Chapter 67: Latverian Lockdown
It was late November and everyone was gearing up for two things: Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Everyone was finally able to relax after the fiasco that was Halloween over a month ago and needless to say they were all pretty well off considering.
Speaking of which, Johan was currently carrying a few boxes into the house that he had bought in Bayville. The boxes weren't his, however, they were Bast's. The cat woman had decided that since they'd been dating for little over a year that they should move in together and help the Institute free up some space.
"Feeling excited about moving in?" The soldier asked his girlfriend.
"Yeah, it'll be nice to finally not be in a place that's so crowded." Bast nodded as she grabbed a box. "This should be the last one, it has all my… Night time gear." She told him with a purr. Johan looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Someone's obviously looking forward to that." He remarked, getting a giggle in return.
"I know you are, but what about me?" She teased as she stroked his chin with her tail as she walked away. The man subconsciously rubbed where her tail stroked him before he grinned.
'You are in for one hell of a treat when it's time.' He thought as he walked after her.
(Elsewhere)
Similarly, Katerina was currently helping Romano move into her place as well, with the help of their other mechanic friend Bronson, who was kind enough to lend them his truck.
"Ya know, I'm a little curious about why you and Johan don't live together." Bronson commented as he helped move a box.
"We might be siblings, but hey, we can't stay together all the time. Even we need some time apart." The eldritch woman shrugged, picking up a box of fragile items.
"Fair enough." Romano shrugged as he picked up another box. As they walked, Katerina smirked at him.
"Feeling excited about moving in with your sexy eldritch girlfriend?" She teased.
"Assuming she won't go inviting random guys in when I'm not around? Sure." He nodded with a knowing look.
"Trust me when I say that it was grilled into me that when I find the man for me, I'm sticking with him. Period." She replied before she shivered. "Johan helped make that clear." She added.
"So you're gonna forcibly break your habit, then?" Bronson noted.
"Pretty much." Nodded the brunette mutant.
Though at both locations, both Johan and Katerina's phones rang. It was a call from Director Nick Fury and Deputy Director Maria Hill respectively.
"Agent Omni/Cthulhu speaking." They unknowingly replied in unison.
"Agent Omni/Cthulhu, we have a situation." The two Directors told them.
"What is it?" The siblings replied.
(Elsewhere)
Right around the same time as the call, Magneto and the Acolytes had just cornered Mesmero, who had hypnotized Gambit into stealing an artifact from Warren aka Angel.
"Magneto, we must not let Mesmero get away with that stone! It's the Spider Stone Key, one of the three keys to Apocalypse's sealed gates." Demona told the Master of Magnetism.
"Then we'll capture him and the key." He declared as he used some parts of Warren's fence to create a rather crude cage. "Release your mental hold on Gambit, now." He ordered.
Mesmero tried to use his powers on Magneto, but was met with the cage tightening as they had no effect.
"Your psychic blasts have no effect on me." The man taunted. He then turned to the others as Gambit was released. "Come, we have work to do. And Demona?" He said to his comrades before addressing the female gargoyle directly.
"Yes?" She responded.
"When daytime arises, use your human form to ascertain more information about this key. Seek help from Charles or Xanatos if need be, I don't care. Just find out more about it." He told her.
"Of course." She nodded before spreading her wings and flying away.
Magneto then turned to Warren and used a metal sheet to lift him back into his house. "I do apologize Warren, it seems I've caused you much trouble." He apologized to the unconscious man as he left him in his bed.
(The next day)
Back at the Institute, everyone was outside playing baseball and having a great time, even Bronson joined in as an assistant umpire, while Chelsea was playing left field and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt while Drake and Damian watched the match from the sidelines with Rogue.
First up to bat was Bobby, and the pitcher was Jean while Scott was the catcher. "Come on, Jean! Strike this guy out!" Scott called.
"Oh, I'll strike him out alright." Jean nodded as she telekinetically threw the ball. Bobby, meanwhile, decided to ice up his bat for extra impact.
"Here we go…" Beast sighed. With one swing he sent the ball flying and it went straight for left field which Laura, Kai, Jamie and Pele all ran towards until they crashed into each other and the Ball bounced off of Laura's adamantium skull with a comical anime 'boing' sound. This gets a few laughs from Peter and his crew who were waiting for their turns to bat.
"That was kinda funny, not gonna lie." Sam commented.
"No kidding!" Laughed Ava.
The game continued like this for awhile with everyone using their powers in some capacity to get ahead, even Devin uses his to hit a home run by making a bat, Gavin used his smoke telekinesis to move the ball so no one caught it, and Roxy dug under the bases to avoid getting tagged. Hell, even Chelsea used her dragon form to swat her ball almost into orbit…. Though it just ended up bonking Damian and Drake on their little heads at the same time by mistake. That stunt of her's got a few annoyed glares aimed at her as Gavin and Logan tried to help the two infants.
"He he. Sorry." She chuckled sheepishly as both of the kiddos rubbed their heads in annoyance. Though their game was interrupted when Angel landed on the pitcher's mound, and he was followed by Brownie who he apparently woke up with his flapping.
"Warren? What are you doing here?" Scott wondered as he walked up to him.
Warren stepped towards everyone as Brownie flew over and landed on Damian's head. "I need to speak with Professor Xavier." He told them.
(Later)
"So your artifact was something called the Spider Stone." Chelsea said as she held Drake and the one year old played with her hair.
"And Mesmero tried to take it?" Gavin added, holding Damian who played with the bat who was sleeping on his head.
"Yes, and that's only half of the relic in question." Xavier nodded. "If the other is found, then the spider will be complete." He continued.
"It used to reside in the museum of London, at least until it was bought by someone." Beast added.
"Who?" Laura, who was holding Mr. T, questioned.
"According to the records… Oh no." The blue mutant said before going wide eyed.
"What is it, Hank?" Logan questioned.
"It was bought by the Latverian Ruler, Dr. Victor Von Doom." He replied, causing a few people to go pale.
"Kill me. Just kill me right now…" Gavin groaned.
"You know something we don't, Gav?" Chelsea questioned.
"Victor Von Doom, aka Dr. Doom, is one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The dude makes Hitler and Mussolini look like Girl Scouts in comparison." The pseudo vampire said. "And he does not take transgressions well, at all."
"Which means that getting the other half of the Spider Stone is going to be our biggest chore yet." Chelsea concluded with a sigh. "
"It'll also cause an international incident." Xavier added. "Seeing as that the good doctor has diplomatic immunity."
"He can collect his due without consequence…" The Dragoness groaned.
"Unless he attacks US soil." Johan said as he and Katerina suddenly entered the room. "Director Fury just told us what's going on."
"Then how do we get the other half of the stone?" The telepath questioned.
"My guess? We let it come to us." Katerina shrugged.
"Seems like our best option." Devin said with a shrug.
(Elsewhere)
With Magneto, he was currently letting Demona explain to him what the function of the Spider Stone was.
"What exactly is it capable of, Demona?" The man questioned.
"According to legend, once joined, the two halves will conjure the Spider Guardian Neith, who when destroyed opens the second gate." The woman told him.
"Mastermind, can you confirm this?" Magneto questioned the illusionist as he worked on Mesmero.
"Yes. This is all true." He replied, causing the magnetic mutant to frown.
"Hmmm, this is a vexing situation… Do you know where the other half is located?" Magneto asked.
"The Latverian embassy. Home of-." Demona began.
"Dr. Doom, yes I know. We've… Crossed paths before." The Magnetism user nodded.
"I hope you have a means of getting the other half without causing an incident, then?" The female Gargoyle queried.
"I believe I may, though it may involve getting some... assistance from some old friends." The man nodded.
(Elsewhere)
"If you have no pressing business here, then leave now. Do not waste the precious time of Victor Von Doom." An armor clad man draped in a green cloak told the X-men and Sever siblings.
"Is he seriously referring to himself in the third person?" Chelsea whispered to Logan.
"Yep. Just be mindful of what you say, though." Her lover warned.
"We didn't come all this way to waste your time, Doom." Johan replied.
"We have reason to believe that a hypnotist by the name of Mesmero may be on his way to steal your half of the Spider Stone." Katerina added. This made the ruler of Latveria frown in confusion.
"For what purpose would this hypnotist wish to steal Doom's half of the stone in question?" He inquired.
"To unleash the guardian housed within and destroy it." A new voice said before everyone turned to see Magneto and the Acolytes. "And doing so will unlock the second gate of Apocalypse's cell."
"The cell of Apocalypse?! Where is it?!" Doom questioned, sounding alarmed.
"None of us know at this point in time, I'm afraid." Xavier sighed. Doom looked at both groups before crossing his arms.
"Hmph. Very well, then. Doom is willing to accept your assistance, if only to ensure the welfare of my country and its people." He answered them.
"I'll give him this, at least he cares about his people." Gavin whispered.
"True." Rogue whispered back with a nod.
(Later)
"What do you mean he's gone, Mastermind?!" The Master of Magnetism yelled as he checked back at his base.
"That's just it, master! I don't know how, but he's escaped!" The illusionist replied as they looked at the chair that once held Mesmoro.
"And so has the artifact." Xavier mused ruefully. The two then reached for their communicators.
"X-men/Brotherhood and Acolytes, suit up and mobilize!" The two yelled.
(Elsewhere)
"This goes against every principle of my character." Gavin said as he drew his sword. "But as much as I hate having to help a dictator who puts Hitler to shame, I also don't want to have Apocalypse come back"
"Trust me, Gavin. None of us like helping a dictator either, but it has to be done." Jean told him with a sigh.
"Here comes Magneto." Bobby pointed as the Acolytes and Brotherhood appeared.
"Mesmero's escaped, and we don't know where he is." The red armor clad mutant told them.
"Well that's just great." Scott sighed as he shook his head at what had happened… that's when an explosion occurred in the embassy behind them.
Turning around they saw Mesmero being sent crashing out of the embassy and Doom was trying to catch a giant emerald green spider via a magic cowboy rope.
"Oh great, the pieces of the stone have been joined together." Devin sighed. "Come on, let's subdue the spider before any lasting damage can be done." He said as he changed his right arm into a hammer.
The two groups charged at the Spider and started to try and subdue it, and in the middle of it, the oversized arachnid hurled Doom into Logan.
"Okay, this spider won't be easy to subdue." The scraggly man groaned as Doom got off of him and helped him up.
"That much is already obvious." He stated before they resumed their efforts.
"Everyone concentrate your attacks on its head!" Gavin told them. "That's where the stone is!"
Everyone immediately began peppering the head of the spirit spider, which tried to protect itself but failed due to the quantity of the attacks. However, this proved to be too much for the creature as it soon was blown back and disappeared back into the stone… and it was damaged.
"Oh no, that doesn't look good." Bobby remarked in concern.
Gavin ran over and picked up the stone carefully, only for it to crumble in his hands seconds later.
"Ah crap. Bad news, people. We overdid it and destroyed it." He told everyone gathered.
"This isn't good." Rogue said, shaking her head.
"No kidding." Chelsea nodded.
And meanwhile in Tibet, the second door of Apocalypse's cell opened. There was only one to go now.
(Elsewhere)
-Asgard-
Asgard, the golden crafted home of the Norse gods carved out of the mountain head of a giant, the bifrost bridge shining as warriors and people alike walked across it. However, in the palace of the Allfather, Odin sat upon his throne as his two Ravens told him of events that happened in the nine realms. And there were a few that got his attention.
"Hm… Interesting…" He muttered as he took in what was just told to him. "Are you certain a mortal was able to do that?" He got chirps in response. "This cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Have Thor and the Warriors Three bring this 'Vampyr' to Asgard. He must stand trial for his transgressions, as do his constituents." The man ordered his messengers.
The Ravens chirped in reply before they flew off to fulfill their orders while off to the side, Loki the God of Mischief was grinning in the shadows.
It was time for his latest hairbrained scheme to be set in motion.
ThermalsniperN7: Oh great, look who's getting involved now…
Dragon Emperor0: The X-men just can't catch a break, can they?
ThermalsniperN7: Apparently not. First the Halloween fiasco, then the second door of Apocalypse's cell opening, and now Odin wants the X-Men to stand trial and will probably be closed minded about it the whole damn time… Sheesh, these guys deserve a break.
Dragon Emperor0: I know right? Jeez… Anyway guys, next week will start the Vampyr's Trial arc, so stay tuned! Later!
