Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel, I do Own Soldier though
Here it is, another update with glimpses of Esme's Hellfire Club and the main X-men team, as well as the return of Soldier, who comes back with a new look. Enjoy!
The March to Second Coming
Chapter 3: Rescue mission
Emma Frost had been particularly angry over the past few days. The incident in New York was still going on. The last report Wolverine sent detailed that one of the Avengers had been killed in action, and Matt Murdock was in Hammer custody. But that wasn't the reason Emma Frost was angry. She led her X-men squad against a group of the Right members. The Right were a mutant hating group, all of them wearing armour with smiley faces on. Even though their masks had smiles on, they were far from friendly. Bullets deflected off of Emma's diamond skin as she slammed her fist through a Right members mask. Her anger was due to the fact that the "Liaison" between Aeon's "faction" and the X-men wasn't present. Lazlo Collins was still in New York, and he had yet to return Emma's calls. But Emma wasn't the only one expecting a call, Calvin Rankin was Sven Reilly's friend, but he still hadn't heard any news. The former brotherhood member, now X-man fought well with his teammates. He wore a version of the original X-men uniform and even used the original X-men's abilities.
'We share a kiss and he doesn't even bother calling me,' Emma thought.
She had made her feelings for the gold knight quite clear. They had argued and bantered with one another for many months, and in after one moment of affection they still couldn't dive into a romance. It made Emma angry how dedicated Lazlo was to his friends, to the point where any other relationship was worthless to him. Ali had even said that Lazlo was distant, that was why they broke up. That was why Emma wanted to be with the man. Emma knew that they had to have something in common.
'You can keep playing hard to get Lazlo, but I'm a woman who always gets what she wants,' Emma's glared turned to a smirk as she knocked out one of the last Right members.
Esme walked down the stairs that led to the basement of the Hellfire mansion. She smirked as she looked at pictures taken of Emma and Namor. The romantic tension was obvious between them, but then Esme feasted her eyes on Lazlo and Emma. Their kiss was all the proof Esme needed. She had just found another way to get to her mother. Putting the photos back in the envelope, Esme straightened out her hair as she walked into Spiral's workshop. Robotic limbs and machines were hanging on chains on the ceiling. Spiral herself was continuing to build the device that would augment Esme's powers.
"Esme, good to see you again," Spiral said.
"How is our prisoner?" Esme asked.
"Ask him yourself!"
The groaning sound made Esme smile. She turned to their prisoner, the resurrected X-man Skin. Special chains used to negate his powers held him up. Esme nodded to Spiral, whom clicked a button at the console beside her. Electrical shock ran through Skin's body, causing him to cry out in pain. He breathed heavily, looking towards Esme with a glare.
"Good to see you awake Mr Espinosa, lets start with the most obvious question, who else knows you're here?"
Again Spiral applied the shock to Skin's body. He looked at Esme defiantly.
"What, no idle chit chat, no monologue about how I was foolish to even try spying on you without the X-men knowing about it," Skin grinned.
"I don't need to be psychic to know your lying," Esme said.
"I read about this guy, he was the idiot of Generation X right?" Spiral asked.
"Maybe, but he also grew up in a crime ridden neighbourhood, you don't survive that by being stupid!"
Skin kept on smirking, fighting the pain of the electric shocks. Even if he was captured, everything was going according to plan.
Nothing had gone according to plan, At least in terms of the tragedies in the world. If everything went according to plan then several million people on Genosha wouldn't have died. Heroes wouldn't have been turned against one another, Osborn wouldn't have been put in charge, the Earth's future would have been certain. If things had gone well then he wouldn't have to fight. He wouldn't have to constantly wear this mask, live on tasteless packet meals and fight small battles without making a difference. Even when he worked with the government, he couldn't achieve anything. But on his own, he knew that he could at least point his guns at people who deserved it.
His blonde hair stuck out of two slits on top of his mask. The general shape of his body was a reflection of his dedication to his physical training. His arms and legs were toned to a point that he possessed both strength and agility. He wore a black suit with military fatigues. The fatigues and the sleeves of his shirt had pads on the joints. A dark brown equipment belt was wrapped around his waist; it had grenades, utility pockets and a small knife. Two pistols were tucked neatly into the holsters attached to his thighs. He wore a pair of gloves with padding on the knuckles and fingertips. On his right arm was a grey wrist gauntlet, a generator for an energy shield. His left gauntlet had a similar device, but for a completely different purpose.
The red eye lenses of Soldier's mask let out a faint glow as he watched the guards around the mansion. They didn't give away the fact they were in the Hellfire Club's employ. Unlike previous incarnations, they didn't wear the uniforms adopted by Hellfire Club troops. But Soldier knew that the guards were simply for show, despite the advanced weaponry they were hiding inside their bodies. The eye lenses on Soldier's mask weren't just for intimidation; he could use them to see in the dark and to detect the presence of cybernetics within humans. These men either willingly allowed themselves to be "upgraded" or they were forced to.
Throwing away his camouflage cloak, Soldier broke off into a run. He reached into a pocket on his belt, throwing several disc shaped objects onto the front gate's cameras. Inside the mansion, the security chief blinked in confusion as the screen went static for but a small moment. The screens then showed the usual view of the road outside the mansion. Soldier climbed up the tree beside the wall the gate was attached to. He jumped off the tree, landing on one of the guards. For good measure, Soldier punched the back of the guard's head, ensuring he would stay unconscious. He then ran to another tree. Looking across the grass, Soldier identified several other targets. He saw one guard walking away from him, two guards on the far side opposite his entry point and three guards walking down the centre of the field from the mansion to the gate and additionally three guards at the front door. Soldier then spotted to riflemen, both on the roof of the mansion. He noticed that the rifle covering his side was looking at the middle of the field. Seizing this opportunity, Soldier drew one of his pistols. He then reached into the pockets of his utility belt, removing components for a long-range rifle. Screwing the barrel and silencer onto the gun and fastening the scope on, Soldier raised the pistol, gripping his wrist with his free hand. He looked down the site, considering the distance of the target in relation to the wind. The blow of the wind wouldn't just alter the speed and path of his bullet, but it was also muffle the shot. Silencers were good, but Soldier wanted to be sure no one else would hear him fire the pistol. When the wind began howling, Soldier pulled the trigger.
Westchester-Xavier Institute
The rebuilt mansion was smaller than its previous incarnation, but it still had a Library. That library also had a computer with Internet access. For the past few days, with her husband in Utopia, Jean had been working at the computer. She was searching not just for baby clothes, but also news reports on mutants. Lately the charity group "Damien's gift" had been active in arguments to keep the super hero registration act. That act-affected mutants, despite them being nearly endangered. Jean had also gotten curious about a scientist she had heard about. Heinreich Wallace had apparently been a successful researcher into human evolution. He had apparently spent his life studying the mutant phenomenon. Jean's momentary curiosity was replaced by her real objective. She had been reading news reports on mysterious rescues and attacks on corporations. The strange thing was that workers had been saved at these corporations while the top men had been threatened. According to the police, the CEO's or board members would be attacked and then let go.
Jean read off the list of corporations that had been attacked. They included companies like Airatech, Eurosen and even big companies like Hammer Industries. Apparently the suspect had been wearing a mask with red eyes and was armed with an assortment of weapons, but above all that he had been a strong combatant and martial artist. Jean knew that the suspect must have been Soldier; the mysterious masked operative who had formerly worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. He had originally tried to get Jean to rejoin the Initiative, but he lamented when he saw her reunite with her husband. Jean had assumed that Soldier left the Initiative straight after Osborn took over. Now that Osborn was dead however it seemed that Soldier was making his mark.
"Hammer industries attacked, sounds interesting, has it got anything to do with mutants?"
Jean jumped in surprise, turning to see Kurt standing behind her. He was holding a cup of coffee and dressed in a grey sweater.
"How are things Kurt?" Jean asked.
"Great, I go to Utopia occasionally so we can build more and more of that church I had planned. Scott's been doing really well there too, Namor and the Atlantean's have practically become honorary citizens. We seem to have gained a small peace for ourselves," Kurt explained.
"Indeed, but it still makes you wonder," Jean muttered.
"Wonder what?" Kurt asked.
"Scott's changed, in fact he's been changing really quickly, the burden on him is bigger than it ever was. He's spending less time here as leader of the X-men and more time as leader of the mutant race. There was something that Lazlo said to Scott, something that implied that mutants weren't a species, as if mutants dying out wouldn't be extinction. I don't know, the words just got to Scott and ever since then he's been at Utopia none stop. I'm worried that he'll lose track of what's right," Jean explained.
"Well the answers simply, go to him, guide him the way you did when you were younger," Kurt said.
Jean smiled as she got off her chair.
"You know what Kurt, you might be right, thanks for the advice," She said as she left the library.
Kurt nodded his head before teleporting away.
Emma now stood in the command centre of Utopia. Occasionally senior X-men would meet to discuss matters of importance to the mutant community. But today Emma was using the communication system for a very different purpose. She stood in her casual clothes, looking at Lazlo, whom was dressed in his armour, even his helmet.
"How long are you going to be in the city?" She asked.
"Things seem quiet at the moment, I don't know whether your keeping track but one of the Avengers died today and Sieg's team was hit pretty bad," Lazlo said.
"Are Sofia and Sooraya all right?"
"They and X-23 are fine, Sieg's been hurt too if your curious," Lazlo narrowed his eyes at the former White Queen.
"Sieg's hurt?"
Emma turned to the doorway, gritting her teeth together as some of the students entered. At the front was Celeste, Sieg's former girlfriend. Joining her was Laurie, Pixie, Cessily, Santo and Noah.
"What happened? What happened to Sieg?" Celeste asked, grabbing the collar of Emma's shirt.
"Celeste calm down, the last thing we need to be doing is fighting each other," Laurie said.
Emma could tell that the girl put in her calming pheromones for good measure. This Laurie Collins had greater control of her powers than the one Emma taught.
"I'm glad you guys are here, it gives me a chance to put your minds at ease. Sooraya and Sofia only have a few bumps and scrapes but they're all right. Laura's injuries were worse but she'll get better, Crowner has his private doctor looking after Sieg's team members," Lazlo explained.
"What about Sieg?" Laurie asked.
Lazlo paused, as if he was thinking of what to say.
"He drew upon the power Aeon gave him, something he hasn't done before. Even though he drew away the people attacking him, the stress his abilities put on both his body and soul caused him to pass out. He'll wake up, but…"
"But what? Is he all right?" Celeste asked.
"He's still alive, that's what's important, as for your question Emma, I'm not leaving the city until Sieg wakes up, find someone else to entertain you!"
Before Emma could even speak up, Lazlo cut the line. She stomped her foot against the floor, turning to the students with a frown.
"Was there something else you wanted?" She asked.
"Yeah, we've been wondering what your doing about Virgil," Noah said, stepping up as leader of the group.
Emma sighed, turning to Celeste with a look of disappointment. She didn't think her prized student would spread word of a former student back from the dead.
"Before you start accusing Celeste keep in mind that I can control my liquid form," Cessily said as she stretched herself, smoothly stepping behind Emma.
"And I look like a rock, so people don't often see me when they talk about what Wolverine gets up to," Santo shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't forget I control pheromones, not many people can say no to me when I look cute or terrifying," Laurie smiled.
"The point still stands, is it true that Summers tried to have Virgil killed?" Noah asked, narrowing his eyes at Emma.
Emma glared at the shorter boy, taking a step forward to intimidate him. It didn't have the desired affect, but Emma still kept on her fierce gaze.
"You'd better have good evidence before you start accusing people Noah," Emma said.
Noah's eyes darkened and his shadow crossed its arms.
"Is there a problem here?"
His shadow returned to normal as he and the students turned to see Cyclops standing at the door. Noah turned to the man, walking away from the comfort of the group.
"I want to know where Virgil is and what you were planning to do to him," Noah said.
Cyclops looked down at the young man, his expression emotionless.
"Virgil isn't the man you once knew Noah, he's changed, become unstable because of the loss of his powers," Scott explained.
"Cut the crap, don't give me some shady excuse, I want the truth…you send us into battle, have us fight your battles and a war we didn't want…we deserve the truth Summers," Noah growled as his shadow shifted around him.
"He's keeping secrets from you Noah, who knows what other secrets he's keeping. These dark plots will be the end of everyone here Noah, you should leave while you have the chance," The Shadow creature explained, speaking inside Noah's head.
"I'm not going to run away, I still believe in what the X-men should represent and I'm not going to turn my back on that," Noah said as he walked past Scott. "What I will turn my back on is leaders who haven't earned my loyalty!"
Though Noah walked away, the other students stayed with Cyclops.
Soldier shot down the first marksman, the only marksman he needed to worry about. Making his way across the field, Soldier used the cover of the trees to dodge the guards. He pulled one of the guards into a nearby bush, knocking him out. Then he made his way to the back door. It was a door that could be used to access the kitchen. Reaching into his belt, Soldier removed a heart beat sensor. Unfolding the device, Soldier aimed the device at the door. He counted seven blips, none with any heat sources matching weapons. The heat sources he did detect were from gas hobs and ovens. They were kitchen staff, preparing something for the party Esme would be hosting. Soldier slowly opened the door, peeking inside. The chefs were too focused on their cooking tasks. Crouching, Soldier walked along the floor, making his way to the door on the far side of the kitchen. Just as he was about to rush towards the door, he heard a sudden bang. Pieces of frozen chicken scattered across the floor, past the worktop he was hiding behind. Soldier pressed his back against the worktop, looking to see the chef's arguing with one another. Utilising the distraction, Soldier moved to the door. As he opened the door, he removed a camera disruptor from his belt. Keeping his thumb pressed against the activation switch, the device would replace the images of the security cameras.
The masked man used the three-minute window the disruptor gave him well. Placing plastic explosives onto the walls, Soldier made sure he had everything he needed to make an escape, as well as draw the attention of the local authorities. Walking into the library, Soldier took out his pistol, shooting the two guards inside. He ran his hand across the bookcase, looking for anything out of the ordinary. After a minute he finally found stopped searching the bookcase. He looked to the fireplace, narrowing his eyes at the single torch rack it possessed. Soldier walked over the fireplace, pulling on the iron torch rack. It slid out of its place and the fireplace rotated, revealing a flight of spiral stairs.
"I want your complete honesty or I'll rip the information from your mind, who else knows that you're here?" Soldier listened to the voices coming from the end of the staircase.
He identified them all as women, gradually differencing each voice and linking them to recordings he heard. This enabled him to identify exactly who was talking.
"I'll say this again, tell me who knows you are here, did you drop in on the X-men?" Esme Cuckoo.
"Just let me rip him apart, he's no use to you anyway," Victor Creed, judging from the bestial grunts in his voice.
"Wait, I want to have some fun with him, its been way too long," The Extra dimensional villain Spiral giggled.
"Lets just get this over with," Daken, the son of the Wolverine.
Soldier drew another pistol from his holster and shuffled into a crouching position. He prepared to move when he heard a high-pitched wail. His guns clattered to the floor as he pressed his hands against his ears. Suddenly, Soldier felt immense pain as something slammed into his back. A second hit shook his vision as he was sent flying from his hiding place. Crashing into a set of crates, Soldier rubbed his head as he rose to his feet. He immediately stepped to the side as Deathstrike lunged towards him. Slapping her hands aside, Soldier slammed his head against hers. He then grabbed the collar of her shirt, throwing her into Chimera.
"Impressive," Esme said, clapping her hands in amusement.
She smirked as Skin widened his eyes in horror. Two figures stepped out of the shadows; their eyes empty as if they were in a trance.
"I'm out to piss the X-men off, what better way to do it than to use their own friends against them," Esme laughed.
Standing before him were the famous X-men Strong Guy and Banshee. Cassidy was dressed in his X-Corp uniform, his hands crossed behind his back. Strong Guy stepped back into the shadows as more and more people walked out. They were wearing green and yellow costumes, the costume of Jamie Madrox. Soldier narrowed his eyes at the faces, squeezing his hands into fists. Suddenly, former Acolyte Frenzy ran out of the shadows. She punched Soldier across the face, knocking him off balance. As she quickly ran back into the shadows, Soldier flowed around the Multiple Men. He struck each one in the face with his elbows. Soldier quickly ducked to dodge a punch from Strong Guy. He then jumped back and listened out for his opponent's steps.
The sound of a sword being drawn was the last thing Soldier heard, before a high-pitched scream echoed in his ears. On instinct he turned around, blocking the swipe of a Katana blade. He identified his opponent as Revanche, based on the silver and purple armour. As more Multiple men appeared around him, Soldier reached for a grenade on his belt. Throwing his grenade against the floor, everyone but him covered his or her eyes. The high-pitched screaming stopped and Soldier looked towards Banshee. Sean Cassidy looked at his surroundings in confusion, disorientated by the flash grenade but also by being knocked out of Esme's telepathic hold.
Esme quickly regained her bearings and dived into Banshee's mind, taking hold of him again. Soldier moved towards one of the Multiple men. He blocked a punch and then smashed the dupe across the head, knocking him out. Soldier grabbed the collar of the man's suit and grabbed the bridge of his nose. He pulled on the man's nose and much to Skin's astonishment, ripped his face off. Skin's shock was replaced with confusion as he looked at a man who clearly wasn't Jamie Madrox. He then looked to the other dupes and despite how dark it was realised what Esme had done.
"You dressed your men up as Multiple Man, along with a plastic mask to mimic his face," Skin laughed. "If your going to trick the X-men the least you could do is use people who are the same size as one another, you figured me and Banshee weren't enough did you?"
"Very astute of you both," Esme glared at her enemies. "I found Cassidy at the mansion, Gothica had given him a second chance just like me. It took a while but I finally managed to draw him under my power, he's just a little pet for us now. But don't forget that I still have Revanche, Strong Guy and Frenzy!"
Soldier suddenly swung his fist round, punching Revanche so hard that it knocked her hood off. Skin smirked as the masked man revealed Spiral underneath the hood, instead of Revanche.
"Parlour tricks again Esme, your clearly the worst villain I've ever seen, did you get a guy on steroids to play Strong Guy?" Skin asked as he laughed.
Soldier took a device off of his belt, firing a cable into the darkness. A woman yelled in pain and Esme immediately turned the lights on. Frenzy sat on the ground, a cable pierced through her shoulder.
"If you were the real Frenzy that cable would have bounced off you, and if you were really Strong Guy then you'd absorb the energy from this," Soldier said as he passed an electric current down the wire.
"Frenzy," screamed as electricity passed through her body. Her body grew to the size and form of Strong Guy as she continued to scream. Skin would have clicked his fingers if he could as "Strong Guy/Frenzy" began to shrink. Fabric appeared over her skin, forming a white and black suit. She now wore white boots and elbow high gloves and a belt consisting of gold ovals appeared over her waist. Skin's suspicions were confirmed as the woman's red hair grew longer and skin changed to a blue colour.
"Still up to your old tricks Mystique, when are you gonna sort your life out?" Skin asked.
"Damn you," Mystique glared at Soldier.
Soldier reached for a knife as Sabretooth and Daken approached. The two of them threw the explosives he had placed earlier at his feet.
"I hope that wasn't your only plan of escape," Sabretooth grinned.
Spiral smiled as she got up off the floor. Soldier turned to her, raising his hands as the woman's hands glowed. Her mechanical arms appeared and her Revanche suit was replaced by her current hooded look. Skin widened her eyes as the two of them disappeared.
"Where have you taken him?" Skin demanded.
"A place where no one else can save you," Esme laughed.
Skin's look of hopelessness was soon replaced by a smirk as the mansion shook. Esme looked at the ceiling in shock as she felt another tremor. Sabretooth turned to the staircase, his teeth gritting together as he growled. Daken popped out his claws while Chimera drew out her energy snake. Esme looked up at Skin, glaring at the smile on his face.
"You were right Esme I was lying about having come here alone, you couldn't read my mind because it was already being read," Skin smirked.
"A lot of people forget that I can read minds!"
Esme and her Hellfire Club turned to Monet St. Croix. She was dressed in the first version of her Generation X uniform, the red suit with gold gauntlets. But she wasn't alone, joining her was Husk and Chamber, both wearing versions of their first X-Factor Uniforms. Behind them stood their X-Factor allies, all dressed in their current costumes. They included Kid Vulcan, Shatterstar and Darwin. Sabretooth let out a roar as he lunged towards the X-team.
Soldier looked at his surroundings, never confused over where he was. He knew it was logical for Spiral to take him here. Esme hadn't gotten her fortune through seduction and brainwashing alone. She had a partner and having Spiral as an ally was a dead giveaway of who this partner was. Spotlights shined on Soldier and the roar of a crowd shook the arena he stood on. Hundreds of millions of people from various species and dimensions looked down at him, roaring both praise and jeers. The spotlight then went to a platform floating over the arena. Spiral and her master stood on the platform, the overweight monster Mojo held a microphone, his eyes wide with an insane joy.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!" Mojo's voice echoed through the arena. "Mojo world if proud to present to you, REALITY DEATHMATCH!"
Soldier's eyes drifted to the door opening before him. He dropped into a defensive stance as he watched the figures stepping onto the arena.
"I present to you the first battle, the Mysterious Soldier, who might I add has a very uncreative name, against the infamous MARVEL ZOMBIES! Though I must add for the sake of continuity that this group is actually from a reality very similar to the one you are familiar with!"
The masked man never showed fear as he watched the team of fighters creep towards him. This team consisted of rotting versions of some famous heroes. A zombified Wolverine grinned as he scraped his half broken bone claws together.
"DINNER TIME!" He yelled.
Chapter 4: Survival of the fittest
There's the chapter, next time we blink between Mojoworld, the present and the future. Monet and her team engages Esme's club while in the future Hope and Cable get into a mess as Sentinel's track the mutant messiah.
Soldier will also be involved in a sub plot involving Mojo and his Reality Deathmatch, which is connected to a future plot in the Struggle of the Apprentice series. Expect to see different versions of famous X-Characters, perhaps even a few realities you might recognise. Soldier has his work cut out for him next chapter as he faces off against a team of the undead. It'll be a brutal bloodbath :)