Author's Notes: The Crisis of Earth 929 shall soon come to an end, but first as you will see our hero will recieve one final reprieve from the insanity of the past two segments; and yet things will certainly be heating up in the following story, I'm certain everyone will be excited by the roller coaster ride of the next story, but for now I leave you with this tale of dark revelations and deep commitments and as always I ask patiently that my readers review.
Disclaimer: The characters of Allan Rutherford, Amy Chelerise Rutherford, Darkholme AKA Unrevealed and Talia AKA Unrevealed belong to the author; all others are those of Marvel, Hasbro and other sources unnamed and the author makes no claim to ownership of any, he's simply borrowed them for the use in what he has percieved as his masterpiece. Perhaps he's a tad big headed in that regards, but his passion for this tale expands beyond all things; it is the one story he's kept with faithfully outside of those ascociated with The Transformers and it is the one story he'll most likely keep for the end of time. Er anyway; I'm getting long winded, yadda, yadda, yadda as Seinfeld might say... ON WITH THE SHOW!
Rogue smiled as Allan finally woke up; he'd been unconscious for three days since his odd possession, the Autobots had worked with some kind of device to remove the excess energy in his systems and his nanoprobes had recovered, but naturally took some time doing it. She didn't know exactly what to expect; she'd been so worried for her boyfriend, now everything was back in order and they could get back to the mansion and his task for Roma.
Al sighed as he rubbed his forehead; Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Grimlock were standing not too far off from the table he'd been resting on, Rogue was naturally beside him. The Autobots were eyeing him curiously; he glanced up at them wearily, he was getting a little tired of being used by everyone who decided that he had to be the only one they could rely on.
"No offense, but I didn't think I'd be working for Gods of Cybertron when I started this gig; let alone serve as the avatar of one." He griped struggling into a sitting position.
"Oh Al." Rogue returned ensnaring him in a hug; the man smiled gently and stroked her hair.
"Sorry to scare you like that honey; I'm afraid there was no other choice, otherwise I might have strongly objected to being a pawn." He admitted with a tiny chuckle; Optimus took a step closer and looked upon the human with deep concern and sympathy, Grimlock however shifted gazes to the other lone occupant of the repair bay.
"What do we do with human psycho?" He wondered as Josie Beller began to stir.
"We still don't know why she collapsed." Ratchet admitted; Al glanced up and spotted the other human, he had a pretty good idea why she lost consciousness before her intended attack on the Autobots.
"We shall take her to Xavier; perhaps he can help her, she's not going to be too happy though when she finds out who KO'd her." He added with a tiny smirk; Rogue eyed him curiously and he raised his hands defensively. "Not me, I was kinda out of commission if you'll recall; Primus thought it best that he render her harmless so that the Autobots might repair the damage done to her by the Decepticons." He explained.
"She's never wanted or needed our help." Prime returned; Al nodded and then hopped off the repair table.
"Precisely why we can help her; she's really messed up, in here." He stated tapping his temple. "Primus gave me a little floor show presentation before he left; she's really not insane, she's hurt and she's actually very much afraid. She just keeps it hidden behind a wall of rage and close-mindedness." He revealed; Prime nodded understanding this and so turned to the woman who was just now fully waking up, she shot a glare at her surroundings and tried to move, but nothing happened.
"What have you done with my earrings?" She demanded glaring up at the Autobots. "When I am free I will personally kill every last one of you who dared to keep me prisoner here." She added; Al chuckled and strode into view.
"I'm sorry Josie, but your earrings were shorted out by the Infinity Engine's massive overload; Megatron really didn't know what he was doing when he flipped the switch." He stated; the woman eyed this strange man confusedly.
"Who are you?" She demanded. "Wait; I remember now, you were fighting with these robots, robot lover." She spat literally at the man's feet; he regarded the futile projectile and then gently placed a hand on the woman's shoulder startling her and causing her to attempt to move away, naturally she couldn't.
"Don't worry we'll help you." He said; she glared heatedly at him.
"I don't want your help or your pity; just get me out of here or I'll kill you too." She growled; Al chuckled and turned his back on the woman, she failed to notice when he pocketed her earrings.
"If you could arrange transport back to New York for us Prime; and there's the little matter of all those car parts we picked up." He began; Rogue smiled as she took his hand in hers.
"Wheeljack already saw tah that." She revealed a mischievous smirk spreading across her cheek.
"Oh no, not Wheeljack." Al moaned; Grimlock chuckled at that and eyed the human curiously, Optimus Prime's optics twinkled with hidden merriment and he began to lead the duo out of the repair bay.
"I believe it's a perfectly operational device Mister Rutherford; I hate to see you leaving so quickly when there is much we could discuss, but I fear your needed more back in New York." He began; Al nodded and Prime popped open his communicator panel to contact one of the other Autobots. "Jetfire; our guests will be leaving shortly, would you please give them a lift back to New York?" He requested; Jetfire laughed on the other end.
"No problem Prime, might be difficult to find a landing spot though." He returned; Al chuckled softly and briefly regarded the earrings he'd taken off of Circuit Breaker, they appeared simple enough to repair, but he'd have to get Q to give him a few tools if that were alright with Roma. Just so long as nothing else bad happened for the next couple of days; he really wanted to get Josie free from her misguided hatred and fear, he'd always had a fondness for the character and felt there was so much more potential for her if only she'd lost the bigoted look she held all Transformers with.
Well; he was a far cry from Counselor Troi, but with a little help from Xavier and a few conversations with the young woman's sub-conscious mind it was possible he could ferret out the root cause of her feelings and quash them… He was just too noble for his own good; as long as Rogue didn't mind, he'd have to talk to her about that.
Alarms began to scream shattering the night; three indistinct forms fled the massive searchlights sticking to the shadows, dogs began to bark as the guards and their specially trained trackers rushed to and fro searching for the escaped convicts and their accomplice. Watching all of this from the comfort of his limousine; Wilson Fisk smiled, once again the infamous Chameleon had come through and now his team of hit men could begin servicing him once more in his current plans.
On the opposite side of town; at the maximum security prison known as the Raft another prison break was underway, the entrance to this prison had been broken and twisted outwards by a strong magnetic pull. Erik Lensherr also known as Magneto had finally come to collect his wayward Brotherhood; those who had engaged the man known as Allan Rutherford on behalf of an unknown individual and who had been left stranded in this place for almost two months. Blob, Pyro and Avalanche joined him quickly and the four vanished into the night; watching all of this were two individuals, those simply known as the Source and the Consort, at least for the time being… It was time to reveal themselves to the world; or at least, to one specific individual.
"I shall leave the vital information for Cobra to find." The Consort stated in a sultry whisper.
"And I shall go meet our newest pawns." The Source returned with a dark smile planting a kiss onto the back of his lovers hand in an archaic and long forgotten show of gallantry. "Tell Arachnia to keep Osborn out of this; by any means necessary." He added; the Consort nodded almost submissively and vanished into the shadows, literally, the Source turned and watched the retreating forms of the Brotherhood in his hand was a chess piece representing Magneto. "Soon Rutherford we shall have our face to face… Or should I say… Desrochers." He whispered laughing darkly his laughter echoing amongst the night air before he too vanished into a swirling of shadows; unseen the Watcher watched all of this, for a great event was soon to grip the Earth and he would as always record this event for future generations to observe and learn of.
Crisis on Earth 929
Brotherhood Versus The Sinister Six
West Chester, specifically Salem County and boy was it quiet as Jetfire landed on a section of the spacious grounds; Rogue and I were in his cockpit section for once, it was a lot different from the rear transport section and I was feeling a tad giddy what with the child in me.
"That's odd; you'd think the defenses would have reacted." I mused curiously as Rogue saw to Josie; the woman hadn't said one word since we'd left the Ark, but that didn't bother me too much right this minute I was confidant that the Professor and I could help her overcome this state she was in, mentally speaking.
"The Professor probably sensed our arrival." Rogue countered as I hefted the large container Wheeljack had supplied for the Ford parts; it was really a remarkable device, a self-contained sustainable sub-space pocket, much like the kind housed within the bodies of the Transformers themselves.
"Well thanks for all your help Rutherford; one of these days I hope we can get together when there isn't some kind of peril involved and discuss certain things." Jetfire stated as his engines kicked back in and he started to rise into the air; I waved back at the giant jet warrior and offered a genuine smile.
"Yeah, sure thing; and thanks for the lift Jetfire." I called back before turning to the mansion and following after Rogue who was guiding the hover gurney along, we'd have to get that back to the Autobots when next we met; considering there was no way that would be our last encounter with the aliens.
"Don't mention it." He returned dipping his right wing in farewell and rocketing off over the horizon; we made our way to the front entrance, Jetfire having dropped us off at the side of the house. Josie was taking in as much as she could from her position; obviously plotting some escape, of course that would be impossible until I fixed her earrings. Pushing open the door with a quick magnetic tug I marched inside and placed the surprisingly light container full of parts in the front closet; though I had a hard time getting it to fit with the door closed, Josie had remained silent since leaving the Ark.
"You suffered a great trauma many years ago and your mind has misguidedly placed the blame on all robots." I began ignoring her glare. "What about Vision? The member of the Avengers, he's a machine, do you blame him?" My logic seemed to take her aback and she regarded me thoughtfully for a moment.
"He is a sentient caring machine, these robots are unfeeling monsters." She countered; I smiled at her words.
"If they were truly monsters would they not have killed you, wouldn't they care less about the innocents caught in the crossfire?" I returned desperately attempting to hide my smug smile.
"No machine can go against its' inherent programming, your logic is flawed." She retorted turning her head aside so as not to look at me; I snarled suddenly and unleashed my tendrils forcing her to look at me, her mannerism had reminded me slightly of Seven of Nine before she was freed from the collective.
"I can see this will take more then simple logic to heal." I grumbled ignoring her sudden fear; Rogue squeezed my shoulder gently calming me down slightly.
"Making her afraid of you won't help." She remarked whispering in my ear.
"Sorry, it's just… For a moment there she reminded me of something I'd buried long ago." I sighed retracting my tendrils; Rogue seemed to understand as she brushed a hand through my hair, Josie seemed to be calmer now as she regarded me uncertainly now. "She doesn't understand; she's buried her true motives behind an icy wall of hatred and rage, she's forgotten others can suffer the same way she did." I added turning and venturing off in search of the Professor; the Collective would always be a part of me, not in the same way as it was for Picard or Seven, but it would still be a part of me. Josie turned to Rogue in slight confusion; she didn't understand why the stranger was offering to help her, why he thought she needed help.
"How did he get those?" She wondered her old scientific curiosity breaking through slightly, Rogue glanced down at Beller and shrugged.
"That's not for me tah tell, since he'll be helpin' with your recovery I suggest yah ask him." She replied slightly haughtily and then she took off to take a much deserved and needed shower leaving the annoying and helpless woman in the hallway, she didn't care if it made her angry with her; some luxuries the Autobots just couldn't accommodate and she was starting to smell.
"And just why have you reconvened the Sinister Six to this burnt out warehouse?" Doctor Otto Octavius demanded his mechanical arms whirling about in his agitation; he was currently facing a mountain of a man, the infamous Kingpin to be exact. His opinion was shared by the other four individuals either sitting or standing around the man in question; Adrian Toomes also known as The Vulture, Quentin Beck the special effects master turned master criminal, Mysterio. Maxwell Dillon otherwise known as Electro and last, but not least Mac Gargan, the dreaded Scorpion; or at least dreaded in his own delusion filled mind. Chameleon was missing for unknown reasons and that infuriated Octavius to no end; he despised secrets, especially those which did not favor his own goals.
"Patience Octavius, we are not all here yet." Fisk informed moving to take a seat in one of the chairs being offered by their as of yet unknown host, but there was a host besides Kingpin of that the group was most certain.
"Who is missing besides that annoying Chameleon?" Mysterio countered, before Fisk could reply one of the old gratings at the other end of the warehouse flew open and a second group of individuals arrived. They consisted of a walking mountain of fat wearing dark blue jeans and a shirt which barely stretched over his massive frame, a wiry man in a mostly red outfit that might have been spandex with a large contraption hooked up on his back, a tall, feral looking beast of a man, a second more muscular individual in regular street clothes, a red haired, blue skinned beauty who wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing and a man clad in purple, including a purple cape and helmet.
"What are they doing here?" Electro cursed energy crackling at his fingertips.
"I summoned them here." A dark voice replied as someone cloaked in a billowing midnight black outfit emerged from the shadows in the far back of the warehouse; he literally seemed to ooze out of the shadows and his clothing appeared to be even made of them.
"I am not impressed by parlor tricks." Magneto stated with disdain, a shadowy tendril snaked out of the man's cloak quite literally and ensnared Magneto by the neck cutting off his oxygen.
"I do not take kindly to arrogance." The stranger retorted in a sinister tone. "Hold your tongue until I have finished presenting my proposition." He hissed before releasing the head of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who began to massage his neck.
"Let me guess, you want us to off someone." Scorpion piped up grinning psychotically.
"If you wish to put it so bluntly." The dark one returned with a slight nod. "However this is one who is no mere super hero." He added his tone implying a sneer of disgust was spreading on his hidden features; he made a gesture with his hand and an image appeared, he was about six foot three with dark brown hair, blue eyes, an impressive build for someone so wiry looking and relatively thin.
"That's the new guy hangin' with Xavier's team." Blob blurted surprising himself with the knowledge; the unseen shadow master snickered slightly.
"Indeed." He affirmed making a second gesture, the image changed to one of the current roster of X-Men including that man.
"We do not kill mutants, especially ones associated with those who could become potential problems." The Vulture intoned turning as if to leave.
"This is no mutant." The shadowed one retorted. "Despite his abilities he is not a mutant; at least not one created through genetics. He has proven to be quite the thorn in my side, first defeating you three and that craven coward Toad. Then killing Red Skull with a sword made of light; beating Carnage and slaying Cletus Kasady the symbiotes host, Venom is still hiding in fear. He's also slain three Decepticons, combated and nearly took down the Cobra organization from within and has recently encountered Megatron and lived to tell the tale." He recited growing darker and more indistinct as his anger flared; truly he was composed of shadows, or so it would appear.
"By all accounts he should be dead, but somehow he clings to life and continues to disrupt my machinations. So I am left with but one option, one of you teams will have the good fortune of being paid handsomely to eliminate him. In order to prove yourselves worthy of accepting this task however." Here he paused his sly tone and his body language seeming to suggest he was growing rather bemused at his role; he'd even turned his back on the groups, not a good thing when some of them could easily tear him apart, or at least they thought they could. "You must confront and defeat the other team in battle, on a battlefield of my choosing." He finished smiling knowingly beneath his cloak and revealing his teeth, which seemed to glow pearly white as they appeared a gash of pure radiance amongst the darker shadows surrounding his face.
There was naturally an uproar, neither group wished to battle the other; both Octavius and Magnus made to leave at the same time when the shadows began to billow forth like clouds from the man's arms and chest.
"We won't play your twisted game!" Magneto bellowed using his powers to strike at the cloaked one, but some force blocked the blow.
"You have little choice in the matter Erik." He retorted as the shadows continued to unfurl, soon they engulfed all of the occupants of the room and then just as suddenly everyone and everything seemed to vanish leaving the cloaked one alone within the warehouse. Until the real Wilson Fisk approached from the shadows a smirk playing across his features.
"I trust you'll make it quite difficult for them." He intoned with a small chuckle.
"Naturally, after all who needs the competition?" The cloaked one returned before bursting into a hearty laugh tinted by malice and a touch of madness; Fisk eyed the individual who had introduced himself as Darkholme, he did not trust this one, but he would continue to play the game. One never knew when one's supposed allies would let their guard down just enough to become the victim rather then the master.
It turns out the mansion had been so quiet when we got back because Scott and most of the team had raced off in search of Magneto; apparently he broke Pyro, Blob and Avalanche out of jail and then simply vanished. In fact the Professor couldn't locate them anywhere on Earth with Cerebro, which sent a chill down my spine if anything could; I was hoping I wouldn't have to do any fighting so soon after my possession slash serving as Primus' avatar.
The next morning Spider-Girl phoned me up out of the blue to let me know that Chameleon had sprung Electro and Scorpion; all signs pointed to a revival of the Sinister Six, which meant there would probably be some serious stuff going down soon. I would have gone to try and help track them down, but I'd committed myself to helping Circuit Breaker out and that promise was made in good faith to Optimus Prime; in certain respects one of my childhood heroes, I was not about to disappoint. So I entered the Professor's study for our first official session that afternoon after lunch, still we could only do so much; it was up to Josie to relinquish her hatred and let go whatever fear kept her from seeing the truths of the matter, if indeed there was anything beyond bitter rage. She lay on the couch unable to do much else, but stare and curse; she wore the same silver bikini underneath one of Jean's spare shirts, a pretty violet number with cerulean highlights.
Due to the complexity of her bikinis' bottom piece and the fact that she needed help doing her business she opted not to wear pants; at least I wasn't the one who had to help her, she was apparently very uncooperative for a paralyzed woman and she could still bite, though I couldn't blame her how we left her in the Foyer all night.
"For today I think it best we seek the root of her problem." Xavier remarked moving his chair next to the couch and smiling down at the woman in an attempt to ease her soul. I took a seat opposite her in the large immaculate easy chair and nodded. The Professor began his work, it was hard though; she fought him all the way in, but her mind wasn't as strong willed as others. Soon I found myself inside her mind connected by a causeway of sorts, she was thinking of a rather cruel way for us both to die when I approached her.
"You won't help me, no one can. Only after I have killed every last one of those monsters will I feel safe." She blurted admitting to me what I had suspected all along, she was afraid of them.
"You are misguided, revenge is not the answer, killing is not the answer." I stated in as calm a tone as I could muster, maybe the first session should have been Xavier's solo; then again I was the one playing Counselor Troi on her.
"I will not be hurt again!" She cried lashing out with a fist, which I deftly caught in my hand; she lashed out in a flurry of martial arts punches and kicks each one more desperate than the last and ripped clearly out of popular kung fu movies. I didn't react to them save to block each one effortlessly, I was aiming to help her not hurt her and within the landscape of her mind physical injury could do more harm then good.
"That's the problem though, you were hurt once and won't let it happen again; that in itself is a noble goal." I remarked through the flurry of attacks. "But ensuring you will never be hurt again by seeking vengeance is not, it's the same as if you had been raped by someone and instead of coming to grips with it you actively go out and seek to be raped again in order to blindly punish the man who'd done it by killing everyone who you might consider to be a rapist." I elaborated; part of me wondering where the analogy had come from, but it was probably just my logical side breaking through in this moment of open mental communication.
"You're wrong, it's the only way; they all must pay!" She screamed her voice growing hoarse, tears streaking down her face.
"I can not retain the link; we shall have to continue later." Xavier interjected speaking as if from a great distance; I nodded and instantly I found myself back in the study, my body felt sore from the physical assault. I rubbed my lower arms kneading out the stinging; the power of suggestion could really do a number on a guy who hasn't been properly prepared.
"Quite the little firecracker." I remarked noting the tears still streaking down her cheeks; she glared at me and the Professor, only natural considering we were currently labeled as enemies. I rose to my feet and offered my thanks to the Professor before heading off; I'd promised Rogue we'd spend some snuggle time together before dinner.
Magneto regarded the desolate wastes of what was once New York, though not truly New York; it could not be for he had only been unconscious for a few moments after being engulfed by the shadows. Thus this could only be some twisted representation of downtown New York with its' decimated buildings, abandoned vehicles and broken streets.
"How'd that little runt drag us here?" Sabertooth rumbled feeling decidedly sick from the odd mode of transit.
"Some kind of spell most likely." Mystique remarked curling her lips in a sneer, she was in a foul mood; more so then usual, but there was little reason for it at least in the eyes of the others.
"Are we prisoners then?" Avalanche wondered before the cloaked man appeared, he looked even stranger in this realm. His body seemed to pulsate with a reddish tinted light and it was impossible to tell where he ended and the darkness permeating the air around him began.
"In a way you are, for only by battling the Sinister Six will you warrant being returned to your New York." He replied his voice sounding hollow and devoid of any emotion, as though this place had slowly stripped any remnants of humanity from him.
"We will not play this little game." Magneto stated flatly, the shadow that was a man chuckled and his strange aura flared tearing up the pavement before him even further until the dirt underneath began to fly.
"You have no choice, fight or perish." With that he vanished melting into the shadows as though they were liquid.
"That's a neat trick." Pyro observed receiving glares from his allies. "What?"
Doctor Octopus glared at Chameleon, he should have known that the real Fisk wouldn't have deemed to be present in such a dilapidated edifice; the others were equally angry as to their sudden relocation to this dark world. There was no sun in the sky; in fact there was no sky, how they could even see was a mystery to them all.
"That punk is going to pay for this." Electro cursed shooting off bursts of electricity into the air.
"And how do you propose to hurt a guy apparently made out of shadows?" Mysterio countered crossing his arms over his chest and apparently glaring at his electrified companion, you could never tell with that fish bowl on his head.
"No one is made out of shadows." Vulture countered in turn. "He merely has some control over them."
"Indeed he does." A lilting feminine voice remarked as a raven haired beauty wearing skin tight black leather joined the six.
"Hey, who's the babe?" Scorpion asked his eyes roving over her body lecherously.
"I am Talia, the Consort. You have already met Darkholme, the Source." She replied returning the lecherous stare with a coy little smile, Octavius did not like those terms or this woman; something about her made his blood run cold and he prided himself on being one of the evilest men on Earth.
"So we take out those mutant punks and we can go home right?" Electro asked looking more then ready to do just that.
"That is Darkholme's game, mine is infinitely more complex. However if you can go along with his whim, for me?" She murmured swaying her hips suggestively, two out of the six men reacted as would be expected; the others regarded Talia warily she had yet to reveal her specialty other than feminine wiles. "I can make it amply worth your wile." She added with a tiny wink; Mysterio eyed the woman studying her carefully so as not to be noticed, there was something slightly familiar to him about her and yet he couldn't place it.
"I say we do it, I always wanted to crush that arrogant jerk Magneto." Scorpion stated his tail thrashing eagerly for a kill.
"Since we have no way home but to play along with this game I suggest we do as the lady wishes." Toomes remarked taking the others by surprise.
"It's settled then, see you when you win." Talia stated with a sexy smile before she vanished as suddenly as she'd appeared, Octavius turned to eye Toomes.
"What are you playing at old man?" He demanded his metal arms dragging him over to Toomes so he appeared to loom over him.
"Simple really Octavius; that is our only option, who knows perhaps those zealots can aid us in escaping here once we finally meet up." Toomes voiced aloud eliciting a rare genuine smile to cross Octavius' lips; he was beginning to like the way Vulture thought when cornered in such a fashion.
After a leisurely stroll around the grounds with Rogue, Scott and Jean, which constituted as a double date; I once again found myself in the Professor's study. Josie apparently hadn't moved from that spot, but she had managed to collect herself; this time there wasn't too much resistance, in fact I found myself within her mindscape bare moments after we began. This time unlike the last there was an actual picturesque scene; the last time had been nothing, but a world broiling with dark colors of reds and blacks roiling emotions. This time I found her sitting at the side of a lake on a calm cool spring day dangling her legs off the pier; she was wearing something different, instead of her Circuit Breaker costume she was wearing a red and green turtleneck of festive design and faded blue jeans.
"My grandma made it for me." She offered mournfully plucking a few stray strands of grass and letting the wind take them dancing away. "We used to be real close all of us, but after I got my job with Blackrock." She trailed off, this was a vast departure from our first session; could she have progressed so rapidly in a few hours time?
"So is this so I let my guard down or are you ready to listen?" I wondered taking a seat beside her and wishing I had empathic skills like Troi; she looked up with that same fire and glared daggers at me.
"Why are you doing this inside my mind? Why not just talk to me in the real world?" She hissed scooting farther away from me, I sighed wearily; counseling was not in my job description, but my logical mind sometimes took over and gave me funny ideas.
"The mind is a very fragile thing, easily damaged physically or psychologically. When Shockwave attacked the oil platform all those years ago and destroyed your body he also caused you to suffer a great trauma. Your body wouldn't talk to us; at least not honestly, it's practically running on autopilot consumed by hatred, fear and the need for petty revenge." I explained looking out appreciatively at the calm stillness of the lake.
"So a powwow with my mind will do what?" She demanded flicking a spider away without conscious thought; for only being a memory in her mind this was very vividly detailed.
"Hopefully break through your barriers, heal you internally so you can focus on healing externally." I elaborated slapping in surprise at a mosquito on my shoulder.
"How could you help me? What could you possibly know about my suffering?" She snapped rising to her feet and balling her hands into fists; I glared right back at her and willed my tendrils to appear in the mental world, protracting them I let them play across the water creating numerous ripples.
"Remember you are not the only one ever to be hurt, at least your demons merely took away from you." I revealed playing them along her body in a purely businesslike manner; she recoiled from their touch in object disgust as my image now wavered between man and more than man. For once I acknowledged my Borg heritage if only to better share the monsters that had transformed me; and in so doing my mental self transformed physically, gone was my normal clothing in its' place was the odd form fitting armor of the Borg drones.
My skin grew pale, my left eye covering itself with an optical implant; my lower left arm vanished replaced with a whirring, whirling claw apparatus of unknown design. My hair fell out and tiny scars appeared until they became odd accoutrements of unknown type, much like those seen on numerous Borg; when I stood before her as the drone I could have become she stumbled back in fear. I took a few steps toward her my attachments whirring and clicking; a tiny malicious smirk playing across my lips as after all I still retained my individuality.
"We are the Borg, our one goal is to achieve technological perfection; to achieve said goal we assimilate new species and technologies into our collective. We have no individual wills, no individual minds, we serve our queen without question. Ever loyal, ever vigilant for new species to add to our own." I recited a sort of doctorate that best described the Borg my voice sounding strangely different, most likely the nanoprobes helping me convey this message; one that was still part of their deep rooted programming, though it was benign in my form. I changed back into my true human form with a shudder and rubbed my arms as if to stave off a chill; what I could have become terrified me, and still haunted my nightmares on the rare occasions I dreamt normally.
"You see; I'm not from Earth Nine Twenty-Nine, as those who oversee the Omniverse call it. I am a traveler; lost in the Omniverse itself, I don't want to get into everything, but when I was serving aboard Voyager the Borg captured me to test a new strand of their assimilation technologies. It's how I became what I am; how I transformed into this, technorganic life form." I elaborated with a tired sigh, this exposition crap was driving me batty the more people I met and had to tell, but if it got her to trust me. She had lost her fiery temper, now she seemed even calmer and more subdued then when I first arrived; perhaps all she'd needed all along was something like this, then again for all I knew this was all a ploy to keep me guessing while she plotted escape and revenge.
"You didn't want revenge for what they'd done?" She wondered her tone barely audible.
"I got my revenge, I got it in spades; it didn't change what they'd done to me and it sure as hell didn't make me a better person just because I hurt them." I replied with a knowing smirk. "Vengeance is never the solution; it will only lead to greater suffering in the long run."
"Al the time is up I'm afraid." Xavier once more interjected in a strained voice, I acknowledged with a nod and once more returned to the study; it was surprisingly dark we had been talking longer then I expected and my stomach rumbled its' complaint at almost missing dinner. I glanced over at the wayward patient, she seemed more subdued here as well; the Professor rolled over to his desk and turned the lamp on, he wasn't looking too good.
"Is she putting up even more of a struggle?" I wondered in concern.
"It isn't her, not just her. You aren't exactly a normal man; you use one hundred percent of your brain due to the higher functioning protocols of your nanoprobes." He replied in a weak tone; I took a step towards him as if to try and help him, but then thought better of it.
"I didn't realize." I offered by way of apology. "I tend to forget I can access it all; photographic memory, total recall if you will… Maybe I should ask Amy if she could lend us some help; her mind is already linked to mine and it does have the advantage of being Technorganic Borg in origin." I mused aloud; Xavier shook his head and beckoned me over, I nodded understandingly and moved to take hold of his wheelchair's handlebars, or whatever they're called. As I wheeled him out of the room Jean came in to see to Josie's needs; I would have to fix those earrings though, it was cruel denying her the gifts she'd made to help out her condition and part of me knew it.
"A nice meal and relaxing evening should help." He returned with a tired smile. "You're making good progress, when I had Logan as a patient it was several weeks before he was sociable enough to even meet the others." He whispered conspiratorially as we neared the kitchen, I grinned welcoming the compliment.
"Looks like I found a good side job if the hero gig doesn't pan out." I quipped with a chuckle. "Psychologists get a lot of pay too." I added; we passed by the kitchen now heading for the informal dinning room, apparently there'd be a lot of us eating home tonight, including Betsy and Warren.
Illyana, Kitty and Jubilee were sitting at the table already giggling over something, Piotr and Remy had been drafted into setting the table as I placed the Professor at the head; and Warren, Bobby and Betsy were all watching or maneuvering the dishes around for better arrangement. Xavier smiled at his children as they worked in tandem; Scott, Jean and even Josie joined us the latter seated in one of Xavier's old wheelchairs, she looked decidedly uncomfortable about dining with the rest of us, Logan came in while I wondered what I should do.
"Yo Kilowatt this came for you." He stated tossing me an envelope made out of ordinary white paper, the Extensive Enterprises logo was clearly visible on the front and a tiny Cobra seal kept the envelope closed; this must have been official business then otherwise they'd never risk mailing something so blatantly tying them to Cobra.
"What's it say Mon Ami?" Remy asked placing a plate and cutlery in front of the Professor; I scanned the letter quietly wondering if I should tell them, but not telling them last time had got me in hot water with Rogue.
"From the offices of Tomax and Xamot, CEO's of Extensive Enterprises; to Allan Rutherford, unaffiliated associate of mutual business partners." I recited aloud as Ororo, Hank and Nightcrawler joined us unobserved. "We are still displeased with your choice, but the head of our organization honors all debts and new information has recently fallen into our possession pertaining to the party you wished us to locate. A representative will contact you on the tenth of August; expect her promptly, and do give our regards to your lovely girlfriend, many are deeply apologetic as to her sustained injury at the hands of the mercenary." I finished with clear disgust in my tone and gritted teeth; crumpling the letter I sorely wished I could zap it with a fireball or something, but it might prove useful to GIJoe.
"The tenth of August is a week away." Bobby spoke up pointedly; I nodded at that.
"You can not let the woman in; she would probably be delivering a bomb." Ororo stated taking her seat; I shook my head at that as I shoved the crumpled letter into a back pocket.
"It's legitimate Storm; otherwise his high and mighty wouldn't have bothered with the letter façade." I countered taking my own seat at the table. "Besides; they know what I'm capable of, and if they think they're safe from me, they are sorely mistaken… Especially if they ever thought to harm any of you, or those at Starlight Mansion." I added with a little sigh. "Still; no harm in contacting Flagg, it might be advantageous to build up a good standing with GIJoe." I finished as Rogue passed through the doors.
"Dinner's ready." She announced placing the steaming covered plate onto the table.
"Most fortuitous timing my dear, I'm so hungry I could stomach one of Neelix's more elaborate dishes." I quipped clapping my hands together in anticipation and sub-consciously attempting to lighten the mood; the others settled down for dinner and the Professor chose to say a few words, though I wouldn't exactly call it grace.
Mystique eyed the meager offerings and sighed in a mixture of disgust and exasperation; it had been what appeared to be a full two days of this with no sign of the Six, as usual Sabertooth tore into his share of the meal and was finished in seconds. Pyro heated his share up with a controlled burst of flame; the others were forced to eat theirs cold, considering these were leftovers.
"This creature, if he's a man or a mutant or something worse I can't tell; is a worse taskmaster than Sinister." Avalanche muttered taking a swig of whatever it was he was drinking.
"And you would know." Mystique countered gulping down her meal in disgust; Avalanche replied with a belch and reached for Blob's share only to be knocked backwards.
"You've had your share, beat it." Blob growled beginning to eat; Magneto watched all of this with a detached air, he despised this current predicament it reminded him of the camps he was forced to live in when he was a young boy. Perhaps that was the point; yes to teach him, no remind him of such atrocities; to make him hostile towards everyone. Well he would not give them the satisfaction; they could subjugate him all they wanted he would never forget who the true enemy was, he just wished there was a sun in this strange shadow world.
Octavius regarded the returning form of Toomes with slight interest, the older man's scouting missions hadn't turned up any sign of Magneto yet, what would be different about this time?
"A most disturbing location, our goals would usually result in the city's destruction. But after seeing this twisted vision…" Mysterio trailed off leaving his thought unfinished.
"Makes yah think." Scorpion voiced kicking the head of a stone gargoyle aside in obvious trepidation.
"No profit in this." Electro remarked eyeing the crumbling edifice of the first national bank. "Makes you appreciate the wall-crawlers efforts, for a minute at any rate." He added with a twisted smile, Toomes landed and gulped a swig of the water offered him by Octavius; flying in this dust was murder.
"I found them, finally, they're holed up in the Bronx. Some old night club." He revealed through gasps of semi-fresh air.
"About time, now we can put an end to this foolishness and return to dealing with what really matters." Octavius exclaimed his eyes flashing behind his sunglasses with pure animosity.
"Your proposition is a most acceptable one Cobra Commander; I shall send the ablest of my men to aid you." The unseen leader of the Decepticons stated agreeing with Cobra Commander's offer; the Commander nodded a smile spreading across his lips hidden beneath his battle mask.
"Thank you for the assistance Megatron." He returned; their established communication line had been in existence since the old alliance days, when both Decepticons and Cobra believed they could work together. The unseen leader smiled; and nodded before cutting off the communication on his end, Soundwave turned to him and regarded him thoughtfully.
"Why not inform the Commander as to who you truly are lord Galvatron?" He asked; Galvatron smirked as he sat back in the throne and re-activated the lights in the room now that the communiqué was over with.
"Because I intend to keep my existence a secret until our final attack on the people of this planet Soundwave, now; go get Skywarp and the others, I have a job for them." He ordered; Soundwave nodded and left the throne room of the only stable base of operations the Decepticons possessed, all the others had been lost, but since the Autobots had trouble navigating under water the base Megatron had ordered constructed years ago was a perfect fall back spot for planning new missions.
"Soon; Optimus Prime and that pathetic human will die by my hand, the inevitability of my one true destiny can not be denied." He mused to himself; unseen he was being watched, but not by anyone of the living world, the essence fumed silently. And yet the communiqué between Galvatron and Cobra Commander had given him an idea; all he had to do was figure out how to reach Cobra Island from here, and then… Revenge!
The tiny vehicle owned by Rogue pulled up to the landmark Mansion and I smiled at the slight familiarity of the place; it was a grand establishment to be sure, bearing partial resemblance to the only version I'd ever known, the Fox Kids Avenger's Cartoon interpretation, but admiring it was not why I was here. We were ushered into the building by a proper English butler; Jarvis was his name, but I didn't pay much notice to him so filled with awe and wonder was I upon seeing Avenger's Mansion for the first time. It was strikingly different from Xavier's; and definitely alien compared to the Starlight Mansion, both of which had little to no modernization in the mansions proper. But here; you could tell the place had been refurbished time and time again as the place was broken up or destroyed by countless enemies, my practiced eye and internal sensors noted eight separate building styles accompanied with defense systems; and this was just in the foyer and main hall.
"Mister Rutherford, a pleasure to see you again." Steve Rogers greeted as he came out of practically nowhere and shook my hand quite vibrantly; then again Captain America most likely had plenty of experience with public relations.
"The pleasure is all mine, I'm here to see Tony… Ah, Mister Stark. I was told he was here by his secretary." I explained as Steve led Rogue and I further into the mansion.
"Yes, he and Giant Man are working on something in the lab." Steve acknowledged with a nod, he led the way at a brisk pace obviously unaware that my sensors tracked everything and recorded everything; we were being watched and apparently the Avenger's weren't as open with the trust issue as the X-Men were when it came to me. Entering the laboratory was akin to my first experience in engineering; there were countless oddities only this time my technological knowledge placed names with each one sub-consciously, consciously I just tried to ignore it. Tony and Henry Pym were in one corner with the Iron Man armor; it looked like someone had beaten it within an inch of making it Tony Starks' coffin.
"I don't think we'll be able to salvage it this time." Pym remarked grimly; I scanned the armor with a practical eye and was forced to concur with that assessment.
"Hello Tony I need to talk to you about procuring an experimental device." I greeted heading over to the two scientists. "I'd ask the Autobots, but I don't really trust Wheeljacks skills; half of his stuff tends to blow up and the other half about thirty percent of which fails to even activate, isn't too reliable either." I elaborated with a tiny smirk.
"Al… I mean Rutherford, hello. How do you deal with things like this when your armor gets' dented?" He asked barely registering my question; or so it would seem, I chuckled at that and held up my watch it had been such a long time since I'd had any practical use for it I'd forgotten about it.
"It's composed of metallic thread Tony; it assumes the functionality and density of body armor, but it isn't actually armor per-se. As such small dents, scratches and the like are automatically eliminated when it reverts to watch form." I explained trying to use a bare minimum of scientific lingo.
"Impressive, could you make Iron Man a suit like that?" He wondered crossing over to me and examining the watch.
"Well; I know the sciences behind constructing it, but I don't have a replicator handy." I replied running a few quick calculations through my head at nigh hyper speeds. "Still if you can craft me a reduction slash expansion unit I can sure give it a try the conventional way." I added with a grin.
"You want a shrink ray?" He wondered confused at my terms.
"No actually; what I need specifically is a device that can expand the size of an enclosed space, for example a person's bedroom. Make it bigger on the inside, but not change the physical outside of the house; you know kind of like building a cosmic walk-in closet." I elaborated doing my best to explain what I wanted precisely; without access to the Federation technologies I couldn't hope to replicate such a device myself, and this Marvel Earth was possibly the only place where the scientists could probably match my ideas with physical devices.
"That sounds like a challenge." Tony stated with a smile a twinkle of amusement flickering in his eye.
"I thought it'd pique your interest." I remarked with a chuckle. "I kind of thought of it after the fact; you see if I'm going to install Federation technology in my bedroom, temporarily until I can get enough money to build myself my own house. I'm going to need some method of hiding the modifications to the rest of my family." I added; Q had mentioned briefly once that time was standing still on Earth Prime, he'd been talking to Q at the time and not me, but my audios had still heard him. So I knew that even though years of physical change were occurring to me; for the rest of Earth Prime it would seem like mere minutes since I'd left.
"Well; I'll see what I can do Rutherford, and I'm sure Hank can help you find all the equipment you'll need to duplicate your armor." Stark returned eager to get to work on a new challenge; I smiled at that and moved over to a lab table to see about getting to work.
"Rogue you won't mind will you?" I asked; she smiled and shook her head.
"Ah'm sure Captain America can keep mah occupied; Ah've always wondered what this place looked like inside… After Ultron and Kang decimated it that last time." She returned; Steve smiled and offered his arm gallantly.
"Then by all means, follow me Madame." He returned gallantly; Rogue giggled and shot me a little wink before allowing Cap to lead her out of the room, Pym turned to me.
"So; what will you need?" He asked; and I got started listing off a string of technological devices that would be crucial in recreating the metallic thread of my Trans-Tech Armor.
Amy Chelerise Rutherford was bored; sure it was fun living in a house with so many new friends, but she missed her daddy a lot and Auntie Synergy as she'd started calling her wasn't the same comforting presence she needed. There was a deep rooted pain in her body; a pain she couldn't understand that plagued her whenever her father and she were separated.
But she managed to put on a brave face and ignore it; it helped that she could link to her daddy telepathically as she was doing now, listening to his thoughts as he worked on building the Trans-Tech Iron-Man Armor, or the Tran-Man Armor as he'd jokingly called it in his mind. She knew about Circuit Breaker and a lot of things, but she was being careful not to bother him; being not of this universe meant she could feel the churnings of Chaotic energies. They'd subsided while her father and she were staying at Starlight Mansion, but now something was making them grow and swell again; she was beginning to fear for the safety of her daddy. Still he could handle himself; there was no reason she should be so worried, and Q was always there to get them out of there if anything bad happened… Right?
Battle Android Trooper serial number Eight Five One was standing at attention next to his brethren awaiting orders when suddenly something passed into it and the faceless mask seemed to flicker as though gaining self-awareness. The head turned briefly to one side and spotted a parked Cobra Night Raven resting on the tarmac of the Cobra Island landing strip; the BAT stirred and slowly began making its' way towards the vehicle unobserved, it would make the perfect template for construction of a brand new body for the essence which had possessed BAT Eight Five One, and then Galvatron would pay for robbing him of physical form.
It took the better part of the day in the lab; and sometime during that time Rogue returned and moved to sit on the table Al was working at passing him tools, but otherwise distracting him with her shapely legs. By five thirty in the evening though everything was done and Al presented Tony Stark with a red and yellow watch that looked semi-similar to his own. The face held a standard watch face; without the Stardates function, or the built in communications device he'd included with his own armor, and it was a little chunkier then his, but for all intents and purposes it looked the same.
"I opted to forgo the verbal activation code; simply tap the program switch as if you were changing the time on your watch and it'll come out." He explained proudly; Tony nodded and hit the switch, within moments Iron Man stood in his place in a streamlined form fitting armor that looked like it could go ten rounds with the Hulk and still function. "The armor will function as a standard piece of equipment; and you can use it to attach any number of optional devices for interspatial flight needs, underwater exploration needs or even the famed Hulk-Buster Iron Man suit." Al elaborated starting to sound like Q from James Bond. "The flight systems and repulsor beams have been incorporated, but you'll have to tweak it a little to add any of the other standard Iron Man functions; I'll leave the blueprints behind so you know what you're doing, it's pretty straight forward really." He finished with a shrug.
"This is perfect." Tony exclaimed his voice sounding exactly like Iron Mans.
"It's programmed to respond directly to neural pathways in the brain; so you can add any pathways you want for whoever's going to wear it." Al added with a tiny smirk. "Oh and simply think it back into watch form to turn it off; Iron Man's going to have to be careful though in battle, the wrong thought could cause a lot of problems." He pointed out resting a hand on Rogue's bare leg and rubbing it slightly in a show of affection; Iron Man vanished instantly as Tony willed the armor back into watch form and grinned pleased with the outcome of their little technological exchange.
"Thanks Rutherford; this is definitely going to improve Iron Man's response time in the field." He returned. "What does it run on?" He wondered curiously.
"Standard solar power, but I imported a few power cells from my own armor in case somebody gets' the bright idea to block out the sun; Federation standard, should last about ten thousand years or so without needing a recharge." He replied with another shrug.
"Well, we'd better get goin' if we're gonna have dinner." Rogue remarked stifling a yawn; Al eyed her feeling guilty for ignoring her all day, except her legs half-way through and helped her down.
"Well here's your Relarger." Tony stated passing the tiny device to Al; the younger man quirked an eyebrow at that.
"Relarger?" He repeated mischievously. "You seriously need to consider a new naming department for Stark Enterprises Tony; you're devices are starting to sound too much like they're out of the sixties." He joked eliciting a laugh from Hank, Steve and Tony; Al smiled at Rogue as he stowed the device and together the two left the lab.
"Well; that was different, you really think this new Trans-Man Armor will do the trick?" Henry wondered turning to eye the watch on Tony's wrist; now that it had scanned his neurological pathways he could easily summon it without hitting the switch, in a flash Iron Man was once again standing amongst his peers.
"I guarantee it Hank; next time we come up against Ultron he won't know what hit him." He returned making a fist and testing out the strength enhancing abilities. "Iron Man is back and better than ever." He whispered smiling at his own corniness.
When we returned to the mansion I was surprised to find it mostly empty; Ororo told us that Logan and Piotr had taken Kitty, Jubilee and Illyana to the late showing of The Fantastic Five, Jean and Scott had gone off on their planned romantic weekend away, Bobby and Remy were cruising for chicks and Kurt, Hank and the Professor had left to visit Moira MacTagert on Muir island; which left only the four of us in the mansion counting Josie since Betsy and Warren had their own place in town. After a quick dinner I plopped down on my bed and rested my hands beneath my head as I contemplated the upcoming meeting with Cobra's representative; I had no idea what to expect, but my mission here might soon be coming to an end and I'm not sure I was ready to leave Rogue behind.
I was going to contact General Flagg in the morning; my trip to Avenger's Mansion had eaten up more time then I thought; still it had been worth it, the Relarger would be perfect to modify my bedroom and allow me to create my very own Batcave, as it were. Suddenly a knock came at the door; however I was so lost in thought it took three more tries before I realized someone was outside.
"Enter." I called forgetting briefly where I was; that was something I'd really enjoy again once I built my own house for Amy and me, automatic doors.
"It's customary to open a door for a lady." Rogue chastised though her smile negated the tone of her remark.
"Sorry; I forgot we don't have automatic doors for a moment." I explained with a sheepish smile as I climbed into a sitting position, Lisse looked so beautiful the way the light was shining in her hair and contrasting her almost creamy skin tone.
"Didn't yah think it was a little odd that Ororo and Josie were the only ones here Sugah?" She asked crossing over to the side of the bed and sitting with her back facing me; I smiled slightly and brushed a hand through her hair.
"They had legitimate reasons." I countered with a shrug. "Why, did Ororo say anything to make you suspicious?" I wondered turning fully on my side so I could look at her better; she smiled secretively, as if she knew something.
"No, but Ah know these people too well; Ah'm sure the Professah had a legitimate reason, but Ah think Kitty and Jubilee talked the others into giving us some alone time." She explained a nervousness in her eyes I couldn't see due to our positions; I contemplated her words, but couldn't decipher the strangeness of her tone just yet.
"I find it hard to believe Logan or Scott willingly giving us that time; they're very protective of the team, and Logan seems to be really protective of you." I remarked; something about the way she was speaking in that low, tense tone made me switch automatically into a soothing tone of my own, it also made me start to wonder just who had talked who into giving us our time.
"Jean can be quite persuasive and Logan might not have known." She countered; seemingly withdrawing suddenly sliding down to the foot of the bed and away from my touch. I was growing concerned; and not to mention confused rising from the bed I floated around to look her in the eyes.
"Hey; is something wrong? I mean if its' about ignoring you all day…" She reached out to grasp my hand and looked nervously up at me.
"It's not that Sugah, yah were busy and Ah understand that." She replied stroking my hand. "Ah also understand what that letter from Cobra means; we might not have much time left together and Ah want tah ask yah somethin' and Ah don' want yah tah make a quick decision." She revealed her accent so thick I knew this had to be big; I knew exactly where this was going though, she'd given me a big clue and despite my experience in the matter thanks to Serenity part of me got really nervous. I loved this woman; I didn't want to hurt her, but I also could see that she wanted some things that normal people took for granted and I knew that if it made her happy in the end even for a few months our relationship couldn't destroy her spirit or her heart in the long run.
She lost her nerve though and couldn't seem to get the words out; leaning closer she whispered her request in my ear, despite knowing it was coming the way she'd said it just blew into me like a freight train. My eyes widened ever so slightly in shock and I lost my concentration causing me to crash to the floor; I looked up into her startled eyes and gaped like a fish struggling for the right words. She flushed a vivid shade of red and made to leave, but I caught her wrist with one of my tendrils and finally found the right words to express myself.
"I would be honored to take this relationship to such an intimate level alongside you Annalisse." I returned ever so softly; she smiled at that and I held up my hand. "But first I'd better tell Amy to close our link." I added with a chuckle.
"Done and done Daddy, have a good night." Her tiny voice interjected giggling internally; my face flushed slightly then and I squirmed a little.
"She acts too much like an adult sometimes; and scares me when she lets a little of her aunt Serenity in." I began to mutter.
"Shut up and kiss me." Rogue whispered with another smile, I regarded her mischievously; she'd just used one of the oldest lines in the book, pulling her into my arms I kissed her. We remained locked together in that moment for what seemed like a long time, I felt her hands roving all over my body; boldly in certain cases as she removed my shirt and I did the same to hers. Knowing we most definitely wouldn't want to be disturbed I had the foresight to lock the door while we were landlocked, so to speak; I just prayed Lisse wouldn't be too loud as to attract Ororo's attention. Using my tendrils I flicked the lights off while she unbuckled my belt and I used my hands to remove hers; by now we were floating off the floor, though I couldn't tell if she was the one levitating us or if I was, so lost in the passion was I.
She pulled away now the heat of the moment wearing off a tad; somehow or other I'd gotten her bra and panties off and her socks were dangling from my tendrils, the cover of darkness hid my flushed face for I had really lost my breath during that kiss and judging by her gasps so had she.
"Lie back and close your eyes." I whispered through an interval of short gasps; she eyed me nervously in the low light from the moon, but my smile was one of trusting and so she did as I suggested. Slowly I began the first steps of getting her aroused; in my case it wasn't a question of necessity, a blessing from the nanoprobes rather then a curse. Gently running my index finger along her shoulder, down her chest across her stomach and ending at her thigh I traced out a pattern along her skin; feeling the rise in temperature of her body heat as it began to grow stimulated.
I repeated this process a few times using my right and left index fingers intermittently; tiny gasps of pure bliss escaped her lips, I knew this would garner the response I'd been hoping for, after all physical contact was so alien to her the slightest intimate touch must undoubtedly drive her wild with desires. First I started on the outer areas of the body; such as her shoulders, outer thighs, hair, cheek or lips, then I started getting bolder touching her breasts, nipples, inner thighs and even briefly the vaginal region. While both hands were busy tracing a line down her arms my left tendril suddenly snapped into action and gently caressed her breast eliciting a startled little gasp from her and a mischievous smile from me, but her gaze took on one of disquiet.
"Not those, please Sug; it ain't right." She insisted bringing a slight guilty feeling to my mind.
"I'm sorry Lisse; I only meant to share every aspect of my being with you." I apologized stopping at once and retracting the offending limbs.
"Most men don't have extra limbs lahke that." She pointed out kissing my hand in the process. "It reminds mah of somethin' Ah saw in Japan once, and Ah didn't much care for it, but you know how persuasive Jubilee can get." She returned.
"Most men also don't have the ability to fly." I added with a smirk. "But if you don't want them…" I trailed off and grabbed her breast so suddenly, fondling it; that she gasped loudly and pushed us both into opposite positions so I now found myself on my back with her leaning over me.
"Ah want tah explore too Sugah." She teased touching my arms and stroking them both; she ran her hands over my chest memorizing every muscle, every hair with the tips of her fingers. While they moved down my chest and past the abdomen I continued to knead the tender flesh of her breasts, one hand slowly moving down her back to grasp her left buttocks; she stopped at my thighs unwilling to progress to what lay between them most likely and started back up moving her body into my touch. She pressed her entire body into mine as we kissed again; as we continued to explore the others' body I began to experience that feeling one has of being the only two people on Earth, the pure joyous bliss of becoming lost in the feelings of pleasure and unbridled passion. I had grown to truly love and cherish this woman; leaving her now would indeed be oh so difficult and painful, these thoughts intruded inappropriately into my mind even as I began to taste her flesh, sucking on the tit and hardening the nipple with my tongue.
Closing off my logical mind I allowed myself to run on pure lust; there was plenty of time to feel guilty and depressed about leaving Lisse behind after I'd given her the most wonderful passion filled night of her life, and so I vigorously attacked her clitoris with my tongue once again praying Ororo wouldn't hear us.
Darkholme observed in silent expectation as the Sinister Six approached the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; a misnomer really, Magneto and his allies were not truly evil, unless you counted Sabertooth, buy they were misguided in their beliefs. Each of the six members of both teams stood before the opposing team member of their choice; The Vulture faced The Blob, The Scorpion stood looming over Pyro, Chameleon nervously chose to stare down Sabertooth, Electro challenged the deadly vixen Mystique, Mysterio stood; or rather hovered before Avalanche and Doctor Octopus regarded the Master of Magnetism himself.
"So you choose to play this game, I might have known." Magneto cursed his treatment the past few days had been gradually getting to him; that was something Darkholme enjoyed the most, the fact that time passed faster within the Shadow Realm… At least while he and his dear Consort Talia manipulated the magic's of this place.
"We come to discuss strategy against Darkholme." Doc Ock retorted, Mystique bristling at the name; not many knew her real name was Raven Darkholme and it upset her that someone was using that name to hide behind. "Twelve against one is preferable odds." He elaborated with a smile.
"And how can we trust common street thugs?" Avalanche scoffed his eyes flaring slightly; he'd been one once so he really shouldn't have had the right to place judgment on these six, but super powered criminals gave genuine mutants a bad name in the public eye.
"Watch it pal." Electro chimed. "Several million volts'll still cease that superior genetic heart of yours." He threatened energy crackling around his person.
"No arguments." Octavius countered bringing one of his tentacles bare inches towards smashing Electro's skull in. "We have a far deadlier opponent to contend with."
"Indeed you do." Darkholme whispered before he unleashed a volley of mystical flames in secret at Scorpion.
"You little firebug, I'll squash yah like I aim to squash Spider-Man!" He cried charging the surprised mutant; that was the cue and all bets were off, this contest began with a roar. Avalanche set the Earth to trembling; however Mysterio proved immune considering his ability to hover off the ground due to some unknown device in his suit, he blinded the mutant with flash powder bursts and slammed him in the face with a hard right.
Sabertooth charged Chameleon a feral grin on his face, the global spy had no true defense against such a brutal killing machine; Sabertooth however enjoyed toying with his victims and thus merely broke the man's arm in the first assault. Blob wasn't so lucky; he tried to smash the Vulture out of the air, but the old man was swifter and the mutant soon toppled to the ground blood spurting across his jugular, the first kill went to the Six Darkholme was indeed quite pleased. Electro was firing blasts of electricity every which way, but Mystique had apparently vanished; instants later she reformed from the mouse she'd become directly behind the lightning rod and viciously assaulted him. After several high-speed kicks Electro was too dazed to defend himself, she flipped backwards wrapping her legs around his neck and twisted; his lifeless eyes stared out into the abyss, the living battery was out of juice.
The battle was brutal; hard and fast, with no quarter given, no wound gone unpunished. Sitting in the shadows Darkholme watched with glee eagerly anticipating what was to come; a veritable bloodbath as the powerful villains fought and died all for a cause they couldn't understand. Unseen; living tendrils of dark red energy coursed into Darkholme with every passing moment, the pure energies of Chaos itself becoming one with his person and altering his physical appearance further, though apparently he was unaware of it. Doc Ock was hurled through the air by Magneto; he managed to grasp the mutant's leg for the briefest of instants wrenching it painfully, but when you have four metal arms strapped to your back fighting a guy who could control magnetism wasn't a very smart move. Scorpion's acidic tail coated Pyro's flamethrowers and he followed up with a vicious slam across the chest that sent him careening into the air; he collided with the tumbling form of Octavius and the madman lashed out instinctively caving the poor mutants' skull in with one metallic tentacle.
Sabertooth was just finishing off the Chameleon who hadn't put up much of a fight sadly; perhaps due to the unseen manipulations of Darkholme's terror spell when a brilliant flash of light blinded everyone, once Darkholme could see again he was furious.
"What have you done Talia?" He demanded the shadows growing around him.
"The forces we wish to harness will soon be at hand, I had to end the game otherwise we would miss our opportunity." She explained her eyes flashing dangerously; Darkholme cowered at that glare as he realized he'd gone too far with her.
"Forgive me." He began falling to his knees before the woman. "My mistress." He intoned bowing his head; the woman smiled darkly at the moniker, long had she allowed her slave the pleasure of playing the part of master while she cowed herself submissively, but now. Now that they were so close to achieving their ultimate victory; now was the time to put him back in his place, she hadn't culled him from the multitude of students back home because of his good looks after all.
"Always lover, now come we have some time yet and I ache for your touch." She returned a twisted smile blossoming on her lips fully; his eyes gleamed and he produced a gateway to their inner sanctum instantly.
"Then let me soothe your ache mistress." He stated in a lecherous tone.
Annalisse lay nestled in the crook of my arm after the fact, though she was not asleep yet despite our exhaustion; perspiration still glistened on my well muscled torso. She looked up at me with a tired content little smile so infectious I couldn't help to return it.
"Thank yah." She whispered as I continued to stroke her hair.
"Nay; it should be I that gives thanks." I countered. "You have been just what this battered soul needed to not only remember the good of the world, but also to spread some joy and dispel the ache that is loneliness brought on by homesickness." I paused a look of sadness creeping upon me. "But I sense a change coming; I fear our time grows ever shorter as my mission slowly draws to the inevitable conclusion." I revealed with a mournful sigh.
"Hush my love." She intoned startling me slightly with such strong endearment; she curled up tighter to me and gently kissed me. "Don't trouble yourself about these things; Ah know what's comin' and Ah'll be by yahr side every step of the way." She whispered; her words soothing my troubled soul, I smiled lovingly at her and brushed her auburn hair from her eyes allowing it to cascade down her shoulders. Kissing her forehead I found my eyes drooping heavily with fatigue and my last sight of her was one of such profound peace, comfort, blissful happiness and love; I knew she was going to be all right when I left this universe. Then I slept and my night would be one of dreams of her strong presence and mine intertwined in the art of lovemaking; Annalisse would always be special to me and part of me hoped that she would not only cherish our time together, but be able to experience this happiness again with another.
Talia moved silently into the sacrificial chamber; here was where the spell would be unleashed, here was where all of the chaotic magics they'd been gathering would bear the fruit of their labors and the world, no the entire universe would become theirs. Bowing low at the altar she reached out with her gift and touched the one whom had contacted her all those years ago; teaching her the forbidden art of the shadow magic, darkest of all magics on Earth.
"Janus; hear me oh master, all this I do for you." She whispered; instantly the presence filled her mind, almost overwhelming her.
"Is the sacrifice ready?" The Roman God asked; Talia smiled.
"Yes oh dark one; the energies we have collected are now one with Darkholme, once I have the catalyst that is the Autobots' invention I shall be ready to unleash the spell of chaotic upheaval." She whispered; the dark one seemed to smile and for a moment she thought she saw his face.
"Good, good; you have no qualms about killing your mate?" He demanded; Talia shuddered and lowered her gaze in shame.
"There is a part of me that will miss him, but as you said I can always resurrect him once I control the universe." She returned softly; Janus chuckled darkly.
"Of course, of course; you have done well my servant, rest now for soon the very fabric of reality will be yours to control." He returned; Talia smiled once more desire for power changing her expression to one of ugliness despite her beauty, and with another bow she felt the presence vanish, she would not fail him, her true master and the only one who would ever hold control over her.
To Be Concluded…
Epilogue
Tarantulas cackled madly as Unicron ceased communication with the frail human woman; he had heard every word, and it had amused him greatly the thought of that woman perhaps discovering that her real master was in fact the only true God of Chaos, Unicron.
"Primus has Cybertron as his followers; though there are few who swear oaths of allegiance to me in dark corners of the planet, Earth and Cybertron have always been linked because Earth is where my followers exist." Unicron remarked casually explaining a truth to Tarantulas as though he didn't already know this; most likely for the ever observant Watcher's benefit, the Watcher might not yet know this one small truth.
"Set, Janus, Loki those Gods who dabble in the art of Chaos are all my pawns; for I am the only true God created by Chaos itself at the dawn of time, Tarantulas I have business to see to on Cybertron One Thousand Three Hundred. While I am gone keep Tripredacus training for the day he will face Primus' avatar." The dark one ordered; Tarantulas bowed his head.
"Yes lord Unicron." He returned cackling once more. "This contest on Cybertron One Thousand Three Hundred; will I perhaps be forced to join it one day?" He wondered; Unicron shook his head.
"No; after all I have a far more delicious task in mind for you my follower." He returned; Tarantulas nodded and laughed manically as Unicron's presence left the mighty planetoid body that was his physical representation and his spirit journeyed far into the body of Cybertron One Thousand Three Hundred's long dead Unicron. And as usual the Watcher watched in silence; recording these events, long had he known that Unicron held sway over the Chaos followers of Earth, but such was the nature of the business. The Watcher knew however that Unicron would not be present for ever; the very nature of his existence ensured that fact and negated all other outcomes, the Dark God of Chaos, or Harbinger of Chaos as he was also known would one day face the God of Light in the ultimate clash, and upon that day… Unicron would no longer threaten another living soul in the Universe designated Earth Nine Hundred Twenty-Nine.
TO BE CONTINUED: Have I interested all my readers? Have I tantalized them with secrets? Or perhaps other things? It seems we are finally nearing the end of this little detour on the road of Alain's training; ah yes he is training still if you'll recall should you be following since the beginning of this series of tales. Soon we shall reach the end of this fight to preserve Earth 929; a fight that our hero unwittingly has become more invested in then he might ever know, and then he can complete the training God set forth for him and make his journey back to Earth Prime to face his Destiny.
Keep your eyes peeled for the next exciting story; the last in the Marvel Earth 929 series for some time, for soon you shall bear witness to the event that all of this has led up to as our hero faces the FINAL CHAOS!!! Who are Darkholme and Talia really? Can they be defeated? Will they be stopped? Why must Unicron constantly make appearances? And if Alain is to succeed in thwarting his enemies plans where then will he go to complete his training and what task on Earth Prime must he do to fulfill his Destiny? And when will poor Amy be reunited with him? All of this shall be answered in due course, but for now I leave you all to enjoy this tale and do please leave some reviews, let me know if this one piece satisfied your cravings for action and intrigue and the like.