same guy it was two years ago, then all we need to do is slip him some coin, and he’ll leave us alone. These guys aren’t even SHIELD anymore, they were disavowed almost a decade ago.”
Despite this Gillette was still worried, to avoid detection her team had dressed in civilian clothes and had kept their weapons out of sight. Now as Chemistro wound down the window, she was sure they would need them.
“Welcome to the Charnel House, can I take your name and business please?” The guard asked. Chemistro had purposefully dressed smart casual for this job, with his white shirt, dark cotton trousers and red tie designed to make him look normal, but also stand out slightly.
“We’re here to pick up a body that was brought in.” Chemistro replied as the guard peered through the window at the occupants of the vehicle.
“That’s a lot of people to pick up one body.” The guard stated cautiously as a security officer walked over.
“His family wants tests done.” Chemistro replied before shrugging his shoulders. “And wants them all done before he arrives back in Europe.”
“Fair enough, pull into the ‘out-patient’ lot and get ready for a security check of both your persons and your vehicle.” The guard replied as the gate slid open. Smiling and nodding Chemistro drove the van up to a cold storage warehouse, and reversed into a parking spot nearest the door into the facility and the security checkpoint. By the time he had turned off the engine, the security team had already walked out to meet them.
“Everyone out.” The checkpoint commander ordered, as the villains got out of the car. “One at a time through the checks. Lady first, then tie, slacks, sleeves and then finally the asshole who thought “Everyone out.” The commander of the checkpoint ordered, with the villains doing so. “You’ll go through one at a time; girly first, then tie clip, sleeves, bag and then the asshole who thought he was being funny be wearing that shirt!” He sneered as the guards glowered at Shockwave, the British villain clad in jeans and a ‘Grateful Dead’ band shirt.
“What I’m a fan?” Shockwave hissed as Gillette walked through the scanner and was given a pat down search. Followed by Chemistro and Spear, it was only when it came for the Enforcer to walk through that alarms bells went off.
“What’s in the bag sir?” One of the guards asked as he snatched the bag away and dumped the contents onto the floor,
“Equipment for occult testing, as per the client’s request.” The Enforcer replied calmly as he picked up a jar full of seeds and checked for any cracks. Going through them, two jars of green liquid, a notebook and a pair of old Greek coins, the guard stopped as he picked up a human leg bone carved with mystical symbols.
“And this?!”
“That’s my magic bone you’re touching.” The Enforcer replied, his words causing some of the guards to snicker.
“This could be an offensive weapon sir, I’m afraid its going to be confiscated until you’re business is concluded.” The guard announced.
“Sure, and if the body reanimates as a zombie, I’ll let it eat you first so I can get back the one thing that would reverse the spell.” The Enforcer replied in the same calm, even tone. “You may be happy to separate it from me, but I wonder what your colleagues think?” He asked as the guard reluctantly put the bone back in the bag. After that the remaining security checks went by rapidly and with no additional drama. Walking into the atrium, the villains were greeted by a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and wearing dark glasses who introduced himself as Project Director Gregor Romero.
“You must be here for Body 22.” Romero stated as the villains followed the Director into a freight elevator. “Yes I wish we had more time with that particular body.” He added as he swiped his key-card and typed in a destination. “There was much we could learn about it.”
“What do you mean learn?” The Enforcer asked. “Last time I was here it was a simple storage facility.”
“Ah yes that was before we were subsumed into the Beyond Corporation.” Romero answered. “We now have been given new purpose as dictated by their marketing plan.”
“You’re not building a zombie army right?” Spear asked as the elevator came to a stop.
“Of course not.” Romero snorted as he swiped his key-card again, the doors opening to reveal a large circular room rimmed with translucent cylinders. “Technically we’ve already built one, but rest assured none of these bodies have long term staying power. While they are zombies, they are technically only undead for a short time while we experiment in the field of reanimation.” He added calmly, much to the dismay and horror shown on the faces of the villains. This shock was magnified as one of the bodies began to scream, electricity arching up and down the cylinder from the large tesla coils embedded into his shoulders.
“Fuck this!!” Spear yelled as he rolled up the sleeves of his dark green T-shirt.
“Pay Electro no mind, the ambient electricity stored in his body often reanimates him at times.” Romero stated as he led the villains across the floor past a number of dead supervillains. “Ah now this one you may find interesting, I believe you may know Brendon Doyle?” He asked as he gestured to the body with a mop of red hair in one of the tubes, his eyes cored out and a bundle of cables stabbed through his stomach cavity.
“What did you do to him!?” Gillette hissed.
“Nothing, he is as he was donated to us.” Romero replied, “We have been taking good care of him. Once your business is concluded here, we will happily surrender his body to you for the right price.” He added, as something on his wrist beeped slightly. “Ah excuse me, we have other visitors today, you will find your body in Viewing Room 8 at the end of the corridor.” He added as he walked back to the elevator.
“This place is sick!” Gillette hissed as she tore her eyes away from Doyle, “We are not leaving Doyle here if I can help it.”
“Yeah he deserves better than that.” Chemistro answered flatly. “Let’s just get this stiff and get out of here.”
“Agreed.” The Enforcer added as he lead the team down the corridor and into the viewing room, before putting his bag down on the table next to the massive casket.
“This may take some time.” Shockwave replied as he removed a portable EMF reader from his belt.
“I’m going to keep an eye on those zombie gits.” Spear announced. “I don’t trust them not to try and eat our brains.”
# # # # #
“Ah Mister Manfredi.” Romero said with a welcoming smile as the man in the silver bodysuit and black cape and cowl walked into his office, followed by a figure in insectile green armour and a man dressed in a grey bucket hat and thick trench coat.
“Thank you for accommodating our employees wishes on such short notice.” Manfredi stated as Romero sat down at his desk and brought up footage of Viewing Room 8. “And it looks like our marks are already hard at work.”
“While I am grateful for the donation of these five I must ask that you don’t damage any of the specimens down there.” Romero pleaded.
“Things break when villains fight.” The man in green armour stated in a buzzing voice. “That’s the fact of the matter, hell a ghoul like you should know that.”
“I think what my associate Mr Rambo meant to say is that we’ll take the greatest of care with your specimens.” Manfredi reassured Romero as the man in the trench coat stalked towards him, glowing red eyes suddenly visible from within the dark void where his face should have been. “In fact we may even be able to help you with your research here.” He added as the man in the trench coat reached out with a skeletal hand, the sight causing Romero to panic for a few seconds, until it caressed his head, the touch causing his body to slump forward in his chair.
“I hope this works, I don’t want to be dealing with walkers.” Rambo buzzed as the man in the trench coat made an upward gesture. As if at his beck and call, the body of Romero got to its feet and stood to attention.
“New flesh is always better to work with.” The man in the trench coat stated in a horse voice. “Go sow death and rebirth through this facility. Do not stop until not a single heart beats.” It added, as Romero strode towards the door, his glazed eyes behind his sunglasses the only sign that he was no longer among the living, to complete his grisly duties.
“Good Evening Centurius, at least its evening here, I have come to you in response to the job offer you were advertising on the ‘Dark Web.” The woman announced as she shifted slightly as something streaked through the background of the transmission on her end. “I would like to request that you give me and my team the job.”
“And why is that, Headhunter?” Dr Black asked as he gestured off camera to his bodyguard, the silent figure cloning the message and transmitting it via a one-way frequency to Centurius’s partners. “Why would I hire Crossfire’s rejects, who not only were part of his plot to destroy the planets ecology, but who were mining into the computer networks of their employers.”
“Because we are no longer in Crossfire’s employ.” The Headhunter replied as she subtly shifted her stance and body language to appear friendlier and more desperate then she actually was. “And this job you were advertising, well its perfect for us, especially with our diminished reputations and trustworthiness. It involves no digital contact besides this conversation, there is little chance of trouble; both from us and your own enemies, and best of all, at least from your perspective, it’s a job that won’t cost you very much.”
“You assume a lot of things.” Dr Black stated coldly as six amber lights appeared on the console before him, indication that his co-conspirators on the board of the ultra-secret criminal cartel, the Conspiracy, were listening. “No I think I will seek out more reputable scum to carry out this task.”
“But would they be willing to go as low as we are?” The Headhunter asked. “Think about it, you’d have the underlings of a man who almost ruled the world in your employ, even if it were just for one job. And since we plan to deliver no strings attached it will show that you are not a man to be crossed, because let’s face it, we crossed everyone in the last nine months.”
“I have no need to increase my reputation among my colleagues.” Dr Black told her as he watched the green lights flicker. “However, I am in need of the item you would be retrieving for me, and since you appear to be willing to take only a small fee, I see no reason other than those mentioned prior to his, that would dissuade me from hiring you. There are however, conditions I would impose on you, just to ensure my ‘trust’ in you is not squandered.”
“Name them?” The Headhunter stated.
“Firstly the item I seek is a body held at a facility in Arizona, the owners of the facility have fitted it with a GPS tracker, you are not to disable it.” Dr Black ordered. “Secondly transport will be arranged by me, you may arrive at the facility anyway you seek, but you will leave on the truck provided, then the transport plane, and finally another truck when you land and then deliver it to my chosen location. And finally, I want biometric data from the body once you recover it and following that a constant stream of updates about the chemical, bioelectric, technopathic and mystical energy readings it gives off. Do you think you can manage all that?”
“We can.” The Headhunter replied. “I want a concrete agreement about our fee though, ten-thousand US dollars per member of my crew plus reasonable expenditure in regards with getting the package through customs.”
“I think I can agree to that.” Dr Black sighed as he gestured for the VR floating keyboard to activate and quickly sent off a stream of information. “As we speak you should be receiving a location for the package and details of transport. Once loaded on the plane, your final destination will be provided. We won’t speak again, but let it be known, if you fail me or screw me over, you won’t live long enough to look for more work. Do you understand?”
“We do.” The Headhunter replied as the hologram winked out. Taking a deep breath Dr Black ran his hands over the lights on the desk, a hologram appearing from each one.
“I want your opinions on the final actions for the matter regarding Crossfire’s former crew members.” Dr Black asked. “They would be useful assets, but I suspect their loyalty would be…tenuous at best.”
“Are you asking for a vote in regards to their termination Noah?” The Chairman, the leader of the Conspiracy asked.
“I am old friend.” Dr Black replied. Nodding the Chairman made a gesture and suddenly the green lights on the desk changed to red. “Then our action is set, since I engaged the Headhunter, I will assemble a team for this duty.”
“Then let it be known that once they are killed, that the blight of Crossfire and his actions will have been cleansed.” The Chairman stated as the holograms flickered out one by one, the lights fading to black.
“Mr Garcia.” Dr Black stated, the words causing his bodyguard to stir. “Call up Manfredi, Rambo and Porter, they are just the men I need for this assignment. I want them online and ready to talk within the hour, no excuses, no exceptions.”
# # # # #
House of Twisted Roses, Charleston, South Carolina
Gillette Wilkerson AKA the Headhunter walked into the gymnasium and looked at the rest of her team gearing up for the mission. Smiling slightly, she walked over to them and picked up a pair of throwing knives and a small pouch containing small laser edged discs. “Gentlemen, we are back in business.” She announced, her friends stopping and letting out a little cheer. “No more hiding, no more spying on the Avengers, the New Warriors and those Kid Avengers or whatever they call themselves to figure out who is chasing us, its time to take that step into a brave new frontier.”
“What step are we taking today?” Lancaster Sneed AKA Shockwave asked as he disconnected his armour from the wall mounted charging point.
“We’re doing a delivery run from Phoenix to Turin.” Gillette replied. “Boring, but ultimately that’s what we need right now. So we pick up the stiff, take him to a plane, take him off a plane and deliver him to the client.”
“Sweet so we’re flying long haul?” Jasper Daniels AKA the Spear asked as he finished slotting the last of his ammunition into a quiver. “I have so much Yellow Cat to catch up on.” He added his gleeful smile eclipsed as he slipped his mask on.
“Are we going to Phoenix or just outside Phoenix?” Calvin Carr AKA Chemistro asked as he looked up from the weapon he was tweaking. “Because there’s stories about this place out in the desert called the Charnel House. Apparently, it’s a SHIELD facility that takes the bodies of dead super-villains and experiments on them.”
“We’re not going to this Charnel place right boss, you wouldn’t walk us into a zombie factory right off the bat right?” Spear asked as he slipped his trident into his quiver.
“No this is just a morgue in the city, no zombies, no SHIELD black-ops facilities, just walk in, grab John Doe #22 and walk out.” Gillette reassured them. “I am not going to tempt fate like Cross did when he was in charge. We are not going to take silly risks, or go on complex revenge schemes or get ourselves arrested just to bust some low life like the Constrictor out of jail.”
“No fighting the Avengers?” Spear asked sadly.
“Not even the Kid Avengers.” Gillette announced. “On a related note, we need to take scans of the body. Between us we can handle chemical, technological and mechanical, but it appears we need to cover the occult too, and unfortunately that’s something we can’t currently do, what with Makro being gone.” She sighed before turning to Shockwave. “Any idea where she is, we could really use her.”
“I haven’t heard a thing.” Sneed sighed. “As for magic users, I know a few but none who’ll work with us, not after Killgrave blabbed about us bugging him.”
“I think I know a guy.” Spear announced as he slipped his quiver over his shoulder. “Guys not exactly Doctor Strange, but he’s good with the hocus pocus and best of all, he likes to keep himself apart from the villain community. It’s likely that he won’t care about our bad reputation.”
“What’s his name and where do I find him?” Gillette asked, a smile forming on her face. As far as she was concerned the dark days were over and everything was going according to plan.
# # # # #
The Former Offices of Nero and Hannigan Supernatural Consulting
Not interested.” The man dressed in a blue bodysuit accented with a silver mask stated as he cleaned the barrel of his pistol, not daring to look at the two-people sitting across the table from him. The woman, who called herself the Headhunter, was beautiful enough, albeit in a creepy kind of way, her red eyes, pale skin and cropped hair making her look to much like a vampire. Her bodyguard the Spear, not that she needed one, was dressed in blue and yellow ballistic armour, a quiver of spears and a trident slung over his back. “I’m not a joiner.”
“Neither was the original Enforcer.” Spear stated as he looked at the array of knives and firearms resting on the rack behind him. “But this isn’t the same as when he was plying his trade, the underworld is unionising in the form of the Conspiracy, and anyone who doesn’t join them becomes their enemy.”
“Is that a threat?” The Enforcer asked as he stopped polishing his weapon and looked at the pair of them.
“Not at all, we’re not even asking you to join full time.” The Headhunter purred. “We need an occult expert to confirm the status of a body we’re being paid to pick up. It should be a milk run, but the client wants chemical, mystical and technological confirmation that the body is dead.”
“What kind of payment are you looking at?” The Enforcer asked cautiously, as he put the gun down and unsheathed a silver bladed dagger and began cleaning it.
“Only five grand each plus expenses.” The Headhunter answered. “It’s on delivery unfortunately, but at least we’re going somewhere exotic to drop it off.”
“I’m curious, but I need to set down some guidelines about my service.” The Enforcer stated as he removed a piece of paper and slipped it over to the woman. “Firstly, I am a hireling not a teammate, I don’t want to know all about your problems and pet peeves. Secondly, if for any reason I want to opt out, you let me go no strings attached and finally, if you don’t want any of your secrets getting out, then don’t tell me anything confidential.”
“Sounds fair.” The Headhunter purred as she signed the contract, before returning it to the Enforcer who added his own signature to the document. “Welcome to the Fantastic Five Mr Nero, now how do you feel about a trip to Turin via Arizona?”
# # # # #
The Charnel House, Phoenix, Arizona
The canary yellow Chevy Van pulled off the main road and through the checkpoint, the guards following the path of the vehicle with their guns until it reached another checkpoint, this one sporting a vehicle proof gate. In the drivers seat Chemistro turned to look at the Headhunter, the sunglasses and blue ballcap she was wearing that covered her red hair doing wonders to hide her identity when paired with the jeans and blue tank-top she wore. “How did we get here again.” Chemistro sighed. “I remember you saying that we were not going to the Charnel House.”
“We weren’t.” Gillette replied, “While Daniels picked the van up, I went to the morgue and it turns out that someone informed SHIELD that our body was a person of interest, hence why they transferred it here.” She continued as a guard dressed in a blue jumpsuit walked over. “I have no idea how we’re getting in, but I think we should be ready for a fight.”
“I wouldn’t worry.” The Enforcer stated as he slipped something into the duffel bag at his feet. “If the project director is the same guy it was two years ago, then all we need to do is slip him some coin, and he’ll leave us alone. These guys aren’t even SHIELD anymore, they were disavowed almost a decade ago.”
Despite this Gillette was still worried, to avoid detection her team had dressed in civilian clothes and had kept their weapons out of sight. Now as Chemistro wound down the window, she was sure they would need them.
“Welcome to the Charnel House, can I take your name and business please?” The guard asked. Chemistro had purposefully dressed smart casual for this job, with his white shirt, dark cotton trousers and red tie designed to make him look normal, but also stand out slightly.
“We’re here to pick up a body that was brought in.” Chemistro replied as the guard peered through the window at the occupants of the vehicle.
“That’s a lot of people to pick up one body.” The guard stated cautiously as a security officer walked over.
“His family wants tests done.” Chemistro replied before shrugging his shoulders. “And wants them all done before he arrives back in Europe.”
“Fair enough, pull into the ‘out-patient’ lot and get ready for a security check of both your persons and your vehicle.” The guard replied as the gate slid open. Smiling and nodding Chemistro drove the van up to a cold storage warehouse, and reversed into a parking spot nearest the door into the facility and the security checkpoint. By the time he had turned off the engine, the security team had already walked out to meet them.
“Everyone out.” The checkpoint commander ordered, as the villains got out of the car. “One at a time through the checks. Lady first, then tie, slacks, sleeves and then finally the asshole who thought “Everyone out.” The commander of the checkpoint ordered, with the villains doing so. “You’ll go through one at a time; girly first, then tie clip, sleeves, bag and then the asshole who thought he was being funny be wearing that shirt!” He sneered as the guards glowered at Shockwave, the British villain clad in jeans and a ‘Grateful Dead’ band shirt.
“What I’m a fan?” Shockwave hissed as Gillette walked through the scanner and was given a pat down search. Followed by Chemistro and Spear, it was only when it came for the Enforcer to walk through that alarms bells went off.
“What’s in the bag sir?” One of the guards asked as he snatched the bag away and dumped the contents onto the floor,
“Equipment for occult testing, as per the client’s request.” The Enforcer replied calmly as he picked up a jar full of seeds and checked for any cracks. Going through them, two jars of green liquid, a notebook and a pair of old Greek coins, the guard stopped as he picked up a human leg bone carved with mystical symbols.
“And this?!”
“That’s my magic bone you’re touching.” The Enforcer replied, his words causing some of the guards to snicker.
“This could be an offensive weapon sir, I’m afraid its going to be confiscated until you’re business is concluded.” The guard announced.
“Sure, and if the body reanimates as a zombie, I’ll let it eat you first so I can get back the one thing that would reverse the spell.” The Enforcer replied in the same calm, even tone. “You may be happy to separate it from me, but I wonder what your colleagues think?” He asked as the guard reluctantly put the bone back in the bag. After that the remaining security checks went by rapidly and with no additional drama. Walking into the atrium, the villains were greeted by a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and wearing dark glasses who introduced himself as Project Director Gregor Romero.
“You must be here for Body 22.” Romero stated as the villains followed the Director into a freight elevator. “Yes I wish we had more time with that particular body.” He added as he swiped his key-card and typed in a destination. “There was much we could learn about it.”
“What do you mean learn?” The Enforcer asked. “Last time I was here it was a simple storage facility.”
“Ah yes that was before we were subsumed into the Beyond Corporation.” Romero answered. “We now have been given new purpose as dictated by their marketing plan.”
“You’re not building a zombie army right?” Spear asked as the elevator came to a stop.
“Of course not.” Romero snorted as he swiped his key-card again, the doors opening to reveal a large circular room rimmed with translucent cylinders. “Technically we’ve already built one, but rest assured none of these bodies have long term staying power. While they are zombies, they are technically only undead for a short time while we experiment in the field of reanimation.” He added calmly, much to the dismay and horror shown on the faces of the villains. This shock was magnified as one of the bodies began to scream, electricity arching up and down the cylinder from the large tesla coils embedded into his shoulders.
“Fuck this!!” Spear yelled as he rolled up the sleeves of his dark green T-shirt.
“Pay Electro no mind, the ambient electricity stored in his body often reanimates him at times.” Romero stated as he led the villains across the floor past a number of dead supervillains. “Ah now this one you may find interesting, I believe you may know Brendon Doyle?” He asked as he gestured to the body with a mop of red hair in one of the tubes, his eyes cored out and a bundle of cables stabbed through his stomach cavity.
“What did you do to him!?” Gillette hissed.
“Nothing, he is as he was donated to us.” Romero replied, “We have been taking good care of him. Once your business is concluded here, we will happily surrender his body to you for the right price.” He added, as something on his wrist beeped slightly. “Ah excuse me, we have other visitors today, you will find your body in Viewing Room 8 at the end of the corridor.” He added as he walked back to the elevator.
“This place is sick!” Gillette hissed as she tore her eyes away from Doyle, “We are not leaving Doyle here if I can help it.”
“Yeah he deserves better than that.” Chemistro answered flatly. “Let’s just get this stiff and get out of here.”
“Agreed.” The Enforcer added as he lead the team down the corridor and into the viewing room, before putting his bag down on the table next to the massive casket.
“This may take some time.” Shockwave replied as he removed a portable EMF reader from his belt.
“I’m going to keep an eye on those zombie gits.” Spear announced. “I don’t trust them not to try and eat our brains.”
# # # # #
“Ah Mister Manfredi.” Romero said with a welcoming smile as the man in the silver bodysuit and black cape and cowl walked into his office, followed by a figure in insectile green armour and a man dressed in a grey bucket hat and thick trench coat.
“Thank you for accommodating our employees wishes on such short notice.” Manfredi stated as Romero sat down at his desk and brought up footage of Viewing Room 8. “And it looks like our marks are already hard at work.”
“While I am grateful for the donation of these five I must ask that you don’t damage any of the specimens down there.” Romero pleaded.
“Things break when villains fight.” The man in green armour stated in a buzzing voice. “That’s the fact of the matter, hell a ghoul like you should know that.”
“I think what my associate Mr Rambo meant to say is that we’ll take the greatest of care with your specimens.” Manfredi reassured Romero as the man in the trench coat stalked towards him, glowing red eyes suddenly visible from within the dark void where his face should have been. “In fact we may even be able to help you with your research here.” He added as the man in the trench coat reached out with a skeletal hand, the sight causing Romero to panic for a few seconds, until it caressed his head, the touch causing his body to slump forward in his chair.
“I hope this works, I don’t want to be dealing with walkers.” Rambo buzzed as the man in the trench coat made an upward gesture. As if at his beck and call, the body of Romero got to its feet and stood to attention.
“New flesh is always better to work with.” The man in the trench coat stated in a horse voice. “Go sow death and rebirth through this facility. Do not stop until not a single heart beats.” It added, as Romero strode towards the door, his glazed eyes behind his sunglasses the only sign that he was no longer among the living, to complete his grisly duties.