Gladiatorial Games
Somewhere Within the Shi'ar Empire
Kallark, otherwise known as Gladiator, had been called away to deal with a rather large uprising on one of the annexed planets belonging to the Shi'ar. Apparently, several of the natives didn't appreciate being forcibly added to the already expansive, sprawling galactic empire. Despite Lilandra's best efforts to smooth things over, they remained disgruntled, and this was the result.
No trouble for Gladiator. Immensely strong, fast, durable, and powerful, he was able to quell the rebellion by himself within a few minutes. Shortly after, he received word that there had been a change in power; Lilandra's exiled sister, Cal'syee, somehow found herself serving as Shi'ar Magestrix. It was even reported that Lilandra had been feeding sensitive government secrets to the Kree for some time now.
Gladiator knew that wasn't true. Even if he didn't know the exact details of her relationship with the Kree, he knew for a fact that it was only for the good of the Shi'ar. It was times like this that he hated being honor bound to the throne. He cared for Lilandra deeply; she was his dear friend. Deathbird was an ambitious witch who lied and manipulated her way into power, at the expense of her own family. Knowing that he had to serve the latter while living in a world where the former was branded a traitor hurt him more than any weapon ever could.
It had been a week, and he only met with the new Magestrix once to confirm his loyalty to her. To actually pledge allegiance to that slimy snake made his skin crawl, but he had no choice.
He had been fortunate to not be needed thus far, allowing him to stay away from Deathbird. That was until he received word from Chandilar. The X-Men had found themselves on the throne-world and were causing Deathbird serious problems. She wanted him to take care of them and bring Lilandra to her.
{Understood,} he replied before immediately taking flight for Chandilar. With his immense speed – which easily exceeded the speed of light by many orders – he would be there within moments, despite being in another galaxy many light-years away from the throne-world.
"What's our next move, Dad?" Scott inquired. They had bound the two imperial guards and secured them in a supply closet. Neutron was still unconscious and would remain that way until Bobby thawed out the blood vessels in his brain completely.
"We head to the Palace, free the Guards loyal to Her Majesty here, then confront Deathbird," Corsair replied quickly. "But first, we make one more move." He pressed a button on the console he had been working at earlier. "I just sent those files to every news media station across the empire. It won't be long before everyone finds out Cal'syee is a liar."
"My name will be cleared?" Lilandra asked hopefully.
"You got it. Whether or not Deathbird decides to go quietly into that good night is another matter entirely."
"You leave that to us, bub."
Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash outside, followed immediately by the ground shaking violently. Violently enough to knock the heroes off their feet. "Earthquake?!" Luke bellowed.
"On an artificial planet? No way!" Corsair managed to climb to his feet and quickly helped Bobby get Lilandra to hers. "Goddamn it, I hope it isn't who I think it is. Head out back, quickly."
The door, which had been barricaded by the door and a table to hold it up, was reduced to scrap. Gladiator stepped inside. He had purple colored skin, pointed ears, and a dark-blue mohawk. His uniform was red with yellow accents, and a collared cape. On his chest was his symbol: a yellow triangle with a small gap in the bottom left corner.
The X-Men, Corsair, and Lilandra back away, trembling slightly out of fear and apprehension. Gladiator could defeat all of them in seconds without breaking a sweat. They, on the other hand, wouldn't lay a finger on him. Even if they did, that finger would break against his unyielding frame.
"Stand down at once," he ordered authoritatively. "I do not wish to harm you, but I will do what I must."
"Kallark, please!" Lilandra begged. "Cal'syee is lying! Nothing she has accused me of has any merit!"
"It does not matter. She is the Magestrix, and I am honor bound to obey her every command. I have been ordered to bring you back to the prison, and that is what I must do." Every word seemed forced. It was obvious that his heart was not in his actions. Just speaking about assaulting the X-Men and Lilandra pained him far worse than he feared it would. "Just surrender."
"We ain't surrenderin' to anyone, bub!" Logan leaped and bounced off the wall to lunge at Gladiator's blindside.
"So be it," he spoke to himself, even as Logan leaped at him. The mutant seemed to be moving more slowly than the slowest statue from his perspective. "I gave you ample time to reconsider. Now you give me no choice. I promise this will be painless. Please realize that I take no pleasure in this."
From Logan's – and everyone else's – point of view, Gladiator simply vanished, causing him to stab his claws into the floor. The very next instant, Logan was flying through several walls and into the building across the street.
Before anyone could even react, a red blur zipped through the room, sending bodies flying at unbelievable speed into the walls with a single touch. Lilandra could only blink once before she found herself trapped within Gladiator's vice-like grip. She struggled, but it was impossible for her to break free. "Unhand me!"
"Fine." Another instant passed, and suddenly, Lilandra found herself staring at her sister within her throne-room on the palace.
"What?" She stumbled and fell forward onto her hands and knees. In an instant, the X-Men, Corsair, and Luke Cage were beside her, also on their knees. She noticed that T'Challa was missing, but kept silent.
"Ahahaha! You have done well, Gladiator!" Cal'syee commended giddily. "Yes. On your knees at my feet is your proper station in life, dear sister."
"Cal'syee, you swine! You will not get away with your lies and treachery."
"Ha! All of my rivals are currently kneeling before me as I speak. Who is left? Who could possibly dare to challenge the strength of the mighty Gladiator?" She stood so she could walk up to the kneeling prisoners. "The X-Men? Corsair and his Starjammers?" She frowned and tilted her head when she came up to Luke. "Whoever... this is? Hm?"
As much as she wanted to argue, Lilandra knew that no one there stood a chance against Gladiator. "Tch."
"Hmph. Thought so."
"They cannot, but perhaps I can." The new voice belonged to T'Challa, who was standing in the doorway leading inside the throne-room. His arms were clasped behind his back as part of his non-threatening posture. "I am T'Challa, king of the country of Wakanda, of the planet Earth."
Cal'syee raised a curious eyebrow and beheld the new arrival. "King, hm? Well, from one monarch to another, let me give you some words of wisdom. Cut your losses and go back to your country. For you stand no chance in the slightest against Gladiator."
"Perhaps not, but that does not mean I will not win the day."
"Oh?" She gestured lazily, to which Gladiator nodded. In a fraction of an instant, he was behind T'Challa and shoving him forward. "Still think so, human?"
T'Challa picked himself off the floor, where he had slid the entire two hundred feet from the doorway to the throne. "Perhaps I was mistaken. I surrender." He fell to his knees and raised his arms in defeat. The action drew surprised and frustrated murmurs from his fellow prisoners.
Deathbird roared with laughter. "Oh! Oh, the bravado of you humans! Oh, how quickly your confidence is shattered by a single shove!"
T'Challa remained silent.
Lilandra growled impotently. "You coward! If you wanted the throne, you should have challenged me for it, instead of using lies and trickery."
"Hmph. Why, when lying is so much easier?"
"So, you admit it," T'Challa stated plainly.
"Of course. What harm will come of it, when you all will be dead in a few moments. Yes, I forged the documents proving my sisters 'treachery', and bribed several of the Imperial Guards to help me. Those that refused are rotting away under the palace, in bound and gagged until I decided to execute them."
Gladiator made a infuriated noise, but knew there was nothing he could do.
"Hm. I see," T'Challa spoke. "A very ingenious ploy. One that worked to perfection."
"Yes. Now then." She gestured to Gladiator again. "Incinerate them now."
"Wait! Before you execute us, I have one question, if I may beg your indulgence."
She gave T'Challa a withering glare, but sighed. "Fine. What is it?"
"Is there a television screen in this room?"
"What sort of ridiculous question is that?" She sighed tersely, then pressed a button on the arm of her throne to activate a holographic screen. "There. Anything else?"
"Yes, actually. If you can please turn it to the news, I have a feeling you will like what you see."
That cryptic remark gave her serious pause. She swallowed nervously, and did as he requested. The screen flickered to life, displaying... her! "What the?" It was her on her throne, with the X-Men, Corsair, Luke, and T'Challa on their knees before her. Gladiator was standing stoically at a distance behind them, arms folded over his chest.
"What the?"
"Huh?!"
"Huh?!"
"What... what trickery is this?! What have you done?!" she roared as she shot off her chair and grabbed T'Challa by the throat.
"What... what trickery is this?! What have you done?!" she roared as she shot off her chair and grabbed T'Challa by the throat.
"Heh. I have been feeding your every word through a recording device built into my suit. That feed is being displayed on every news station in the empire, as we speak."
The color, every ounce of it, drained from Cal'syee's face. "No," she whispered in sheer disbelief. She dropped T'Challa and back away. Her every action was repeated on the screen to her right. He was telling the truth. Every word she spoke since he arrived was seen by every single citizen of the Shi'ar Empire. Including her confession. "You... you bastard!"
Suddenly, imperial soldiers burst into the room, armed with javelins and spears. They quickly approached Deathbird and grabbed hold of her. "You're under arrest for treason and crimes against the empire. Come along—ack!"
Metal feathers stuck out of the soldiers' necks, shot from Deathbird's wings in the blink of an eye. "Fools! I will not go quietly." She flapped her wings and shot into the air. "Come face me and die!"
A pair of yellow beams zipped through the air and transpierced her shoulder, coaxing a shrill shriek from the traitor and sending her crashing to the floor. The next instant, she was within Gladiator's grasp. "What do you wish for me to do with this traitor, Empress?"
Lilandra's smirk was the epitome of smug. She rose to her feet and slowly walked to her throne and sat down. "Toss her in the prison, then round up the traitors and throw them in there along with her. I'll deal with them once my thinking is clear. Now, I'd be liable to execute the lot of them."
"Heh. Pretty damn clever, Panther," Logan commended.
"Yes, my love. Your ingenuity will never cease to amaze me," Ororo commended with a soft smile.
T'Challa chuckled as he helped her to her feet. "It was nothing, my dear. Deathbird is truly to thank. Were it not for her overwhelming ego, this would not have happened."
Cal'syee hissed savagely, thrashing and bucking within Gladiator's grip as he carried her to the prison. "Curse you all! I will see you bastards dead for this! You have not seen the last of Deathbird!"
It took several moments, but the X-Men went through the palace and quickly dispatched of the treacherous Imperial Guard members and tossed them into the prison at Lilandra's command. It was obvious that it would take a few weeks before all the legal muck created by Cal'syee's coup would clear up, but Lilandra's name was as good as cleared, thanks to Corsair's evidence and Deathbird's own confession. As a token of her appreciation, Lilandra offered them one boon.
They, of course, asked for a single shard of the M'Kraan crystal. She agreed without hesitation. "If that is your wish, then by all means help yourself to a shard," she said graciously. "I cannot thank you enough for your help. Had you not arrived when you did, I would surely be dead."
"Don't think nothin' of it, Lilandra," Logan answered with a wave of his hand. "Least we could do."
"Take care, Lilandra. And thanks for the shard." With that, and further farewells, the team exited the palace and gathered around to use Shuri's teleporter to jump back to the Damocles. There was still much work to be done, and they had lost several hours thanks to this coup. "Dad, we couldn't have done it without you."
"I'd be still in jail if not for you, so let's call it even." Father and son hugged again, tightly as always in case this was the final time they'd see each other. It was a fear they shared, but kept to themselves to avoid jinxing their good fortune so far. "Until again, son. Tell Jean I said hi."
"I will. Bye, Dad."
In a flash of white light, the team was gone, whisked several light-years away in an instant to the Damocles.