Alright, guys. Here we go. The third story of Phase 2. I will be writing this at the same time as Fall of Cicada, but this will be much longer than Fall of Cicada.
Now, as you can tell from the title and story summary, this is going to feature Earth-1's HYDRA, which will actually feature in one or two more stories throughout this series. It will also feature the true introduction of Taskmaster. Unlike what the MCU is probably going to do with him (and by that, I mean they're probably gonna kill him), Taskmaster will be a reoccurring character in this series. He will eventually turn to the good side, and will fight alongside our heroes during my version of Crisis on Infinite Earths. But, that is the only story in which I'll guarantee he'll fight on the side of good. I do hope you like what I do with Taskmaster.
Alright. Let's get to it.
Chapter 1- A New War
Bucky groans a bit as he grabs the next stack of papers on his desk. He begins going through them, reading them and signing them. This is the main part of being Deputy Mayor he doesn't like. The paperwork.
There's a knock on the door. Bucky glances up just for a second before returning his eyes to the memo he's reading and calling out, "Come in!"
The door opens, and someone walks in. Bucky is paying so much attention to the memo that he doesn't see who it is. That is, until he hears a familiar voice say sarcastically, "Are just gonna ignore me? I thought I meant more to you than that?"
Bucky stops, smiles, then looks up at Laurel. "Of course you are," he says with a smile.
Laurel smiles back at him, then walks around the desk and up to him before leaning down to give him a kiss. After pulling back, she looks down at his desk and asks, "What are you up to?"
"Just getting caught up on all this paperwork," Bucky responds.
"Well, I think you've been working on it for long enough. I think you need a break, and some time with me. So, we are going out to lunch," Laurel says definitively.
"Laurel, I can't. I have to get caught up," Bucky protests half heartedly.
"Too bad. You can get caught up later. For now, we are going out," Laurel says matter of factly, then pulls Bucky to his feet, pulls the paper from his hand, and marches him from the office, with Bucky chuckling to himself.
(Russia, Caucusus Region)
"Duck!" Slade bellows as bullets fly overhead. He, Roy, Thea, and Nyssa dive for cover.
Peaking out from behind his cover, Slade glances towards the wall of the base, identifying the places that the agents are shooting from. He pulls a pistol from his belt and fires several times, taking out several of the shooters. Nyssa fires an arrow, taking out another. Then, an RPG projectile goes flying right at Slade, forcing him to duck aside to avoid it.
Slade and his team have been on the hunt for HYDRA for almost a month now. They had picked up a lead about two weeks in, a lead that had led them to this small HYDRA base in the Caucusus region of western Russia. However, the base has been well defended. They've been fighting for almost 20 minutes, and have yet to get close to the walls.
"Cover me!" Slade shouts before ducking out and running the other way. Thea, Roy, and Nyssa all jump up, taking off running and firing arrows wildly, trying to draw attention to them.
As they run, Slade dashes from cover to cover, then races towards where several of the shooters are. Before the shooters are able to react, Slade attacks, slicing through them with his sword. Once they're all dead, he picks up two assault rifles and guns down several more. The reduction in fire gives Thea, Roy, and Nyssa the chance to actually aim their arrows, killing the remaining shooters in sight.
Thea, Roy, and Nyssa slowly make their way over to Slade. They all look at each other for a few moments before Thea says, "Well. That took a while."
"Indeed. However, with the opposition we faced outside, with luck, there will be less resistance inside," Slade says.
"Do not trust to luck," Nyssa says.
"Fair statement," Slade replies. He pauses, then says, "We should move into the base. Clear it as fast as we can, and try and find the leader here." The other three nod, and they all move to enter the base.
Thankfully, Slade's thoughts regarding the number of guards held to be somewhat true. It seems that many of the guards had come outside to try and fight off the attackers, leaving fewer guards inside. The four cleave through the guards like a sickle through wheat.
Finally, they reach the bottom floor of the base. As they merge from a stairwell, they see a large set of double doors at the end of the hall.
"50 bucks says the prize is through those doors," Roy says.
"You're on," Nyssa says with a mischievous smirk, draw a chuckle from Roy before the group hurries down the hall.
As they reach the doors, they see a very sophisticated lock on the very heavy set of doors. "Well, this may take a minute to crack," Slade says.
Suddenly, a rustling hits their ear. The four turn around and see a figure hitting the ground about halfway back along the hall. The figure lands on one knee, then rises to their feet. A moment later, the lights all come on, temporarily blinding them.
When their vision clears, they all see the figure, and now can see his features. He's dressed in some kind of suit that is mostly blue and gray, with a bit of orange. The suit looks like a mix of a combat suit and body armor. He's holding a silvery-gray shield with an orange symbol that looks like a T, while in his other hand he's holding a sword. On his back is a bow and quiver of arrows, and several pistols and other weapons, along with some pouches for gear, are attached to his belt. He's wearing a white hood lined with orange, and a mask that looks like a skull.
The four stare at this new arrival, with Thea, Roy, and Nyssa aiming arrows at him, before Slade demands, "Who the h*** are you?"
Chilling laughter fills the hall for a moment before the strange man says, "You can call me…Taskmaster."
"What do you want?" Thea demands.
"To see who's the best. Oh, and to stop you," Taskmaster says.
"We'll see about that," Thea responds before she, Roy, and Nyssa let their arrows fly. Taskmaster dodges the first two with ease, then raises his sword and cuts the third arrow in half lengthwise. The shattered parts of the arrow fly all around him as he slowly lowers his sword.
The team glares at this Taskmaster, and Slade charges at him. Taskmaster chuckles as he twirls his sword and clutches his shield a little tighter. As Slade reaches him, he feints towards Taskmaster's leg before slashing at his head. Taskmaster easily blocks with his sword.
Slade slashes at Taskmaster again and again like a whirlwind. But, to his surprise, Taskmaster easily blocks all of his attacks.
After several moments of this, Slade begins to realize something. Taskmaster isn't just blocking him and striking back. He's doing it the same way as Slade. Within seconds, Slade realizes that Taskmaster is perfectly mimicking his fighter style.
The two cross blades, struggling against each other. As they do, Slade growls, "You're imitating me."
"There's no fighting style I can't master," Taskmaster responds with a smirk before shoving Slade back and jumping up to kick him the chest.
As Slade stumbles back, Nyssa races up, firing arrows as she runs. Taskmaster easily deflects them off his shield, then flips over her head. He slashes at her with his sword, but Nyssa barely manages to block him. She attacks him with both her sword and her free fist, but Taskmaster blocks all her attacks with ease. Within seconds, Nyssa realizes the same thing that Slade did. Taskmaster is perfectly replicating her fighting style.
"Impossible," she says under her breath.
Taskmaster laughs as her kicks her in the leg, then bashes her with his shield. "You should know by now that very little is impossible, Nyssa al Ghul. I am not one of those things," he says as he prepares to drive his sword through her heart.
However, he suddenly jerks back, avoiding getting an arrow in the throat by a centimeter. He whips around right as Thea and Roy attack him.
Thea attacks Taskmaster with her katana, while Roy tries to strike him with his bow. However, with both a sword and a shield, Taskmaster is easily able to fend off their blows, ducking and spinning to avoid getting hit, playing a mixture of offense and defense.
Thea and Roy are surprised at Taskmaster's agility. Then, Taskmaster switches tactics. He leaps over Thea, putting well out of Roy's range, and attacks Thea. Thea fights back, but quickly realizes Taskmaster is fighting just like her.
Roy rushes around Thea to try and attack Taskmaster. However, as he does, Taskmaster flips over him, out of range of Thea and attacks Roy.
Thea and Roy realize that Taskmaster is trying to keep himself locked down to just one opponent so he can use his ability to copy their fighting style without interference or distraction. The two try and spread out a bit so that they can keep Taskmaster from singling one of them out without the other being able to interfere.
However, the two realize quickly this is no simple task. Taskmaster is faster than either of them, easily managing to keep them at bay.
Thea rushes at Taskmaster, but he flips over her, and as he flies over her, kicks her in the back, knocking her into a pillar, dazing her slightly.
Roy growls angrily and rushes at Taskmaster, who chuckles. Roy tries to strike Taskmaster with his bow, but Taskmaster easily deflects it off his shield and slashes at Roy, cutting him a little bit on his arm. Roy growls and attacks Taskmaster again. The two exchange several blows before Taskmaster manages deflect another blow off his shield and kick Roy in the chest. He then leaps forward and stabs Roy in the stomach with his sword.
"NO!" Thea screams.
Nyssa reacts quickly by firing an explosive arrow at Taskmaster. Taskmaster tries to deflect it with his shield, but the explosion knocks him flying back.
"Let's move!" Slade shouts. He races up and grabs Roy. He and Thea race out, with Nyssa covering their retreat by firing arrows at Taskmaster, forcing him onto the defensive.
Eventually, the team is able to get out of the base by stealing a truck from the base. Slade drives several miles away from the base before parking.
He, Thea, and Nyssa quickly get Roy out of the back and lay him down on the ground. The wound is bleeding pretty bad, but Thea and Nyssa have been doing a good job trying to slow it down.
Slade quickly examines the wound. "The blade missed the vital organs. We just need to stop the bleeding," he says.
Nyssa grabs a bag of medical supplies out of the truck. Together, she and Slade work furiously to try and stop the bleeding, while Thea tries to keep Roy calm.
Finally, after several tense minutes, the bleeding begins to slow, and Slade is able to stitch the wound back up.
"Well, you're gonna be out of action for a little while while you heal, but you'll recover," Slade says.
"Thanks, Slade," Roy says in a soft voice.
"But you being out action is the least of our worries," Slade says.
"Indeed. This Taskmaster. He was not just highly trained. He has been enhanced. I know it," Nyssa says.
"I agree. He was able to copy our fighting styles perfectly. That couldn't have been something he trained himself to do. And that just makes him all the more dangerous," Slade says.
"So, what do we do?" Thea asks.
There is quiet for a few moments before Slade says, "We need backup. I think we need to head back to Star City."
And, I'll end there.
I hope you liked this chapter, and my introduction of Taskmaster. I'm not quite sure I did Taskmaster's skills complete justice, but I tried my best.
For those wondering about Taskmaster's appearance, I imagine his suit to be pretty much identical to what his suit looks like in the concept art image for the Black Widow movie, except for his mask looking a bit more skull-like. He also has more weapons than he does in that concept art image.
I don't have anything else to add right now, so I'll just say: Please leave a review, and stay tuned!