Salem-X
Issue #23 – New Beginning – Part Four
Harkness Manor - Backyard Garden
Wanda stared at the man before her as he extended a hand out to her. He looked to be about her age, long blond hair and blue eyes. She could tell he had a fit body with his tight jeans and t-shirt. She didn't know who this person was or why he just helped her but she was thankful. And to top it off, Wanda couldn't get over the fact how hot he was.
"Thanks," Wanda said as she took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet.
"Sure, but it appears I was a little late to save your friends. What happened? What were those things?" The man asked with a very seductive foreign accent.
"I don't know what those things are but they seem to be after a book that I know nothing about. This is the second time they've attacked. First time we drove them off, but this time they seemed to have made it off with the core of my team," Wanda said as she studied the man.
"Your team?" The man asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"Yes, Salem-X and I'm," Wanda began to introduce herself to the newcomer.
"The great Mistress X. I've heard about you and your team. I saw Salem-X on the Tele during the Demon Storm. I always thought it would be fabulous to train under the one and only Agatha Harkness," the man said smiling.
"You know Ag… me? I don't recall meeting you. Who are you and how did you happen to stumble across this battle?" Wanda asked catching herself and now beginning to get suspicious of this guy, hot or not.
"Sorry, very rude of me. My name is Zafar Sorana and I'm from a small village off the coast of Australia. I discovered that I had the supernatural ability to control the elements at a young age. I read as many books on the supernatural and witchcraft as I could. It seemed that no matter what you read or who you talked to, the great Agatha Harkness always got mentioned.
"As I studied and practiced on my own, my parents made me keep it a secret. Even though they said I was blessed, they said that others may not see it that way and that I must never reveal my abilities in public. I did as they asked until about ten years ago when they died in a car accident. After that I decided to leave and search out anew in America.
"I lived on fantasies of searching you out and becoming your student. I was too intimidated to do so, and I never did. I've been here trying to find my place in the world with no real luck ever since. Now, while I was meditating and reaching out with my powers, I felt a very unnatural pull on the elements. I followed it here and found those creatures attacking your team," Zafar said as he finished the cliff notes version of his life.
"Well, I'm glad to meet you and thankful for your help," Wanda said feeling guilty about casting a spell that had compelled Zafar to casually open up about his life. She didn't like it but it was the only way to get the "411" on him and see if he was to be trusted or not.
"Mistress X, who is this and what happened to the others?" A series of voices started asking from behind Wanda and Zafar.
Wanda looked past Zafar and saw Portal, Salem, Time Witch, Bryce and Billy Kaplan running up to them. Wanda noticed immediately that Billy was wearing a costume. His pants and shirtsleeve top were black while his arm bands, boots and shawl-like item that draped over the upper part of his body was crimson red watching the theme of most of the other team members. He wore a silver headband and the circular "S"/"X" emblem on his belt buckle. He looked like a member of Salem-X.
"Nice outfit," Wanda smiled at the boy.
"Thanks, Laura made it for me. I even have a codename. It's Wiccan," Billy smiled.
"Pretty cool huh?" Laura smiled and then leaned into Billy's ear and whispered, "remember, codenames when in public."
"Sorry," Billy whispered back blushing.
"Sorry, Mistress X. I tried to keep them inside but when Salem sensed something had happened to the rest of the team they all bolted out the mansion," Bryce said as Wanda smirked. She knew how persistent her young ones could be.
"I thought your team had been kidnapped. Who are these kids?" Zafar asked.
"They are part of Salem-X too. I have a core team and then I have four students who are training under my care. The other gentleman here is our butler and caregiver at the mansion, Bryce. This here is Zafar. He saved me after the blue electrical demons attacked and kidnapped the others," Wanda said quickly introducing and catching everyone up.
"We have to go save them," Portal said.
"No, it's too dangerous for you kids," Mistress X said.
"No it's not. We can handle ourselves. With our powers and bond, we can find them," Salem pleaded.
"Mistress, you know it's true. They are more than capable and they are a part of your team and you need them," Bryce said.
"Fine, but you do as I say and don't do anything without my lead. Bryce, you look after the mansion and Cloak while we're away," Wanda said noting knowing if it was wise to bring these kids into battle, especially Billy.
"Rock on," Salem and Portal cheered while Wiccan smiled and Time Witch did not react either way.
"I'm going too. I want to help and it would be an honor to assist you," Zafar said smiling at Mistress X.
"Fine, let's do this," Wanda said as she nodded at the kids.
Salem closed his eyes and tried to sense where his teammates might have gone. Once he started to feel something he reached out to Laura and began to link their minds together. There bond quickly kicked in they became one. Portal took the new information into her self and used it with her own powers. Her hands glowed bright as a giant portal tore open before them. Billy and Zafar gasped in awe.
"They are on the other side," Portal and Salem said as one.
"Good luck," Bryce said as he watched them all go through the portal and then close behind them.
Interlude – The Vault, Prison for Super Villains
"They give you any trouble today?" A man in a green Guardsmen armor asked as he approached another man in the exact same armor.
"What do you think? I don't even know why the Chief keeps them here. They don't even have any powers," the Guardsman said.
"Hey, if Rhodes says their potentially dangerous and belong here then they are. Rhodes should know, he used to be an Avenger," the other Guardsman said.
"Please, the only reason Rhodes was put in charge of the Vault is to act as a puppet for Stark. I would bet my money that Stark as a secret agenda and wants access and control of an army of powered beings," Guardsman One said.
"You are so delusional. From what I know Rhodes and Stark aren't even friends anymore. Rhodes applied and got the job fair and square. I think this place is in good hands. I mean, what are you complaining about? We get cool weaponry and armor and don't get me started on the great pay and benefits we get. Hell, we even lucked out being placed on a level where the inmates have little to no powers. Nothing happens here and life doesn't get much better than this," Guardsman Two said as he got ready to take over and start his shift.
"Whatever. You can't tell me that a man who has Iron-Man on his payroll and has bankrolled the Avengers and who knows what other teams doesn't see this place as a business acquisition. Mark my words, Stark isn't the great man everyone thinks he is," Guardsman One said as he saluted his replacement and turned to head out of the room.
"I'm sorry, are you going somewhere?" A voice asks bringing Guardsman One's attention to the other side of the exit door.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Guardsman One asks as he prepares to voice activate the alarm.
"Can't have you doing that," the figure laughs, raising an arm and muttering a few choice words causing Guardsman One's throat to be grasped by an invisible force stopping his ability to breath or speak.
"Hey what's going on?" Guardsman Two asks as he runs towards the exit door and stops.
His co-worker and friend flies past him by some unseen force. Guardsman Two turns towards his comrade to see him lying on the floor as his armor turns a weird red and brown color. In a matter of seconds the armor falls away leaving a pile of dust all around the man who had been inside. Before the exposed Guardsman can get up or Guardsman Two can react, a blast hits Guardsman One in his bare chest killing him. Guardsman Two turns to face their attacker as his armor powers up and he sets off the alarm.
"Now I wish you hadn't done that," the figure says stepping into the room.
Guardsman Two fires off a blast from his gauntlets only to realize the figure is no longer there. He turns around to find the mysterious attacker right behind him, eyes glowing and talking in strange tongues. He starts to raise his arms when he suddenly feels a very intense heat growing inside his armor. In an instant, his armor becomes pure fire. The figure turns and hurries down the corridor as Guardsman Two burns alive.
"There you are," the figure says as four cell doors blow off its hinges with a wave of a hand.
"Who's there?" A woman asks as a figure enters her cell.
"Vertigo," the figures says as the three figures from the other freed cells step up from behind.
"I no longer go by that name since my real mother was murdered and I got stuck in this powerless human body," Vertigo says getting to her feet and staring at the stranger.
"If I were to not only promise to bring your brethren back from the dead but to also grant you all your powers back and the abilities to kill Agatha Harkness, would you swear allegiance to me?" The figure asks with a laugh.
Vertigo and her three other freed brethren smile as dozens of Guardsmen storm the corridor to suddenly find four empty cells and their occupants gone with no trace.
Unknown Cavern
Mistress X, Portal, Salem, Time Witch, Wiccan and Zafar Sorana step out of the portal to find themselves in a dark cavern barely lit by small electrical torches on the walls. Wanda glanced down at the item she had in her hands. Before she had stepped through the portal she had magically called for a random book to fly from the mansion and land in her hands. She then conjured a magical bag to place it in so that their enemy would know she had a book, but couldn't tell if it was a fake or not. She didn't think it would fool them long, but she just wanted them to think she brought it long enough for her to find her team and make sure they were safe.
"This is so cool," Wiccan said as he looked around. Never in a million years did he think he'd ever be a super hero.
"Stay alert," Mistress X said glancing at their newest member.
"Where to?" Zafar asked.
"This way," Salem said pointing to a doorway to their right.
"Are you sure?" Mistress X asked.
"Well, I sense something down that way," Salem responds.
"Follow me and be ready for anything," Mistress X says as she leads her band of warriors through the doorway and into a dark tunnel with no light.
"I wish there was light. I wish there was light. I wish there was light," Wiccan began to repeat over and over as he concentrated with all his might.
Wanda was amazed as the dark tunnel flared to life with light. She turned to see that the source of the light was coming from Wiccan. Both his arm bands were glowing very brightly. Even though Wanda knew she could have lit up the tunnel, she was glad to see him take the initiative. She hoped that this was a good sign in the fact that she brought the younger members into this environment.
"Hey, pretty cool," Laura said patting Wiccan on the back.
"Yeah, even if he had to repeat himself over and over," Salem said with jealousy.
"I think we should keep moving. With my powers, I can feel a mass flow of air ahead of us," Zafar said.
"Let's go," Wanda said as they all pushed forward down the tunnel.
After a few minutes they came to another doorway and passed through it. Wanda looked around and saw that the room they were in was so dark that the light from Wiccan wasn't enough to see barely a few feet around them. She brought her team to a complete stop and faced them.
"Don't go any further. I'm going to light this place up before we step right off a ledge and into a bottomless pit," Wanda said as she raised her hands and began to call on her magic.
Before Wanda could cast her spell, the wall across the room from them suddenly came to life with light. The kids screamed as Wanda looked to see what the source of the light was. On the far wall were five figures pinned to it by some kind of electrical field. Wanda didn't need magic to tell that they were Shaman, SilverFlame, Python, VivaMuerte, and Darklight. What caught Wanda's attention was what was below her trapped comrades. Sitting upon a large throne made of electricity was the tall slender demon that had taken her friend and demanded the book.
"Agatha, I see you have come. The master will be pleased," the blue demon said eyeing the book.
"I brought the book, now free my friends," Wanda demanded.
"Oh, a little change of plans. I think I will take the book, keep your friends and have the honor of killing you," the demon laughed as he snapped his fingers with an electrical spark.
"Oh snap," Wiccan said as the whole room lit up to reveal that they were al standing in a very large cavern surrounded by hundreds of blue electrical demons.
"Still think this is cool?" Salem said with sarcasm as hundreds of blue figures swarmed down upon them while the demon on the throne cackled with laughter.
Next: Issue #24 – New Beginning – Part Five
Here is a preview of a mini-series coming soon that will introduce a deadly new villain with shocking ties to the X-Men Universe.
Florida – Miami Hospital
"I'll be right back," a beautiful nurse with blond hair says as she steps away from her patient and looks out the exam room's door and into the hallway.
She looks back and forth and sees patients, families and hospital staff running like crazy screaming in a panic. She can hear loud sounds coming from all around. She quickly runs into the hall and stops a RN in a dead run. "What's going on?"
"Evil mutants are attacking the hospital," the RN shouts as he dashes off in a dead run.
The nurse watches him run off and turns round when she hears a loud crushing noise. Soon the wall a few feet down the hall explodes and two figures step through. A few seconds later a figure dressed in red and purple with a matching helmet and cape floats through and rotates facing her. The nurse takes a few steps back as she gasps at who is before her.
"Magneto?" The nurse begins to ask and then realizes that the figure before her is not of a man but of a woman.
"Pyra, Super Sabra, secure the area while I deal with her," the floating woman commands as the other two figures dash off in the other direction.
"What are you suppose to be, Magneta the wanna-be Magneto knock-off?" The nurse laughs as she goes to call on her powers.
"No, I'm someone more deadly than he could ever be," the woman laughed as she hovered closer to the nurse.
"What, why won't my powers work?" The nurse panicked.
"Oh, you can thank my new best friend, Blindspot. While you were examining her she used her memory manipulation powers on you and made you forget how to use your powers," the floating woman laughed as the patient the nurse had just been with walked out into the hallway smiling.
"What do you want from me?" The nurse asked as she tried looking for an escape route.
"Well, my dear Amelia Voght, you were one of Erik's most trusted followers and one time lover and I'm in need of some information," the woman said lowering herself to the ground.
"Over my dead body," Amelia said as she turned and ran.
"That can be arraigned," the woman in the red and purple helmet said as she flicked her wrists causing two hospital beds to fly through the air and pin Amelia to the wall. Amelia screamed as the woman levitated and floated right at her.
To be continued in…The New Brotherhood: Blood Ties