FIC: Darker Reign (12/?)
"Holy-." Xander's jaw dropped at the one-eyed legend who'd saved their bacon. All his life he'd grown up idolising Fury, heck his idolisation of Fury was one of the few things he'd shared with his dad. And now Fury was saving him?
"Stop oglin' and start movin'." Faith growled in his ear, her hand wrapped around his elbow as she pulled him towards the shimmering portal.
"Huh," Xander shook himself out of his funk and started racing alongside his girl-friend, eyes fixed on their escape route.
"This way," Strange hissed as he led them through New Orleans' winding streets, "we need to find somewhere to hide until my friends get here."
"And how will your friends know?" Kennedy queried from her position at the quartet's rear, casting nervous glances behind her.
"I've sent for assistance," Strange replied. "It's just a matter of who can come and how quickly."
"Oh," Kennedy snarked, "not vague at all."
Strange shot a withering look over his shoulder. "They'll be here."
"As you can see trouble is spreading throughout San Francisco, we'll be needed," Osborn turned the widescreen, wall-mounted TV off and turned to his companions. "You'll each be assigned hot zones within the city, any costumed mutant found breaking the law is to be restrained, taken down and arrested."
"I don't mean to protest," Hand spoke up, "but with Ares, Gilgamesh, and Enchantress dealing with the New Orleans situation, we're short-handed."
"Oh don't worry," Osborn steepled his fingers together and looked over them to his companions, "I have reinforcements in mind." Osborn leaned forward in his seat. "Now listen, cameras will be everywhere. We can't afford any fatalities. Your priorities are stopping the riots and keeping civilians safe, but remember above all, we have to win the war of public opinion."
"People of San Francisco," Osborn peered out over his podium to the watching massed media, smiling his practiced smile as their cameras flashed. "Given the current shocking behaviour of the X-Men, it's become necessary to draft my own replacement." He looked towards a seated Mystique wearing Xavier's face and body. "With the assistance of my consultant on mutant affairs, Professor Xavier." Osborn stepped aside as the "So here are MINE and your X-Men, Sebastian Shaw, Mimic, Daken, Avalanche, Pyro, Lady Deathstrike, Vanisher, & Typhoid Mary. Now," Osborn's smile widened at the audience's sharp intake of breath, "any questions?"
"Got you, you damn freak!"
Rockslide recoiled at the immense behemoth looming over him. He himself stood six two and weighed close to five hundred pounds with a grey rock skin, but was dwarfed by the foot plus taller and twice his weight Rulk. "Look whose talking!" he blustered, burying the fear down deep before leaping forward and swinging a haymaker at the thickly-muscled mastodon.
Rockslide gasped when the smirking red-skinned giant caught his fist in his hand. Lights exploded in his head when Rulk jammed a straight right in his jaw. Vision blurring, Rockslide struggled to keep as Rulk jammed a hook into his torso.
Forcing aside the pain, Rockslide leapt into his rival, jamming a shoulder into the Rulk's battleship sized chest. His adversary grunted, surprised enough to be forced into releasing his grip on Rockslide's hand and stumble backwards. Rockslide sidestepped, tore a water hydrant off the sidewalk and swung it into his rival's torso.
"Nice try, kid." Rulk barely grunted before replying with a backhand to the forehead, the blow snapping Rockslide's head to the side and knocking him back a step. "Now try this!"
Rulk's fist thudded into his jaw with enough force to throw him across the road and into a parked car, lifting the car and throwing it through the shop front behind, car and shop alarms blaring out. Blood trickled down Rockslide's mouth as he staggered to his feet, Rulk charging across the street to confront him.
Rockslide reached out, grabbed and tore up a street lamp and swung it into the face of the red-skinned mastodon. Glass exploded as the light crashed against the Rulk's face, but Rulk kept on coming, Rockslide slid inside Rulk's straight right, arms looping out to grab the bigger meta in a bear-hug.
"Ahhh!" Rockslide stumbled back, pain roaring through his head. He managed to block a right on his forehead then caught a knee to the stomach. The air gusted from his lungs as he doubled up, Rulk grabbing him in a front facelock. Pain exploded when his opponent drove his free fist into his lower back, legs buckling under him.
Rulk laughed as the rock-skinned mutie hit the ground. The kid had given it the good old college try, but had come up short. He raised his foot to pound the mutant's skull to smithereens.
"Wait." Rulk turned to see himself being watched by Sebastian Shaw. "We don't want him dead, take him to Holding."
Victoria Hand raised an eyebrow. Their Avengers had been in town for just one night, and according to security the mutant leader known as Cyclops had turned up at their gates bold as brass. "Is it true?" She turned to find her boss stood in his Iron Patriot costume, helmet in the crook of his arm. "Cyclops is here."
"Outside our base's front gate," she replied.
Osborn smiled crookedly. "It would be rude to keep our guest waiting."
If nothing else Osborn had to admire the mutant's nerve, turning up at his base without any back-up. "Norman Osborn," he greeted, eyebrows rising when the younger man expressionlessly ignored his proffered hand in favour of standing before him with arms crossed. "Things could get very nasty, Mr. Summers, but they don't have. We've still got time to turn things around. We're both men with responsibilities, myself the security of my nation, you for running your very own race. The way I see-."
"Surrender."
Osborn blinked at the mutant's softly-spoken interruption, so softly spoken that for a second it didn't register what the other man had said. And then it did, and a burning fury ignited in his belly. "I beg your pardon?"
"Surrender, pull out, withdraw, whatever you want to call it," Cyclops said. "You have the rioters under control, call it a win, a result. Tell the press you and I have came to terms, that you're happy the city is in good hands. Then get outta my town."
Sour amusement battled with indignant fury as Osborn glared at his rival. "Or what?" he demanded, voice hoarse with rage. "I have public opinion, numbers, and power on my side. If you don't give up, I'll bury you."
Cyclops shook his head before flying off, jet-pack roaring. "I tried, Osborn."
"Yes, and I'll be the one shovels the first lot of dirt onto your cold dead body," Osborn seethed through between gritted teeth.
The moment he materialised, Tyrone Johnson swept aside his cloak, allowing Tandy Bowen to slink out from his embrace. His eyes swept over the stacked crates filling the dusty warehouse. "Okay," despite his best attempts his whisper echoed through the vast room. "We were told to get -."
Tyrone swayed as a sonic wave boomed through the packed warehouse, blood bursting from his eardrums as his legs buckled under him, pitching him to the ground. His hands reached out to his likewise fallen love, then shuddered uncontrollably as another blast crashed over him, forcing him to unconsciousness, the last thing he saw before passing out were HAMMER agents rushing out from behind the crates.
"Nanites detected."
Fury raised an eyebrow as their underground automated security system let out an instant warning the moment they spilled out of their teleportation portal. "Okay," he growled as he spun around to face the quartet they'd just rescued. "Each of you in the decontamination chamber, now."
The three men hurried towards the pointed out chamber, but the dark-eyed brunette put her hands on her hips and glared pugnaciously up at him. "Not that I ain''t grateful for the rescue, but you ain't-."
"Thanks for the assistance, sir," the one-eyed youth interrupted, his arm looping around the dark-haired beauty's shoulders and pulling her away. "It was very much appreciated."
Minutes later the now fatigues-attired quartet were in his briefing room. Fury listened as the quartet introduced themselves and explained just why Osborn was after them. The moment they'd finished, Fury rose with a smirk. "Seems you're a little over-matched, but maybe I can help with that."
"You can boost my powers and give them powers?"
Fury shook his head at the brunette Slayer's query. "No, sugar, when I was still SHIELD Director I initiated a project with the Wakandan Design Group to develop battle suits for my agents. The prototypes were put in cold storage in this base."
"Why were they warehoused if they work so well?" queried the ever-sceptical Slayer.
"Let me guess?" Finn smirked. "Bean-counters right?"
"You know your military, son." Fury nodded approvingly. "Yeah, they came out as five times what we pay for our current equipment, the accountants weren't willin' to spring for 'em, dollars greater than my men's lives."
"If they're so great why save them for us?" Faith queried. "Why not give them to your team?"
"My team already have powers of their own, they don't need the advantage," Fury explained. "Want me to brief you on them?" Fury continued without waiting, pulling out a zip-up the front grey leather jumpsuit. "They're one size but mould themselves automatically to the wearer's body. These goggles allow telescopic, infra-red, and x-ray. In the cowl there's also a secure link that allows you to speak exclusively to others in the costumes. The material is anti-ballistic, bullets, knives, and normal human blows are all diluted on impact, they're also heat and ice resistant but do not effect energy weapons. The attached gloves emit an electrical charge onto anything or anyone they hold onto, and can stick to any surface, allowing climbing. The suit also have stealth capabilities meaning it can turn invisible and muffle sound, however this does not effect a meta's enhanced senses or electronic sensors apart from your basic closed circuit camera, and as you can see, extendable wings that spring out from elbow and arch down to the waist."
"Wicked cool!" commented the busty Bostonian.
"The wings allow gliding rather than flight," Fury finished. "Now why don't you put them on and try them out?"
Fantomex glided into the high-security network server located in the basement of AvengersTowers, eyes widening appreciatively at the cat-suited rear of the red-head crouched over the server. "Ma cherie."
His involuntary remark was whispered, but loud enough for the woman to spin around to face him, a wary look on her face. "Relax," Fantomex raised his hands in supplication, "I suspect we are on the same side, if working for different employers." Fantomex threw a flash drive to the Russian. "Just fill that up and no harm no foul."
"Except," Black Widow caught the drive and glared at him. "I don't have the time for-."
BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!
Fantomex shrugged as alarms blared out. "That's not my fault, but the way I figure it we have the best chance to get out of here if we work together?"
Widow scowled at him then nodded. "We'll do the information exchange when we get out."
