Under the flood lights the Air Botswana Jet touched down on the tarmac of Maun International Airport. After a few minutes after the plane had stopped the doors opened and a set of steps was pushed up to the BAE 146 allowing the passengers to disembark from the plane. One passenger in particular stood out from the others, her dark green hair tied into a French Braid that brushed the back of her T-Shirt that had the Africa First Logo emblazoned on the front. Shivering slightly she headed to the terminal with all the other passengers. From the shadows away from the main runway the HYDRA agent assigned to watch the airport transmitted the data back to the forward command post buried deep in the nearby Okavango Delta.
"Madam Hydra," the agent addressed the small screen attached to the Accelerated Pulse Rifle he carried, "The target has arrived."
"Good," the woman replied, "Commander Kraken link up with the rest of your men and get ready to move on my command. Remember the target is not to be engaged until I give the command, and above all the items she stole from us must not be damaged or Baron Strucker will have your head."
"Understood Kraken disengaging." the HYDRA agent replied slipping away from the airport.
After a forty five minute wait at the airport to get through customs and reclaim her baggage the green haired woman left the building towing a bag and clenching a cub of coffee as she headed to the rental line to pick up a car, she would almost certainty return it tomorrow, but due to exhaustion it was a lot easier then walking home. After leaving JFK almost twenty four hours ago she had only a ten minute drive before she was home. Yawning the woman downed the rest of her coffee and slipped into the driver's seat of a battered Opal Astra. Switching on the internal lights she swore as she realised that whoever had last driven the car had almost completely drained the fuel tank. Removing a wooden case from her bag the woman slid out of the driver's seat and walked round to the back of the car and opened the fuel cap before sliding the lid of the case back to reveal a hideous looking device comprised of needle tipped tubes connected to a flamethrower nozzle. Wincing in pain she stabbed the primary feeder tube into one of the old partially healed scars on her arms the needle sinking into the vein underneath. Securing the straps the woman fired the bizarre wrist mounted weapon into the car for around twenty seconds before closing the fuel cap and heading back to the car. Looking at the fuel gage, the needle now sat at the half full marker on the dial, more then enough to get her home. Starting the engine the woman left the lit terminal and headed into the dark African night towards home.
Ten minutes later the Opal Astra pulled off the dusty road towards an old ranch house with a stainless steel fence tipped with razor wire surrounding the property. Pulling up to the drive the woman stopped an armed guard carrying an AK-47 walked up to the driver's window.
"ID please?" the man asked.
"Here you go Nelson," the woman replied handing him her passport, the wrist gauntlet flashing in the security light. The man opened the passport and smiled a massive grin on his dark face.
"Ms. Williams nice to see you back, how was New York." Nelson said cheerily.
"You don't want to know." the woman commented, "And how many times have I told you to call me Tate. Your practically family Nelson you know that?"
"Just remaining professional," Nelson answered, "its good your home, we have had some trouble recently with General Marani, his men have been attacking the convoys full of malaria tablets and other medicines and then have been ransoming back the drivers."
"Marani is getting desperate if he's resorting to kidnapping aid worker, the Botswanan Armed Forces and the SADF must be closing the net." Tate stated, "What happened to the drivers are they safe."
"Five were rescued by the military, one is dead, the doctor sent a letter of condolence and the usual compensation package." Nelson answered, "I won't keep you any longer you look like your going to drop any second from exhaustion."
"Thank you Nelson, I'll see you tomorrow morning." Tate announced.
"It's already morning," Nelson answered cheekily, "but I know what you mean, have a good night Ms. Williams."
Tate drove the Opal up into the grounds of her house, the front decorated with a sign bearing the Africa First Logo, a red Africa cupped in dark hands, before parking the rental car in the garage next to the pair of Yamaha Dirt Bikes and a Blue Toyota Hiluk. Removing the bag from the car's boot she locked the vehicle and headed through the door in the back of the garage into the house. Passing the staircase into the underground labs Tate slipped off her walking boots and trod across the cold kitchen floor past her snoring Saluki Hound Rosy and into the lounge where a man sat reading the paper under the spotlight.
"Morning Daniel." Tate said as the man looked up from the paper his eyes widening in surprise.
"Tate, thank the lord for a minute I thought you were her." Daniel replied getting up from the chair his muscles rippling under the spotlight as he gave her a four armed hug. "What are you doing back so soon?"
"Missions over, Osborne decided I wasn't needed." Tate replied as Daniel let her go, "I had to do a Viper impression while I was away and the damm hair dye won't come out, I've tried everything to remove it." she added. "How have Tara and Matthew been?" she asked.
"Reasonably well behaved, Matthew had a cold a few weeks back but nothing too serious. Tara got into a fight last week; she used her powers on a group of boys making fun of Matthew for being a mutant." Daniel explained, "I made her apologize and promise never to do it again."
"I worry about her at times. She just seems to go from being a well behaved girl to well, being like us when we were her age." Tate said sadly.
"We turned out alright in the end though." Daniel reassured her, "We have to hope she will as well."
"Are they awake?" Tate asked.
"Matthew is asleep, Tara is still up but every time I walk past I see her turn out the light and pretend she's sleeping." Daniel informed her, "Go, we have plenty of products in the inventory; we still have enough to last a few more weeks."
"Thanks Dan," she replied kissing him on the cheek, "Are you coming to bed?"
"Not tonight Tate, you look exhausted." Daniel answered. Tate crept up the stairs and passed the ornate double bed she shared with Daniel before closing the door to Nelson's quarters, hopefully the guard would be okay, despite his cheerfulness he knew too well how many people had died guarding this compound over the last eight months. Passing past Matthew's room Tate was tempted to sneak in and see her son but she wisely chose to let the four year old sleep. Up ahead the glow of a light could be seen under the door and Tate sighed, she had hoped that Tara would settle down but four years down the line and the ten year old still couldn't sleep the night. Tate guessed it was probably the nightmares, she remembered the ones she had after she defected to SHIELD of Strucker, Viper and the Red Skull and what they had done to her. As she turned the handle the light vanished as Tara used her powers to remove the light from the bulb and put it in the jar beside her bed, the speck floating like a lone firefly in the darkness.
Tate entered the room and went over to the sleeping form before whispering, "I know you faking."
"Mum?" Tara asked squinting in the twilight, "Why is your hair green and why do you smell like gasoline?"
"Had to fuel the car." Tate answered, "As for the hair I was dragged to a costume party, I dressed as She-Hulk and while the body paint washed off the hair dye hasn't yet."
"Have you finished working in New York?" Tara asked.
"Yes I won't need to go back for a while. Auntie Tasha sends her best though and says that next time we go to America she'll get us inside Avengers Tower for an exclusive tour." Tate told Tara. "Now I want to hear about the fight you had."
"It wasn't my fault; they were teasing Matthew for having powers." Tara said, "They were pushing him around calling him a mutant. I told them to stop but they wouldn't so I used my powers and burned them."
"You mustn't do that Tara," Tate chided, "you could have seriously hurt them."
"But they were picking on Matthew." Tara argued.
"I know Tara, listen you must promise me that you will never use your powers again." Tate replied seriously.
"But you use your powers all the time." Tara replied.
"That's because I use them to help people." Tate answered, "And to defend my family from very bad men."
"So that's what I did." Tara contradicted.
"It's different Tara, the people I use my powers on won't to hurt us, those boys maybe nasty and unfair but in the end they don't compare." Tate explained, "You have to promise me that you won't use your powers to hurt people no matter how bad it seems."
"Okay Mum." Tara replied, "I promise."
"Hmm," Tate sighed as she hugged Tara, "I missed you and your brother I'm never going to leave you again."
"One thing Mum," Tara asked, "I don't like you with green hair."
"Neither do I, trust me it will wash out." Tate assured her now try and get some sleep.
"The green hair makes you look like the mean bitch from the market yesterday." Tara told her.
"Get some sleep we'll talk at breakfast." Tate ordered as she closed the door. Behind her the room lit up, normally Tate would have told Tara to go to sleep but tonight she didn't feel like it. Her fatigue had melted away to a mixture of anger and fear in about equal amounts. Heading downstairs Tate found Daniel filling in the crossword who didn't look up as she arrived.
"Did you know Viper was in town?" Tate said angrily, the loudness of her voice causing Rosy to wake up from her sleep and paw at the cage door to greet her mistress.
"What?" Daniel asked.
"Tara saw a mean woman with green hair in the market yesterday." Tate told him, "Now did you know?"
"I didn't trust me I hate her as much as you do. If I knew that mother was back I would string her up from the front porch." Daniel answered angrily, "You forget that you not the only one that they tortured, we were both in the Ubermensch programme."
"I'm sorry David, I know that," Tate replied, "I just don't want HYDRA to take Tara back I won't let them turn her into a weapon like they did to me. It's bad enough that they started the programme back up after SHIELD destroyed it, I thought maybe we had stopped it when we took Tara from them but I guess when you cut one head off."
"Another grows in its place." Daniel finished, "I remember the training even after SHIELD kidnapped me and removed the programming. Whatever you decide to do Nelson and I will have your back."
"The thing is I may have to do what Fury wanted to do to Tara in the first place." Tate said stoically holding back the tears, "I may have to kill my daughter."
The characters of Tate Williams/Chemistro IV, Daniel Ward/Strongarm, Tara Williams, Matthew Williams and Nelson/Caracel are my own origonal characters and are not owned by Marvel Comics