Back to GatefoldIssue #9 by A. Crute
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"Rise of the Apes!"
Pym cringed a little at the smell. The stench of necrotising flesh, rot and decay filled his nostrils. He instantly regretted saying ‘say ahhh’ to his patient. He turned his head to the slide slightly to gasp for fresh breath and then turned back. His tiny flashlight shone into the mouth of the Beast of Berlin who he was currently studying. A tiny set of compound eyes swivelled to look at him from the back of the creature’s throat. A set of pincers clicked and chattered.
“Look at the disgust on his face,” spat another gorilla in a lab coat who he had just been introduced to at Hans. He growled, a series of tumors pulsated across his brow; hairs on them stood up on end with a little quiver. “He does not respect us as he should; we are the master race!”
Hank sighed. “Ivan, is there any chance I can be given a second to concentrate on the problem...”
“Speak directly to me, human scum, if you...”
“Hans,” barked Red Ghost. His eyes and the eyes on the facial tumor he was busy growing darted towards Hans. “Silence. You have had your chance to prove yourself and you have managed nothing!” He indicated to the larger Gorilla to leave the room. He did so with a low grumble but no voicing of his displeasure.
Hank gave a nod of appreciation to Red Ghost. This seemed to do nothing but disgust the Russian.
Red Ghost was a revolutionary who through his own madness or over exposure to cosmic rays had decided that humanity (which he himself was part of let’s not forget) were not destined to be the highest primate on the planet. He had long ago set a course to raise the other apes of the planet to their rightful dominion over mankind.
This latest attempt at his plan which saw him raising intelligent Gorillas in a South American jungle (who were originally a German experiment) had however ran afoul thanks to a mutating virus which had been released from the High Evolutionary’s lab in Wundagore by a rogue New-Man.
# # # # #
So this was not an average house call. “This certainly is a unique circumstance;” he pondered for a second as he cast another glance at the infection at the back of this Gorilla’s throat. “It seems the sentient virus bodies from the original strain have taken on the animal DNA which they were previously just splicing into humans...either a mutation or as a result of the difference in DNA between the species.”
He turned to look at Red Ghost. The Russian had his own pulsating and blinking tumor hanging from his face. Hank immediately began to think more about the first option. “Have any of the infection sites shown any sign of sentience?”
“No, Dr. Pym,” spoke a Gorilla from behind Red Ghost. He moved forward standing on his hind legs, his white lab coat trailing the floor. He was Solomon, medic second only to Hans in the village. He did however seem to have a much better disposition towards humans. “We have been working under the assumption that it’s went through some devolution thanks to your vaccine and is currently operating at a much lower level to when you encountered it. Except...”
He paused for a moment to glance at Red Ghost, checking if it was okay to speak. Ivan stood for a moment in silence. “Ivan, you must understand that anything I am told could be of help to me in solving this crisis.”
Red Ghost nodded.
“When the virus reaches the CNS it heads straight to the brain where it attacks the Limbic System. It seems to cause extreme aggression. We have had them all sedated and quarantined,” nodded Solomon.
“I’d like to see them as soon as possible, the earliest infected ideally.” Hank looked from Solomon to Red Ghost.
“You will, of course, be monitored at all times,” Red Ghost spoke. He motioned to two of the guard Gorillas who stood by the door. “Take him to the infected.”
He turned one final time to Hank. “I expect results, Dr. Pym; help us and the child will come to no harm.” With that he turned and strode from the room, motioning to the guards to do as he had commanded.
“This way,” grunted one of them in a thick German accent. Solomon motioned for Hank to go first. Hank began to walk and exited the basic hut back into the blistering sunshine of the jungle. He was out in the open for only a few seconds before he felt the eyes of the Apes on him. He was lead through the village square. In the center of which stood a metal statue of Red Ghost and his three original super apes.
Hank was silent as he moved through the crowded alley ways between the cramped buildings. He was busy. “Scott, can you hear me?” he thought.
The Ant-Man helmet which he had made sure to grab before he left his apartment had been broadcasting throughout his entire incarceration and had a few seconds ago picked up the tiny ‘home’ signal which was Rover.
“I’m here. I’ve been trying to scan the village but something is screwing with the systems. Electrical interference, I’ve tried to reroute the system but it’s just not working.”
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Dr Pym, I have been reading your papers for a long time and you have provided me with much insight into biochemical processes,” Solomon began, grunting slightly as he spoke.
“It’ll be the magnetic Orang-utan,” chemmed Hank to his friend.
He broke off mid thought “Thank you, Solomon. Perhaps there is some way we could write a paper about this in the future.”
“Sorry,” began Hank again to Scott. “I really don’t know how the X-Men do this! Speaking whilst ‘telepathing’ is incredibly confusing.”
“I don’t really think that would be possible, Dr. Pym. I imagine Master Red Ghost will have us spirited away to another compound once the cure has been created.”
“You sound almost upset, Solomon,” Hank said. He cast a nervous glance at the two guards who flanked them. He was sure this conversation would not be looked upon kindly.
Solomon copied his gesture and looked to the two guards. “It is a very upsetting time, Dr. Pym. I see my comrades ill and dying and find myself unable to assist them; this illness threatens everything we have built here.” He was obviously towing the party line.
“I’ve not seen Cassie anywhere yet; without the scanners you’ll have to do basic recon.” Scott responded. “I’m on my way, what about you?”
“I need to get to the bottom of this illness;” Hank responded. He was sure to try and keep a perfectly emotionless face as he walked along trying to not give away to the Apes around him that he was communicating with someone.
“You can’t be seriously thinking of helping them, Hank. Red Ghost has an army of Apes and that is obviously not going to end well for anyone! We need to find Cassie...”
“My helping them will buy you more time plus I need to cure this sickness. It’s already jumped to Red Ghost. The last thing we need is it jumping to the rest of the human population. Go; I’ll take care of this, you find Cassie.”
“Dr. Pym...” coughed Solomon. It was clear from his voice and demeanour he’d been trying to get Hank’s attention for at least a few seconds. The shove to the back from one of the guards also let him in on this little piece of information. Solomon opened the door to the large one story building they found themselves at. It was obviously hastily constructed and had a large steel door locked in front of it. He moved into the building and stepped out of the way as Hank came in behind him.
“This is the scale of the problem,” Solomon motioned to the scene before him.
Hank couldn’t stifle the gasp which came to his lips. He looked out over the room. It was filled with about 300 gurneys, beds and benches. Each one had one of the Ape creatures of Red Ghost lying on it. They were in varying states of virus ranging from what looked like a rash of skin blemishes (complete with tiny waving cilia and tentacles) to one poor creature quite close to the front who by this point was mostly tumour. Limbs and some tiny mouths moved and wriggled on it’s surface.
There was a low grumble of groans of pain across the room. Hank couldn’t help but notice the large bottles of chemicals which were mainlined into the veins of the creatures. He assumed it was some sort of sedative which was being used to keep the reportedly violent tendencies under control. “Right,” he said with a nod, “lets get to work.”
# # # # #
The Jungle outside of the village a few hours later...
Sergeant Arthur Jules crept through the undergrowth pushing wide leaved plants which are natural to the area. He wore a highly advanced military tech suit which was perfectly designed to deflect bullets, to survive a close proximity explosion and to allow for maximum body movement. His electronic goggles turned and whirred zooming through the undergrowth onto the outskirts of the village.
They instantly and in real time beamed back the footage to General Jones back at base. The world was a mad place and it didn’t seem to be getting any saner in his opinions. He’d first cut his teeth in the military during the Gulf War and that’s where he met his first meta-human. An Iraqi soldier who could leap 30 feet in the air and had agility like Spider-Man would later become famous for. Then came the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and god knows who else. He now found himself tramping through the jungle sweating with every single skin cell in his body scoping out a village of apes ran by a hold over from the cold war.
He was one of a ten man team patrolling the jungle, part of the recon group. The attack would take place at sunrise when the majority of the Apes were asleep; the majority were also laid up with some level of the illness. They would have the advantage and would put the commies down with no problems, and he’d be home in two days. He would see his daughter and his son and finally be reunited with his sweetheart. They’d had a long standing plan to drive out along the coast and spend a week up at his friend’s place.
Arty was so lost in his plans for that magical weekend in the future that he had committed a massive faux pas as far as recon went: he had taken his eye of the ball as he stalked through the undergrowth and had managed to stalk out of it for a few seconds.
A short sharp exhalation of air drew his attention. He whipped his gun up instantly as his eyes fell on the huge hairy beast before him. The Gorilla roared loudly and was riddled with bullets in a split second. He wobbled for a second as Arthur paused. The beast toppled forward to his hands and looked like he was about to collapse when suddenly his arms tensed. He let out a low growl and launched forward.
Arthur opened fire again and this time dropped the beast to the ground just a few feet from him. He kept his gun trained on the creature. He breathed heavily as his body processed the adrenaline and he tried to decide what to do.
The decision was made for him when there was a sudden shuffle of bushes ahead of him. His eyes met with the large brown eyes of another Beast of Berlin through the shrubbery. It let out a small grunt and was gone in an instant.
“This is Sergeant Jules reporting, I have been compromised. Repeat the Beasts are aware of our position. We have to move now. Over.”
He waited for a second and then the command came. “Affirmative, we are go for mission. Go!”
# # # # #
In the village...
Scott Lang banked to the right on the back of his flying ant. He was chemming it instructions using his ant-man technology and was flitting around at top speed. He had already covered a whole host of the quarters on the base.
He needed to find Cassie quick before his heart exploded out of his chest and made a real mess on the back of the little ant's head. He had seen and done a lot as an Avenger – he had fought aliens, gods and even the Hulk in his time – but he had never felt more on edge than now.
This was his little girl. He had held her in his arms within a few seconds of her being born and promised that she would be safe. Nothing would ever harm her as long as he was around. She would be loved and happy always. He hadn’t always lived up to that. He had been to prison, his marriage failed and she had a congenital heart defect which threatened her life far too many times. All of that however was on the up, she had even been cured of her illness. Life was stable with him and her mother and he was an honest to goodness superhero, someone she could be proud of and yet here she was. In danger and it was killing him.
He snapped into focus in an instant as he looked at a door on a concrete hut guarded by a pair of the Beasts. The ant swung without a word towards them and without their noticing he zipped straight passed them and through a gap in the door.
His eyes instantly fell on his daughter. She was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room. She was unconscious by the look of things. Blood trickled from her mouth and she had obviously been roughed up a little. ‘Roughed up a little’ however was not a phrase which entered a father’s mind when it’s his daughter.
Ant-Man grew to normal size as he rushed towards her “Cassie!” he said in a harsh whisper hoping to rouse her whilst not alerting the guards outside. He stroked his daughter’s face and felt her pulse; it beat strongly against his fingers. “I’ll get you out of this baby,” he said softly as he began to untie the knots which bound her to the metal chair. His fingers fumbled with nerves. Cassie moaned gently as the ropes slackened around her. “You’re going to be okay honey; we’ll be out of here in seconds.”
The ropes suddenly shifted and tightened again. Scott looked up but a second too late. The rope at one end had transformed, shifted into the form of a giant cobra. It hissed as its crown flared and it darted forward. He felt fangs sink into his neck and a sting as a dose of poison flowed into his body.
“Damn dirty shape changing ape,” he growled as he recoiled back. It was only for a second though as he leapt forward towards the creature again. It had his daughter and he was going to free her if it killed him in the process.
# # # # #
Sick bay...
Hank held a vial in his hand and clicked the small button on the top mixing two batches of chemicals together. He watched the color change in the vial carefully, it moved through blue and finally to pink. He cursed silently. “Vaccine 12 is a negative.” He moved it over to a bench at the side of his lab and inserted the vial into a machine which whirred whilst a read out appeared on screen.
“Any luck, Dr Pym?” questioned Solomon from somewhere above him. Hank looked up at the giant Beast of Berlin in a white lab coat above him. He looked down hopefully.
Hank shook his head. “I think we’re close though, results are positive,” Hank wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. This was a tricky virus he understood that but something about it was tickling the back of his mind. He had beaten it once before or something much like it, but it had been more complex then too. It was like he was just waiting for the breakthrough to happen.
He read the results and moved across his portable lab to a separate machine. He began to type away, he had a few ideas. The machine began to work mixing chemicals and exposing tissue samples to them. “Solomon, do you feel free to talk?” Hank asked as he worked.
“Of course, Dr Pym...to a degree,” he nodded. Hank noticed from the corner of his eye that Solomon did a quick check around the room first.
“You don’t really buy into Red Ghosts’ ideas and plans do you?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” he shook his head. “I believe in what Comrade Red Ghost believes in, that we have the same goal of creating a utopia for our people, but I do not exactly agree with his methods. I think his methods are too confrontational and are bound to cause friction with humanity. I truly believe that if we focus on improving ourselves then others will see the light of our ideologies.” He paused for a second “...should we survive this, of course.”
Hank nodded. He could see many of the positives in their ideals himself but the negatives far outweighed it. He was, however, now seeing Ivan and Solomon in a different light. He couldn’t help but picture Lenin and Trotsky in a power struggle...or perhaps Napoleon and Snowball would be more pertinent.
“Okay, I think this might be getting somewhere,” he said with a little hum of thought. “It’s odd,” he said thoughtfully.
“What is?” questioned Solomon as he checked on one of the nearby Beasts.
“These tissue samples have several synthetic molecule compounds in them, it’s not like anything you would see in nature.” Hank furrowed his brown and took the latest petri dish over to another batch of chemicals. He added a precise measurement of a growth solution.
“It is not unusual, I think?” Solomon added. “This is a manufactured virus, yes? And for our sins we Beasts of Berlin are not exactly a result of Darwin’s grand ideas.”
Hank waited for a second watching the chemicals mix carefully. “It’s been altered, hasn’t it? Red Ghost was trying to weaponize it wasn’t he? Use it against humanity and then it all went wrong.”
Solomon paused, hesitant to speak. It was the only confirmation he needed.
Hank quickly turned sharply as a commotion could be heard somewhere outside. His heart jumped into his throat as he worried about Cassie and Scott. Had they been found? His mind raced for a second, but he wouldn’t let anything happen to them. He couldn’t.
He was about ready to drop all of his work and rush to rescue them but he faltered for a split second. He couldn’t do it. He ran the simulations as soon as he had arrived and collected tissue samples, and the way this virus was spreading a mutating from case to case it could go worldwide and there was no certainty he’d be able to stop it then. It had to be handled now.
He put the chemical down on his desk before scanning it with a hand-held device which appeared in his hands from the center of his palm. It would monitor the chemical change and report directly back to him. Hank began to size up to find out the source of the noise outside.
A thought crossed his mind as he re-emerged into the room with the unconscious Beasts. A cure might be beyond him in such a short time but he certainly could stop the spread. The old discussion from biomedicine in college came to his mind, how easy it is to kill cancer if only it wasn’t linked to a host...or you didn’t care about the host’s survival. All he would have to do would be kill every single cell which could be infected, everything from an off the shelf weed killer to a stray match could do that.
“Solomon, what is going on outside,” Henry began before being cut off.
A solid right hook slammed across his face. He could usually have shrugged this off or rolled with the blow using his fight training, but being totally unprepared he was lucky not to be picking his teeth up off the floor.
The form of a visibly furious Red Ghost appeared. The hate for Hank in his face was almost tangible. The growth on his face was blood red and was issuing some form of pus from it. A tiny set of teeth gnashed at him as Ivan threw another fist.
“Comrade! What has happened?” queried Solomon. He looked like he wanted to help Pym but thought better of it.
“He has led the army to us! They are moving toward us now!” He launched forward in a fit of rage.
Hank was prepared for this one and, with a tilt of his body and some applied force, flipped Ivan clear…or at least he would have if not for the Russian’s superpowers. He sailed right through the man’s mid section and crashed to the floor having over balanced himself.
A solid boot to the face later told him Ivan was solid again. “Have you even been working on a cure?!” he screamed in Pym’s face. “Give it to me or I will kill the girl and then you!”
As if on cue a light and a small pinging noise began to emanate from Hank’s pocket. He held up one hand whilst the other received a device from his pocket. He turned it around to face Ivan. “It’s ready.”
Ivan paused for a second. “Solomon, retrieve the formula and prepare to manufacture. We will have much to do in our new city state. We are evacuating all of the walking wounded and the able.”
“Yes comrade,” nodded Solomon “What about the other patients?” he asked with a motion to the hundreds of sick apes in the room who were still heavily sedated.
Ivan cast an eye over them. “They will serve the greater good for their brothers,” he said. He brought his arm up and began to type on the wrist mounted device. The chemical infusers in the room suddenly whirred into life as needles appeared and plunged into the apes who shuddered for a split second.
“What are you doing?” questioned Yellowjacket as he climbed to his feet.
“A little infusion, adrenaline and testosterone mixed with the virus they’re already riddled with.”
Hank looked at the apes as they began to twitch and writhe. Ivan had just created a berserker army.
“Ivan! You are responsible for this! You did this to your own people and now you’re going to send them to the slaughter when you have the power to save them! You can’t do this!” he barked as he surged forward. He sailed right through the intangible man.
“I already have,” Ivan sneered one final time before vanishing from sight.
“Solomon?”
The great ape turned and looked directly at him. “I am sorry, Doctor Pym, but I believe in what we are doing...thank you for everything.” He launched past Hank and swept up the mini lab into his arms before rushing across the length of the room in a few giant bounces.
The room suddenly erupted into a series of roars and shrieks. The Beasts were rising.
Hank began to run.
# # # # #
Elsewhere...
Scott stumbled backwards as a growling wolf pounced onto his chest. He swung his right hand upwards with all the strength he had. The ape had been morphing into forms throughout the fight…so far Scott had fought a bear, a 8 foot long python and a range of other vicious and deadly animals.
The poison was also having an effect on him. His head was feeling woozy and the entire room was spinning around him. He managed to shove the wolf away from him and raised his leg up to his chest. He waited for a split second, just giving the vicious beast enough time to rebound before unleashing a devastating kick.
The wolf whimpered and then suddenly changed tack to a roar. Scott pushed himself up to start at the snarling lion. “I need a new plan,” he gasped as he tried to stand to his feet. “I’ll be there soon, Cassie.” He looked over to his daughter who was now slumped forward but rousing slowly.
Scott decided that he had to use what was probably his most effective power. The lion launched forward, Scott rolled sideways after a dive before climbing to his feet. He did it with a gentle wobble. The lion skidded before rebounding towards him. Scott dodged again but got a massive paw slamming against his arm. He felt one of his bones break.
The lion stalked slowly toward him. He moved to the side ready to try and dart but doing so would bring him right across Cassie’s path so he instead stood perfectly still and faced the creature. “Fighting a lion to the death to save my daughter’s life...there are worse ways to go. Cassie! Listen to me! I love you more than anything, you are perfect to me in every way please go on and live a happy life. Uncle Hank will save you – he’s Uncle Hank remember.”
The lion tensed its muscles and then tilted its body sharply, snarling. Its paw scratched against his face as it snarled and snorted. Scott was able to monitor exactly what was going on. The ants which crawled all over the apes chattered madly as they bit and stung at the creature.
It shifted back to ape form and madly began to pat wildly at the ants in an effort to get them off. It rolled around the floor screeching to itself and transforming from creature to creature. Scott wasted no time in rushing toward Cassie. He pulled her body weight against his. It was difficult with his broken arm and the effects of the poison in his system. “I’ve got you,” he said, “though I would appreciate if you had me instead.”
He let out a sudden shout of pain. The Ant-Man helmet he wore on his head contracted against his skull and he was sharply hauled backwards by his head. He felt a twinge in his muscles as his head slammed back and was then yanked backwards bodily.
He instantly began to shrink in size. He grabbed hold of his helmet and was pulling, hoping he could reduce enough to get out. His helmet, however, was shrinking along with him and the magnetic orangutan was matching him, crushing the metal.
He managed finally when he was about 1 foot tall to yank it off his head. His brain felt like it was about to dribble out of his ears even as he began to regain his size. He turned to find the orangutan hovering in the air. As a large solid ball of metal which used to be his helmet slammed against his face, he had a feeling ants wouldn’t be helping him now.
# # # # #
Outside...
The battle raged around Yellowjacket. He had been out in the midst of it for a few minutes and was for the most part seemingly just playing third party. He had seen war before, all of the Avengers had, but this was something different.
The army had already been flooding into the city when he arrived outside. They were confident as they swept forward, barking commands and keeping their weapons moving constantly over every inch of the terrain. They were being met with only a small resistance and so they were confident.
What they weren’t aware of was that the majority of the apes were already escaping and these were just the final ones who had managed to be caught.
The horde of furious Beasts of Berlin were just behind Hank and when the two forces met all hell broke loose. Hank watched helplessly as the two opposing sides laid into each other, bullets and bodies flying through the air.
“Stop it!” he commanded as he grabbed hold of an ape while increasing his size. He pulled it back away from the solider it had been astride. His knife was covered in blood where he had been stabbing at the creature. He took the momentary reprise from his beating to pull his side weapon and emptied three bullets into the ape’s face and its weight suddenly went dead in Yellowjacket’s arms. Hank held him for a second before releasing it. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said to the soldier sadly.
The soldier began to climb to his feet, pain obviously racing through his body. “They’re the enemy.”
“They’re sick,” he said with a slight sigh. “They’re not in control.”
He broke off as it was obvious the soldier was not listening. He in fact moved on instantly to a new target, firing his hand gun at a number of apes.
The scene was the same wherever Yellowjacket looked. Death and destruction. Solomon’s ideal for peace and prosperity seemed further away than any sensible man could hope.
His eyes fell on a large group of Ape’s who were seemingly fighting amongst themselves. The rage had taken complete control of them and they couldn’t tell ally from enemy. They saw a chance to fight and they did. Or at least that’s what Hank thought he saw.
A giant fleshy tendril shot from the center of the crowd and locked around another small group of the apes. Then another and then another. The group was merging and growing rapidly. Hank gasped in shock and despair. When Ivan had increased their hormones he had given the virus all the fuel it needed to grow. This was its final phase.
They bonded and merged, growing in size and mass. It began to sculpt itself into a giant ape. He couldn’t be sure if this was some consciousness taking a form able to take out all the aggression which it was building or just genetic memory from the apes.
It reared up to its feet and let out a roar. The 30 foot tall ape was hairless and made of slimy pink flesh which blistered and ruptured second to second. It raised its fists above its head and screamed before bringing them down on a number of soldiers who stood in front of it.
Yellowjacket began to grow in size and rushed to meet the beast. Its several eyes looked over to him. Seeing a worthy target to hate it began to barrel forward, still growing.
The two met surrounded by firing soldiers and raging beasts with an almighty thud. The beast was quicker, slamming its fists repeatedly against Hank’s body with immense strength. He felt bones break instantly and was thrown back away from the creature.
He rolled back to his feet and was meant instantly with the mass of the raging creature. Hank shrunk, causing the ape to over reach before he pivoted with his weight and increased his size rapidly. It was a technique he had used many a time before and allowed him to slam the creature down hard to the deck. Its body splattered out into a mound of flesh.
Yellowjacket breathed deeply for a second before a massive wall of flesh slammed against him. It reformed itself into a giant ape shape again and snarled aggressively. Hank met it again with a strong punch. He wasn’t sure that it even felt pain or had bones or organs to which he could do any damage. He was worried about what he would have to do to put it down.
# # # # #
Inside
Scott dodged as the metal ball hurtled passed. He quickly shifted his weight and moved toward the orangutan. He was badly battered by now, being clubbed with what was essentially a shot put ball hurled at top speed had done quite a number on him. He ran forward toward the hovering ape and pushed off with the leg which felt the strongest. He decreased his size quickly allowing the power and momentum of his push to launch himself toward the floating creature.
Ant-Men, even when at their tiniest of statures, maintained their full strength and hardiness so when Scott launched into the orange fuzzy ape he hit it with his full power. The orangutan dropped to the floor, their species having a notorious glass jaw and a poor defense against a right cross.
It lashed out with its long arms and magnetic power. Scott felt his blood rush through his body and his head get even lighter than it felt due to the blood poisoning. He dropped his weight forward onto his hands to steady himself. They came into contact with the thick orange fur. He tightened his fingers and took a grip.
It was time to put into effect the latest upgrade of Ant-Man tech that Hank had given him. Something Hank thought was long overdue but Scott was never sure of. “You know one of the things which bugs people most about ants? They sting!’
He unleashed a powerful bio blast through both of his hands and didn’t stop until the orangutan had stropped struggling beneath him. He breathed heavily. His head tilted up to see the super-strong gorilla of the super-apes stride from the corner of the room.
“Thank god Ivan must have raised you on martial arts movies, you know the etiquette of one attack at a time,” Scott said. He didn’t have the strength for this he knew. This gorilla could take the Thing one on one and he was in no fit shape to go up against him.
He began to climb to his feet.
The gorilla suddenly flew sideways. A massive fist crushing it against the wall, the wall shuddered around it. The fist moved back before slamming it again. “I love you too, Dad,” said Cassie as she peeled the unconscious gorilla from her hand. “Now let’s get out of here.”
She began to shrink down and moved over to her Father, who she helped regain his footing. “Cassie, I know we agreed before but I really don’t think I’m ready for you to be a superhero,” he said with a shake of his head.
“It’s okay, Dad I don’t think I’m ready anymore.”
“The way I’m feeling I don’t think I want to be one anymore either,” laughed Scott. “Okay, one last bit, it sounds like Hell is breaking loose out there and my helmet is trashed, so we have to get out safe and get Hank to summon Rover. Then we go home and sleep for a week.”
The entire concrete shed suddenly shuddered as the entire corner part of the building was torn away by the crashing form of Yellowjacket. He was quickly followed by a giant scabby form of flesh.
The ape suddenly rocked back as Henry gave him a strong kick, then it was suddenly stopped from returning the attack as a hail of bullets begin to pound into his flesh. The giant ape was all that was left of Red Ghosts’ utopia and so he had the full focus of the US military.
It roared at them and rushed toward them before a smattering of lead to the face caused it to move backwards. It was now looking like it could feel pain and it’s skin pulsated and ruptured slime as it got angrier. The slime mutated and grew more slime.
The ape was losing form quickly. Its roars became screams. The fleshy tentacles began to lash wildly around, hoping to end its torment.
“STOP!” screamed Hank. As he launched forward, however, the hail of bullets continued. Yellowjacket summoned the bio-blaster he had perfected to his hand from the tiny pockets within his gloves. It was at this size a cannon.
He charged a blast and fired into the ground behind the soldiers. The electrical blast shot over head discharging trace amounts of energy as it went. The soldiers almost as one let out a yelp of pain and dropped their weapons to the ground.
Hank moved toward the massive mound of flesh. He reached out and pressed his hand near its body. He let out a small charge to share his presence with it. A metallic disc appeared in his hand; he affixed it to the creature and activated it.
The creature let out a gentle hiss and then slowly began to disintegrate. Hank watched as it dissolved behind him.
“I don’t know what’s happening, Uncle Hank, but you did the right thing. It was hurting,” Cassie said as she laid a hand on her uncle’s shoulder.
He nodded sadly.
They were interrupted a second later by the roar of an engine as a jeep roared in front of the troops. A large, strongly built man with a twitching lip covered in a grey moustache climbed out of the jeep. “I don’t care who the hell you are an – Avenger, Dr Pym, Ant-Man, Giant Man, Yellowjacket or goddamn grandpa Ultron – whatever you want to call yourself, you are in 10 types of trouble, I shit you not!”
He growled as he moved towards Yellowjacket and the others. “Firstly, you have been seen to been consorting with a known communist terrorist and are suspected to have helped him by trying to cure his goddamned army. Secondly, you interfered with a US military operation and thirdly, worst of all you, have assaulted my soldiers and damaged government property. What exactly do you have to say to that...?”
He paused for a second just before Hank’s fist connected with the general’s face and sent him sideways. Guns which had been retrieved clicked into action and were trained on them.
“They were not responsible! They were just animals at that point…just hurt and scared animals! We could have used a gas gun and sedated them!”
“I don’t care what...” General Jones began.
Hank cut them off with a clap of his hands. Rover zoomed across the court yard and appeared above them. “Yellowjacket and Ant-Man. We’re on urgent A1 Avengers business granted certain rights under the UN security council. We are operating in a country where the US military has no jurisdiction and as such we will be going. If you try and stop us...and believe you me the mood I’m in at the moment I’m half hoping you do...you do not want to know what will happen to you. Seriously, I mean it.”
Jones glared at him and turned to his men. He held up the ‘stay’ sign and they lowered their weapons.
The three heroes held onto a platform lowered by Rover and began to raise into the ship.
“Hank, I’ve been poisoned by some sort of hooded snake,” said Scott as soon as Rover’s doors closed.
Hank moved to a side compartment and removed a vial. He sized up an infuser in his hand and injected it into Scott’s neck “Don’t operate heavy machinery and you may have some diarrheal for the next few days. If any other side-effect arises, contact me.”
He moved to the front of Rover and sat in the cockpit seat. Rover took off.
“So I’ve fought off three super-apes today and rescued my teenage daughter from a communist mad man. It’s been quite eventful. And you?” questioned Scott as he slid into a seat one side of Hank. Cassie moved into the other and fastened herself in.
“I got my niece kidnapped, managed to invent a cure for a virus I should have already eradicated, which was then stolen away and is now being used to help build an army against humanity and probably further bio terrorism. I’ve suffered quite a beating from a giant cancerous tumor and had to euthanize the majority of a sentient and unique species who were created and twisted by mankind to fit with their damn ideologies. I’ve had better days.”
He growled to himself.
Cassie looked over to her Dad. She was worried Hank was going down the same self-blaming roads that she now understood he often had in the past; that eventually he would hit rock bottom.
“You can’t blame yourself for any of those things,” said Scott; he had the same worry as Cassie. “You did the exact right thing every step of the way, it’s just sometimes these things are beyond our control. The important thing is moving on and knowing what to do next.”
“Ivan Kraggoff is responsible for the pain and deaths of those creatures and soldiers. He has a bio-weapon which could wipe out all of humanity. He kidnapped and hurt Cassie. We do our job and Avenge them all.”
“Look at the disgust on his face,” spat another gorilla in a lab coat who he had just been introduced to at Hans. He growled, a series of tumors pulsated across his brow; hairs on them stood up on end with a little quiver. “He does not respect us as he should; we are the master race!”
Hank sighed. “Ivan, is there any chance I can be given a second to concentrate on the problem...”
“Speak directly to me, human scum, if you...”
“Hans,” barked Red Ghost. His eyes and the eyes on the facial tumor he was busy growing darted towards Hans. “Silence. You have had your chance to prove yourself and you have managed nothing!” He indicated to the larger Gorilla to leave the room. He did so with a low grumble but no voicing of his displeasure.
Hank gave a nod of appreciation to Red Ghost. This seemed to do nothing but disgust the Russian.
Red Ghost was a revolutionary who through his own madness or over exposure to cosmic rays had decided that humanity (which he himself was part of let’s not forget) were not destined to be the highest primate on the planet. He had long ago set a course to raise the other apes of the planet to their rightful dominion over mankind.
This latest attempt at his plan which saw him raising intelligent Gorillas in a South American jungle (who were originally a German experiment) had however ran afoul thanks to a mutating virus which had been released from the High Evolutionary’s lab in Wundagore by a rogue New-Man.
# # # # #
So this was not an average house call. “This certainly is a unique circumstance;” he pondered for a second as he cast another glance at the infection at the back of this Gorilla’s throat. “It seems the sentient virus bodies from the original strain have taken on the animal DNA which they were previously just splicing into humans...either a mutation or as a result of the difference in DNA between the species.”
He turned to look at Red Ghost. The Russian had his own pulsating and blinking tumor hanging from his face. Hank immediately began to think more about the first option. “Have any of the infection sites shown any sign of sentience?”
“No, Dr. Pym,” spoke a Gorilla from behind Red Ghost. He moved forward standing on his hind legs, his white lab coat trailing the floor. He was Solomon, medic second only to Hans in the village. He did however seem to have a much better disposition towards humans. “We have been working under the assumption that it’s went through some devolution thanks to your vaccine and is currently operating at a much lower level to when you encountered it. Except...”
He paused for a moment to glance at Red Ghost, checking if it was okay to speak. Ivan stood for a moment in silence. “Ivan, you must understand that anything I am told could be of help to me in solving this crisis.”
Red Ghost nodded.
“When the virus reaches the CNS it heads straight to the brain where it attacks the Limbic System. It seems to cause extreme aggression. We have had them all sedated and quarantined,” nodded Solomon.
“I’d like to see them as soon as possible, the earliest infected ideally.” Hank looked from Solomon to Red Ghost.
“You will, of course, be monitored at all times,” Red Ghost spoke. He motioned to two of the guard Gorillas who stood by the door. “Take him to the infected.”
He turned one final time to Hank. “I expect results, Dr. Pym; help us and the child will come to no harm.” With that he turned and strode from the room, motioning to the guards to do as he had commanded.
“This way,” grunted one of them in a thick German accent. Solomon motioned for Hank to go first. Hank began to walk and exited the basic hut back into the blistering sunshine of the jungle. He was out in the open for only a few seconds before he felt the eyes of the Apes on him. He was lead through the village square. In the center of which stood a metal statue of Red Ghost and his three original super apes.
Hank was silent as he moved through the crowded alley ways between the cramped buildings. He was busy. “Scott, can you hear me?” he thought.
The Ant-Man helmet which he had made sure to grab before he left his apartment had been broadcasting throughout his entire incarceration and had a few seconds ago picked up the tiny ‘home’ signal which was Rover.
“I’m here. I’ve been trying to scan the village but something is screwing with the systems. Electrical interference, I’ve tried to reroute the system but it’s just not working.”
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Dr Pym, I have been reading your papers for a long time and you have provided me with much insight into biochemical processes,” Solomon began, grunting slightly as he spoke.
“It’ll be the magnetic Orang-utan,” chemmed Hank to his friend.
He broke off mid thought “Thank you, Solomon. Perhaps there is some way we could write a paper about this in the future.”
“Sorry,” began Hank again to Scott. “I really don’t know how the X-Men do this! Speaking whilst ‘telepathing’ is incredibly confusing.”
“I don’t really think that would be possible, Dr. Pym. I imagine Master Red Ghost will have us spirited away to another compound once the cure has been created.”
“You sound almost upset, Solomon,” Hank said. He cast a nervous glance at the two guards who flanked them. He was sure this conversation would not be looked upon kindly.
Solomon copied his gesture and looked to the two guards. “It is a very upsetting time, Dr. Pym. I see my comrades ill and dying and find myself unable to assist them; this illness threatens everything we have built here.” He was obviously towing the party line.
“I’ve not seen Cassie anywhere yet; without the scanners you’ll have to do basic recon.” Scott responded. “I’m on my way, what about you?”
“I need to get to the bottom of this illness;” Hank responded. He was sure to try and keep a perfectly emotionless face as he walked along trying to not give away to the Apes around him that he was communicating with someone.
“You can’t be seriously thinking of helping them, Hank. Red Ghost has an army of Apes and that is obviously not going to end well for anyone! We need to find Cassie...”
“My helping them will buy you more time plus I need to cure this sickness. It’s already jumped to Red Ghost. The last thing we need is it jumping to the rest of the human population. Go; I’ll take care of this, you find Cassie.”
“Dr. Pym...” coughed Solomon. It was clear from his voice and demeanour he’d been trying to get Hank’s attention for at least a few seconds. The shove to the back from one of the guards also let him in on this little piece of information. Solomon opened the door to the large one story building they found themselves at. It was obviously hastily constructed and had a large steel door locked in front of it. He moved into the building and stepped out of the way as Hank came in behind him.
“This is the scale of the problem,” Solomon motioned to the scene before him.
Hank couldn’t stifle the gasp which came to his lips. He looked out over the room. It was filled with about 300 gurneys, beds and benches. Each one had one of the Ape creatures of Red Ghost lying on it. They were in varying states of virus ranging from what looked like a rash of skin blemishes (complete with tiny waving cilia and tentacles) to one poor creature quite close to the front who by this point was mostly tumour. Limbs and some tiny mouths moved and wriggled on it’s surface.
There was a low grumble of groans of pain across the room. Hank couldn’t help but notice the large bottles of chemicals which were mainlined into the veins of the creatures. He assumed it was some sort of sedative which was being used to keep the reportedly violent tendencies under control. “Right,” he said with a nod, “lets get to work.”
# # # # #
The Jungle outside of the village a few hours later...
Sergeant Arthur Jules crept through the undergrowth pushing wide leaved plants which are natural to the area. He wore a highly advanced military tech suit which was perfectly designed to deflect bullets, to survive a close proximity explosion and to allow for maximum body movement. His electronic goggles turned and whirred zooming through the undergrowth onto the outskirts of the village.
They instantly and in real time beamed back the footage to General Jones back at base. The world was a mad place and it didn’t seem to be getting any saner in his opinions. He’d first cut his teeth in the military during the Gulf War and that’s where he met his first meta-human. An Iraqi soldier who could leap 30 feet in the air and had agility like Spider-Man would later become famous for. Then came the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and god knows who else. He now found himself tramping through the jungle sweating with every single skin cell in his body scoping out a village of apes ran by a hold over from the cold war.
He was one of a ten man team patrolling the jungle, part of the recon group. The attack would take place at sunrise when the majority of the Apes were asleep; the majority were also laid up with some level of the illness. They would have the advantage and would put the commies down with no problems, and he’d be home in two days. He would see his daughter and his son and finally be reunited with his sweetheart. They’d had a long standing plan to drive out along the coast and spend a week up at his friend’s place.
Arty was so lost in his plans for that magical weekend in the future that he had committed a massive faux pas as far as recon went: he had taken his eye of the ball as he stalked through the undergrowth and had managed to stalk out of it for a few seconds.
A short sharp exhalation of air drew his attention. He whipped his gun up instantly as his eyes fell on the huge hairy beast before him. The Gorilla roared loudly and was riddled with bullets in a split second. He wobbled for a second as Arthur paused. The beast toppled forward to his hands and looked like he was about to collapse when suddenly his arms tensed. He let out a low growl and launched forward.
Arthur opened fire again and this time dropped the beast to the ground just a few feet from him. He kept his gun trained on the creature. He breathed heavily as his body processed the adrenaline and he tried to decide what to do.
The decision was made for him when there was a sudden shuffle of bushes ahead of him. His eyes met with the large brown eyes of another Beast of Berlin through the shrubbery. It let out a small grunt and was gone in an instant.
“This is Sergeant Jules reporting, I have been compromised. Repeat the Beasts are aware of our position. We have to move now. Over.”
He waited for a second and then the command came. “Affirmative, we are go for mission. Go!”
# # # # #
In the village...
Scott Lang banked to the right on the back of his flying ant. He was chemming it instructions using his ant-man technology and was flitting around at top speed. He had already covered a whole host of the quarters on the base.
He needed to find Cassie quick before his heart exploded out of his chest and made a real mess on the back of the little ant's head. He had seen and done a lot as an Avenger – he had fought aliens, gods and even the Hulk in his time – but he had never felt more on edge than now.
This was his little girl. He had held her in his arms within a few seconds of her being born and promised that she would be safe. Nothing would ever harm her as long as he was around. She would be loved and happy always. He hadn’t always lived up to that. He had been to prison, his marriage failed and she had a congenital heart defect which threatened her life far too many times. All of that however was on the up, she had even been cured of her illness. Life was stable with him and her mother and he was an honest to goodness superhero, someone she could be proud of and yet here she was. In danger and it was killing him.
He snapped into focus in an instant as he looked at a door on a concrete hut guarded by a pair of the Beasts. The ant swung without a word towards them and without their noticing he zipped straight passed them and through a gap in the door.
His eyes instantly fell on his daughter. She was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room. She was unconscious by the look of things. Blood trickled from her mouth and she had obviously been roughed up a little. ‘Roughed up a little’ however was not a phrase which entered a father’s mind when it’s his daughter.
Ant-Man grew to normal size as he rushed towards her “Cassie!” he said in a harsh whisper hoping to rouse her whilst not alerting the guards outside. He stroked his daughter’s face and felt her pulse; it beat strongly against his fingers. “I’ll get you out of this baby,” he said softly as he began to untie the knots which bound her to the metal chair. His fingers fumbled with nerves. Cassie moaned gently as the ropes slackened around her. “You’re going to be okay honey; we’ll be out of here in seconds.”
The ropes suddenly shifted and tightened again. Scott looked up but a second too late. The rope at one end had transformed, shifted into the form of a giant cobra. It hissed as its crown flared and it darted forward. He felt fangs sink into his neck and a sting as a dose of poison flowed into his body.
“Damn dirty shape changing ape,” he growled as he recoiled back. It was only for a second though as he leapt forward towards the creature again. It had his daughter and he was going to free her if it killed him in the process.
# # # # #
Sick bay...
Hank held a vial in his hand and clicked the small button on the top mixing two batches of chemicals together. He watched the color change in the vial carefully, it moved through blue and finally to pink. He cursed silently. “Vaccine 12 is a negative.” He moved it over to a bench at the side of his lab and inserted the vial into a machine which whirred whilst a read out appeared on screen.
“Any luck, Dr Pym?” questioned Solomon from somewhere above him. Hank looked up at the giant Beast of Berlin in a white lab coat above him. He looked down hopefully.
Hank shook his head. “I think we’re close though, results are positive,” Hank wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. This was a tricky virus he understood that but something about it was tickling the back of his mind. He had beaten it once before or something much like it, but it had been more complex then too. It was like he was just waiting for the breakthrough to happen.
He read the results and moved across his portable lab to a separate machine. He began to type away, he had a few ideas. The machine began to work mixing chemicals and exposing tissue samples to them. “Solomon, do you feel free to talk?” Hank asked as he worked.
“Of course, Dr Pym...to a degree,” he nodded. Hank noticed from the corner of his eye that Solomon did a quick check around the room first.
“You don’t really buy into Red Ghosts’ ideas and plans do you?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” he shook his head. “I believe in what Comrade Red Ghost believes in, that we have the same goal of creating a utopia for our people, but I do not exactly agree with his methods. I think his methods are too confrontational and are bound to cause friction with humanity. I truly believe that if we focus on improving ourselves then others will see the light of our ideologies.” He paused for a second “...should we survive this, of course.”
Hank nodded. He could see many of the positives in their ideals himself but the negatives far outweighed it. He was, however, now seeing Ivan and Solomon in a different light. He couldn’t help but picture Lenin and Trotsky in a power struggle...or perhaps Napoleon and Snowball would be more pertinent.
“Okay, I think this might be getting somewhere,” he said with a little hum of thought. “It’s odd,” he said thoughtfully.
“What is?” questioned Solomon as he checked on one of the nearby Beasts.
“These tissue samples have several synthetic molecule compounds in them, it’s not like anything you would see in nature.” Hank furrowed his brown and took the latest petri dish over to another batch of chemicals. He added a precise measurement of a growth solution.
“It is not unusual, I think?” Solomon added. “This is a manufactured virus, yes? And for our sins we Beasts of Berlin are not exactly a result of Darwin’s grand ideas.”
Hank waited for a second watching the chemicals mix carefully. “It’s been altered, hasn’t it? Red Ghost was trying to weaponize it wasn’t he? Use it against humanity and then it all went wrong.”
Solomon paused, hesitant to speak. It was the only confirmation he needed.
Hank quickly turned sharply as a commotion could be heard somewhere outside. His heart jumped into his throat as he worried about Cassie and Scott. Had they been found? His mind raced for a second, but he wouldn’t let anything happen to them. He couldn’t.
He was about ready to drop all of his work and rush to rescue them but he faltered for a split second. He couldn’t do it. He ran the simulations as soon as he had arrived and collected tissue samples, and the way this virus was spreading a mutating from case to case it could go worldwide and there was no certainty he’d be able to stop it then. It had to be handled now.
He put the chemical down on his desk before scanning it with a hand-held device which appeared in his hands from the center of his palm. It would monitor the chemical change and report directly back to him. Hank began to size up to find out the source of the noise outside.
A thought crossed his mind as he re-emerged into the room with the unconscious Beasts. A cure might be beyond him in such a short time but he certainly could stop the spread. The old discussion from biomedicine in college came to his mind, how easy it is to kill cancer if only it wasn’t linked to a host...or you didn’t care about the host’s survival. All he would have to do would be kill every single cell which could be infected, everything from an off the shelf weed killer to a stray match could do that.
“Solomon, what is going on outside,” Henry began before being cut off.
A solid right hook slammed across his face. He could usually have shrugged this off or rolled with the blow using his fight training, but being totally unprepared he was lucky not to be picking his teeth up off the floor.
The form of a visibly furious Red Ghost appeared. The hate for Hank in his face was almost tangible. The growth on his face was blood red and was issuing some form of pus from it. A tiny set of teeth gnashed at him as Ivan threw another fist.
“Comrade! What has happened?” queried Solomon. He looked like he wanted to help Pym but thought better of it.
“He has led the army to us! They are moving toward us now!” He launched forward in a fit of rage.
Hank was prepared for this one and, with a tilt of his body and some applied force, flipped Ivan clear…or at least he would have if not for the Russian’s superpowers. He sailed right through the man’s mid section and crashed to the floor having over balanced himself.
A solid boot to the face later told him Ivan was solid again. “Have you even been working on a cure?!” he screamed in Pym’s face. “Give it to me or I will kill the girl and then you!”
As if on cue a light and a small pinging noise began to emanate from Hank’s pocket. He held up one hand whilst the other received a device from his pocket. He turned it around to face Ivan. “It’s ready.”
Ivan paused for a second. “Solomon, retrieve the formula and prepare to manufacture. We will have much to do in our new city state. We are evacuating all of the walking wounded and the able.”
“Yes comrade,” nodded Solomon “What about the other patients?” he asked with a motion to the hundreds of sick apes in the room who were still heavily sedated.
Ivan cast an eye over them. “They will serve the greater good for their brothers,” he said. He brought his arm up and began to type on the wrist mounted device. The chemical infusers in the room suddenly whirred into life as needles appeared and plunged into the apes who shuddered for a split second.
“What are you doing?” questioned Yellowjacket as he climbed to his feet.
“A little infusion, adrenaline and testosterone mixed with the virus they’re already riddled with.”
Hank looked at the apes as they began to twitch and writhe. Ivan had just created a berserker army.
“Ivan! You are responsible for this! You did this to your own people and now you’re going to send them to the slaughter when you have the power to save them! You can’t do this!” he barked as he surged forward. He sailed right through the intangible man.
“I already have,” Ivan sneered one final time before vanishing from sight.
“Solomon?”
The great ape turned and looked directly at him. “I am sorry, Doctor Pym, but I believe in what we are doing...thank you for everything.” He launched past Hank and swept up the mini lab into his arms before rushing across the length of the room in a few giant bounces.
The room suddenly erupted into a series of roars and shrieks. The Beasts were rising.
Hank began to run.
# # # # #
Elsewhere...
Scott stumbled backwards as a growling wolf pounced onto his chest. He swung his right hand upwards with all the strength he had. The ape had been morphing into forms throughout the fight…so far Scott had fought a bear, a 8 foot long python and a range of other vicious and deadly animals.
The poison was also having an effect on him. His head was feeling woozy and the entire room was spinning around him. He managed to shove the wolf away from him and raised his leg up to his chest. He waited for a split second, just giving the vicious beast enough time to rebound before unleashing a devastating kick.
The wolf whimpered and then suddenly changed tack to a roar. Scott pushed himself up to start at the snarling lion. “I need a new plan,” he gasped as he tried to stand to his feet. “I’ll be there soon, Cassie.” He looked over to his daughter who was now slumped forward but rousing slowly.
Scott decided that he had to use what was probably his most effective power. The lion launched forward, Scott rolled sideways after a dive before climbing to his feet. He did it with a gentle wobble. The lion skidded before rebounding towards him. Scott dodged again but got a massive paw slamming against his arm. He felt one of his bones break.
The lion stalked slowly toward him. He moved to the side ready to try and dart but doing so would bring him right across Cassie’s path so he instead stood perfectly still and faced the creature. “Fighting a lion to the death to save my daughter’s life...there are worse ways to go. Cassie! Listen to me! I love you more than anything, you are perfect to me in every way please go on and live a happy life. Uncle Hank will save you – he’s Uncle Hank remember.”
The lion tensed its muscles and then tilted its body sharply, snarling. Its paw scratched against his face as it snarled and snorted. Scott was able to monitor exactly what was going on. The ants which crawled all over the apes chattered madly as they bit and stung at the creature.
It shifted back to ape form and madly began to pat wildly at the ants in an effort to get them off. It rolled around the floor screeching to itself and transforming from creature to creature. Scott wasted no time in rushing toward Cassie. He pulled her body weight against his. It was difficult with his broken arm and the effects of the poison in his system. “I’ve got you,” he said, “though I would appreciate if you had me instead.”
He let out a sudden shout of pain. The Ant-Man helmet he wore on his head contracted against his skull and he was sharply hauled backwards by his head. He felt a twinge in his muscles as his head slammed back and was then yanked backwards bodily.
He instantly began to shrink in size. He grabbed hold of his helmet and was pulling, hoping he could reduce enough to get out. His helmet, however, was shrinking along with him and the magnetic orangutan was matching him, crushing the metal.
He managed finally when he was about 1 foot tall to yank it off his head. His brain felt like it was about to dribble out of his ears even as he began to regain his size. He turned to find the orangutan hovering in the air. As a large solid ball of metal which used to be his helmet slammed against his face, he had a feeling ants wouldn’t be helping him now.
# # # # #
Outside...
The battle raged around Yellowjacket. He had been out in the midst of it for a few minutes and was for the most part seemingly just playing third party. He had seen war before, all of the Avengers had, but this was something different.
The army had already been flooding into the city when he arrived outside. They were confident as they swept forward, barking commands and keeping their weapons moving constantly over every inch of the terrain. They were being met with only a small resistance and so they were confident.
What they weren’t aware of was that the majority of the apes were already escaping and these were just the final ones who had managed to be caught.
The horde of furious Beasts of Berlin were just behind Hank and when the two forces met all hell broke loose. Hank watched helplessly as the two opposing sides laid into each other, bullets and bodies flying through the air.
“Stop it!” he commanded as he grabbed hold of an ape while increasing his size. He pulled it back away from the solider it had been astride. His knife was covered in blood where he had been stabbing at the creature. He took the momentary reprise from his beating to pull his side weapon and emptied three bullets into the ape’s face and its weight suddenly went dead in Yellowjacket’s arms. Hank held him for a second before releasing it. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said to the soldier sadly.
The soldier began to climb to his feet, pain obviously racing through his body. “They’re the enemy.”
“They’re sick,” he said with a slight sigh. “They’re not in control.”
He broke off as it was obvious the soldier was not listening. He in fact moved on instantly to a new target, firing his hand gun at a number of apes.
The scene was the same wherever Yellowjacket looked. Death and destruction. Solomon’s ideal for peace and prosperity seemed further away than any sensible man could hope.
His eyes fell on a large group of Ape’s who were seemingly fighting amongst themselves. The rage had taken complete control of them and they couldn’t tell ally from enemy. They saw a chance to fight and they did. Or at least that’s what Hank thought he saw.
A giant fleshy tendril shot from the center of the crowd and locked around another small group of the apes. Then another and then another. The group was merging and growing rapidly. Hank gasped in shock and despair. When Ivan had increased their hormones he had given the virus all the fuel it needed to grow. This was its final phase.
They bonded and merged, growing in size and mass. It began to sculpt itself into a giant ape. He couldn’t be sure if this was some consciousness taking a form able to take out all the aggression which it was building or just genetic memory from the apes.
It reared up to its feet and let out a roar. The 30 foot tall ape was hairless and made of slimy pink flesh which blistered and ruptured second to second. It raised its fists above its head and screamed before bringing them down on a number of soldiers who stood in front of it.
Yellowjacket began to grow in size and rushed to meet the beast. Its several eyes looked over to him. Seeing a worthy target to hate it began to barrel forward, still growing.
The two met surrounded by firing soldiers and raging beasts with an almighty thud. The beast was quicker, slamming its fists repeatedly against Hank’s body with immense strength. He felt bones break instantly and was thrown back away from the creature.
He rolled back to his feet and was meant instantly with the mass of the raging creature. Hank shrunk, causing the ape to over reach before he pivoted with his weight and increased his size rapidly. It was a technique he had used many a time before and allowed him to slam the creature down hard to the deck. Its body splattered out into a mound of flesh.
Yellowjacket breathed deeply for a second before a massive wall of flesh slammed against him. It reformed itself into a giant ape shape again and snarled aggressively. Hank met it again with a strong punch. He wasn’t sure that it even felt pain or had bones or organs to which he could do any damage. He was worried about what he would have to do to put it down.
# # # # #
Inside
Scott dodged as the metal ball hurtled passed. He quickly shifted his weight and moved toward the orangutan. He was badly battered by now, being clubbed with what was essentially a shot put ball hurled at top speed had done quite a number on him. He ran forward toward the hovering ape and pushed off with the leg which felt the strongest. He decreased his size quickly allowing the power and momentum of his push to launch himself toward the floating creature.
Ant-Men, even when at their tiniest of statures, maintained their full strength and hardiness so when Scott launched into the orange fuzzy ape he hit it with his full power. The orangutan dropped to the floor, their species having a notorious glass jaw and a poor defense against a right cross.
It lashed out with its long arms and magnetic power. Scott felt his blood rush through his body and his head get even lighter than it felt due to the blood poisoning. He dropped his weight forward onto his hands to steady himself. They came into contact with the thick orange fur. He tightened his fingers and took a grip.
It was time to put into effect the latest upgrade of Ant-Man tech that Hank had given him. Something Hank thought was long overdue but Scott was never sure of. “You know one of the things which bugs people most about ants? They sting!’
He unleashed a powerful bio blast through both of his hands and didn’t stop until the orangutan had stropped struggling beneath him. He breathed heavily. His head tilted up to see the super-strong gorilla of the super-apes stride from the corner of the room.
“Thank god Ivan must have raised you on martial arts movies, you know the etiquette of one attack at a time,” Scott said. He didn’t have the strength for this he knew. This gorilla could take the Thing one on one and he was in no fit shape to go up against him.
He began to climb to his feet.
The gorilla suddenly flew sideways. A massive fist crushing it against the wall, the wall shuddered around it. The fist moved back before slamming it again. “I love you too, Dad,” said Cassie as she peeled the unconscious gorilla from her hand. “Now let’s get out of here.”
She began to shrink down and moved over to her Father, who she helped regain his footing. “Cassie, I know we agreed before but I really don’t think I’m ready for you to be a superhero,” he said with a shake of his head.
“It’s okay, Dad I don’t think I’m ready anymore.”
“The way I’m feeling I don’t think I want to be one anymore either,” laughed Scott. “Okay, one last bit, it sounds like Hell is breaking loose out there and my helmet is trashed, so we have to get out safe and get Hank to summon Rover. Then we go home and sleep for a week.”
The entire concrete shed suddenly shuddered as the entire corner part of the building was torn away by the crashing form of Yellowjacket. He was quickly followed by a giant scabby form of flesh.
The ape suddenly rocked back as Henry gave him a strong kick, then it was suddenly stopped from returning the attack as a hail of bullets begin to pound into his flesh. The giant ape was all that was left of Red Ghosts’ utopia and so he had the full focus of the US military.
It roared at them and rushed toward them before a smattering of lead to the face caused it to move backwards. It was now looking like it could feel pain and it’s skin pulsated and ruptured slime as it got angrier. The slime mutated and grew more slime.
The ape was losing form quickly. Its roars became screams. The fleshy tentacles began to lash wildly around, hoping to end its torment.
“STOP!” screamed Hank. As he launched forward, however, the hail of bullets continued. Yellowjacket summoned the bio-blaster he had perfected to his hand from the tiny pockets within his gloves. It was at this size a cannon.
He charged a blast and fired into the ground behind the soldiers. The electrical blast shot over head discharging trace amounts of energy as it went. The soldiers almost as one let out a yelp of pain and dropped their weapons to the ground.
Hank moved toward the massive mound of flesh. He reached out and pressed his hand near its body. He let out a small charge to share his presence with it. A metallic disc appeared in his hand; he affixed it to the creature and activated it.
The creature let out a gentle hiss and then slowly began to disintegrate. Hank watched as it dissolved behind him.
“I don’t know what’s happening, Uncle Hank, but you did the right thing. It was hurting,” Cassie said as she laid a hand on her uncle’s shoulder.
He nodded sadly.
They were interrupted a second later by the roar of an engine as a jeep roared in front of the troops. A large, strongly built man with a twitching lip covered in a grey moustache climbed out of the jeep. “I don’t care who the hell you are an – Avenger, Dr Pym, Ant-Man, Giant Man, Yellowjacket or goddamn grandpa Ultron – whatever you want to call yourself, you are in 10 types of trouble, I shit you not!”
He growled as he moved towards Yellowjacket and the others. “Firstly, you have been seen to been consorting with a known communist terrorist and are suspected to have helped him by trying to cure his goddamned army. Secondly, you interfered with a US military operation and thirdly, worst of all you, have assaulted my soldiers and damaged government property. What exactly do you have to say to that...?”
He paused for a second just before Hank’s fist connected with the general’s face and sent him sideways. Guns which had been retrieved clicked into action and were trained on them.
“They were not responsible! They were just animals at that point…just hurt and scared animals! We could have used a gas gun and sedated them!”
“I don’t care what...” General Jones began.
Hank cut them off with a clap of his hands. Rover zoomed across the court yard and appeared above them. “Yellowjacket and Ant-Man. We’re on urgent A1 Avengers business granted certain rights under the UN security council. We are operating in a country where the US military has no jurisdiction and as such we will be going. If you try and stop us...and believe you me the mood I’m in at the moment I’m half hoping you do...you do not want to know what will happen to you. Seriously, I mean it.”
Jones glared at him and turned to his men. He held up the ‘stay’ sign and they lowered their weapons.
The three heroes held onto a platform lowered by Rover and began to raise into the ship.
“Hank, I’ve been poisoned by some sort of hooded snake,” said Scott as soon as Rover’s doors closed.
Hank moved to a side compartment and removed a vial. He sized up an infuser in his hand and injected it into Scott’s neck “Don’t operate heavy machinery and you may have some diarrheal for the next few days. If any other side-effect arises, contact me.”
He moved to the front of Rover and sat in the cockpit seat. Rover took off.
“So I’ve fought off three super-apes today and rescued my teenage daughter from a communist mad man. It’s been quite eventful. And you?” questioned Scott as he slid into a seat one side of Hank. Cassie moved into the other and fastened herself in.
“I got my niece kidnapped, managed to invent a cure for a virus I should have already eradicated, which was then stolen away and is now being used to help build an army against humanity and probably further bio terrorism. I’ve suffered quite a beating from a giant cancerous tumor and had to euthanize the majority of a sentient and unique species who were created and twisted by mankind to fit with their damn ideologies. I’ve had better days.”
He growled to himself.
Cassie looked over to her Dad. She was worried Hank was going down the same self-blaming roads that she now understood he often had in the past; that eventually he would hit rock bottom.
“You can’t blame yourself for any of those things,” said Scott; he had the same worry as Cassie. “You did the exact right thing every step of the way, it’s just sometimes these things are beyond our control. The important thing is moving on and knowing what to do next.”
“Ivan Kraggoff is responsible for the pain and deaths of those creatures and soldiers. He has a bio-weapon which could wipe out all of humanity. He kidnapped and hurt Cassie. We do our job and Avenge them all.”