Chapter 59: Who could be doing this!?
As we returned to WCD HQ… My nightmares would soon be realized… The base was under attack!
"Get us down there, J'onn! The radios are down… Oh my, Eru…" Bruce had started to order, but his attention was distracted by the sight of an explosion demolishing a large portion of the southern wing of the WCD HQ.
"I'm trying to, Bruce. But there isn't anywhere I can bring this plane down without risking further structural damage to the base. I can bring it down nearby, but we can't bring it down here."
"That's fine! We just need to get down on the ground!" Bruce was angry, "Then we need to get in there!... Who could be doing this!?"
J'onn brought the Quinjet down in an abandoned lot next to the WCD HQ. Barry flashed out of the plane and directly to the base! J'onn exited the plane, and he flew off to the base. Bruce, John, and I ran as fast to the base as we could!
"I've got a bad feeling about this, mates!... It's all starting to make sense, now!"
"What are you talking about, John?" Bruce questioned as we continue running towards the base.
"Before we headed out west, I heard some whispers about clones from some goblins down at Josie's… Didn't think much of'em… But they also said somethin' about'a 'prophetic robot'... What if they're talkin' about General Fury!?"
… By then, we had reached the perimeter of rubble that had marked the outside of the base's property. We managed our way through the debris, and down, inside of the base…
"What did the goblins say?" I asked John, as we began making out way towards the central control room.
"Something or other about some robot from the future… You have to remember- goblins are notorious liars! They hide their true appearance, for Eru's sake!... So that's why I didn't really listen to'em… But they were saying something about the robot having had awakened an ancient death…"
"That seems pretty relevant to me!"
"Right, Officer… With hindsight… But again- I thought they was just trying to get inside of me head- during our poker game! I didn't think they were credible!"
"That worst thing about General Fury being compromised," Bruce started to speculate, "That means that the SSR has been compromised, as well… We don't know who we can trust! We're alone!"
"Then we'd better hope them goblins was wrong, mates!"
… As we passed by the cafeteria - still on our way towards the central control room - we could see a big fight happening inside!...
… It was the Marauders!... And they had brought with them some familiar faces…
"Juggernaut!?" I exclaimed in both shock, and horror, "He's supposed to be dead!"
Joining the resurrected Juggernaut was the return of Forearm, Gambit - the card throwing mutant, and the only unfamiliar member of our enemy was a woman whose skin seemed to be made of diamond? Juggernaut and J'onn were engaged in combat directly! Forearm and the diamond-woman were keeping Barry busy, and the card thrower was causing explosions across the cafeteria! Over in a far corner, I could see Bishop pinned down behind some turned over tables…
"Guys! They've got Bishop pinned down! Let's get in there!" I yelled in a panic.
"You two get in there," Bruce told us, "I've got to get to the central control room!"
So as Bruce continued down the hallway- John and I busted through the doors, and we both ran into the cafeteria with our guns blazing!
"May the power of Eru compel you- you demon clones! Ahhh!"
… John had that look again…
John then aimed his cross-gun towards Gambit… POW!
And then he aimed towards Forearm… POW!
The first shot hit Gambit just above his eyes- ending his rain of exploding playing cards…
And the second shot had hit it's mark as well- dropping the now headless Forearm immediately…
John then aimed his weapon towards the diamond-woman - who had just landed a direct hit on Barry, knocking him flying backwards, and to the ground - John pulled the trigger… POW!
… TINK!...
… John's previously overpowered rounds did nothing to this diamond-woman! The bullet just hit the woman's face, and it didn't even leave a scratch…
… The diamond-woman then ran over to help Juggernaut with fighting J'onn...
"John, help The Martian!" I yelled, "I'll get to Bishop!"
I ran over to the turned over tables. I could see right away that Bishop was hurt. She had taken some shrapnel to her stomach, and her leg…
"Bishop, we need to get you out of here!" I told her.
"I can't…"
"Yes you can- I'll carry you! Come on!
… And that's when I noticed that she really couldn't get up... The shrapnel in her leg was sliced through her femoral artery. If she moved, it would too…
"Where's Clint?" She asked me.
"I haven't seen him."
"We were eating a late dinner… He was here with me when these mutants broke in! I don't know how they even got down here, but they stormed the cafeteria, and started attacking! It just started happening a few minutes ago!..."
"I'm sure he's alright," I said. But I had no idea.
… Clint's absence did, however, remind me of the fact that he's really been a suspect all along! He was originally mentioned as being apart of Task Force X. He's one of the first people that General Fury approved to be apart of the West Coast Defenders. There's been the fact that he wasn't on the mission today, and the strange occurrence of him leaving when he did the other day in the cafeteria… And now he's gone- when the base is under attack?...
"Were there any other mutants, Bishop? When they first came in?"
"No," she told me, "But they were lead into the base...COUGH! COUGH!..."
"By who?" I asked her… Her eyes were blinking slower- staying shut for longer periods of time. Her breathing was growing shallow.
"Dr. Mor-"
… Bishop fell unconscious before finishing her thought. She still had a faint pulse, but the loss of blood had become too great. She needed medical attention now…
"Wait here, Kate" I said to her, "I'll bring help!"