Issue #23 (August 2018)
Written by John Cheese Featuring: Zombie Master
The Enforcer
Man Bull
Flintlock
Spear
Ghost
Thundersword
Headhunter
Sunset Bain
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"The Bain of Bane"Sarah Hannigan was no stranger to hate. She'd grown up hated by her mother, hated by her adopted sister when she'd worked up the nerve to ran away from home and hated by a multitude of other dark beings. But the person who hated Sarah most of all right at this moment...was herself. The reptillo-necrotic shell that was her body was a facade masking a rage filled furnace where her heart should be.
"I promised that I'd do anything to end you!" The man bathed in the energy that had lanced from her fingers hissed. "Even if it kills me too." Mike Nero, the Enforcer, her former business partner, sometimes lover but more than that her best friend. Strange that she thought that after a year and a half apart after treachery on both sides had driven them apart. "No this has gone on long enough." Sarah announced with power and authority as she dropped the energy field surrounding Nero. "Terrapin!" "Terrapin?!" Mike spat, as he reached for his bag. "That won't be enough to make me stop! Not for you!" "Look in your bag." Sarah announced as she gestured for the bag to fly open and a katana with a gleaming blade to levitate out of it. "The Shining Masamune blade won't cut the flesh of a servant of good. Test it, we both no its magic trumps any spell I can muster." Taking the blade, Mike lifted it into a killing blow before pausing. "Show me your face, I'll see the eyes of my best friend's killer before I avenge her." Mike ordered. Obliging him Sarah threw back her hood to reveal her skull like face and bulbous reptilian eyes. Moving in close Mike lowered the sword and pointed to her cheek, a slight pit in the mummified skin of the witch. "I am so angry at you right now!" He snapped as he placed the katana back in his bag. "But also, so relieved to see you again Zombie Master." "As am I my Enforcer." Sarah answered as the pair of them embraced. "What are you doing Mike? You're working for a crook like Bain again, you're better than this." "I don't work for Bain I'm with a bunch of other super-mercs trying to stop her." Mike answered as a flash of thunder lit up the villa. "Did you feel that?" "The raw power was beyond anything I've seen recently." Sarah added as she ran a hand over Mike, his wounds sealing themselves up. "Whoever was on the other end of that is in trouble." "That would be my guys, getting into trouble seems to be our unifying trait." Mike sighed as he shouldered his bag. "Then we should get on with them." Sarah replied as she replaced her hood. "Unless your guys try to kill us that is." "Nah there all softies." Mike stated through gritted teeth. "Wouldn't hurt a fly." "YOU ANNOYING LITTLE BUG!" Man Bull bellowed as Flintlock vaulted a security barrier towards the main villa, the flimsy metal bar doing nothing to impede her pursuers progress. "GET BACK HERE!" "Not on your life!" Flintlock yelled as she reloaded her shotgun on the run before firing a shot over her shoulder at Man Bull the impact doing nothing to stop him, save driving his temper through the metaphorical roof. Sliding over the hood of a disabled GAZ Tigr, Flintlock saw someone step out of the main atrium holding a gun in one hand and a USB key in the other. "Run!" Rachel yelled as the Tigr went rolling past her before crashing into a row of high end sports cars, the armoured truck crushing them. "Run?!" Jasper Daniels AKA the Spear asked as Man Bull charged past. "Because life wasn't enough on an action movie inside." He stated as a pair of guards came running out of the 'coat check' area behind him, only to be felled by a quick pair of micro darts. "Stay out of this Daniels, she'll pay for what Zawadi did to me!" Man Bull grunted as he grabbed a Ferrari and used it like a club in an attempt to hit Flintlock. As it slammed down, a boom sounded and a twelve-ton block of masonry flaked off the villa and fell towards the combatants. "Heads up!" Daniels yelled, Man Bull and Flintlock following his instructions to see the looming threat. With a roar Man Bull grabbed Flintlock by the leg with one hand and leapt clear of the leaping masonry. Running over, Daniels prised Flintlock from the giant's hand before pushing her back out of the bull's reach. "Good save Bill." He stated as Man Bull got ready to muscle past his alley to get at this enemy. "What you doing, saving her from me, they’re the ones who attacked us!" Man Bull grunted. "Because the enemy of my enemy..." Daniels stated as Man Bull got to his feet, his rage still boiling. "...is a more tolerable enemy not my friend." Man Bull finished as he propped the bike up on its stand. "Tell that to her!" "We're more tolerable enemies, and right now we're both missing friends, right?" He asked Flintlock as she looked at him with disdain. "Come on work with me?" "We're not friends like Man Bull says." Flintlock answered coldly as another part of the villa's roof was vaporized by a massive discharge of energy. "Never treat anyone as anything less than an enemy with an agenda." The triple filtered voice of Ghost stated as he phased out of the steps into the villa. "Where is Headhunter, there is much we need to talk about regarding my discovery in Bain's servers." "She's still...what the hell Rachel!" Spear yelled as Flintlock levelled her shotgun at Ghost's head. "Something on those servers belonged to my boss, now if you would kindly hand it back I won't be convinced to pull the trigger." Flintlock coldly said. "Heh rest assured there is no longer anything worth having on Bain's servers." Ghost buzzed as he reached into Flintlock's weapon and removed the shell inside. "Rosetta Technologies will get its proprietary information back once I'm certain it will be used for good." "Are you serious!" Flintlock hissed as Man Bull pressed the horn on the motorcycle he'd rescued until everyone else turned to stare at him. "We have people to save inside. Now my fists still need to hit something, I don't much care if it's Shotgun Sally, Spookable or Sunset Bain. So, let's make it the latter, and while we're doing that, let's rescue Gillette, Calvin and whoever the psychotic ballerinas or whatever your team's name is, are looking for." Man Bull snorted as he marched into the collapsing villa. "If we're feeling really benevolent today we can even rescue Ronin too." Daniels remarked as he and the others followed in Man Bull's wake. "Wait, who the hell is Ronin?" Man Bull replied. The halfbo was no match for the energised blade of Thundersword, Sheroke mused as she used the bifurcated pieces of wood to block the follow-up blow that she knew was coming. Right now, even the most well-made blade wouldn't stand up to the savage onslaught of blows rained down on her. And eventually one did catch her, sending her tumbling down the flight of stairs to where Gillette was kneeling on the floor, staring into Toby's eyes. "I assume we're running again." Gillette announced as she got to her feet, before offering a hand up to Toby. Ronin just nodded as she closed the reinforced security door behind her. Running down the hall to the massive kitchen, the trio of women knew that their pursuer was on their heels as the lightning lapped across the floor like an electrified tide. "Look at all this potential." Gillette purred as she policed a set of silverware from a knife rack. "If I can distract Thundersword, even keep him pinned do you think you can grab his weapon, it's where his power lies." "I can try." Ronin replied as Gillette walked over to a microwave on the counter and placed the knives inside before closing the door. Reaching out to the nearby hob, she switched the gas on just as Thundersword kicked down the door. "Get out of here, I've got this!" Gillette called as she threw her remaining stiletto blade at Thundersword, the metal knife melting as it hit her sword. "Don't go far." Thundersword ordered as Ronin pushed Toby into a walk-in freezer and closed the door until it was barely ajar. "As for you, well I heard something interesting about you from Cottonmouth, Headhunter." He added as lightning forked out of his blade and up Gillette's legs causing her to collapse, her hand desperately trying to steady herself on the work top, the microwave, anything on her way down. "Gillette!" Toby screamed as Thundersword stepped over her towards the freezer, only to stop as tiny flashes of lightning lit up the microwave, as seconds later a massive fireball rocked the room, engulfing the chamber in flames. Not waiting for the smoke to settle Ronin dashed out and grabbed the jagged lightning like blade, only to receive a punch in the face, part of the weapon sparking off in her hand and skidding across the scorched kitchen floor to where Gillette lay. "Sorry Ronin, but you are not in my league, none of you are." He added as Toby ran over to Gillette and held her hand. "No one can match me, not the Avengers, not the X-Men, not the Fantastic Four and certainly not a pathetic band of super villains stupid enough to follow a CIA washout not to mention a one-eyed maniac!" "I'm not a super villain, I'm a super model and I'd do anything to stop you!" Toby yelled as her hand rested on the fragment of snapped off blade. As it brushed against it, the shard glowed gold before enveloping her. "No, that power is mine!" Thundersword yelled as Toby stepped out of the glowing aura, her body clad in a gold breastplate, armoured greaves up to her thighs and a Corinthian esque helmet, her dark hair billowing over her shoulders. "It's ours, and even though I only have a fragment," Toby replied as she held out her hand to reveal the shard gold light streaming out the base to form a stave for a spear. "I will fight against you." "Oh, my goddess." Gillette gasped. "You mean goodness." Ronin corrected her as she picked Gillette up in a fireman's carry. "I mean goddess, she's like Athena or something." Gillette added as Thundersword lunged at Toby his blade sparking, only to be repelled by his enemy’s spear. Sunset Bain kept a smile on her face as she sat in the reinforced panic room. Things were detreating fast but they were still salvageable. Looking over at her two test subjects, she knew that she'd won, the formula for the gas K-0.9 nerve gas she'd stolen from Rosetta Technologies was safe, and despite being matched by this new Thundersword, Caswell was performing well. It looked like experience would win him the day. "A stout observation." A wheezing voice behind her stated, forcing Bain to turn, her hand going for the photon pistol strapped under her desk. "Who are you!?" Sunset snapped as she watched the emergency lighting around the room extinguish save for a single red glowing eye reflecting along a long metal beak. "I am Ludwig van Owen, I know you've heard of me Miss Bain." The figure announced. "The spook, the bogeyman of the CIA, drop the facade and tell me why are you here?" Bain ordered as she saw the tank containing the blonde woman crack, the figure inside shifting in her chemically induced coma. "This has been a day for transformation." Van Owen coughed as he gestured to the screen showing Thundersword’s battle with Toby. "You like to watch, sometimes like to play, but now you'll live as the predator in your dreams." He stated as Sunset doubled over in pain, her nails extending as hair sprouted along her arms. "Why are you here!?" Sunset screamed as her legs shifted, nails sprouting through her expensive shoes. "He's here for me." The woman in the tank stated as the door into the panic shook. "Yes Miss Barnstow, I assume your duty to your friends is done?" Van Owen asked as flames rolled round the woman's feet. "They are." Jennifer answered as the panic room door flew open and Rosetta Stone marched into the room. "Then until next time ladies." Van Owen hissed as the flames engulfed him and Jennifer and they teleported away. Jetting across the gap Nefer was tackled by the humanoid puma woman, the feral creature pining her down. "You and your master have a lot to answer for!" Nefer snapped as she threw the transfigured Bain against the tank holding Chemistro. "Not Master." Bain snarled as she squirmed out of the remains of her evening dress. "Enemy, you help Bain, Bain help you." "Bain...as in Sunset Bain." Nefer snorted in amusement as she fired a stun bolt into the feline hybrid. "We'll deal with you later, first I need to find my friendly neighbourhood witch and figure out what your enemy did to my teammate." Toby stumbled back from the tripping technique Thundersword had used against her. She had power but it wasn't enough, not in this even a matchup. What she needed was experience. "You're flagging." Thundersword stated as Toby swung her spear in an arc, the blow just about knocking his own thrust off course. "I won't kill you, not till you've seen what I plan to do to Headhunter down there." "You will do nothing!" Toby snapped as she trusted her spear at her opponent’s face, only to have her blow slapped away. "It is you who'll do nothing." Thundersword replied as he grabbed the spear behind the haft and flung Toby over his shoulder. "As valiant as the attempt was, it was moot." He added as Ronin threw a knife at him, only to see the blade melt halfway through its arc. "None of you could have ever stopped me. I AM A G...AH!!" As he showboated a massive hand grabbed Thundersword by the neck and twisted, his body falling to the floor with a crunch, his sword sparking out to be replaced with a lightning bolt trophy. "Stopped." Man Bull grunted as he walked over to Gillette. "Any luck finding Calvin or the woman he was with?" He asked as Flintlock and Spear stood away from the reunion. "None I'm afraid." Gillette answered as Toby hovered nervously in the background. "Nero and Sneed are missing too." "Sneed's fine he was doing some martial arts stuff with her friend." Man Bull grunted as he pointed to Rachel. "Turns out Flintlock here had a team trying to stop Bain as well." "Is that so. Where is your boss Flintlock I need to speak with her.”? Gillette stated as Man Bull picked her up and carried her over to the woman in red. "No idea." Flintlock answered coldly as she looked at the assorted villains around her. "She went to find Bain and her hostages." "And find Bain I did." Nefer's voice announced over the PA. "Gillette consider your debt paid, now if you could all come down to the labs in the basement I could use some assistance." "An impressive block." Zawadi stated as she saw Sneed pull into a throw, the lithe Wakandan huntress flying over his shoulder and onto the floor into a predatory crouch. "Graceful landing." Sneed replied as his armour chimed. "That's another five minutes and another draw." "Would you care for another round?" Zawadi asked as Sneed gave her a hand off the floor. "Would you like to start round nine?" She asked, just as the vegetation rustled and the Enforcer marched out. "The pair of you are needed up at the mansion." Nero announced as he looked at the pair of master martial artists. "How are your feet Zawadi?" Sneed asked as the woman in question stretched as she warmed down from the fight. "Faster than yours I'm certain Lancaster." She replied as she took off at a run towards the mansion. Rolling his eyes Sneed sprinted after her leaving Nero standing alone by the crashed trucks. "Hormones." Nero snorted. "Those two are old enough to know better." "All I can say for sure is that the creature shares genetic material with Sunset Bain." Nefer stated as Man Bull wrestled the puma-woman into a cage. "If this is actually Bain remains to be proved, as does the method for this transformation." She added as she looked past Man Bull at Zawadi, Sarah and the Enforcer, the three of them locked in a private conversation. The only other person in the room was Gillette, the young woman looking out through the glass window at the other super mercenaries gathered there. "I suspect that the active element was magic." Sarah announced as she shot a look at Nefer. "Nero and I noticed a foul smell on her loins." "Huh I thought that was me." Man Bull grunted with relief as he smacked a clawed hand back. "They speak of the stench of magics, dark magic often leaves a most unpleasant smell on its victims." Zawadi explained as she looked at the puma-woman. "From what I could decipher from Bain, she mentioned Van Owen, a contemporary of mine, and of Jennifer's mother." "Two questions; can the magic be reversed and should it?" Nefer asked as she looked over at Gillette again. "From my own experiences and I suspect that of all those here, few of us would be motivated to do so." "We should turn her back." Gillette announced as she saw Toby talking to Daniels. "We're all the heroes of our own story, it's time we acted like it." Calvin sat on the chair and prayed his stiches wouldn't come undone as Gillette looked around at them all. With Ronin and Ghost added to their roster even if it was just for this debriefing, it felt like it had back when Crossfire had been in charge. "The first order of business is the data Ghost pulled from Bain's servers. We finally have proof that the inner circle of the Conspiracy is split into seven and that Bain sits on one of those chairs." Gillette explained. "We've also been able to extrapolate that other big businesses have a presence within the group." "It should not be surprising; the Plutocracy is full of such deals with organised crime." Ghost buzzed. "Although the scope of this one is shocking, maybe enough to convince me to throw in my lot with you." "To that end you have my sword." Sheroke added as she rested her hand on the wrapped hilt of a katana. "You are both welcome, but it's not to me who you'll be answering to." Gillette sighed as she departed her chair and gestured to Sneed, "Lancaster has agreed to fill in for me during my absence." "Wait what?" Daniels spluttered. "I'm taking some time, not just for my health but because I want to be normal, if just for a month or two." Gillette explained as she looked out the driveway to the high-end BMW convertible sitting on the drive. "Forgive me for being selfish but it is something I need to do." There was a long pause with nobody speaking in answer to the Headhunter's statement. "I think we all understand." Nero replied eventually as the others got to their feet and nodded. After an extended series of goodbyes Gillette went upstairs shucked her usual red suit jacket and trousers and replaced the later with a pencil skirt. After another round of goodbyes, she left the house and slipped into the passenger seat next to Toby, the super model dressed in a bright yellow sundress. "Ready to go?" Toby asked as the car began to drift down the drive towards the road. "Not really, I think you could give me a year to prepare and I wouldn't be ready." Gillette answered as a truck pulled to a stop over the drive. "At least I have someone to look after me in the big bad world." She added as the passenger door of the truck opened and a red-haired woman dressed in a green bodysuit got out, a grenade launcher in her hands. "Maybe Protector should be my hero name." Toby purred as she and Gillette kissed slightly seconds before the car was struck by a volley of grenades, the detonation engulfing the BMW in a fireball. "One down." The woman stated as she climbed back into the truck. "Five to go." |