Back to GatefoldIssue #5 by John Cheese
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“THE WEBS OF APAEC”
The repainted RAID Gunship broke through the low lying clouds above the Amazon rainforest, its weapons already armed and ready for a hot landing. Sitting at the pilot’s seat Gillette rubbed her brow, beads of sweat flying onto the instrument panel before looking over at her co-pilot. As usual Doyle was drinking and only partially paying attention to what was going, silently the Headhunter reminded herself to convince the Mauler to join an AA meeting, if only to reduce the constant smell of alcohol on his breath. Tapping a screen positioned on the panel she checked how her passengers were, judging from the expressions on the majority of the mercs she was carrying the flight had been less then comfortable. Taking a deep breath she tapped the microphone positioned over her cheek, “Cross we are two minutes from LZ.”
“Acknowledged.” Crossfire replied before standing up and unholstering his Glock, “Okay we are arriving at the drop point, once we clear the area we’ll split up into the assigned pairs and look for the Jaguar.”
“Why should we?” Daniels sneered, “Maybe we don’t want to find this guy.”
“Do as Cross orders.” Shockwave snapped as he sent electrical sparks down the arms of his suit, “We can’t afford this right now.”
“No I won’t.” Daniels stated, “Don’t you see he’s going to replace us all. To him we are nothing but pawns to push around the board, pieces to sacrifice in order to get his big score.”
“I’m with Spear.” Carr snarled, “I don’t need to worry about the boss shooting me in the back. Either we get job security or we get out right now.”
“You needn’t worry about that.” Crossfire hissed, “Either way you two are both getting out now; you can either fall over a hundred foot to the forest floor and step out when we land, I don’t mind which but I really hope you chose the later.”
“We can’t trust you, not when you pull plans like this out of you’re hat.” Chemistro growled. As he finished the gunship slammed into a hard left and the sound of gunfire rattling off the hull sounded.
“Boss we are under fire, from what the sensors are picking up the insurgents are moving AA guns and shoulder mounted missile launchers into position. The LZ is too hot to land even with the additional armor that was retrofitted to the ship.” Gillette screamed over the comm. link as the gunship shuddered as something heavy impacted with the left wing.
“Fucking grunts just took out the left missile pod and thrusters.” Doyle swore, “We’re going down half a click from the lab.” Seconds later the gunship ploughed through the canopy and nosedived into the soil, the sound of ripping undergrowth drowned out by a shuddering crunch as the ship terminated it’s trajectory into a massive mahogany tree. With a groan Crossfire got up and slammed the manual door release button twice before watching as the explosive bolts fired and catapulted the shutter into the green wilderness around them. Reaching up to the ledge he pulled himself up before squatting on the edge of the crashed ship, his optical and audio implants scanning the jungle for movement and noise before being flooded by the overwhelming level of stimulus they recorded.
“Everybody ready.” he ordered, “We may possibly have paramilitary and HYDRA forces moving this way. Gillette did you get a lock on the magnetic signature we were homing in on?”
“We have but the instruments are destroyed, my best guess is that the source is on sub-level three of the lab we saw in the clearing.” the Headhunter replied, “I’d exercise caution, records show that Baron Heinrich Zemo used to own this lab and that since then several criminals have used the facility. To that end we may have to deal with several of the former occupant’s booby traps and safeguards to extract our target.”
“What the hell is going on?” Daniels yelled, “I am not moving until somebody tells me what we are doing here.” he added as he pulled himself out of the wreckage.
“If you are to earn our trust then the truth must be the shield you use.” Makro purred to Crossfire as she scuttled onto the nose of the crashed gunship before cutting through the window and extracting the Headhunter and Mauler from the locked down cockpit. Crossfire sighed and pointed at Shockwave before nodding, “You worked it out Sneed, I figured that with you’re familiarity to espionage you might.”
“Well please share what you know.” Daniels spat, “Because I am still mightily confused.”
“The hunt for Jaguar was all a set-up.” Shockwave announced, “SHIELD recently put a bounty on the destruction of the facility that Blitzschlag is using. Apparently Intel from a failed recon mission that SHIELD committed shows that he and Armin Zola were working on an army of Nazi Demi-Gods with the help of a local paramilitary group. Unable to complete the mission somebody high up in SHIELD hired Cross and by extension us to destroy the building and make sure those jack booted thugs never become a problem.”
“So we are working for SHIELD?” Chemistro asked, “That sounds risky.” he added.
“It is.” Crossfire answered, “Luckily the firewalls that protect my computer network prevented them from delving to deeply into my work and as soon as we get paid will destroy themselves and activate a back up network. The plus side is once that happens a cyber spike will embed themselves into SHIELD’s systems and remain dormant and undetectable until I decide to activate it. With it SHIELD will become part of our empire, effectively becoming my fist and cementing our place in history”
“Okay I get that but what about Andrea?” Spear asked, “What the hell happened to her?”
“Lodestone was an integral part of the plan.” Crossfire continued, “He powers were gifts of Baron Blitzschlag put ones that came at a price. Being partially responsible for her regeneration I thought it wise to slip tracking nanites into the blood sample I recovered from the Absorbing Man so that when Andrea was forced to repay her debt I could find and if necessary aid her in any situation she found herself in.”
(Crossfire supplied Blitzschlag the blood sample used in Andrea’s surgery in MAX 32 Natural Magnetism)
“So in other words this was a setup.” the Mauler snarled as Makro and Shockwave helped pull his armor out of the wreckage. “All the talk about replacements was just bull.”
“It was to see if you cared about each other.” Crossfire answered, “That trust is a key factor for our plan to succeed. Now we must get moving.” he added, “I have a plan to infiltrate the base undetected but I need you to trust me.”
# # # # #
Ramon walked next to Ai Apaec, the latter’s massive insectile stride requiring the Jaguar to run every tenth step to keep up. His master was furious, the ship that had appeared in the Neo Moche Empire’s airspace may have been shot down but the patrols sent into the rainforest to locate the crash site had been unable to find the occupants, most hadn’t even returned from the ocean of green.
“Something powerful has come to our borders sir.” Ramon told Apaec, “Perhaps the allies of my mate have come for us.”
“Perhaps, for now I will retire and see my beloved. If it is her clan then I will defeat them while you rally my men and get ready to defend the Baron’s structure.” Apaec commanded, “Our new shocktroops are only days from being completed, their loss will damage the Empire beyond easy repair.”
“You needn’t worry about that.” Ramon assured him as the Moche paramilitary formed up outside the lab before bowing to Apaec. Looking around Ramon watched as more troopers struggled to remove wreckage of the two destroyed Mi-24s. Above the grunts and moans of the men pulling the fuselage to the side of the clearing Ramon heard another sound, a high pitched whistling, it was a sound that he recognized. “My lord get to cover.” he yelled as a mortar round slammed into the fuselage destroying the chassis and killing the men that had been moving it.
“Who dares attack us?” Apaec roared as more mortar rounds slammed into the field carving massive craters in the grass killing more men and destroying a large amount of equipment.
“It doesn’t matter.” Ramon spat, “Get into cover my lord, I will deal with those responsible for this assault.” Ramon cracked his knuckles as Apaec hissed something in his native tongue before retreating into the lab. Squinting up Ramon saw another mortar come firing in from just beyond the tree line, the line of fire being directed by a visible spectrum laser. Ramon sneered before pointing at the clearing as one of the remaining AA Guns swung round and locked onto the source before opening fire, the high powered rounds shredding the bark and setting the undergrowth alight. “Move in and destroy what’s left.” Ramon ordered as a team of Moche warriors edged forward armed with spears and AKs ready to deal with the attackers. One of the warriors stepped into the bush before screaming, his burnt body thrown out of the burning forest.
“Well you bloody ponces.” Mauler growled as he stepped out of the burning forest, “Let’s see if you can do better now you can see who you’re shooting at.”
Chemistro grunted as he held onto the trigger of his alchemy pistol, the blast of energy melting a hole through the soil as he created a tunnel towards the lab. Up above the ground shook as more mortars rang down on the field and while he knew it was risky he knew that he had to keep going. Behind him Crossfire, Shockwave and the Headhunter kept glancing back as the tunnel collapsed behind them. With Sneed giving the group light to see by they were making good time and they would soon be within touching distance of the lab. Carr wondered where Cross had got the tactic of a subterranean assault from, he was sure he had heard somebody else using this method of infiltration.
(Thunderbolt fans will recognize it as a variation of the tactic used by Volcana, Plantman and Songbird to undermine the defences of Genosha in Chris Munn’s Thunderbolts Issue #22)
“The mortars have stopped.” Gillette announced as she travelled along behind Crossfire. “Phase 1 is complete.”
“Or the Mauler has been taken out.” Crossfire growled, “And we are to far away to contact the Spear to resume the bombardment. Either way we are running out of time. Chemistro I need to know how much energy you’re weapons has left and how far we have left to tunnel.”
“10% capacity and dropping. We only have three meters but assuming that the walls are denser then plywood then we are not getting in on the same fuel cell we started digging this shaft with.” Chemistro told him.
“Agreed.” Cross answered, “Shockwave take over at the head of the shaft, Chemistro create supports for our redoubt.”
“Roger that Cross.” Shockwave grunted before walking to the end of the tunnel and slamming his fists into the soil before vaporizing the muck to reveal solid steel behind the dirt. “Okay the path is clear but my exoskeleton’s power levels are low switching to auxiliary power.”
“Good.” Crossfire said before sitting on the floor, “Now we wait.”
Ramon watched as a group of Moche soldiers ran at the armoured figure yelling in their own language before being hosed down by the Mauler’s shoulder mounted Gattling guns, their dropped machetes and spears the only remains of the once proud attackers. Those armed with AKs and machine pistols fared little better, most got in a few shots before having their armoured target focus on them. Grimacing Ramon sprinted across the field behind a second row of Moche chargers, the tribal warriors cut down as the Mauler focused on him. “You idiots the ZPU, use the AA gun to cut him down.” Ramon yelled as a machine gunner popped up from behind some of the smoking wreckage and opened fire before receiving a depleted Uranium Round to the face. While the majority of the Moche ignored his order, some at least came to their senses; three of the tribal warriors headed for the AA gun while the others cracked open some of the crates and pulled out RPG Launchers and portable 20mm cannons.
“This shit just got real.” Doyle snarled as he spotted the runners, “Spear take out the AA Gun before those grunts reach it and turn my suit into scrap ready to be floated down the Clyde.”
“On it.” Daniels replied as he shifted in the tree he was sitting in before lining up a shot on the ZPU. Firing he watched as the spear slammed through the gunner’s chair, it’s end flashing as the Moche artillery team moved in to man the gun.
“I said blow it up.” Doyle yelled as he shot down an RPG wielding trooper before focusing on a pair of Moche armed with canons.
“Wait for it kids.” Spear said calmly as he loaded another projectile into the launcher and taking aim at Ramon and a pair of Moche armed with RPGs. Suddenly the ZPU exploded, the blast claiming the weapon and the gunnery crew in a vivid orange explosion. “And boom Daniels gets the Strike achievement.” Spear said pulling the trigger and loosing off all three rounds at his targets. Two struck the Moche troops directly but the third target grabbed the projectile from mid air and threw it back, the spear bouncing off the Mauler’s armoured frame and falling to the floor.
“Okay Lassie.” Doyle snarled, “Time to pay for you’re ride.” he added as he gunned down another portable cannon. With a click the whole rear segment of his armor detached and multi limbed figure of Makro sprung out over the barricade in front of the lab. The Moche troops positioned out-front turned and lashed out before all four of the villain’s robotic limbs snaked forward and curled around her foes until their spines were crushed, the captives dropped like ragdolls at the feet of their silent killer.
“You know what to do.” Doyle yelled as he ripped a 20mm cannon out of the hands of its wielder and opened fire on the enemy. “We’ll hold the foot-soldiers off you help the others get inside.” Makro nodded before cutting through the door and scuttling inside, Doyle turned to look back at the battlefield, its surface covered with burnt or bloody Moche corpses, those few that were left were now on their knees chanting, Doyle chuckled before walking over to one and snapping his head back. “Well that was fucking easy,” he snorted before throwing the body to the floor, “Spear you see any movement from up there?”
“Spiders.” Daniels yelled before dropping to the floor from his tree, “They are fucking spiders.” Doyle turned to look back at his ‘prisoners’ only to see massive insectile legs sprouting from their mouths as the giant arachnids pulled themselves free of their human shells, “Well shit and me without my bug-spray.” Doyle cursed as he charged his weapon systems and got ready for another charge.
# # # # #
Makro crawled down the lift shaft and pried open the door; despite the large number of troops outside the lab itself was deserted. Somewhere down on the lowest sub-level Crossfire and the others were waiting for her to aid in the tunnelling. While the others might need high tech equipment to locate their targets but her extensive training with the Hand made every heartbeat sound like a drum roll and right now there were five heartbeats all clustered on the lower floor. Silently she crawled along the ceiling and arrived at the edge of a metal rim, the corridor melting into a massive natural cavern covered in strands of spider silk.
Gingerly she stepped out, the ends of her mechanical arms burning amber and creating footholds on the bare rock free of the sticky strands. Reaching the top of the cavern Makro steadied herself and pulled out a folded long barrelled rifle before placing a warhead on the end and setting the handle and trigger into a comfortable firing position. While she had never been a fan of firearms she knew that she was about to do was vital for the missions’ success. Taking aim she fired, the warhead slamming into the rock and vaporizing it and the steel plating behind it in a puff of smoke. Coughing and spluttering Crossfire emerged leading the others out before watching as Makro dropped to the floor and handed the rifle and the remaining warheads to Chemistro.
“Got it, this chamber looks like it supports a lot of weight.” Chemistro announced, “A few chemical mines set to a timer should level this chamber and everything built on top of it.”
“Get it done.” Crossfire ordered, “Gillette I need Lodestone’s location, I have a feeling we won’t be here for long.”
“She is in here with us.” the Headhunter purred, “There,” she added pointing to a large silken nest at the far end of the cavern, “Sensors say that she is alive but in a comatose state, maybe some kind of venom or toxin in the webbing. Whatever the case we should remove her and then leave, hopefully Doyle and Daniels have dealt with resistance up above and are ready for Phase 3. If not then we may have to improvise and find another way out.”
“It won’t come to that.” Crossfire announced, “They know what is at stake and won’t let me down. And if they do they will wish they had died along with the rest of us.”
# # # # #
Daniels slammed his trident into a screaming giant spider, the bladed tips ripping out the eyes and mouth of the creature and sending it flailing to the floor. Now out in the open and fighting alongside Doyle it was quickly clear that something unnatural was in control of the glade, even the slain Moche soldiers were morphing into massive spiders and attacking. Glancing at the time displayed on the HUD’s visor Daniels cursed before lashing out at another attacking spider before removing a spear from his quiver and slamming it into the ground. “Doyle I’ve got to get into position.” Spear yelled, “Give them hell.”
“No doubt.” Doyle replied as he repelled an attacking spider with his flamethrower, “Well get going.” he added as Daniels sprinted towards the lab, a few of the giant spiders following him before being quickly mowed down with laser Gattling fire, their corpses falling onto the floor with a thump. Catching the sign of movement in his peripheral vision Doyle turned to see the Jaguar run at him before slamming his fist into the man’s armoured visor. With a grunt Doyle repelled him before firing up his arm mounted saw and slashing at Ramon only for the HYDRA agent to slam his claws into the links of the weapon and rip the chain off before slicing into the Mauler’s chest plate.
“You will pay for you’re trespasses marauder.” Ramon snarled.
“Oh save me the speech.” Doyle spat back before slapping the smaller man away. “Yellow Cat is scarier then you and besides I’m a dog person myself.” Jaguar let loose a feline snarl before groaning in pain as his body elongated and his claws became heavier and more recurved. Rearing up he glowered at Doyle with cunning feline eyes before licking his lips. “I never liked canned food.” Jaguar snarled, “You’re friend on the other hand will be a perfect delicacy.” he added before throwing Doyle across the clearing and into the burning wreckage of a Jeep. Wincing the Mauler opened fire but his target was too fast, in two seconds Ramon had covered the hundred meters to the lap smashing through the door and went bounding off in pursuit of Daniels. “Shit.” Doyle cursed as he got to his feet, all around him the deal spiders twitched and got to their feet, all of them heading towards him like a wave of disgusting vermin, “Oh and that makes it so much better.” the Mauler cursed glancing at the beacon Spear had planted, “Let’s hope we make it to Phase 4.”
# # # # #
Makro gently reached into the alcove with a pair of her artificial legs and sliced through the webbing before retracting them while dragging Lodestone out as well. “Spider, Big Spider, Spider Man.” Lodestone mumbled, “Spider Man.”
“Okay something is not right.” Chemistro announced as he fired a chemical warhead into the alcove, “If Spiderman is here then we are boned.”
“He’s not.” Crossfire snapped, “But something is, I can hear it moving.”
“Umm it wouldn’t be a big spider would it?” Shockwave asked backing towards the corridor.
“Possibly, whatever it is it’s large and has more then the normal amount of legs.” Crossfire announced.
“No it is a giant spider.” Gillette yelled as she flung a knife at Crossfire. Ducking and rolling Cross looked up to see the blade embed in the torso of a man, his body that of a giant spider. With a scream of rage the monster reared up and Cross opened fire, emptying his Glock into the creatures stomach before scrambling backwards as Apaec slammed down, his serpentine hissing and spitting venom at the assembled mercenaries. Stepping forward Shockwave grabbed hold of one of the Spider God’s legs and squeezed, electricity running down the limb before he was picked up by the deity and raised towards his mouth, venom running down his fangs.
“Oh this is not good.” Sneed wheezed as Apaec dislocated his jaw ready for the killer bite. As Apaec lined up on Shockwave’s neck, his armor flashed violet and he was pulled backwards across the ground, his armor sparking before being dropped in front of the others as Crossfire and Headhunter opened fire on the Spider God in an attempt to keep him at bay.
“Thanks for the save Andrea.” Shockwave moaned as he got to his feet. “Any idea what that thing is Lodestone?”
“He calls himself Apaec.” Lodestone moaned as Ai Apaec creped forward, “Any time we want to leave is okay by me.”
“Chemistro screw the timers, fire the charges now.” Crossfire ordered, “Shockwave is the Skua ready for departure.”
“Scans are reading good.” Shockwave announced as he helped Makro support Lodestone as they retreated. “Got to admire RAID for their obsession with Nano Repair Systems. The bird is ready to fire as soon as we need her”
“Good then all we are waiting on is the Spear.” Crossfire announced, “Carr fire the warheads now.” Chemistro nodded and tapped in something on a tablet before detonating the warheads. Apaec rushed forward but it was too late and the cavern collapsed sealing him inside, his howls filling the room. Moments later the tunnel began to collapse behind them, debris smashing around the confined space like shrapnel. “Spear do you read us?” Crossfire called, “Is Phase 3 complete?”
“Almost but I have a problem.” Spear replied.
“No excuses just get it done.” Crossfire yelled. Spear rolled his eyes before rolling out of reach as Jaguar slammed his claws down into the floor ripping out tiles and cabling as the building shook.
# # # # #
Crawling towards the lift shaft Daniels connected a line to one of his spears and fired, the blunt ended projectile ricocheting off the back before going taunt. Grunting Daniels loaded another projectile before feeling something heavy land on his back and pain seer up his spine as Jaguar stuck his claws in and growled menacingly. Struggling Daniels finished the reload and fired only for Jaguar to spring off him and slam feet first into the projectile stopping it in its tracks.
“You must try harder then that.” Jaguar purred as he picked up his prize advanced on Spear, as he mocked his body shook and he looked down to see a third spear sticking out of his chest, one that had fired out of the original dart causing the big man to sway. Struggling to his feet Daniels fired the last ‘ascension’ spear straight into Jaguar and sending both him and the line spiralling down to the bottom of the lift shaft. Coughing Daniels looked over the side to see that Jaguar had landed on his back. “Cross Phase 3 is complete get out of there now.”
Crossfire nodded as Makro cut through the doors revealing the shaft and the grisly body of Jaguar lying on the floor. Smiling Cross motioned for the others to climb the shaft before bending over Jaguar and stabbing a disc into his neck. “You’re orders are to stay here and wait for the building to fall on you.” Crossfire hissed, “Nobody touches my team until I say so.” Jaguar nodded and just lay still as more chunks of the lab came falling down. Smiling Crossfire reached the steel cable and started to climb, with one lose end dealt with it was time to track the problem to its source and terminate it for good.
Baron von Blitzschlag activated the TV screen in his office and watched as the figure dressed in black, his or possibly her (who could tell these days) face covered in an operatic mask representing tragedy swum into view. The figure was the Chairman, the person responsible for the formation of the Conspiracy, a sect of super villains and criminals who had decided to use stealth rather then showy invasions and attacks to take over the world. Blitzschlag knew is he/she was calling then it was likely the best or worst kind of news.
“My Baron.” the Chairman announced his/her voice masked by electronic vocal manipulation software. “I have news from Ai Apaec, the mating was a success.”
“This is good news then.” Blitzschlag announced, “We can now count on the support of his fledgling empire of primitives.”
“It is not that simple.” the Chairman replied, “The tribute escaped alongside the other mercenaries that Bain hired; it appears a solution to one of our problems has know become a problem in itself.”
“One that is not my problem.” Blitzschlag spat, “I have much to prepare and…” he stopped before looking at the screen, the Chairman had removed his mask revealing a face that he recognized all to well. “But you can’t be the Chairman you are not even…” With a thud the elderly Nazi dropped his head caved open with a bullet that had flew through the open window and was now sticking out of the sparking TV, the image on the screen wobbling and wavering. Eight hundred yards away concealed in a rocky alcove Crossfire smiled and folded up the sniper rifle he had used, Blitzschlag was dead and in his eyes all his current problems were solved, nobody got away with abusing his team. As he left the screen went blank; electrical energy sparking down out of all the electronics in the building and coalescing into Blitzschlag’s body before causing the old man to convulse before forcing his eyes open. In a voice that was not quite his own the old man cackled as lightning literally danced over his body, “Know it’s my problem and I plan to deal with them accordingly, all of them but especially Crossfire, his death will be slow and painful.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
“Acknowledged.” Crossfire replied before standing up and unholstering his Glock, “Okay we are arriving at the drop point, once we clear the area we’ll split up into the assigned pairs and look for the Jaguar.”
“Why should we?” Daniels sneered, “Maybe we don’t want to find this guy.”
“Do as Cross orders.” Shockwave snapped as he sent electrical sparks down the arms of his suit, “We can’t afford this right now.”
“No I won’t.” Daniels stated, “Don’t you see he’s going to replace us all. To him we are nothing but pawns to push around the board, pieces to sacrifice in order to get his big score.”
“I’m with Spear.” Carr snarled, “I don’t need to worry about the boss shooting me in the back. Either we get job security or we get out right now.”
“You needn’t worry about that.” Crossfire hissed, “Either way you two are both getting out now; you can either fall over a hundred foot to the forest floor and step out when we land, I don’t mind which but I really hope you chose the later.”
“We can’t trust you, not when you pull plans like this out of you’re hat.” Chemistro growled. As he finished the gunship slammed into a hard left and the sound of gunfire rattling off the hull sounded.
“Boss we are under fire, from what the sensors are picking up the insurgents are moving AA guns and shoulder mounted missile launchers into position. The LZ is too hot to land even with the additional armor that was retrofitted to the ship.” Gillette screamed over the comm. link as the gunship shuddered as something heavy impacted with the left wing.
“Fucking grunts just took out the left missile pod and thrusters.” Doyle swore, “We’re going down half a click from the lab.” Seconds later the gunship ploughed through the canopy and nosedived into the soil, the sound of ripping undergrowth drowned out by a shuddering crunch as the ship terminated it’s trajectory into a massive mahogany tree. With a groan Crossfire got up and slammed the manual door release button twice before watching as the explosive bolts fired and catapulted the shutter into the green wilderness around them. Reaching up to the ledge he pulled himself up before squatting on the edge of the crashed ship, his optical and audio implants scanning the jungle for movement and noise before being flooded by the overwhelming level of stimulus they recorded.
“Everybody ready.” he ordered, “We may possibly have paramilitary and HYDRA forces moving this way. Gillette did you get a lock on the magnetic signature we were homing in on?”
“We have but the instruments are destroyed, my best guess is that the source is on sub-level three of the lab we saw in the clearing.” the Headhunter replied, “I’d exercise caution, records show that Baron Heinrich Zemo used to own this lab and that since then several criminals have used the facility. To that end we may have to deal with several of the former occupant’s booby traps and safeguards to extract our target.”
“What the hell is going on?” Daniels yelled, “I am not moving until somebody tells me what we are doing here.” he added as he pulled himself out of the wreckage.
“If you are to earn our trust then the truth must be the shield you use.” Makro purred to Crossfire as she scuttled onto the nose of the crashed gunship before cutting through the window and extracting the Headhunter and Mauler from the locked down cockpit. Crossfire sighed and pointed at Shockwave before nodding, “You worked it out Sneed, I figured that with you’re familiarity to espionage you might.”
“Well please share what you know.” Daniels spat, “Because I am still mightily confused.”
“The hunt for Jaguar was all a set-up.” Shockwave announced, “SHIELD recently put a bounty on the destruction of the facility that Blitzschlag is using. Apparently Intel from a failed recon mission that SHIELD committed shows that he and Armin Zola were working on an army of Nazi Demi-Gods with the help of a local paramilitary group. Unable to complete the mission somebody high up in SHIELD hired Cross and by extension us to destroy the building and make sure those jack booted thugs never become a problem.”
“So we are working for SHIELD?” Chemistro asked, “That sounds risky.” he added.
“It is.” Crossfire answered, “Luckily the firewalls that protect my computer network prevented them from delving to deeply into my work and as soon as we get paid will destroy themselves and activate a back up network. The plus side is once that happens a cyber spike will embed themselves into SHIELD’s systems and remain dormant and undetectable until I decide to activate it. With it SHIELD will become part of our empire, effectively becoming my fist and cementing our place in history”
“Okay I get that but what about Andrea?” Spear asked, “What the hell happened to her?”
“Lodestone was an integral part of the plan.” Crossfire continued, “He powers were gifts of Baron Blitzschlag put ones that came at a price. Being partially responsible for her regeneration I thought it wise to slip tracking nanites into the blood sample I recovered from the Absorbing Man so that when Andrea was forced to repay her debt I could find and if necessary aid her in any situation she found herself in.”
(Crossfire supplied Blitzschlag the blood sample used in Andrea’s surgery in MAX 32 Natural Magnetism)
“So in other words this was a setup.” the Mauler snarled as Makro and Shockwave helped pull his armor out of the wreckage. “All the talk about replacements was just bull.”
“It was to see if you cared about each other.” Crossfire answered, “That trust is a key factor for our plan to succeed. Now we must get moving.” he added, “I have a plan to infiltrate the base undetected but I need you to trust me.”
# # # # #
Ramon walked next to Ai Apaec, the latter’s massive insectile stride requiring the Jaguar to run every tenth step to keep up. His master was furious, the ship that had appeared in the Neo Moche Empire’s airspace may have been shot down but the patrols sent into the rainforest to locate the crash site had been unable to find the occupants, most hadn’t even returned from the ocean of green.
“Something powerful has come to our borders sir.” Ramon told Apaec, “Perhaps the allies of my mate have come for us.”
“Perhaps, for now I will retire and see my beloved. If it is her clan then I will defeat them while you rally my men and get ready to defend the Baron’s structure.” Apaec commanded, “Our new shocktroops are only days from being completed, their loss will damage the Empire beyond easy repair.”
“You needn’t worry about that.” Ramon assured him as the Moche paramilitary formed up outside the lab before bowing to Apaec. Looking around Ramon watched as more troopers struggled to remove wreckage of the two destroyed Mi-24s. Above the grunts and moans of the men pulling the fuselage to the side of the clearing Ramon heard another sound, a high pitched whistling, it was a sound that he recognized. “My lord get to cover.” he yelled as a mortar round slammed into the fuselage destroying the chassis and killing the men that had been moving it.
“Who dares attack us?” Apaec roared as more mortar rounds slammed into the field carving massive craters in the grass killing more men and destroying a large amount of equipment.
“It doesn’t matter.” Ramon spat, “Get into cover my lord, I will deal with those responsible for this assault.” Ramon cracked his knuckles as Apaec hissed something in his native tongue before retreating into the lab. Squinting up Ramon saw another mortar come firing in from just beyond the tree line, the line of fire being directed by a visible spectrum laser. Ramon sneered before pointing at the clearing as one of the remaining AA Guns swung round and locked onto the source before opening fire, the high powered rounds shredding the bark and setting the undergrowth alight. “Move in and destroy what’s left.” Ramon ordered as a team of Moche warriors edged forward armed with spears and AKs ready to deal with the attackers. One of the warriors stepped into the bush before screaming, his burnt body thrown out of the burning forest.
“Well you bloody ponces.” Mauler growled as he stepped out of the burning forest, “Let’s see if you can do better now you can see who you’re shooting at.”
Chemistro grunted as he held onto the trigger of his alchemy pistol, the blast of energy melting a hole through the soil as he created a tunnel towards the lab. Up above the ground shook as more mortars rang down on the field and while he knew it was risky he knew that he had to keep going. Behind him Crossfire, Shockwave and the Headhunter kept glancing back as the tunnel collapsed behind them. With Sneed giving the group light to see by they were making good time and they would soon be within touching distance of the lab. Carr wondered where Cross had got the tactic of a subterranean assault from, he was sure he had heard somebody else using this method of infiltration.
(Thunderbolt fans will recognize it as a variation of the tactic used by Volcana, Plantman and Songbird to undermine the defences of Genosha in Chris Munn’s Thunderbolts Issue #22)
“The mortars have stopped.” Gillette announced as she travelled along behind Crossfire. “Phase 1 is complete.”
“Or the Mauler has been taken out.” Crossfire growled, “And we are to far away to contact the Spear to resume the bombardment. Either way we are running out of time. Chemistro I need to know how much energy you’re weapons has left and how far we have left to tunnel.”
“10% capacity and dropping. We only have three meters but assuming that the walls are denser then plywood then we are not getting in on the same fuel cell we started digging this shaft with.” Chemistro told him.
“Agreed.” Cross answered, “Shockwave take over at the head of the shaft, Chemistro create supports for our redoubt.”
“Roger that Cross.” Shockwave grunted before walking to the end of the tunnel and slamming his fists into the soil before vaporizing the muck to reveal solid steel behind the dirt. “Okay the path is clear but my exoskeleton’s power levels are low switching to auxiliary power.”
“Good.” Crossfire said before sitting on the floor, “Now we wait.”
Ramon watched as a group of Moche soldiers ran at the armoured figure yelling in their own language before being hosed down by the Mauler’s shoulder mounted Gattling guns, their dropped machetes and spears the only remains of the once proud attackers. Those armed with AKs and machine pistols fared little better, most got in a few shots before having their armoured target focus on them. Grimacing Ramon sprinted across the field behind a second row of Moche chargers, the tribal warriors cut down as the Mauler focused on him. “You idiots the ZPU, use the AA gun to cut him down.” Ramon yelled as a machine gunner popped up from behind some of the smoking wreckage and opened fire before receiving a depleted Uranium Round to the face. While the majority of the Moche ignored his order, some at least came to their senses; three of the tribal warriors headed for the AA gun while the others cracked open some of the crates and pulled out RPG Launchers and portable 20mm cannons.
“This shit just got real.” Doyle snarled as he spotted the runners, “Spear take out the AA Gun before those grunts reach it and turn my suit into scrap ready to be floated down the Clyde.”
“On it.” Daniels replied as he shifted in the tree he was sitting in before lining up a shot on the ZPU. Firing he watched as the spear slammed through the gunner’s chair, it’s end flashing as the Moche artillery team moved in to man the gun.
“I said blow it up.” Doyle yelled as he shot down an RPG wielding trooper before focusing on a pair of Moche armed with canons.
“Wait for it kids.” Spear said calmly as he loaded another projectile into the launcher and taking aim at Ramon and a pair of Moche armed with RPGs. Suddenly the ZPU exploded, the blast claiming the weapon and the gunnery crew in a vivid orange explosion. “And boom Daniels gets the Strike achievement.” Spear said pulling the trigger and loosing off all three rounds at his targets. Two struck the Moche troops directly but the third target grabbed the projectile from mid air and threw it back, the spear bouncing off the Mauler’s armoured frame and falling to the floor.
“Okay Lassie.” Doyle snarled, “Time to pay for you’re ride.” he added as he gunned down another portable cannon. With a click the whole rear segment of his armor detached and multi limbed figure of Makro sprung out over the barricade in front of the lab. The Moche troops positioned out-front turned and lashed out before all four of the villain’s robotic limbs snaked forward and curled around her foes until their spines were crushed, the captives dropped like ragdolls at the feet of their silent killer.
“You know what to do.” Doyle yelled as he ripped a 20mm cannon out of the hands of its wielder and opened fire on the enemy. “We’ll hold the foot-soldiers off you help the others get inside.” Makro nodded before cutting through the door and scuttling inside, Doyle turned to look back at the battlefield, its surface covered with burnt or bloody Moche corpses, those few that were left were now on their knees chanting, Doyle chuckled before walking over to one and snapping his head back. “Well that was fucking easy,” he snorted before throwing the body to the floor, “Spear you see any movement from up there?”
“Spiders.” Daniels yelled before dropping to the floor from his tree, “They are fucking spiders.” Doyle turned to look back at his ‘prisoners’ only to see massive insectile legs sprouting from their mouths as the giant arachnids pulled themselves free of their human shells, “Well shit and me without my bug-spray.” Doyle cursed as he charged his weapon systems and got ready for another charge.
# # # # #
Makro crawled down the lift shaft and pried open the door; despite the large number of troops outside the lab itself was deserted. Somewhere down on the lowest sub-level Crossfire and the others were waiting for her to aid in the tunnelling. While the others might need high tech equipment to locate their targets but her extensive training with the Hand made every heartbeat sound like a drum roll and right now there were five heartbeats all clustered on the lower floor. Silently she crawled along the ceiling and arrived at the edge of a metal rim, the corridor melting into a massive natural cavern covered in strands of spider silk.
Gingerly she stepped out, the ends of her mechanical arms burning amber and creating footholds on the bare rock free of the sticky strands. Reaching the top of the cavern Makro steadied herself and pulled out a folded long barrelled rifle before placing a warhead on the end and setting the handle and trigger into a comfortable firing position. While she had never been a fan of firearms she knew that she was about to do was vital for the missions’ success. Taking aim she fired, the warhead slamming into the rock and vaporizing it and the steel plating behind it in a puff of smoke. Coughing and spluttering Crossfire emerged leading the others out before watching as Makro dropped to the floor and handed the rifle and the remaining warheads to Chemistro.
“Got it, this chamber looks like it supports a lot of weight.” Chemistro announced, “A few chemical mines set to a timer should level this chamber and everything built on top of it.”
“Get it done.” Crossfire ordered, “Gillette I need Lodestone’s location, I have a feeling we won’t be here for long.”
“She is in here with us.” the Headhunter purred, “There,” she added pointing to a large silken nest at the far end of the cavern, “Sensors say that she is alive but in a comatose state, maybe some kind of venom or toxin in the webbing. Whatever the case we should remove her and then leave, hopefully Doyle and Daniels have dealt with resistance up above and are ready for Phase 3. If not then we may have to improvise and find another way out.”
“It won’t come to that.” Crossfire announced, “They know what is at stake and won’t let me down. And if they do they will wish they had died along with the rest of us.”
# # # # #
Daniels slammed his trident into a screaming giant spider, the bladed tips ripping out the eyes and mouth of the creature and sending it flailing to the floor. Now out in the open and fighting alongside Doyle it was quickly clear that something unnatural was in control of the glade, even the slain Moche soldiers were morphing into massive spiders and attacking. Glancing at the time displayed on the HUD’s visor Daniels cursed before lashing out at another attacking spider before removing a spear from his quiver and slamming it into the ground. “Doyle I’ve got to get into position.” Spear yelled, “Give them hell.”
“No doubt.” Doyle replied as he repelled an attacking spider with his flamethrower, “Well get going.” he added as Daniels sprinted towards the lab, a few of the giant spiders following him before being quickly mowed down with laser Gattling fire, their corpses falling onto the floor with a thump. Catching the sign of movement in his peripheral vision Doyle turned to see the Jaguar run at him before slamming his fist into the man’s armoured visor. With a grunt Doyle repelled him before firing up his arm mounted saw and slashing at Ramon only for the HYDRA agent to slam his claws into the links of the weapon and rip the chain off before slicing into the Mauler’s chest plate.
“You will pay for you’re trespasses marauder.” Ramon snarled.
“Oh save me the speech.” Doyle spat back before slapping the smaller man away. “Yellow Cat is scarier then you and besides I’m a dog person myself.” Jaguar let loose a feline snarl before groaning in pain as his body elongated and his claws became heavier and more recurved. Rearing up he glowered at Doyle with cunning feline eyes before licking his lips. “I never liked canned food.” Jaguar snarled, “You’re friend on the other hand will be a perfect delicacy.” he added before throwing Doyle across the clearing and into the burning wreckage of a Jeep. Wincing the Mauler opened fire but his target was too fast, in two seconds Ramon had covered the hundred meters to the lap smashing through the door and went bounding off in pursuit of Daniels. “Shit.” Doyle cursed as he got to his feet, all around him the deal spiders twitched and got to their feet, all of them heading towards him like a wave of disgusting vermin, “Oh and that makes it so much better.” the Mauler cursed glancing at the beacon Spear had planted, “Let’s hope we make it to Phase 4.”
# # # # #
Makro gently reached into the alcove with a pair of her artificial legs and sliced through the webbing before retracting them while dragging Lodestone out as well. “Spider, Big Spider, Spider Man.” Lodestone mumbled, “Spider Man.”
“Okay something is not right.” Chemistro announced as he fired a chemical warhead into the alcove, “If Spiderman is here then we are boned.”
“He’s not.” Crossfire snapped, “But something is, I can hear it moving.”
“Umm it wouldn’t be a big spider would it?” Shockwave asked backing towards the corridor.
“Possibly, whatever it is it’s large and has more then the normal amount of legs.” Crossfire announced.
“No it is a giant spider.” Gillette yelled as she flung a knife at Crossfire. Ducking and rolling Cross looked up to see the blade embed in the torso of a man, his body that of a giant spider. With a scream of rage the monster reared up and Cross opened fire, emptying his Glock into the creatures stomach before scrambling backwards as Apaec slammed down, his serpentine hissing and spitting venom at the assembled mercenaries. Stepping forward Shockwave grabbed hold of one of the Spider God’s legs and squeezed, electricity running down the limb before he was picked up by the deity and raised towards his mouth, venom running down his fangs.
“Oh this is not good.” Sneed wheezed as Apaec dislocated his jaw ready for the killer bite. As Apaec lined up on Shockwave’s neck, his armor flashed violet and he was pulled backwards across the ground, his armor sparking before being dropped in front of the others as Crossfire and Headhunter opened fire on the Spider God in an attempt to keep him at bay.
“Thanks for the save Andrea.” Shockwave moaned as he got to his feet. “Any idea what that thing is Lodestone?”
“He calls himself Apaec.” Lodestone moaned as Ai Apaec creped forward, “Any time we want to leave is okay by me.”
“Chemistro screw the timers, fire the charges now.” Crossfire ordered, “Shockwave is the Skua ready for departure.”
“Scans are reading good.” Shockwave announced as he helped Makro support Lodestone as they retreated. “Got to admire RAID for their obsession with Nano Repair Systems. The bird is ready to fire as soon as we need her”
“Good then all we are waiting on is the Spear.” Crossfire announced, “Carr fire the warheads now.” Chemistro nodded and tapped in something on a tablet before detonating the warheads. Apaec rushed forward but it was too late and the cavern collapsed sealing him inside, his howls filling the room. Moments later the tunnel began to collapse behind them, debris smashing around the confined space like shrapnel. “Spear do you read us?” Crossfire called, “Is Phase 3 complete?”
“Almost but I have a problem.” Spear replied.
“No excuses just get it done.” Crossfire yelled. Spear rolled his eyes before rolling out of reach as Jaguar slammed his claws down into the floor ripping out tiles and cabling as the building shook.
# # # # #
Crawling towards the lift shaft Daniels connected a line to one of his spears and fired, the blunt ended projectile ricocheting off the back before going taunt. Grunting Daniels loaded another projectile before feeling something heavy land on his back and pain seer up his spine as Jaguar stuck his claws in and growled menacingly. Struggling Daniels finished the reload and fired only for Jaguar to spring off him and slam feet first into the projectile stopping it in its tracks.
“You must try harder then that.” Jaguar purred as he picked up his prize advanced on Spear, as he mocked his body shook and he looked down to see a third spear sticking out of his chest, one that had fired out of the original dart causing the big man to sway. Struggling to his feet Daniels fired the last ‘ascension’ spear straight into Jaguar and sending both him and the line spiralling down to the bottom of the lift shaft. Coughing Daniels looked over the side to see that Jaguar had landed on his back. “Cross Phase 3 is complete get out of there now.”
Crossfire nodded as Makro cut through the doors revealing the shaft and the grisly body of Jaguar lying on the floor. Smiling Cross motioned for the others to climb the shaft before bending over Jaguar and stabbing a disc into his neck. “You’re orders are to stay here and wait for the building to fall on you.” Crossfire hissed, “Nobody touches my team until I say so.” Jaguar nodded and just lay still as more chunks of the lab came falling down. Smiling Crossfire reached the steel cable and started to climb, with one lose end dealt with it was time to track the problem to its source and terminate it for good.
Baron von Blitzschlag activated the TV screen in his office and watched as the figure dressed in black, his or possibly her (who could tell these days) face covered in an operatic mask representing tragedy swum into view. The figure was the Chairman, the person responsible for the formation of the Conspiracy, a sect of super villains and criminals who had decided to use stealth rather then showy invasions and attacks to take over the world. Blitzschlag knew is he/she was calling then it was likely the best or worst kind of news.
“My Baron.” the Chairman announced his/her voice masked by electronic vocal manipulation software. “I have news from Ai Apaec, the mating was a success.”
“This is good news then.” Blitzschlag announced, “We can now count on the support of his fledgling empire of primitives.”
“It is not that simple.” the Chairman replied, “The tribute escaped alongside the other mercenaries that Bain hired; it appears a solution to one of our problems has know become a problem in itself.”
“One that is not my problem.” Blitzschlag spat, “I have much to prepare and…” he stopped before looking at the screen, the Chairman had removed his mask revealing a face that he recognized all to well. “But you can’t be the Chairman you are not even…” With a thud the elderly Nazi dropped his head caved open with a bullet that had flew through the open window and was now sticking out of the sparking TV, the image on the screen wobbling and wavering. Eight hundred yards away concealed in a rocky alcove Crossfire smiled and folded up the sniper rifle he had used, Blitzschlag was dead and in his eyes all his current problems were solved, nobody got away with abusing his team. As he left the screen went blank; electrical energy sparking down out of all the electronics in the building and coalescing into Blitzschlag’s body before causing the old man to convulse before forcing his eyes open. In a voice that was not quite his own the old man cackled as lightning literally danced over his body, “Know it’s my problem and I plan to deal with them accordingly, all of them but especially Crossfire, his death will be slow and painful.”
TO BE CONTINUED...