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Mexico
"Man this place still gives me the creeps." Lance said as he looked at Apocalypse's Pyramid.
"Yea. Well, we can't tear them down until we rule out any possible dangers they have." Forge said as he stood next to Lance. Lance was wearing a modified version of his original costume, without sleeves. Instead he had a pair of leather and metal gauntlets on. He wore a glass visor that wrapped around his eyes and his long hair hung loose.
"Right. I still don't know why you guys need me." Lance said as he studied the surrounding area. It had remained the same since that fateful battle against Apocalypse.
"We've covered everything with the other four Pyramids. This is the only one that we haven't cleared yet. And from our orbital scans, there seems to be a lot of unstable seismic activity."
"I can stabilize it for a short period while you get a crew to work on it.
"No good. We need at least four months of time. Round the clock." Forge said simply. We've determined that the disturbances are coming from somewhere with in the center of the Pyramid. I figured that you and I could get to the center with you keeping the ground stable. I can deactivate whatever causing the tremors and then we can get to work.
"Sounds like a plan. Although I'm surprised Pietro didn't tag.
"Yea, well he and Val are busy making up." Forge lied.
"Figures." Lance said simply. "Well let's do this." Lance said as they made their way into the pyramid.
After a short while, they came to a locked door.
"Great. Can you bypass it?" lance asked.
"Give me a second." Forge said as he started to root through his bag. Lance turned and started walking back, looking at the walls as he explored the pyramid as Forge began to work on the door. His flashlight shined on the Aztec hieroglyphs that adorned the walls.
"Why would Apocalypse use Aztec symbols?" Lance asked. "I thought he was Egyptian. And how do I know these are Aztec?" Lance pondered to himself.
"Aztec, Egyptian, Cambodian, and Chinese. Each Pyramid was created with the Hieroglyphs detailing a particular hero who came forth during the Apocalypse to battle the Horsemen and turn back the wave of darkness. The other three pyramids all detailed the same. Once we decode this one I think we'll have the last piece of the puzzle." Forge said as Lance studied the symbols. To his eyes, they shifted slightly.
"What the…" Lance began before rubbing his eyes. The symbols turned normal when he looked again. "Must be imagining things…" Lance murmered as Forge popped open the door.
"All set, ready to roll?" Forge asked.
"Yea." Lance said as he cast one more glance at the wall. As he turned around the floor below him caved in, causing him to fall.
"Lance!" Forge shouted as he made his way to the whole.
"Leave him to us…" Said a sinuous voice in the back of Forges head.
"Very well Shadow King." Forge said as he left the Pyramid and Lance behind.
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1000 years ago
"You can not stop me Petros!" Came the roar as the tall humanoid shouted. He was twelve feet tall; powerfully built, wearing only the ceremonial garb of the Aztecs. His eyes glowed red with hatred.
"I may not be able to stop you Living Monolith." A young man who looked almost exactly like Lance shouted. "But with mother Gaea's aid I can imprison you!" The man shouted as he began to chant. He glowed with Seismic energy, as the earth yielded to his will. Both he and the Monolith fell into the chasm.
"Fool. I am immortal, I will escape someday!" Monolith shouted as he fell.
"And I will be there to stop you. Such is my destiny, as it has been since the beginning." The man shouted. "I will be reborn!" The Petros Shaman screamed as the earth swallowed him as well.
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22 years ago
"I'm so sorry Dominic." A young half Mexican woman said to the young infant in her arms as she ran through an ally.
"You cannot escape me." Came the voice from in front of her as the Shadow King materialized.
"No you can't have him!" The woman screamed as she began to chant in an ancient language. The earth answered her plea as a stone wall emerged, blocking her from the Shadow King.
"You power is weak Shaman." The Shadow King said as he walked through the wall.
"You will not stop my sons destiny!" The woman shouted. "You cannot stop the last of the Petros Line!"
"The child is only a half blood. His power can never be powerful enough to defeat the monolith. His bloodline is to diluted with that of the English. He has no destiny, for you have already taken it from him. And now I will take him from you." Shadow King whispered into her ear. Just before her blood began to run from the wound he inflicted on her stomach. Before she fell, Shadow King took the infant from her arms.
"No…" The woman said as Shadow King walked away. "Dominic…" was the last word out of her mouth before the shadows swallowed her whole.
"Now to put you in a Hell that will never allow you to see your true self." Shadow King said as he turned into a shadow. Suddenly, Dominic Petros found himself in a trashcan, outside a liquor store. He did the only thing he knew. He cried.
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10 years ago
"Who dares!" The Living Monolith shouted as he sat in his opal prison beneath the earth.
"I dare…" Came the voice made of Darkness.
"Ah, the fabled Lord of Shadows…" Monolith said as Shadow King emerged from the darkness.
"Lord of the Earth and Stone." Shadow King bowed.
"I grow tired of your constant visits and false homage Shadow King." Monolith stated as he stood up.
"If you do not with for my Lord's aid, then I shall inform him of your decline to his offer." Shadow King said as he turned around to leave.
"Bah." Monolith sneered. "If Apocalypse is as powerful as you say, then he will prove to be a worthy partner. Speak your peace."
"Of course my Lord." Shadow King said sweetly.
"What news do you bring?"
"You know of the Prophecy that binds you." Shadow King started. "As a being of pure elemental power, you cannot exist without a Taboo to keep you grounded. Yours is that of a prophecy. A portion of your power is given to a mortal who can wield it against you, and with it, defeat you, but only if you spill the blood of the one who wields your power, as he becomes charged with the very power of Gaea. Is this true?"
"Hm. I chose the line of the Petros family. And with your aid, they were destroyed 12 years ago." Monolith said as he paced the room.
"You did not let me finish." Shadow King hissed. "As you know, my Taboo upon shedding my mutant body to become a being of pure Psionic energy is that I cannot kill a child."
"Are you saying that the Petros Line still exists?"
"Yes."
"FOOL!" Monolith roared. "But never mind. His blood is to diluted to draw upon his inherit power."
"Not so." Shadow King began. "Humans are evolving. Growing mutations, gaining powers far beyond those of normal mortals. Such is the evolution you and I both experienced."
"I grow tired Shadow King, get to the point."
"The Petros Child has evolved. His new powers have merged with his inherent ones, giving him the power of his ancestors at a genetic level, no longer that of mystism."
"Bah. I wield mystical forces of the earth…" Monolith began.
"The mysticism that you and I once believed in is actually science and genetics. You and I are mutants. Highly evolved mutants, but we are evolution. We have combined Mystism and evolution into one. The same as Lord Apocalypse and the witch Selene." The Shadow King stated. "The child still wields the same power you do. It has simply changed form." Shadow King said.
"So?"
"So. If you do not want to be defeated again when your awakening time comes, you will heed my words. There is a small town that Ozymandias has seen. It will make a perfect place for you to return, as you will wipe out many of the threats to my Lords return as you grow in power from the destruction. Thus we both win. We will consider this payment for the information we have given you."
"What is the towns name?" Monolith asked.
"Bayville, New York. I will make sure that the Petros line will be too busy to deal with you. And if you're smart, you wont harm this one. Leave him alive, imprison him, have someone else kill him. That way, you will not be able to be stopped."
"Yes…" Monolith hissed.
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"What… Where am I?" Lance as he floated around.
"Surely you know?" Came a voice. Lance turned around and saw an elderly Mexican man, wearing ancient robes and a golden helm.
"Who are you?" Lance asked as he looked around in confusion. "And where am I?"
"The true question is who are you?"
"My name is Lance."
"Really. You bear the face and build of the Petros' clan. And the attitude." The old man smiled as he sat down. The blackness faded into a small room, with a roaring fire appearing between Lance and the old man.
"Okay. I must have really hit my head hard." Lance said.
"Hm." The old man chuckled.
"What?"
"You posses the same brashness of your mother." The old man said with a smile.
"You knew my mother?" Lance asked, his voice slightly tinged with fear and hope.
"Yes. She lived a good life. She would be happy to see the fine young man her son has become." The old man said simply.
"You mean?"
"She is dead." Lance's face sunk.
"Just as well. I never knew her. She probably didn't want me." Lance said as he turned away.
"Boy. She died defending you." The man sneered. "I will not have my daughters memory disrespected. Especially by her own son."
"What?" Lance asked. "What are you…"
"Perhaps you need a history lesson." The man said as images began to fly through Lance's head. His past, his mother, his father, and his ancestors and their legacy. As well as a destiny that he never knew he had.
"What…" Lance coughed as he doubled over in pain. "Why… Why me…" Lance coughed.
"It is destiny. Long before we faced hatred of bigots, we faced the powers far beyond those of the modern world. Before we controlled the powers of mother Gaea, we faced the shadows of Darkness. You have had the experiences to deal with you fate. You are a warrior. Now all you need is to become the priest." The old man said. "Then you will be worthy of bearing the title that is your destiny."
"Will you show me?" Lance asked.
"Of course child." The man said with a smile. "But we have a long road to cross."
"Thank you Grandfather."
"See if you'll be saying that when I'm done with you my child." The old man said bitterly. "Destiny cannot be denied. Even when we want it to."
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Next Time on the Brotherhood Chronicles: Pain in the Airhead. Kitty moves in with the Brotherhood. And you know things will never be the same again.
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Later all. You know what to do.
Descendent