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#12
MAR 12 |
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“The Chimera Effect” Part Four
Morocco
The Spanish Embassy
They roamed freely through the halls of the Embassy because of Medea and her telepathy. The slightest suggestion from her made everyone ignore them and see them as simple visitors to the building. Chukwu still felt uncomfortable with walking through the pristine building so freely; he couldn’t help but to feel like someone was going to see through their deception and trouble would break loose.
“Stop looking so nervous, boy,” Moses Magnum said. “We have enough power between the three of us to level this place if we have to.”
Coming to a halt in front of office #142, Medea pointed her diamond-tipped cane at the door. “They’re in there.”
“Good, I was getting tired of walking,” Magnum said as he pushed open the red oak door with one hand.
Standing in the small room were two men both appearing to be of Spanish descent because of their Mediterranean skin and jet black, silky hair. One had a slender but muscled frame w while the other was broad-shouldered and had a slight belly. Medea moved past Moses with Hollywood smile on her face. “Hello Antony and Dali, my name is Semone but my true name I Medea.”
Antony, the slimmer of the two, spoke first. “What do you want from us?”
“I want you to understand your destiny. You are to be Zephyr and he is Janus. You are Heirs of Apocalypse and, if you allow me to, I will show you exactly what that means.”
Chukwu held out his hand and closed his eyes. As he did so, a ball of fire appeared in this palm while every bit of loose metal in the room began to float in the air. “That only a small fraction of my power; Medea helped me to realize I have much more. She can do the same for you.”
Dali looked more interested than afraid of the display. “Are you trying to make us into soldiers?”
Medea’s smile faded. “No, Janus. I am trying to make you a god.”
Iran
Pandemic stood before the assembly of Iranian military and political leaders that Colonel Sedara had promised would consider his offer. Palance thought they all looked cowardly, but cowardice was always at the thought of any dictatorship. Fear of losing power began to breed weakness. That was why Pandemic felt disease was necessary on a physical and metaphorical level; it wiped away the weak and made the generations stronger through continued exposure.
He would give the Iranians one thing…at least they didn’t have him meeting with them in some dingy bunker in a backwoods city. They had decided to meet with him at what he guessed was someone’s home, but it might as well have been ancient world palace. Exquisite paintings and statues could be found on every corner. Some were new and some were much older, but all were beautiful. The carpet was rich in reds and purples and felt like a soft bed of cotton under Pandemic’s feet. Glass chandeliers hung down and sparkled from every hallway. The biggest one was in the dining room they all were gathered in and it made for a pleasing ambience.
The first politician to speak looked like an older cleric. In Pandemic’s mind the politicians and religious leaders were of the same stock in this county. “We have considered your offer, Dr. Palance, and believe what you are asking involves great risk. Genosha is a country where every citizen is a walking weapon. To attack it is to invite great danger to our borders.”
Pandemic’s response was cold and firm. “Yet you seek to gain mutants as super-soldiers for your nation. Why would you do that if you never have any intention of actually using them? I am offering you the chance to jumpstart your place in the superhuman arms race and all I ask in return is a for a small kidnapping.”
“We will pay you whatever price you ask, but we cannot attack Genosha. They attacking us alone would be devastating, but they also have powerful allies and our country could not survive an attack from all of them. Please just name a monetary price and we’ll pay that,” Colonel Sedara said.
“No! I am not lacking in money and that is not why I have come here. I want you to complete this task or you will gain nothing from me at all.”
Sedara stood up. “I don’t think you understand us correctly, Dr. Palance. You are not going to leave here without coming to some sort of agreement with us.”
Pandemic put up a hand to his face and mocked his audience with a yawn. “I had really hoped for better from all of you. Threatening me is in such poor taste and doesn’t speak well of your country’s hospitality.”
As he pulled back his hand, a thin film of blue dust was blown off of his glove and quickly dispersed around the extravagant dining room. The Iranians began to choke and gag as they bled from their eyes. Dozens of tiny, pus-filled warts began to appear all over their faces and one by one they fell to the ground gasping for breath.
Standing up from his chair, Pandemic wiped the remainder of the blue dust on his shirt. “A man of my many talents has limited time. Let all of you be a reminder to everyone not to waste it.”
He walked out of the room without another word.
Shi’ar Space
After a bit of searching, the Acolytes had finally come across the base’s main computer mainframe and, with his knowledge of the Shi’ar language, Exodus was able to access the database. All of the Acolytes watched as an elderly Shi’ar appeared on a large screen in front of them in such crisp detail that you could see the sweat forming on his brow. They half-listened to him because they couldn’t understand a word the Shi’ar was saying, all except for Exodus who heeded the man’s words with a focused intent.
When the image of the Shi’ar faded away, Spoor scuttled to Exodus’s side. “What did he say?”
“He explained exactly what this base was for. It was a genetic weapons facility. It would seem that Emperor D’Ken was creating super soldiers. They’re still here and I want them found.”
The Acolytes’ minds were suddenly flooded with the building’s floor plans. There were five levels and on each of those levels was where a different soldier resided. Unuscione shook her head at the flood of information. “How did you find out all of that?”
“I did a telekinetic sweep of the building when I first started listening to the recording. Cortez and Spoor, you go to the first level. Scanner and Barnacle, you go to the second level. Neophyte and Gaza, you’re assigned to the third. Unuscione and Vindaloo take the fourth level. And I’ll go to the fifth alone.”
Cortez was curious. “Do you believe that this will lead us to Lord Magneto?”
Exodus shook his head. “No, but the beings within this base are powerful and apparently there are more like them scattered throughout the Shi’ar Empire. I will bring them under my heel and present them as gifts to Lord Magneto once he has been found.”
Bennet felt the doubt in their minds. They were beginning to believe that Magneto really was dead and so was he. Too much time had passed without a sign from their leader, but if Magneto was indeed gone then he wasn’t leaving this galaxy without a worthy prize, and the soldiers of D’Ken the Shi’ar scientist spoke of would make a fine one. He wouldn’t let the Acolytes know it yet but a new mission had entered into Exodus’s mind.
When they returned to Earth, they would burn Genosha and all its traitorous inhabitants to the ground.
Carrion Cove
Pietro had chosen this city to give an announcement about the upcoming elections because he knew that the city’s rebellious nature lent a sense of irony to the occasion, but he also hoped to put aside fears that he was trying to become some dictator lording over the island like his father had. He never walked on to the island wanting to be a President, let alone one for the rest of his life but Crystal had been right. Luna deserved some sort of birthright and a kind of stability her parents had never been able to give her, so he was giving her Genosha, at least that’s what he told himself.
Stepping up to the podium like he so often had, Pietro smiled at the crowd gathered beneath him. “I want my words to be heard from here to Hammer Bay, to the rolling hills of Cerebrus Grove and to the forests of Anvil Shire. Let the people here me in the splendor of Syclla Valley to the beauty of Topaz Sword and all the places in-between. My people, I want you to know that I do not seek to lord over you. I so love Genosha that I want to serve it all my life, but my power will not be absolute. There will be checks and balances.”
Polaris was sitting behind Pietro with the members of X-Factor that hadn’t been sent to Mumbai. She could only hope that people would take Pietro’s words as true as a part of her wasn’t so sure if she’d be able to trust them. It’s not that she thought Pietro was going to abuse his power, but the Constitution was setting up a large part of the government to be full of entitled people and that was never good for justice and peace. She didn’t want to go down in history as being part of a group of people that helped to set up another repressive regime on this island. They had been through enough already.
“Soon elections will be held for the House of Dane and the House of Luna. These elections will be historic and set up a new legislative body in this country that will stand for peace and prosperity. I welcome these elections and I welcome all those who wish to run for office. I look forward to working with this new group of legislators in forming a strong future for Genosha. In two weeks time, people will be able to announce their candidacy and begin running campaigns. Two months from that date, elections will be held and the legislature chosen.”
Mantius Raven, Genosha’s Head of Intelligence, was seated next to Polaris and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I hope these Houses don’t give us as many headaches as America’s Congress is giving them. I certainly couldn’t bear it.”
“Neither could I,” Polaris replied, then changed the subject. “Are your agents tailing my soldiers in Mumbai?”
Mantius had a way of keeping his face from showing any kind of emotion that irritated Lorna to no end. He was a manipulative man and, while his past in the Interpol dictated it, she still didn’t trust him. Lorna had been manipulated and controlled by so many people over the years she was weary of those who dealt in deception, even if they were on her side. Not to mention he was a good looking middle-aged Italian and that along with everything else made her even more uneasy. Good looks tended to make manipulation easy.
“My people will make sure that if yours encounter any harm they will step in to help. Otherwise they’ll stay out of the way.”
“Thank you. I would have sent my entire team but,” Lorna directed a hand to Pietro, “other duties called.”
Mantius nodded. “Understood. My people need to get more practice out in the field anyway. I have some in Transia as we speak.”
Pietro started to wrap up his announcement. “I know it may seem like you are being greeted by many changes my people, but trust that is in the interest of building a greater, stronger Genosha. You are who I look to for strength and it is for you that I wake everyday!”
A roar of approval went up from the crowd and Pietro eagerly waved to them. He backed away from the podium and motioned Polaris and Mantius to come by his side. All three of them waved at the crowd and Polaris spotted some of them blowing kisses their way. Part of Lorna felt uncomfortable with the adoration. She was doing a job and just wanted to do it well, but she understood that the people needed symbols, and if she was going to be a symbol then that was just another part of the job.
Iranian Airspace
Pandemic sat in his private jet with his assistant, Santos Caterra, as they flew over the country’s airspace. Santos was a twenty-five year old aspiring geneticist who had been picked up by Pandemic after he was kicked out of school for trying to perform an illegal experiment. In Pandemic’s world, it was a shining recommendation for a job in his organization. So he picked up the young Latino and groomed him into becoming his personal assistant. To date, he had been doing very well at his job.
“The Iranians didn’t take your offer up?” Santos asked. Even with the metal mask on, he was able to pick up on his boss’ emotions. The Iranians were stupid for not accepting Dr. Palance’s terms. It was a good offer and all they had to do was pick up one mutant.
“No. They tried to threaten me and I handled them appropriately,” Pandemic said as he looked at his glass of wine and swished it around. “We will just have to find another means to capture Sage. At this point I’m not sure who might buy the product.”
“We could try Sudan,” Santos suggested as he busily ran through Dr. Palance’s contacts on his I-Pad. “They might be receptive to your offer and they have plenty of money coming in from China.”
Pandemic thought about it for a moment and swished his wine some more. Santos waited eagerly for his answer, not pressing another screen on his computer until he got a response. Finally, Pandemic sat down his wine and took a deep breath. “Set the appointment. I’d rather not deal with them but I’m running out of options.”
Shi’ar Space
Exodus made it to the fifth level of his facility and tried not to feel claustrophobic. It was the tightest of the floors and barely looked like it could have fit a dozen people. The floor was essentially a narrow hallway and at the end of it was a blue stasis chamber that he knew held one of the super soldiers because the very base had spoken to him. It was a detail that he had kept from his Acolytes. The reason the planet had been so heavily psi-shielded was because all the bases across it were psi-sensitive. It was attuned to telepaths and gave them all the information that they needed.
So he knew all there was to know about the Red Feather Project and how the various experiments across this planet would help him to rise to a new level of power on Earth.
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Next: In X-Factor #13: Exodus begins to gather his new soldiers to him and what does he tell them to convince them to work with him? Medea comes across more Heirs and they’re greeted by someone they might not have expected. And Pietro decides to have a meeting with the High Evolutionary.
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