Children of Tomorrow
Chapter 4: Welcome to the Vault
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or the Avengers but I do own the OC's, kinda...
-The Vault; January 14; 12:03 PM-
The Vault. A super prison built solely for the purpose of containing super humans. It was a 20 story maximum security building patrolled by the Guardsmen, Osborn's armored-men collection.
Inside were all types of prisoners. Shortly after the Hero Purge, Osborn made a deal with Magneto regarding the mutants still in America. The mutants were to be captured by the Guardsmen and sent to the Vault for processing to Genosha. Because of this, the numbers of mutants in Genosha have been rapidly increasing.
Other prisoners were either political prisoners or super humans. The political prisoners don't last very long but there are more of them than there are of the super humans.
The number one rule of the Vault: Don't piss off the Warden. Warden Hyde, to be exact. Osborn hired Hyde to oversee everything that happens in the Vault and Hyde did so with pleasure. Anyone caught out of line in the Warden's sight was immediately killed or sent to Extreme Isolation. The people killed were the lucky ones.
Ben Riley Parker was being transferred from his temporary cell to another one on the far side of the prison. He had his head drooped down and stared at the electric handcuffs he had on his wrists. His costume had been taken off of him and he was now wearing the standard Vault prison uniforms which were red jumpsuits with the Vault's prison logo on the left side. For once, he had no idea what to do. For Ben there was always a plan. But now it seemed hopeless. He was caught and there was nothing he could do without being shot. He sighed as one of the Guardsmen stopped him from walking.
"Warden Hyde,"one of them said. "We have the Parker kid here."
Ben lifted his head up to see the giant of a normal man, Mr. Hyde. The 8 foot tall man wore a dark green suit and dress pants. Complete with a black tie that looked extremely strange on him.
"To be honest," Ben started. "You look kind of awkward in that monkey suit, Mr. Hyde."
Hyde gently put his hand on Ben's shoulder, smiling. "You should show a little more respect boy." Suddenly he tightened his grip on the teenagers shoulder, making Ben drop to the ground. "If not, I will gladly show it to you." Hyde had a hideous smile on his face.
"Enough."
Hyde let go of Ben's shoulder and turned to his superior.
"That will be all Hyde."
Ben looked up to see a man in a black suit with his hands formally behind his back. "Osborn." Ben spat.
"Please," Norman offered a hand to help Ben up. "As much as our two families has been through together you should call me Norman."
Rejecting the hand, Ben stood up on his own.
Osborn retracted his hand. He then looked at Hyde and the other three Guardsmen behind him. "You can leave now."
"Sir, I don't think I should let you-." Hyde was interrupted.
"I said you should leave. Now."
Without another word, Hyde and his men left, leaving Ben and Osborn on the prison walkway. Osborn turned to his back facing Ben. "Follow me to your new home." He began walking. Ben didn't move. Osborn stopped a few feet in front of Ben. "I suggest you not try to run away. You have nowhere to go. And also, you should stay at least 12 feet behind me at all times or I will have you shot.
Reluctantly, Ben followed.
"You shouldn't see me as a bad guy here." Osborn said.
"I think I might have forgotten the memo that said it was opposite day. In which, case I must be the worst criminal in the world."
"Have you not seen what I've done for this country; for this world?"
"Yeah, you put it on the edge of World War 3. Speaking of that, how's that fight with Doom and Red Skull going? You still fighting over your favorite toy?" Ben said in a babyish voice. "What's it called again? The Sphere of Power? The Omni Cube?"
Norman Osborn stopped. "The Cosmic Cube, Mr. Parker."
Ben snapped his fingers. "That's it."
Osborn continued to walk. "I thought I killed your entire family. I thought I killed you."
"Obviously, you made a mistake."
"No. There are no mistakes. Everything happens for a reason. You lived for a reason. I killed your family for a reason."
Eager to stop Osborn from talking, Ben interrupted. "Alright, I get it. Why are you telling me this? You're just going to kill me anyway. What's the point?"
"Mr. Parker, you have yet to understand that I am not a monster. I am a visionary. Eventually you will die but not today. We have plans for you."
"A visionary? Try spychotic maniac. You killed hundreds and for what? For a throne on top of a wasteland!" Ben's tone changed drastically.
"The Hero Purge was just a means to an ends."
"What? You being in control of everything?"
"No. A much more important end. One that your uncomplex couldn't possibly begin to understand."
"Try me." Ben urged with a smile.
"You are well educated, I agree, but this is bigger than both you and I."
They walked in silence for a while. Ben started to notice all of the people in the cells. There were so many people in the cells and most of them probably didn't deserve to be here. He spotted one girl with solid black eyes glaring at him. "Please help…" She whispered behind the electric gates.
Ben looked away and kept following Osborn. There was more silence until Ben heard a voice in his head: "Don't be alarmed."
"What the hell?" Ben said aloud.
The President turned to Ben and gave a look of confusion before turning back around.
"I said don't be alarmed." The voice said again. "Did you not hear me the first time?" It suddenly became more feminine. "Look, he won't kill you which is good. I'm going to need you later."
"Wait, I don't-." A shard whisper in his head caused Ben to stop speaking. "Shhhhh!" Think it, don't say it."
Ben concentrated but more harsh words came to his head than nice ones. After sorting through all of the threats he came to a solid voice. "Are you a telepath?" Ben asked in his mind.
"Well… that among other things."
"Who are you?"
There was a silence. And then, "You can call me… Strange."
Strange? There was static. "Something's….. blocking me. I won't…. back in touch…. Signal…"
"Signal?" Ben thought. "What signal?" But the connection was cut off.
Norman Osborn stopped in front of Ben then turned to him. Behind Osborn were two Guardsmen standing next to an open, dank, empty cell. "I will be seeing you again Mr. Parker. Very soon." With that, Ben was thrown into the cell. Inside was one bed, a toilet, and a notebook and pen.
Ben stood up to look at Osborn walking away with one of the Guardsmen following while the other activated the electric cell doors. "Good luck climbing your way out of this one." The Guard said before walking away.
Ben walked to the bed and sat down. He looked at the handcuffs on his wrists. "You at least could have taken these things off!" He shouted. He then laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Strange."
-The Vault Courtyard; later that evening-
The Courtyard of the Vault was at the very bottom level, just above the basement that was so cleverly nicknamed "The Vault." The Basement held all of the technology, equipment, and gear that the prisoner had on at the time of their arrival into the prison. Weapons were the main category of the Basement. It was guarded around the clock and had only one entrance and one exit.
The Courtyard above was the only place the prisoners could get out of their cells and 'socialize.' It was 1 hour of the smallest piece of freedom the inmates got; besides cafeteria time of course. After that, it was back to their cells. Only the less violent and powerful inmates had clearance for 'Free Time.' The others had maximum security cells on the far east side of the Vault along with Extreme Isolation.
Above the Courtyard were thousands of cells surrounding it in a circular motion. The higher anyone looked up, the more cells you would see, sprawling into the dimly lit ceiling.
A black haired boy stared at the ceiling as he fell backwards onto his back. He was about 17 years old, tall and lean. As soon as he fell, he rolled out of the way, dodging another attack. He popped back up and landed a solid hit on the much older man attacking him. The man was much stronger than he was and a lot taller. The punch had little to absolutely no effect on him. If anything, it fed the man's anger. He wrapped the younger boy in a bear hug and squeezed, laughing as he did.
Other inmates cheered as they watched the fight. They circled the Courtyard, leaving only the very center of the space for the two fighters. They all had on the same red prison uniforms and all cheered and yelled at the fight. The Guardsmen sat and watched. Some of them even made bets on the winner.
Alex Rogers stood at the wall of the Courtyard, trying to ignore the chanting. He had his back to the wall and his hair over his eyes. He had been one of the newest arrivals to the prison and one of the most important. He overheard a few of the Guards saying that he shouldn't be touched.
The last thing he remembered was Damian hauling him down a street then he blacked out and woke up in a dark cell with the Warden watching him. Next thing he knew, he was here, watching a kid around his age being beat up by a man three times their age.
'Not much to do now.' Alex thought to himself. 'What can I do?'
He looked back to the fight to see the black haired boy being tossed around like a ragdoll. The boy was then thrown to the ground as he struggled to stand back up. The older man turned to the other inmates and lifted his arms up creating a roar of applause and cheering.
The boy finally wobbled to his feet. Taking the man by surprise, the boy shot himself into the air and kicked the man in the back of the head before flipping off. All that did was get the man's attention. In a rage, he charged at the raven-haired boy only to be uppercutted and punched in the gut.
The man staggered backwards before regaining himself but the boy leapt into the air again and spun around, connecting his heel with the man's jaw, making him crash to the ground.
It was silent. The prisoners watching all went slack jawed. The boy stood victorious and wiped blood from his nose. The room became loud again as the inmates cheered at the surprising victory. One of them stepped onto the previous battle area and helped the boy limp to a bench.
This boy was a tall and muscular african american. He looked a lot older than he actually was at 18. He pushed his way through crowds of shouting inmates and over to the bench on the wall.
"You sure know how to pick 'em." The tall boy said.
"Yeah well he was asking for it." The dark haired boy sat down on the bench and exhaled deeply. "Besides, I won didn't I?"
"Barely." The second boy sat down. "Look Drew, you should chill out before the Guards decide to put you in Isolation."
"I've been there way to many times to care Jay." Drew responded. That earned a frown from his friend. "Fine," Drew gave in. "I'll take it easy."
Jay stood up. "No you won't." They both laughed.
"Yeah. Most likely not." Drew stood up. There was a whistle. Drew nudged Jay. "Come on." They followed the group of inmates back to their cells.
Alex stood in the crowds as he was pushed and shoved around by the inmates trying to get back to their cells. It wasn't long before he was tossed out of the crowd and onto the floor. He laid there for a while. Obviously, he was frustrated.
"Well, well, well." A deep, rough voice spoke. "Look at the muck on the floor."
Alex stood up to see Mr. Hyde and two Guardsmen staring at him.
"I never thought I'd see the son of the great Captain America in person. Honestly, I thought you'd die out there before being sent in here." Hyde said.
"What's up with the special treatment?" Alex asked, disregarding Hyde's previous comment.
Hyde's grin turned into a large smile. "Osborn has requested that we keep you alive long enough to extract the Super Solider serum from you." Hyde leaned in closer to Alex's face. "How does that feel? To know that in a matter of days, we are going to drain you dry of your blood. And then we might even throw what remains of you into Tuesday's chili special."
Alex was definitely frightened but he wouldn't let Hyde have the satisfaction of him showing it. "Let them." Alex said. "At least I don't have to stay in the shit hole." Alex smiled.
Hyde frowned. "Take him to his cell." The Guards grabbed Alex's arms and lead him to his 'home.'
-Seren's location; 3:45 PM-
Seren slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't remember anything that happened the previous night. She rolled onto her back and saw Mjonir in front of her.
'Oh. That's right.' She thought to herself as memories of her failure flooded back into her head. She rubbed her head in frustration.
"Is that her?" A man asked from behind her.
Seren turned back to see a large group of armored men looking at her.
"What do you think dumbass?"
One of them leaned down in front of her. "Come on girl. Come on." He extended his hand to Seren.
"She's not a damned dog, you know." Another one said.
The armored man stood back up and turned to the others. "How do you want to get her up then?"
Seren grabbed her sword from off the ground and stood up weakily, causing the men to jump back and reach for their guns. "Hey!" One of them shouted. "You're coming with us."
Seren grit her teeth. "No."
"You don't have a choice." Another said.
Seren took in her surroundings. Their were at least 20 armored men around her and the Mansion's ruins looked as if it would crumble from a single move. She had to get back to Asgard somehow. To do that she had to find the 'rift' that brought her here in the first place. But first she had to get away from Osborn's lackeys.
"You hear me bitch?" The Guardsman in front of her called. "You don't have a choice!"
Before he could say anything, Seren slammed the butt of her sword into his helmet, shattering it on contact. The other Guardsmen started to shoot at her. She stepped behind a pillar and took cover. The bullets burrowed themselves into the brick pillar, created dust that spread and covered the floor.
After a few seconds, the firing ceased. The Guardsmen commander pointed to one of his men then to the pillar. The solider crept to the pillar and looked behind it to see it empty. "There's no one here, sir." He reported. Only a second later Seren appeared from the ceiling and grabbed the mans neck with her legs and flipped backwards, launching him through the wall behind them.
The Guardsmen stared to fire again, but Seren kicked the pillar she was hiding behind and it flew into the group of men!
Seren took the oppurtunity to run through the hole behind her and away from the men.
The Commander pulled himself from the bricks. "She's outside! Take her!" He shouted into his com link.
Seren ran outside only to be met with a larger group of Guardsmen and a helicopter. She gripped the hilt of her sword then ran into the mass. "Have at thee!"
She sped into one man, cutting his gun in half then kicking him in the jaw. Another man tried to hit her with his gun but was countered with a kick in the groin and a broken arm. Two men charged her but Seren leapt into the air, grabbed their heads and bashed them together. The others started to shoot, but Seren spun her sword around in circles blocking a majority of the bullets, but a few grazed her arms and legs.
'Can't keep this up forever.' She thought to herself. She then started to turn the circle into a funnel, blowing the men backwards and off their feet. Then she noticed the helicopter charging its guns.
Seren stopped her sword and jumped into the air, soaring towards the copter. The pilot pulled hard on the control lever. "Holy!" He shouted as he pulled the choper back. Seren landed on the window of the copter and rose her sword into the air. She slammed it into the window, breaking it an sending shards of glass everywhere.
Th pilot took his hands off of the controls to cover his face. The gunner next to him aimed at the asgardian. Seren jumped back into the air, avoiding the helicopter blades. She flew after the helicopter as it slowly descended.
Inside the helicopter the pilot struggled with the controls. "What's wrong?" The gunner asked.
"The controls are jammed! We're going down!" He shouted back. Before the could hit the ground, the started to rise again. "What the hell?" The pilot looked around in confusion.
Under the coppter, Seren flew underneath, resting the bottom of it on her back and arms. She lifted it further up to avoid hitting an incoming building.
"She just saved our lives." The pilot said in awe.
"Do you have power of te controls again?" The gunner asked, ignoring his own surprise.
The pilot checked the pqnels in front of him. "Yeah, why?"
"Turn on the electric hual." He said grimmly/
The pilot looked at him in shock. "She just saved our lives."
"We have a mission and oppurtunity." He said back. "Now turn it on." Sadly, the pilot pressed a red button on the controls.
With one final heave Seren pushed the copter upwards and prepared to let it go. But before she could the outside of the helicopter started to run with electricity. It froze her arms then ran down to the rest of her body, shocking her with volt after volt of electricity. Seren shrieked and pain before dropping to the streets below.
The rest of the soliders surrounded her. The commander stood closest to her, ordering the chopper down for pick up. "She's not getting up this time."
As the copter came down, one of the other soliders approached the commander. "Sir, we report no casualties."
"She sliced through our men but didn't kill anyone?" The commander asked.
"Right sir." He responded. "It's as if she intended on avoiding any major organs."
The commander looked at the unconcsious Seren being picked up and placed in a container unit. "Wierd."
-The Thunderbolts Head Quarters in New York; 9:35-
Damian stood silently. His mind focused and his eyes locked on the target in front of him. He held his bow firmly with his left hand and held the drawstring in the right. He took a deep breath and fired the arrow right into the target practice dummy's head.
There was clapping. Damian turned around to see his fellow Thunderbolts enter the shooting gallery. The one clapping was Electro. Behind his were Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, Hydroman, the wounded Bullseye, and Deadpool.
"Nice shot." Electro said smiling. "Watch mine." Electro stood next to Damien and fired an electrical burst that destroyed not just one of the dummies, but all of them!
The other Thunderbolts laughed.
All except Deadpool.
After the Hero Purge, Osborn had Deadpool take 'special medication.' These meds were designed specifically to control Deadpool and make him less insane. Now all that's left is an emotionless husk.
"Beat that Damian." Electro taunted.
"Hell, I can do better than you even with one arm!" Bullseye lifted up his bandaged right hand.
In response Damian calmly grabbed his bow, lifted up his hood, and left.
The Thunderbolts laughed. "I knew it. Stupid hero kid." Electro said. "He's too soft."
"Yeah," Bullseye added. "That's why he has a soft spot for that little red head."
Damian clenched his fists.
"Maybe we should pay her a visit." Bullseye giggled.
Before anything else could be said, Damian had his elbow to Bullseye's throat and pinned him to the closest wall. The young archer had moved so fast, the other villains hadn't even noticed Bullseye was gone until they heard the loud thud behind them.
"What?" Bullseye could barely speak. "Just a joke."
There was a click between the two. Bullseye looked down to see Damien had one of his guns to his chest! "Don't joke about her. Or I will end you." Damien had nothing but hatred in his eyes, making Bullseye nervous as to what he would do. The others started to approach.
Shocker raised his gauntlets to Damien's head. "I would strongly advise against that boy."
Damian let go of Bullseye who fell to the ground coughing. The archer threw the gun to the ground beside him. "I unloaded the bullets." Damian walked towards the exit. "It was empty." With that, Damian left leaving the Thunderbolt members in awe.
-The Vault, Ben's cell; same time-
Ben slept somewhat peacefully in the damp bed. Awkwardly even. He was still going through processing in the Vault's system so he was not allowed to leave his cell. Also, he couldn't do much with the electric handcuffs on his wrists.
For the first time in his life, Ben was completely restricted. With nothing left to do he decided he would just relax and go along for the ride. For now at least.
"Parker." The previous voice spke in his head.
Ben opened his eyes. "Crap. Not you again." He rubbed his head. "Can I please just-"
"I hadn't realized you were so whinney." The voice said.
"Hey! I am not whinney!" Ben lifted himself from his laying position.
"Whatever. Look, something important is going to happen soon. I've seen it. You need to be ready when the time comes."
"Why would I trust you? I don't even know you. You could be some sort of elaborate trap made by Osborn to lead me to my death. Or maybe I'm just going crazy." Ben swirled his finger in circles next to the side of his head.
"Listen!" The voice shouted. "I don't have much time left. When the time comes I'm gonna need you to trust me or you will die." The girls voice was full of complete seriousness.
Ben sat back down on his bed. "Anything else I should know, Ms. Strange?" Ben asked sarcastically.
There was static in Ben's head. "Trust me... Ben..." Then nothing.
"Strange? Strange?" Ben asked.
"Shut up in there." Ben moved his head to see Hyde standing on the opposite side of the electric cell. "Already going insane?"
"Well if it isn't your face that's causing this insanity your breath sure is." Ben taunted.
Hyde frowned before he chuckled. "You'll learn. If not Osborn's way then my way."
Ben stepped closer to the electric gate. "I can take anything you can throw at me big boy." He crossed his arms.
"Once you are processed, your immunity runs out. So you better use as many of your jokes as you can before then. Hyde smiled. "Because after that, you are mine."
"Yeah, I'll try not to drop the soap sweet cheeks."
"Enjoy it while it lasts." With that Hyde left.
Ben put his back to the cell wall and slid down. "Oh, boy."
-The Next Day; Courtyard-
Alex moved through the hallway and into the Courtyard. The inmates litered the area and carried on their usual business. He pushed past the crowds trying to get to the wall.
Before he got to the wall, he was grabbed on the shoulder. Instinctivley, he spun around to see a dark haired boy and a taller one behind him.
The dark haired boy spoke first. "You Captain America's kid, right?"
Alex remained silent for a while. Answering to an insane criminal that you are the son of the man who put this guys dad away could have devestating consequenses. He responded the best way he knew how.
"Who wants to know?" He crossed his arms and kept a clean poker face. "Probably not the best way to answer." He thought to himself.
The dark haired boy laughed. He nudged his friend. "I like this kid." He turned back to Alex. "Anyways," He continued. "I'm Drew and this is Jay. We're Avenger kids too."
Alex was almost relieved to find more Avenger kids. He knew ther were more out there but didn't count on meeting any of them. He lifted his frown and unfolded his arms. "Avengers kids? In here? I thought Osborn would have killed them all off."
"There are a few of us here." Jay spoke.
"Not alot but more than expected." Drew added. "Come on. We need to talk." He pointed towards the back wall. "We can talk over-" Before finishing he was punched in the back. The crowd behind him backed up as Drew slid on the ground.
He turned to see his attacker stepping towards him. The same man Drew had been fighting the day before. "Round 2 little man."
Jay pushed Alex into the crowd. "Who is that?" Alex asked.
"He calls himself the Kingpin." Jay answered.
"That's Wilson Fisk?"
"No. Fisk went underground a long time ago. This is the new player."
Drew stood up. "Someone's a sore loser."
"The Kingpin never loses. You get that? Never."
"Oh come on." Drew said. "Lets not fight."
A split second later, Drew was on the ground coughing up blood. Kingpin towered over him. "What was that?" He leaned in closer and put his hand to his ear. "I can't hear you over the sound of you chokin' on blood." He stood back up and turned to the other inmates who were howling and shouting.
"Why don't you help him?" Alex asked Jay.
"That's kinda against the rules." Jay answered.
"What rules?" Alex was obviously annoyed.
"Think about it; if you go in there, someone else is gonna go in there, then someone else, and so on and so forth. Drew can take care of himself. Usually."
The Kingpin turned back to Drew who had wiped all the blood from his mouth and trying to stand up straight. But before he could, the Kingpin had his fist burrowed into his chest.
"Stay down, or I'll put you down for good." He said as Drew slid to the ground, gasping for air.
Alex looked around the room for the Guardsmen to come in and break it up. But they were just standing there, pointing and laughing! He then turned to Jay who was standing next to him with a sad expression on his face. Alex grit his teeth. "Screw this." He stepped out of the crowd and into the arena.
"Alex! Wait!" Jay tried to protest but Alex kept walking. "Dammit." Jay whispered under his breath.
The Kingpin laughed as Drew struggled to breathe. He raised his foot to step on him. "Little Avenger brat!"
But as he tried to lower his foot, he felt something suppressing him. He looked down to see a hand on his boot. He followed the hand back up to the source. Alex crouched next to Drew, holding up the giants foot.
With one heave, he tossed the Kingpin into the air! The older man dropped with a thud and slid back a few feet. Alex helped Drew to his feet. "Are you okay?" Alex asked him.
Drew was still breathing hard but managed to speak. "I'll be fine. Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
The two set their sights to the angered Kingpin who had rose from the ground. He turned around to the crowd behind him. "Two on one? That hardly seems fair, am I right?" The crowd cheered. A large group stepped out of the crowd and surrounded the boys. "But this seems about right, don't you think?"
"Quite the public speaker, isn't he?" Alex said to Drew.
The Kingpin pointed towards the boys. "RIP THEM APART!"
At his command, his group of followers ran towards the two. Alex and Drew quickly went to a defense stance. Back to back, the two teenagers pushed back assault after assault. Alex punched one of the inmates and broke anothers arm while Drew kicked one in the knee then punched another across the face.
The Guardsmen were getting ready to break it up. "Leave them." The Guards turned to Hyde who stood with a smile.
"But sir-" One was beginning to speak.
"I want to see how this turns out." Hyde commented. "At ease gentlemen."
One of the inmates managed to get Alex on his knees. Before he could finish his strike, he was pulled off of his feet and thrown backwards. Alex looked up to see Jay standing above him.
He extended a hand. "Hate to say I told you so but,"
Alex took the offer. "I know, I know." Jay lifted him up. They looked over to see Drew finishing off the last of the prisoners.
The crowd that had not participated in the brawl cheered for the three boys, making Kingpin grit his teeth.
"Next?" Alex stared Kingpin in the eye while Jay cracked his knuckles.
The man stepped back and away from the boys, disappearing in the crowd. The other inmates cheered more but eventually filled in the circle, ignoring the unconsious prisoners on the floor.
Hyde watched from the shadows. "Interesting." He whispered.
Alex, Jay, and Drew stepped over to the side near the exit.
"Intense, huh?" Drew nudged Alex.
"Nothing I'd want to do again but yeah, fun."
Drew turned to Jay. "You think we can trust him?"
Alex raised a brow.
Jay shrugged. "Well he did just jump into a fight to save your ass."
Drew laughed ten looked at Alex. "Not to sound too dramatic or anything but we need your help."
Alex rubbed the back of his head. "What kind of help?" He asked suspiciously.
Drew looked around to check for any easedroppers. When they were clear, he pulled Alex closer to him. "We're staging an escape."