Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel
The corrupt form will be featured in True Heroism
The Echo of Destiny
Chapter 14: The day of loss
James had seen the form before; he had seen it more times than he wanted to. A corrupt armour form, the barer of such a form would be driven insane by their power. Others had turned into pure evil, lacking any form of conscience or mercy. But others like Sieg would be drawn into a berserker rage, and the claws of a beast were even more dangerous than blades of evil.
"I've never seen Sieg effected by the corrupt form before, our options are to one knock him out, two, restrain him until he burns all his power out or three give him his sword so that the spirit inside it can calm him" James explained.
The team chosen to face Sieg was Wondra, Scarlet Spider, Darkhawk, Major Victory, Renascence, Veda, Reckless and Pixie.
"You know we do have a fourth option" Veda said.
"No! We never let it come to that!" James growled, putting on the helmet of his grey and red armour.
"So what's the plan?" Patrick asked.
"Hit him till he drops" Darkhawk said.
Security tapped his foot against the floor, his hand to his earpiece as he tried to contact James.
"DAMN IT!!!" He yelled.
"Still cant get a hold of him?" Darwin asked.
"No, he needs to know that we have the sword before he gets one of our team mates killed" Security said.
"I'll go over there then" Vulcan said.
"I'll come with you too" Security said as he pulled a laser blaster from his back.
Sieg's roar shattered windows as he ran at the Thunderbolts. With one swing of his sword, he created a wave that cut apart all of the Hydra agents. Phoebe and Mindee grabbed their sisters, running towards a building as Sieg attacked the shadow operatives. He swung his sword around madly, cutting Yelena's arm and smacking Puma across the head. Constrictor tied his coils around Sieg, but he grabbed the coils, reversing the electric shock back at Constrictor. Typhoid Mary used her pyrokenesis, engulfing Sieg in flames. But she gasped in horror as his eyes glowed in the flames. He rushed forward, swinging his sword downwards. Fortunately Puma tackled Typhoid, pushing them both out of the path of Sieg's sword.
"Damn it feels like KIA all over again" Hardball said as two balls appeared in his hands.
"Without the whole cutting my legs off" Komodo said.
The two former lovers ran at Sieg. Komodo slashed him across the chest, but her claws had no effect on his armour. Hardball however managed to punch him across the head. Though it threw him back slightly, Sieg still recovered enough to swing his blade at Hardball. The former Initiative member created a ball to defend himself, but the force of the blade sent him flying backwards. Sieg punched Komodo across the face then growled as bullets from Paladin bounced off of his armour. Ghost assaulted Sieg with energy blasts, turning intangible to avoid Sieg's energy blades. Venom tried to bite Sieg, but his teeth shattered as soon as they touched his armour. Sieg slashed Venom across the neck then launched an energy blade at Penance. Robbie deflected the blade with an energy blast, watching in terror as Sieg hacked at Venom.
Elsewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the forces of Karabai's general Meijin clashed with Initiative and the armed forces. Navy Ships fired at the alien frigates; their cannons had little effect on the alien's metal. Hammer ships flew in midair, engaged in vicious dogfights with the alien fighters. Iron Patriot and Moonstone flew alongside the air force, shooting down ships with their beam attacks. The Dark X-men Mimic and Omega shot down fighter after fighter. Mimic blocked a punch from an insect alien, countering with a punch to its head.
"Agent Belova what is the situation in Manhattan?" Norman asked.
"It just got more complicated sir" Yelena said.
"Please explain!"
"Siegfried has changed into some new form, our spin tech isn't working on him"
"Damn it, keep him busy until Sentry arrives"
"Easier said than done" Yelena said, watching as Sieg slammed his feet into Penance.
He raised his blade, ready to behead the former New Warrior. Suddenly, lighting flew from the sky, slamming into Sieg's blade and electrocuting him. Smoke rose from his armour as he looked up in the sky. Thor flew towards Sieg with his hammer ready.
"FOR ASGARD!!!" Thor yelled, smacking Sieg across the head.
The berserker was sent flying through the wall of a building. But he stopped in midair, looking towards the approaching Crowner drop ship.
"All right boys and girls, hit him hard and fast but no killing" James said.
"Where's this guys parachute?" Victory asked, pointing to Reckless as he opened the drop ship door.
"He doesn't need one" James said.
"He never flew in Latveria" Pixie pointed out.
"His name is Reckless you know"
"Wait a second you don't mean…" But Patrick's words were interrupted as Reckless jumped off of the ship.
The team widened their eyes as Reckless dived towards Sieg. He grabbed his neck and sword, using his weight to drag Sieg down through the skylight of a building.
"Shit this guys insane" Wondra said.
"Oh he's perfectly sane" James said before flying off the ship.
His teammates followed him, those who didn't fly used their parachutes while Dark hawk and Pixie flew towards the building Reckless and Sieg had crashed into. Reckless slammed his fist into Sieg's jaw, tackling him through a window. The two combatants fell onto the roof of a car. Sieg swung his sword at Reckless, who flipped off of the car, landing smoothly on his feet. Veda created several Golems, who jumped at Sieg. With one swing of his sword he cut the golems apart, then jumped at Major Victory. Major Victory blocked the blade with his shield, grinding his teeth together as the force of Sieg's blade sent him sliding backwards. Scarlet Spider and Renascence wrapped their mechanical arms around Sieg, preventing him from moving for now.
"You bitches keep him still, I'll treat him to a little Spin tech overdose" Taskmaster said.
"Don't bother, it wont work on him" James said.
Sieg yelled, shattering the arms binding him and pushing Patrick and Sophia back with a shockwave. Growling he swung his sword at James, who flew to the side to avoid it. Darkhawk wrapped his grappling claw around Sieg's sword.
"Get the sword out of his hand!" Darkhawk said.
Major Victory, the Shadow Initiative and Wondra ran at Sieg, grabbing his arms and neck. But Sieg shook the fighters off of him, kicking Puma in the chest and cutting off Constrictors cybernetic arms. His sword glowed a fiery colour as he cut Typhoid Mary across the back. Then he swung his sword round, cutting off Komodo's legs. The girl fell to the ground, staring at her stumps in shock. They weren't growing back, and Sieg was standing over her ready to finish her off. Suddenly, Hardball slammed his fist into Sieg, pushing him into the arms of Wondra and James.
"Melati are you okay?" Hardball asked.
"Roger my legs, they aren't growing back" She said, tears running down her eyes.
"Oh god, I'll get you out of here Melati" Hardball said, throwing Melati onto his shoulder.
Thor flew at Sieg, smacking him into the air. He continued to smack Sieg across the head, the lighting flashing with every strike. The asgardian realised that he couldn't afford to hold back with Sieg. Swinging his hammer down, Thor hit Sieg so hard that he slammed into the ground. Pixie stared at Sieg as he rose from the crater he had left. His eyes were so full of rage, and a crack was already running over his helmet from Thor's strike. He roared again, jumping out of the crater and running towards the Avengers.
At the resistance base, Gloria and Hill were already beginning their evacuation plan.
"Where in the world can we go?" Hill asked.
"Anywhere but here" Gloria said.
Mary Jane picked up her daughter and ran out of her room with Aunt May. The Skrulls that had been saved by Slade also ran out of the infirmary.
"Everybody gather towards the tunnel, it'll be our way out of here" Gloria explained.
Mary Jane and Aunt May were the first to run through the tunnel. Then came Skarvis with Danielle in his arms. The command centre staff soon followed while Hill covered them from behind, her pistol at the ready.
"Go through Gloria, I'll cover you guys from behind" Ryder said.
"No way, you get your ass through that tunnel soldier, I'm staying" Gloria growled.
Ryder sighed before smacking the woman across the head with his rifle. Gauntlet caught Gloria as she fell and looked to Ryder with confusion.
"This is the only way I can make amends" Ryder said.
Gauntlet hesitantly walked down the tunnel, leaving Ryder to blow the exit up. He aimed his rifle at the main entrance, listening to the Hammer agents attempt to blow the door down. In James's tower, Security and the X-men walked into an office block and widened their eyes. The Hammer agents that Osborn had presumably sent to secure the tower had all been killed. Cable recognised the means of death, they had all been drained, and their skin was dry. Laurie too felt disturbed, for the agents skin looked like her hand had been when Kevin had touched it.
"RUN!!!" Security yelled as he fired a blast into the shadows.
The shadows suddenly came alive, lashing out at the X-men.
"Selene!" Cable growled as the scantily clad woman appeared before them.
But the Black Queen wasn't alone; she had a former X-men villain Senyaka, former Generation X member Blink and former Hellion Wither by her side. Kevin widened his eyes as he looked at Laurie. He had visited her grave many times before he met Selene, but now here she was standing before him.
"The world is in chaos, the perfect time to destroy those who stand in my way" Selene said.
"Cable, Darwin you get the kids out of here, make sure Sieg gets his sword back…plus I don't want them to see what's about to happen" Security said, narrowing his eyes.
Cable nodded his head, grabbing Laurie and blasting a hole through the window.
"Everybody retreat, we're going out of here right away" Cable said, lifting the team up with his TK.
"You don't seriously think we're going to let you get away?" Senyaka asked, readying his whip.
Suddenly, a beam tore through Senyaka's chest. Security lowered his smoking blaster, glaring at the intruders behind his mask as the X-men flew away.
"You do realise your going to die right?" Selene asked.
"That doesn't matter, so long as the others get away then I can die content…knowing that I defied you" Security said, dropping his blaster and spreading his arms out. "ENGAGING SECURITY FIELD!!!" He yelled.
Blue, holographic pads suddenly appeared in front of Security's hands. With every type of the holographic buttons, Security created an energy shield to protect his front, along with energy blasters. Selene simply smirked before motioning her hand, ordering her two remaining servants to attack. Blink threw a spear at Security, but his barrier deflected her projectile. Security fired an energy blast into Wither's chest knocking him to the floor. His will based constructs took shape into a pair of Gatling guns that fired on Selene. The bullets ripped off pieces of her skin, forcing her to gun to the side. But even under cover she wasn't safe, sections of the walls slid open, revealing cameras with rifles attached. The armour piercing rounds slammed into Selene's chest and head, sending her blood spraying across the floor.
"NOW YOU KNOW WHY THEY CALL ME SECURITY!!!" The masked man yelled.
Across New York, Spider-man watched from the rooftops as Nightcrawler and Rachel Grey were forced onto a Hammer transport truck. Right now he couldn't do anything to help, alls he could do was pray that his family was safe. The New Avengers also faced a similar dilemma as Ares and squadrons of Hammer agents broke into Bucky's apartment. Wolverine ran into the agents, clashing them with his claws. Clint and Bobbi punched and kicked the agents as hard as they could, but were quickly overrun by their superior numbers. Luke Cage slammed his fist into Ares's face, cracking his helmet.
"SHIT YOU ALL NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!!!!" Luke yelled.
"EASIER SAID THAN DONE!!" Ms Marvel yelled, throwing several agents off of Wolverine.
"GAAAGH! BOBBI!!!" Clint yelled, reaching for his wife's hand.
But one of the agents smacked him across the head, knocking him unconscious. Wolverine beheaded one agent after another, yelling as they shot him with Tasers. Jessica and Luke punched their way through the agents, but gas canisters began to fly through the windows, spraying knockout gas through the apartment.
At the resistance base, the Agents had finally broken through. Ryder fired his rifle, shooting several agents as they ran into the base. He threw a grenade, ducking behind cover. Miss Hand grinded her teeth together as Ryder fired blindly from his hiding place, keeping the agents back with a spray of gunfire. While Ryder continued to keep the agents busy, Gloria and Hill ran with Tigra and Gauntlet, assisting the resistance staff and the Skrulls as they waded through the sewers.
"Where exactly are we planning on going?" Mary Jane asked, keeping little May above the sewage.
"In his younger days James used to go to a restaurant in china town, after it went out of business James converted it to a safe house that the super humans in his employ could use, the basement there wont fit all of us so you, Harry and the Skrulls can hide there while the rest of us go to a church in Queens" Gloria explained.
"What happens then?" Warren asked in his regular angel form.
"We wait Twenty four hours for James, if he doesn't show up we get some form of transport, pick up the Skrulls and get as far away from the city as we can" Gloria said.
"It doesn't look like there's much hope left" Tigra sighed, rubbing her belly.
"Whatever happens we look after the civilians, that's our job right?" Trauma asked.
"They were all taken to shelters, apart from the Parkers and Osborn we don't really have any civilian staff apart from the Skrulls" Gauntlet said.
Everything was falling apart; Slade sensed that it wasn't just the resistance base that had been over run but the shelters across America as well. War Machine and Pepper Potts fired the weapons on their armour, defending the civilian shelter in Texas. But despite their intervention, the aliens had still broken through and began gathering the hundreds of American citizens into prison ships.
"Why are they taking the civilians?" Pepper asked.
"I don't know…just focus on helping the Initiative get them AAAAGH!!!!" War Machine yelled in pain as an energy blast flew into his back.
"RHODEY!!" Pepper yelled.
Karabai's general Denatsu floated towards Rhodey and Pepper. Rhodey fired his Gatling guns, but the bullets merely bounced off of Denatsu's energy shield. He fired another blast into Rhodey's chest, pushing him into the ground. Pepper fired her Uni-beam, but Denatsu merely deflected the beam with the palm of his hand. He threw an energy wave into Pepper, throwing her into Rhodey. Then he gathered energy into his hands firing a blast that consumed both Rhodey and Pepper. When the dust cleared, the two of them lay across the ground unconscious.
"Get them to the ship, kill anyone who resists" The General said as two insectoid machines picked Pepper and Rhodey up.
Across the world, those who lived in small towns or villages were being forced out of their homes. In Wundagore, Slade and the Young Avengers watched as alien grunts were dragging the villagers out of their huts. For Magneto it was an all too familiar sight. When he saw the armoured soldiers kicking the humans, he saw Nazis kicking Jews. Then he looked to the skies, the ships and flying soldiers were too many even for him to defeat.
"Wanda, take the children and leave" Magneto said.
"But Eric"
"Don't Wanda, just go…I cannot stand idly by while these people are…I know what they are intending to do, it is something I cannot allow to happen" Magneto growled.
Without listening to another word of protest, Magneto flew at the soldiers. Any metallic object, cutlery, screws, and tools any kind of metal object flew around Magneto as he stabbed the soldiers with the metal. They flew around the master of magnetism as the villagers ran towards the woods. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch then ran from their hiding place, moving to their fathers aid.
"MOM!!!" Billy yelled.
"DON'T WICCAN! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!" Slade yelled.
"Your right, you do need to get out of here"
Slade turned to where he heard the voice; standing at the edge of the woods was Loki. She put her hands together and before Slade could move to attack he, Eli, Cassie and Hulkling were teleported away from Wundagore.
"THAT BITCH!!!" Slade yelled, slamming his fist into the floor.
Loki had transported them to the outskirts of New York. Slade knew that those left behind would fight bravely. But they would inevitably be captured. He heard his dark side laughing on the inside.
"You see Slade, looks like your going to have to make the choice"
Thor and Sieg continued to clash in the streets of Manhattan. James tried to aid them, but was quickly thrown aside by Sieg. His armour shattered, the pieces falling off his body as he landed in Darkhawk's arms. As Thor and Sieg prepared to clash again, a yellow and blue blur flew between them. Both fighters were sent flying backwards from the force of Sentry's punches.
"Ah shit, the big powerhouses are here" Darkhawk said.
"It's worse than that!" James said, looking up in the sky.
Alien mother ships began to fire on the city, destroying buildings and parts of the road. Sieg grappled with Sentry, roaring as he slammed his fist into the heroes face. A door slid open on the mother ship and insectoid robots began to fly out. They flew around the heroes on the ground, grabbing James and Darkhawk.
"PIXIE! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" James yelled.
"WHAT ABOUT SIEG!!"
Cable and his X-men flew towards the battle between Sieg and Sentry. Vulcan removed the sword from his back, but was shot in the chest by a flying invader. The sword slammed in to the ground, just inches from Roger and Melati.
"PIXIE! TELEPORT THEM OUT! GET AWAY NOW!!!" James yelled as he was flown away by the machines.
Sieg punched Sentry again and again, shocking the hero with strength that was enough to hurt him. He swung his fist into Sieg's face, shattering his helmet. Celeste and her sisters struggled under the grip of the insect machines. She watched as the machines grabbed the members of the Shadow Initiative and the Thunderbolts. Only Venom was able to get away, crawling into the shadows whilst Hardball defended himself and Komodo with a barrier. Phoebe and Mindee were dragged across the floor while Celeste managed to pry her hands free from the machine. She ran as fast as she could out of the building. Celeste threw a rock at one of the machines, attempting to free her sisters. But the machine ignored her, flying away with her sisters in its hands.
But then, Celeste and Megan looked at Sieg as he got up off the floor. Gone was the innocent and Naiveté, now all was left was rage. He jumped at Sentry, slamming his fist into the mans chest. Sentry threw Sieg off of him, but again Sieg leapt after the man.
"THOR FORGET THIS FIGHT! YOU GET TO ASGARD! PREPARE THEM FOR THE FINAL BATTLE!!!" Cable yelled. "AND SOMEBODY GRAB THE SWORD!!"
In the underground base, Ryder walked towards the holding cells. He knew what he was about to do was suicide but he didn't care. The least he could do was give the others time to get away and take a few Hammer agents with him. He pressed the release button, smiling as the prisoner ran out of the cell. Even when the general crushed him underfoot Ryder still smiled, he had done his part. The Hammer agents faced total chaos as Gigas crashed through the walls, growing to his giant size. He gathered a few agents in his hand and threw them down his throat.
"OH HOW GOOD IT FEELS TO BE OUT AGAIN!!!" Gigas yelled, squashing agents beneath his feet.
Miss Hand typed Osborn's frequency into her radio; she was going to need major back up in order to deal with the increasingly growing Gigas. Security widened his eyes as he saw Gigas burst out of the ground, growing as tall as the tower. He then turned his attention to Selene and her minions. Security cursed as his powers faded, he was out of energy. Drawing his pistols, Security ran away from Wither and Blink, shooting the former in the knee.
"Damn, looks like this is my last job" Security said, breathing heavily as Selene crept behind him.
He turned around, shooting her in the face. Blink then appeared in front of him, throwing a pair of javelins at him. Security dived to the right, knowing that the girl was most likely under mind control Security didn't want to kill her. Wither crawled across the floor, removing his gloves and touching Security's ankle. He yelled in pain as Wither's powers crumbled the cloth and withered his skin.
"NOOOOO!!!!" He yelled, falling to the floor.
Kevin crawled towards Security, raising his hand as he prepared to finish him off.
"Why are you doing this?" Security asked weakly.
"Why should I hide what I really am? MY powers kill, so I kill its as simple as that" Wither said.
"Good, that means I don't need to feel guilty about this" Security said before shooting Wither in the head.
Selene laughed as she got up off the floor. She walked towards Security, looking at Wither's body coldly. The masked man looked up at Selene defiantly, shooting multiple shots from his pistol. But that wouldn't be enough to kill Selene; though Security had read she was apparently immortal it didn't mean she was unstoppable. To Security, Immortality was just another word that powerful mutants hid behind. There was someone out there who could kill Selene.
"A valiant effort, you'll be worth draining" Selene said as she licked her lips.
At the Graymalkin building, Emma Frost hid a smile as her teammates watched news reports of rebel heroes being captured by the invaders. With them out of the way, Osborn could further his plans. Alex, Bobby, Rogue, Sam and a few Madrox dupes were the only people in the building right now. And Sieg hadn't yet revealed her betrayal to the team. Everything was going according to plan. Alex looked out of the window of his room, widened his eyes as he saw a cloaked figure flying towards the building. Whoever it was wore armour similar to Iron Man's. He stopped mere feet away from the building. Stretching his arms out, the Iron Man began to charge his Uni-Beam.
"EVERYBODY BRACE YOURSELVES!!!" Alex yelled.
The Iron Man fired a massive beam from his chest, consuming a portion of the buildings base. As he flew upwards, the Graymalkin building began to collapse. Cannonball flew upwards, the rubble disintegrating as it touched his barrier. Reaching the air, Sam yelled in pain as a beam slammed into his chest, knocking him out of the skies. Emma burst out of the rubble, her diamond form disappearing as she limped through the wreckage. Bobby was lying on the ground, his arm shattered and his ice skin cracking. Sam survived thanks to his powers, and Alex looked like he was breathing just barely though. All of the Madrox dupes were dead and Rogue was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh my god, what happened?" Emma asked as she was suddenly overcome by a deep sense of fear.
The Iron Man floated before her, opening the palm of his hand.
"Your plans will fail in the future, but I think I'll settle for killing you now" He said.
Emma waited for the blast, but it never came. A woman dressed like the Enchantress walked behind Iron Man, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"She can still be useful, don't worry, she wont speak of this encounter for sometime" Enchantress said, poking Emma's head.
The white queen suddenly collapsed, unconscious in her diamond form.
"I didn't realise you could do that" Iron Warlord said.
"From this point onwards she'll be too scared to go out of her diamond form, she will be trapped in that form for the rest of her life…and perhaps live for eternity in that form" Enchantress said.
"Good…a fitting punishment, now let us go" Iron Warlord said before the two leaders of the future Avengers disappeared.
Cities were in ruin, the resistance HQ had been destroyed, and Karabai's forces were gathering civilians and heroes alike. Half of the Navy fleet had been decimated in the recent attack. Gigas had returned to his armies, bearing stories of the men he had squashed and eaten. Miss Hand entered a Hammer transport; Sentry had given up his fight with Sieg and was sitting beside Norman.
"Good work today Bob, you should get some rest" Norman said.
"Yes sir…I never met anyone who could make me bleed" Bob said, nursing a cut on his shoulder.
Norman nodded his head calmly, though inside he was scared for dear life. That boy Sieg had so much power bottled up inside him, and to think Osborn once tried to manipulate that power.
Reckless was the only one standing; everyone else was too tired to even limp. Thor, though hesitant took Cable's advice and retreated to Asgard. If everyone else failed, he would be the planets last hope. Sieg dragged his sword across the floor, the left half of his armour had completely shattered, and a sign that he had burned through his powers. He prevented anyone from reaching his sword and now stood ready to plunge his sword into Reckless's chest. Celeste and Pixie looked at Sieg as he growled at Reckless. The man wasn't moving an inch, it as if he was welcoming the blade.
"Sieg please this isn't you!" Pixie said.
"Sieg listen to me don't do this…I know you're still in there" Celeste cried.
The powerhouses like Veda, Darkhawk and Wondra had all been captured and Hardball was already carrying Komodo away from the fight. Everyone knew that Sieg was going to kill this man; for once the only emotion they experienced when they looked at Sieg was fear. Yet fear was something they couldn't afford to let hold them back. Laurie had been afraid to often, at home, in school; she had always feared her power. Sophia didn't have her wind powers, and she wasn't the girl that Laurie had called her best friend anymore. She couldn't help; only Laurie could control her abilities.
"SIEG NO!!!" Pixie yelled as the boy raised his sword.
Suddenly Laurie ran into Sieg, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her pheromones flew into his nose, but Laurie knew that wouldn't be enough.
"It's okay Sieg, just let go of it…let go of the anger, let go of the hate…please Sieg, I don't know you, but I do know that this isn't the real you….your not a bad person…so please Sieg just let go of it all and wake up, come back to us" Laurie cried, tears dripping onto her shoes.
The armour and sword shattered and tears fell on Laurie's head. Sieg looked at the bodies and the damage he had done. Falling to his knees, Sieg coughed as the sorrow overcame him. Laurie continued to hold Sieg, letting him cry his eyes out and both Pixie and Celeste lowered their heads, feeling that they should have been the ones to save Sieg. Reckless looked at who was left, the Young X-men minus Ink, Scarlet Spider and Renascence, Pixie, Celeste and Laurie, everyone else who had been here was captured by the enemy.
"So what happens now?" Anole asked the question that was on everyone's minds.
Driver ran into the Crowner building, stopping at the office block. He widened his eyes as he saw Security's clothes, no flesh or no bones nothing was left but dust.
"Oh my god, what happened?" Driver asked, holding back tears.
Selene suddenly appeared behind him and whispered into his ear.
"He became my nourishment dear, he became a sacrifice for this worlds new Queen!"
Next Chapter 15: The aftermath of tragedy