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#3
DEC 09 |
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“Weapon X”
Fatale looked down at the mission briefing handed to her by the Dark Beast, scanned over it and tried to keep the scowl off of her face. “Any reason why she gave me this particular squad?”
“Not a clue, twoots, but she’s asking you to bring in a group of volatile 20-somethings so that might have a tad bit to do with it.”
“And I’m assuming once captured you get to experiment on them?” Fatale asked with an inward shudder. She was a creation of the bastard and knew his sadism had no limits. The entire reason she joined Weapon X was to escape from McCoy’s influence. When she discovered that he too had been approached to join the program she nearly lost it, but the Director assured her that this promise still stood: Dark Beast wouldn’t be allowed to breathe at her the wrong way.
“My dear, you say experiment with such disdain,” Dark Beast said with his always toothy grin. She knew that the bastard was taunting her, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. That sonuvabitch would enjoy it too much.
“How you interpret my words is your business, McCoy, but I have a mission to accomplish,” Fatale said a she walked away from her creator, contemplating the team that had been handed to her. She knew they would be more than eager to hand the bastard some more guinea pigs.
Gryphon and Carnage had been handed to her for an intimidation factor. They were monsters both on and off the field, but they made their kills. Alaris was a cocky ass Inhuman but he packed a punch and could take a fair share of damage; he was going to be this squad’s powerhouse while Scalphunter would be its skill. She worked with Greycrow frequently because he was on her true squad and found him to be a consummate professional. He was the type that she could stand to work with because he held many of the same values that she did. Scalphunter understood the job as a job and it was nothing more than that.
“So what’s the mission?” Scalphunter asked as he cleaned one of his guns. He stood in one of the training rooms along with the rest of the squad. Gun turrets protruded from various spots across the room’s walls, but they weren’t here for any training today. Fatale just needed a location to teleport the squad from after briefing them.
“The Director is sending us to Uganda. We’re to capture a small group of mutant rebels that have been giving the government trouble.”
Gryphon smiled; she was ready for the hunt. “So we’re giving McCoy some new toys to play with? Sounds fun.”
“Helping him with anything makes my stomach turn, but the Director is trying build up a list of people who owe her favors.”
“So do we have to bring them back unharmed?” Carnage asked with a maniacal look that begged for the answer to be no.
Fatale wished that there weren’t so many loose cannons among the Weapon X operatives because it would only be a matter of time before one of them lost control. Whether it was Carnage, Gryphon or Sabretooth, she knew that it wasn’t going to end pretty. The Director was extremely powerful, though, and for now kept the beasts tamed. Fatale wondered how long that could last? Nature could only be contained for so long.
“Yes, we bring them back as unharmed as possible. Don’t do anything that will get you hurt though. If you have to attack, then attack.”
Carnage looked like a little child who had just been told that Christmas was coming early…if that child had razor sharp claws clicking right by its mouth. Fatale knew then that she was going to have a problem with him. She felt for whichever target encountered the symbiote because from his almost gleeful expression she could tell that he would show no mercy. Carnage couldn’t be expected to follow mission parameters; the most one could hope to do was to keep him at bay.
“So who are the targets? Mutant filth all looks the same,” Alaris said with not a care that two mutants were in the room with him. Carnage was an alien life form and Gryphon a genetically engineered monstrosity. Alaris himself was an Inhuman of the royal variety.
He stood at an even six feet and had nicely tanned skin to go along with his chiseled chest and washboard abs. Snobbishness enhanced by physical beauty was rarely a combination that the average person could tolerate. Alaris only added to the loathing by having his every physical trait enhanced to superhuman proportions. The Inhuman earned a deadly stare from Scalphunter.
“You might want to watch who you’re talking about.”
Alaris waved a dismissive hand. “I wasn’t talking about all mutants. I am no fool; the worth of some of your people is well known to me.”
Greycrow wasn’t convinced. “I’m sure you have.”
“I have often wondered why your people haven’t simply smashed humanity to nothing,” Alaris continued.
“That hope died with Magneto,” Fatale said. “He was the last one with enough power to do such a thing. As for our targets, they’re a group of young men. The Director only provided the name of their leader. He calls himself Dikithi. So that’s what we have to go off of.”
“Well then, let’s go. Time stands still for no man,” Alaris said.
“Agreed,” Fatale said as a square purple portal opened up behind her. “Everyone ready to go?”
Pierre and Alex ran up the hill struggling for breath, but there was no time for them to catch it; their leader had to be warned and they didn’t have much time to do it. Alex had a larger stride than his companion so he was able to run ahead of him. Normally, the hill was easily surmounted, but they had run so far so fast. Nothing could stop them though because their futures depended on Dikithi being reached. He would know what to do and save their small colony.
Alex made it over the hill’s peak and ran into the tent that his leader occupied. He tumbled through the tent flap and fell at the feet of his leader panting and flushed. Gasping for air, he managed to say, “Intruders!”
Dikithi rose up from the floor and stared down at the exhausted Alex in quiet horror. He had long since stopped needing chairs because his lower body was like a snake so he just coiled down on the ground. One giant red eye stared down at the man and asked, “Who are they?”
“Not any of the government cow dung,” Pierre said as he walked into the tent. Alex getting ahead of him had allowed him time to catch his breath. “They look like mutants.”
Dikithi clenched his jaw. “I feared this day would come. Pierre, find Gabriel and have him gather everyone.”
The emaciated man nodded and bolted out of the tent. Dikithi hated seeing his people in such disarray and ragged physical condition. He wanted so much better for them yet as it stood, he could not provide it. With time and patience, he would be able to. Given time, more would come to him and they would rule Uganda. They would be a new Genosha glowing for the entire world to see. Right now that goal was in jeopardy if the intruders were indeed mutants.
Bending down, Dikithi picked Alex up from under his armpits and said, “I need you, my warrior. You have to pull yourself together for the colony.”
Still gasping for breath, Alex said, “I will try for you Dikithi. Will we win?”
“It will be a test, but I am sure that we will be triumphant. The wind blows in our favor.”
Alex smiled weakly and it broke Dikithi’s heart because he knew that he might not see it again. He had no idea who had been sent to find them, but he knew deep down that it would not end well. Looking to the west at Lake Kyoga, Dikithi wished he could take his people across the ocean like Moses to a better place.
Alaris looked down in horror at the milky water that he was walking through. “Wading through marshes was just what I wanted to do with my day.”
“Would you be quiet!” Scalphunter said. “There is no telling what powers Dikithi people possess. For all you know you may have just alerted them to our presence.”
“Good. It’ll make the killing more fun,” Carnage said as he licked his fingers.
It was Fatale’s turn to be stern. “No killing, not unless we have to. The Director wants as many brought back as possible.”
Carnage frowned at Fatale's warning. He didn't want to be kept from having his fun, but these things were out of his hands. Nova promised him that he would be able to cause all the chaos in the world that he desired as long as he followed her orders. So he was going to do just that and keep his mouth shut for now, but he knew there would be a time soon when he would be able to fully cut loose. And oh boy, when that time came there was going to be guts, limbs and blood all streaming through his teeth.
Scalphunter saw Carnage's frown and wanted to send a bullet straight through the symbiote's head. People like Carnage didn't need to be a part of this organization. The symbiote was a force of nature; he moved through his enemies like a tornado and hurt his friends in the process. Greycrow knew that Carnage was not someone that he could ever hope to rely on in the field of battle. If there was any mistake that he believed the Director was making, it was in including monsters like Carnage in the mix.
The Weapon X operatives continued to push through the marsh until they came to a shrubby hill. Every one of them (except Carnage) was equipped with a pair of goggles that afforded them with enhanced sight and different modes of vision such as infrared and ultraviolet. For those with sight that was already enhanced, the goggles were a great boon; they were able to scan miles around them for any potential threat and had found none.
Fatale, being the squad leader, kept at the front of the pack as they moved over the hill. Scalphunter kept close behind her for a number of reasons. He was the only one she felt wouldn't shoot her in the back the first chance they got and his sharp shooting made him the best person to respond to a quick threat. Gryphon made up the rear of the pack because of her abilities; she was essentially a majorly souped up Feral given cybernetic enhancements. Fatale put no trust in the woman given her previous history with the likes of Bastion during Operation: Zero Tolerance.
"Something is wrong here," Fatale said.
"What is it?" Scalphunter asked.
"It’s too damn quiet. I haven't heard anything in the past few minutes. No animals, no wind, not even our own feet moving across the ground."
Gryphon gave a low growl. "She's right. I can't hear anything."
Scalphunter cocked his gun. "I think we've found our mutants."
The image of the empty hill faded and tents began to materialize along with mutants. Fatale and her team was surrounded by twenty mutants clad in rags and color-drained clothes. The youngest amongst them was probably no more than eight and not a single one of them looked a day over thirty. Fatale had done her fair share of awful things, but she wasn't so keen on taking down a bunch of poor, young orphans. Her thoughts had no bearing on the mission though and she knew that none of her teammates would have the same qualm. Nine times out of ten she didn't give two shits about who she hurt and how she did it, but this happened to be that tenth time.
"I don't know why you're here and I don't know what you want, but I'll finish every last one of you if you don't leave now," Dikithi said with more confidence than he actually felt.
Greycrow tried his best to not sound completely threatening. "My compliments to whoever was doing the illusion casting, but you were only delaying the inevitable."
"So come with us and no one has to get hurt," Fatale said, pleading with them in her thoughts to just listen and not let Carnage get a chance to cut loose.
But by the burning determination etched across all those faces, Fatale knew that the chances of her getting that wish fulfilled was nil. People either did one of two things when they thought they were being pushed back into a corner: they either cowered with the hope you ran away or they fought back with every tool available to them. Given these mutants ragged state it would be easy to lump them in with the first group, but Fatale could see otherwise. So the choice was really already made for her.
Dikithi looked to Pierre and he looked to Alex. He saw no defeat in their eyes and he would be damned before he let any enter his. "We're not going anywhere."
"Damn you for making me do this the hard way," Fatale said as her wrist blade popped out. "Attack!"
Carnage laughed in that way it sounded like Kletus and the symbiote were laughing simultaneously. "Finally! Time for some fun!"
Before a single of the symbiote's newly formed claws could cut into the mutants, they vanished. Scalphunter cursed under his breath. "Damn illusion. Whoever they have is damn good. Even our goggles are useless."
"And I can't even smell them," Gryphon said.
Fatale was starting to wish she hadn't felt mercy. "Dammit! They could be running away for all we know."
"There is always option B," Alaris said as he mischievously smiled.
Scalphunter narrowed his eyes. "That'll leave Fatale and me ineffective."
"But it'll also leave our opponents out of the game and make them easy targets," Gryphon said.
Fatale didn't like the suggestion, but it seemed like it was all that they had available to them. She wasn't going to explain to the Director that they had failed in a mission because she was afraid to be vulnerable. That would earn her a mental session from Hell and leave her insane if not dead. The Director didn't consider things like discomfort; all she considered was success and right now that was potentially slipping away from them.
“Do it,” Fatale said as she looked to Scalphunter for approval. He knew the consequences same as she did so he nodded in approval.
Gryphon tapped a button on one of her gauntlets and a black cube rose out of a hidden compartment. Ekatarina looked at the cube angrily for a moment as if she was visualizing all the damage mutants had caused her over the years. Then she flung it down to the ground and the machine started to buzz louder and louder.
Fatale covered her ears and asked, “What the hell is it doing?”
“Shutting down all mutant powers in a mile radius right…about…now!”
A sudden nausea passed over Fatale and she was certain it was a side effect of the cube. Who the hell had created that thing? It wasn’t something she had time to ponder over at as the mutants appeared off in the distance wading through the marsh. Fatale had honestly thought that they were going to fight. She had seen violence in many of their eyes.
Alaris cracked his back and a cocky jock’s smile came down. “You two let the three of us handle this.”
Scalphunter yanked his laser rifle from out of his back holster, aimed it at who he assumed was the ‘leader’ of the mutant band and opened fire. There was a far clamor of screams as Scalphunter said, “I can still shoot. We don’t rely entirely on our powers like your people.”
The Inhuman’s smile was gone. “My people are a topic you know nothing about.”
“Can it or we’re all going to have to explain to the Director why they got away.”
Pierre bent down into the water and picked Dikithi up. “Keep moving! He’ll be fine! We have to keep moving!”
Aga, a woman in front of Pierre, said, “I can’t feel the water anymore. My powers are gone!”
“Just keep moving!”
Before he could spurt out a warning, a black and red blur landed on top of Aga. Pierre knew what he meant and knew that he was no leader. He couldn’t tell his fellows what to do. So he stood there frozen in fear with Dikithi hanging on his shoulder. That was when he felt the hot sensation surge through his back and he passed into unconsciousness.
Scalphunter walked into the marsh with his laser rifle still smoking. “We should have found a better place to round these people up. They’re going to all drown before we can make them ready for transport.”
Gryphon’s work was methodical. She leaped through the air like a lion, pouncing on one victim, and then she would pound on them a few moments. After that she would throw them over her shoulder hard enough till they were clear out of the marsh and back on dry land. It was a rinse and repeat process that she seemed to be enjoying, but she managed to hear Scalphunter’s complaint in her stalking.
“The Director sent me a signal five minutes ago. Reinforcements are on the way to make this clean up easier.”
“Who?” Fatale asked as she stabbed one mutant in the shoulder with her poisonous wrist blade and flipped the teenager over her shoulder.
“Agent X is coming with some Ugandan troops,” Gryphon answered as she looked around and realized that all of the mutants had been neutralized. She smiled. “Easy wins. Soon as we took away their powers, they were nothing.”
Fatale’s shoulders slumped, but she tried to sound enthusiastic. “Yea…nothing.”
Weapon X Canada Base (Two Days Later)
Nova looked at Dikithi and saw what could possibly be the makings of a superior agent. She had brought him into her private study to have an audience with him. She could feel that he was scared shitless so she had even more respect for him because he didn’t let it show physically. Moving close to him and looking into his one giant red eye, she asked, “Are you comfortable, Dikithi?”
“I will not be comfortable until I know my people are safe.”
Cassandra walked back to her desk and picked up a clipboard sitting on it. “This says that besides for the enhancements your physical mutation gives you that you have an extremely powerful illusion casting ability. Given the fact you’re completely untrained you still managed to fool my agents for a while. That’s quite impressive.”
“What do you want with me and my people?”
“My organization is a haven for mutants like yourself. I can promise your people training, healthcare, food and stability. My agents are some of the most well taken care of mutants on the planet, despite what others might say about their respective organizations.”
Dikithi wasn’t buying it. “Then why attack us? Why attack fellow mutants?”
“Because my organization is also interested in the safety of the world and you were endangering your government.”
The hairs on the back of Dikithi’s hair stood up. “Our government has done nothing but oppress us!”
“Which is why I brought you here instead of simply killing you, Dikithi. If you and your people fight with me then we can work to bring real change to the world for mutants. Blowing up buildings and holding rallies won’t bring change. My organization can. When we make the humans dependent on us then that is when we will be in charge.”
Dikithi bit his lip for a moment. There was something in Nova that he felt he could trust. She was a creepy little woman, but she seemed sincere. “So what do I have to do?”
“Just speak to your people for me. Convince them that they have a home here.”
The Ugandan nodded. “I will.”
Nova smiled. “Then welcome to Weapon X.”
Fatale was walking back to her room when she looked over her shoulder and saw Scalphunter approaching. “You need something, John?”
“I just wanted to talk to you,” Scalphunter said, not saying anything else until he was at his squad leader’s side. “I haven’t seen you lately. What happened out there? Something was bothering you.”
Fatale knew there was little point in trying to hide it. Not from Greycrow, he was too damn hard to lie to. “I don’t know, John. Usually all this shit doesn’t bother me, but something about those kids got to me. They don’t deserve to be McCoy’s playthings.”
“Most of them will have a better life here with us than they would have out in that marsh. Here they have food, shelter and, in time, they’ll come to thank us for taking them from there.”
“Maybe. I spent so many years shutting off my feelings…I don’t know what turned the bastards on again.”
John’s face turned stone cold. “Whatever it is, you need to find a way to shut them off again. We’re in this too deep to turn back now. When I was with Sinister, I knew there was no leaving. You either went all the way or died. The Director is no different.”
Fatale nodded. “You’re right, John. Thanks. I needed the pep talk.”
Cold, unfeeling…was that her destiny, she wondered as John walked away.
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The End...
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