All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I am altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place three weeks after "Training Guerillas".
Khanate
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Beijing
The past three weeks had not gone well for those trying to retain the Illuminati's control over China. They had suffered defeat after defeat after defeat from Khan's forces, usually with his sorceress aiding them. Khan's attack toward Hong Kong, however, opened up an opening for the Pro-Illuminati Chinese to launch an offensive in the northern part of Khan's line. The region was more desolate and sparsely populated. And considering the number of troops Khan had put into the attack to the south, it was also assumed that the line there was weak. Things quickly went from bad to worse.
At first the attack seemed to go well. One, now in Beijing with Five looked optimistic at the possibility of driving all the way into Tibet and retaking the fortress that Khan had initially overrun, possibly capturing the rebellious superman outright. But those hopes were quickly dashed when Khan's sorceress appeared on the battle field. Their attack was blunted, and sound ground to a halt, but with so few troops in the region, Khan didn't go onto the offensive. And with only the sorceress and a small fraction of Khan's supporters there, One and Five gambled, moving troops from their southern sector to try and overpower Khan's sorceress.
That was when Khan sprung a trap he had waiting for them. As soon as their southern troops began to move north to battle Khan's sorceress when she appeared again, this time in the southern sector, leading a full blown offensive. The Illuminati forces were caught in a massive pincer that eventually served to destroy most of the forces they had in China. One and Five then rapidly began to disengage the remaining pro-Illuminati troops from the region. The trap had served to destroy too much of their forces and left them with questions that needed answering.
These questions mostly revolved around Khan's sorceress. At first it was thought that Khan had found a second witch to serve his needs, but the two appeared identical. Then it was guessed that the second sorceress was a clone of the first. But that wasn't entirely likely. Magic was difficult to duplicate and Illuminati scientists, mostly through what Xanatos had provided them from Sevarius's work had assumed that while cloning a magic user was possible, unless the original host was always present, an army of magical clones was impossible. Eventually they'd have a clone that had all the DNA but no magic. And the Illuminati did not leave any Illuminati agent that could do magic at the Tibetan base, so Khan's sorceress had to have come from somewhere else. How he got access to her was unknown, and it didn't look like they'd get real answers anytime soon.
"How is he doing this?" Five demanded, slamming his fists down on a table, "Not only does he somehow discerns our entire strategy, but strikes at us with two versions of his sorceress."
"Ultimately through our own technology, most likely" One answered simply, sounding frustrated, but not displaying that frustration as easily.
"Our technology?" Five asked back, "Surely we cut the Tibet base from our network."
"We did," One replied.
"Then how could he get our devices working?" Five questioned.
"One, we were never able to recover the actual devices in the Tibet base," One began, "they likely rebooted the systems from the power sources available to them. Two, we bread Khan and the supermen to be highly intelligent. It would not surprise me if they've created a program that runs on our tech, but carries their information… it also wouldn't surprise me if Khan has somehow hacked into our network without our detection."
"Then we made them too smart," Five grumbled.
"Perhaps, but there is no escaping that now," One answered.
"So how is he getting the same sorceress to appear in two places at once?" Five questioned, "I mean the specifics?"
"Likely time travel," One answered.
"But the time travel studies were not being carried out in Tibet," Five pointed out, "even if he downloaded the designs for them, he didn't have the material to build a time machine… and even if he did, all the experimenting being done scientifically has failed and we've had to add magic to it."
One nodded slightly, "perhaps the sorceress has conjured the items he needs and provided the magic required. Many of those details are a mystery."
Five only grumbled.
"Once he got the machine he needed, he then sent his sorceress back in time for some version of his sorceress that exists in the past," One then explained.
"That could destroy the known universe… or at least Khan's sorceress and his successes…" Five gasped.
"Only if they can not return the first sorceress back the time from when she came," One commented, "which will make it all the more important to kill one of Khan's 'two' witches. If it's the present one, he can not repeat the act, and if it's the past one… everything that Khan has accomplished will unravel."
Five looked at the map they had been studying. Khan's forces had advanced to a line running from Bayan Qbo to Baotou to Dongsheng to Fugu to Taiyuan to Jiexiu to Jinan and following the Huang He River to the sea. He had only to take Beijing before he would truly control China. Of the Chinese army before his uprising, forty percent had joined the rebellion… and of them, Khan had presently liberated seventy five percent. But of the sixty percent that remained loyal to the Illuminati, thirty percent had been killed by Khan's troops, thirty percent had been defeated by Khan's sorceress, ten percent had been captured through other means. Only the remaining thirty percent was free to serve the Illuminati. They needed a dramatic and some might say miraculous victory.
Cave, Tibet
"Ouch!" a Tibetan female grumbled as Yama caught her attempted kick and then landed a blow to her midsection, sending her tumbling backward.
"That was marked improvement," Yama told her from where he stood, "You are beginning to catch on to the basics and these sparring sessions will help you improve and figure out the best way to adapt to the skills required."
"My bruises have bruises!" the female answered.
"Better then being killed by one of the Supermen in a battle for your life when you are unprepared," Yama answered, "remember that they will be armed when it comes time to fight them. Being able to dodge and act quickly will be the only thing that could save you from being mortally wounded or killed outright."
There was an awkward silence for a few moments while Yama sighed heavily. He was doing his best to train the Tibetan as quickly as possible, but it was still a slow route. Yama was the only other gargoyle there with real training, and Wedrington and Demona were the only ones with real experience against anything like these supermen. And Wedrington commonly stated that his experience probably wasn't good enough. He helped with the basics, but he couldn't go beyond that. The Tibetans, meanwhile, hadn't even gone that far.
Yet, Demona continued to insist on leading the raids on Khan's supply lines in the area. This was the thing that Yama didn't like. The Tibetan gargoyles were largely untrained, and yet Demona was deliberately placing them in harms way to carry out these raids. She was confident that she could protect them with her magic from sustaining serious wounds, but Yama was not so sure. None of the Ishimuran clan had any knowledge of magic, and neither had they faced one who did. Even still, Yama guessed that its strengths only went as far as Demona could focus. That meant that she couldn't protect everyone with her magic, no matter how strong she was.
Yama had tried to convince Demona that it was a foolish risk to try and get the Tibetans experience by sending them without training against trained soldiers. If the opponents were just as 'green' as the Tibetans were, that would be one thing, but what they faced was quite another. And as a result, Yama was forced to accelerate the training for the rest of the Tibetans as fast as he could, which left him in the current position he was in. He was thankful that Wedrington was helping with the basics and that Yoshi was helping as well. Without their help, Yama was quite certain the Tibetans would not have come as far as they had.
"It is to help you progress," Yoshi spoke up as he intervened, "and you have all progressed well."
"Thank you, I guess," the Tibetan female replied, "I apologize if we aren't progressing fast enough."
"Proper training is not something to be rushed," Yama answered, "when done correctly it takes time and usually does not involve sending untrained warriors against armed soldiers."
"You do not approve of Demona's plans?" Je Lu asked as many of the other Tibetan gargoyles gathered.
"I do not think it the smartest thing to do, but I am not familiar with magic," Yama answered, "she may be right in her faith that her abilities will protect her."
"She can do a lot," Wedrington commented, "so long as she keeps these raids in small groups, I thick she shouldn't have any trouble."
Khan's Base
Khan, meanwhile, was in his own conference. The past three weeks had gone well for the rebellious superman. Thanks to a bit of ingenious planning, his forces were poised for a major victory over the Pro-Illuminati forces in China. He had anticipated the attack in the north as a likely move as the reports came in about how the area had weakened as more troops were rushed south to aid in the Hong Kong campaign. His solution to the problem was an exquisite trap.
It involved using both Damien and Marilyn, but ultimately, the end result was worth the risk. The 'sorceress' that the Illuminati ran into in the north was not Marilyn but Damien using an illusion spell to make him look like Marilyn. The trick worked perfectly. Damien blunted the northern attack, leaving Marilyn free to lead the attack in the south. And when the trap was sprung, they were successful in nearly annihilating the Pro-Illuminati forces.
Of course, the victory didn't come without risks. By sending Damien to the front that meant that his rear areas were not as well protected. The Illuminati couldn't invade with foreign armies because they had to play by the rules that nations seemed to follow. No nation interfered in the internal squabbles of another. But Khan didn't put it past the Illuminati to mount some sort of commando raids. To make it look like there were guerillas in his rear that he had ignored.
They, however, were not Khan's first concern. The Illuminati continued to fight him the way he expected them to. The problem was Demona. So far she had limited herself to a series of raids on his supply convoys, doing little real damage. But she was still an untested variable. She knew magic and was as strong as any of his soldiers, and based by what files he had been able to access on her from the Illuminati, she had the reputation of being absolutely ruthless. He needed China to fall, and fall quickly, so he could at least recall Damien to Tibet.
At was the reason for the present conference between Khan, Marilyn, and Damien.
"The time has come," Khan ordered, "We must insure that China is ours, and quickly."
"What about our supplies though?" Marilyn questioned, "we've only received eighty percent of the supplies manufactured in the Tibet base that you've sent. The Illuminati could have a secret weapon around Beijing."
"The loss of the supplies is Demona's doing," Khan answered, "she appears to be stealing the goods carried by the convoys she's attacked. It is also why you must begin the dive on Beijing as soon as possible."
"It will be done!" Damien answered.
Marilyn only nodded, "I'd think it wiser to destroy Demona first, but if you really think we can pull this off…"
"Of course," Khan answered, "The Illuminati can not find Demona, and she has been limited to small raids. Victory over China is assured."
Jinan, Shandong Province
Marilyn only sighed as the connection with Tibet was ended. Apparently the final battle with China was first on the agenda. A couple of Anti-Illuminati officers were present. Of them, only one of them was a member of Khan's genetically engineered supermen.
"We are to attack as soon as possible," Marilyn said slowly.
"Attack, ma'am?" one of the officers asked, "what about our supplies?"
"Khan believes that Demona is responsible for our loss of supplies and wants us to finish this war quickly so that she can be dealt with," Marilyn answered.
"And what of Damien?" a different officer asked, "dawn isn't THAT far away, and they may transfer troops to our sector when the realize that 'you' are not in the north."
"Remember that the goal is to encircle Beijing and hopefully trap the government leaders there," Marilyn answered, "we will be fighting those in the north eventually. If they attack us sooner, our goal will be to hold out and wait for the northern units to complete the encirclement."
"Of course, madam," they both bowed.
"Now, if you excuse me, I have some havoc to bring down on the Illuminati," Marilyn said with a slight smile.
A lone Chinese Pro-Illuminati soldier dove into his foxhole when artillery shells began falling all along the front. The whole war had so far been one mistake after another for them. Hampered by anti-Illuminati troops behind them and Khan's forces behind them, they were unable to adequate fight both when Khan was isolated in Tibet. And then Khan's sorceress joined the battles and turned the whole affair into a slaughterhouse for anyone who supported the Illuminati. And now the battle was starting again, and he knew that if he failed, Khan would never be stopped. He had to win.
He readied his weapon and watched out over the ground to the south of him. The attack mirrored one of the standards of Khan's strategy. Concentrated fire of artillery on strong points to be followed by tanks or his sorceress. The soldier didn't have much to stop tanks, but hoped the mines they had laid would stop them. If it was the sorceress though, he hoped he, one of his comrades would be lucky enough to fire the round that finally ended the witch's life.
"Come to me," a voice said almost seductively on the wind, "Destroy Khan's army on the road."
"Hello?" the soldier asked, wondering what a woman was doing out on the battlefield.
"Come to me," the voice repeated, sounding more insistent, "destroy Khan's army on the road."
"I must destroy Khan's army on the road," the soldier said in an almost trance like state before shaking his mind clear and sliding back into his foxhole.
"DESTROY KHAN'S ARMY ON THE ROAD!" the voice said again, "COME TO ME!"
The voice said more insistent, yet still hypnotic. The soldier got out of his foxhole and began to walk toward the road.
"Come to me," the voice returned to its seductive tone, "Destroy Khan's army on the road…"
The soldier staggered on. He was joined by nearly all the other soldiers in that area. After a few moments later an officer came to the region to deliver orders when he noticed his men advancing toward the road they had just mined.
"What are you doing?!" the officer demanded, "we're under fire! Return to your foxholes!"
His voice wasn't heard and was soon unable to even try to snap them out of their trance as Marilyn appeared behind him and watched as the soldiers were blown to bits by the mines they had laid earlier.
"And where would be the fun in that?" Marilyn questioned and snapped the officer's neck.
Tibet
Meanwhile, Demona crouched low among the great rocks of the mountains of the Tibetan plateau looking down a narrow road where an convoy of trucks would drive through. To her the raids were important in getting the Tibetan gargoyles ready for the coming battles with Khan's forces. She knew that Yama and Yoshi were opposed to it, and that Wedrington was uneasy with it, but experience was the best teacher in her mind. Being an expert in martial arts didn't bring about victory. Having the right mentality and figuring out how to strategize a fight did, and that wasn't an aspect of fighting that was unique to the martial arts styles of East Asia.
By raiding small lightly guarded convoys or supply missions, the Tibetan gargoyles would be able to apply what Yama taught them against an actual opponent. And since the targets were relatively small, Demona was completely confident that her magic would be more then enough to insure that the situation remained relatively within the abilities of the Tibetan gargoyles to avoid serious injury.
With her on the present raid were Shi La and a Tibetan named Mei-Tee.
"Okay," Demona began, "the convoy is only two trucks. When they get close to where we are, I will cause a rockslide that they will crash into. You will then deal with the supermen in the back of the trucks. They should be disoriented by the collision, so if you go after their weapons first, you should be able to prevent them from killing you outright."
"What if the rockslide buries the trucks instead of landing in front of them?" Mei-Tee questioned.
"One less group of supermen to worry about," Demona answered with very little real care.
And Demona did not care about Khan or any of his supermen. Neither could she say that she cared about the humans that Khan had mislead. Their fighting and their war was THEIR affair. Not hers. She would be involved in it so long as to insure that Khan was gone and the Tibetan gargoyles could resume their lives, but the human affairs mattered little to her. She did not desire humanity's destruction and wouldn't actively seek to become the 'Queen' of Earth, but that did not mean she liked humans… and the two that she might even consider 'liking' had been turned into gargoyles, the Detective and Wedrington.
"That seems a little harsh, Demona," Shi La commented, "the soldiers that serve Khan may not ALL be supermen."
"They are still enemies that are supportive of him," Demona answered, "they will not stop long enough to let you try to talk them out of it…" she then sighed, "…we are in a war, Shi La. And warriors generally do not back down until the war is over, in either victory or defeat."
Shi La sighed heavily. She did not like war. Her clan had fled to Tibet from their original home in Beijing to get away from the wars between the Nationalist and the Communist Chinese. Now, her clan was being forced into a war between Khan and those opposed the Illuminati against those who support the Illuminati. She was, however, unable to say anything more as the sound of an engine was heard in the distance.
"Here they come," Demona said in a low voice and crouched low to keep herself out of sight.
Two trucks then rounded a turn to appear on the road and began driving toward where Demona and the other two were hiding. Just as was about to cast the spell that would send a rockslide down to trap the trucks, two rockets flew out from among several rocks on the other side of the road. The rockets destroyed both trucks and forced Demona to use one of her wings as a shield as shrapnel flew up toward them.
"What was that?!" Mei-Tee wondered.
"An attack," Demona answered, "we should leave."
"Look!" Shi La spoke pointing down toward the smoking wreckage of the two trucks.
Demona looked down to see three men emerge from behind the rocks where the rockets had flown from tem. They were dressed in red and black commando gear with a pyramid on their right shoulder.
"The Illuminati," Demona growled.
"They still oppose Khan, I see," Mei-Tee commented, "does this mean they're still fighting in the eastern part of China?"
"I don't…" Demona began to answer when she looked down to see the men activate jetpacks that they had on their backs and rocket up to where Demona and her two 'trainees' were standing.
"You are a difficult one to track down," the leading commando commented as he and his men landed on a different part of the ledge.
"You've been hunting me?" Demona growled.
"Not hunting," the leader spoke, "looking for. Fate it appears has given us a common enemy in this war."
"I fight Khan because he has wronged the local clan," Demona answered.
"The why matters little," the leading commando answered, "we are still fighting the same enemy."
"And you want us to fight him for you," Demona surmised.
"Khan will be defeated in time," the commando answered, "the problem is his sorceress. We need someone to defeat her."
"Marilyn…" Demona growled.
"What?" one of the other two commandos asked.
"The sorceress's name is Marilyn," Shi La told them.
"The Council is prepared to help train your little army if you would agree to work with us to defeat… Marilyn," the leading commando spoke to Demona.
"So they can become your research project?" Demona answered, "It is probably for the best in THIS case that we work together, but I still do not trust you… and I will not put the Tibetan clan in a position where you can betray them."
The leading commando locked on.
"For the sake of fighting the same enemy, I can cooperate… but there will be major concessions that you will give to all gargoyles in exchange for my help… and you will allow me to continue the war in my own way," Demona spoke, "if you want to control the Tibetan clan… then you're on your own."
"We aren't much of a position to try and control anyone at the moment," the leading commando answered.
"All the same, I will see to the training of the Tibetan gargoyles on my own," Demona answered, "if your masters enlarge the war, you are to meet me here to discuss whatever plan they have come up with… but I will not put the Tibetans in a place where they could be betrayed by your Council… they are after all responsible for the current war by creating Khan in the first place."
The commando sighed heavily and looked down for a moment. He then pulled a small walkie-talkie like device from one of the pouches on his belt. He then handed it to Demona.
"It's on a frequency that my sector uses," the leading commando answered, "if we need to contact you, we can use that."
Demona looked at it and nodded slowly.
"And thank you for your help," the leading commando then finished and rocketed off with his two other Illuminati commandos.
Beijing
"They've begun two attacks," a Chinese general reported to One and Five, "One in the north and one in the south."
"Where is the sorceress?" Five asked.
"Largely with the southern force," the general answered, "we've tried to get forces ready to reinforce the southern line, but they've only been attacked in the rear in the north. I'm afraid we do not have the reserves to overwhelm her."
"Where are the attacks headed, specifically?" One asked.
The General looked to the map that One and Five were studying.
"The northern attack is largely supporting a single thrust toward Hohhot, and they're actually nearing that city now," the general reported, "the southern attack is backing a single thrust toward Cangzhou. I would tend to think that Khan intends to trap us in massive pincer movement."
"Stopping his sorceress will reverse his successes," One answered, "do what you can to blunt the northern attack. We will stop the attack in the south."
"Yes, my Lords," the general said to the two Illuminati Council members.
Tibet, the Cave
Demona, Shi La and Mei-Tee returned to the cave to find that Yama and Yoshi's lessons still going on. Their return, however, brought their attention to them. Wedrington was the one who noticed the walkie-talkie that Demona was carrying.
"What is that?" Wedrington asked, which finally ended the training sessions.
"A means to communicate with the outside," Demona said slowly, "the Illuminati apparently wish to have our help."
"The Illuminati?" Wedrington wondered.
"Yes," Demona nodded, "they ambushed the convoy before I could made a weak attempt at an offer… but we're already fighting Khan… they might prove useful eventually."
"I thought you'd said not to trust them?" Wedrington asked her.
"And I stick to that," Demona sighed, "but so long as Khan is fighting, we might be able to force them to accept a better position for the Tibetan clan when this is all over."
"This seems dangerous," Wedrington warned, "from what you've told me about the Illuminati."
Demona only sighed and placed on hand on Wedrington's shoulder.
"I know… but we may not have much of a choice," Demona told him as the sun rose and they turned to stone for the day.
Cangzhou, Hebei Province
Marilyn was fairly pleased with their progress so far in the attack against the Illuminati. The fears that the Illuminati would send forces to crush the flanks of her forces appeared to be false. There were moments of fierce fighting, but her flanks held, and it was the Illuminati that took the worst of the fighting, even when it was fierce.
"We're getting close," one of her officers sad from his command car as they moved through the city, Marilyn floating beside him.
"Yes," Marilyn nodded, "Remember that our goal is to encircle Beijing. We might get lucky and the Premier will be trapped there. Remember that we're to begin a turn toward Tianjin from here."
"Right," the officer acknowledged her.
"Have you heard anything from the northern thrust?" Marilyn asked.
"They've faced tougher fighting, but are still advancing," the officer answered, "they're nearing Jining right now."
Marilyn pondered that for a moment.
"We may need to head north and west in order to complete the encirclement," Marilyn said after a moment.
"We've begun the attack madam," the officer answered, "we will complete it."
"Good," Marilyn nodded as they approached a bridge that spanned a canal or river, Marilyn wasn't sure which.
As they approached though she saw several men run out from under the bridge and toward the ground to the north of them. The officer opened up on them with the machine gun mounted on his command car.
"Keep your men here," Marilyn answered, "you may have gotten the sappers, but they may still have the means to destroy the bridge."
Marilyn then flew down underneath the bridge to find that several sections of the bridge had canisters of explosives attacked to the bridge. One quick teleportation spell and the explosives were gone and landed in the water a hundred yards away. They still set off a geyser of water though when the explosives were triggered.
"Okay," Marilyn began, "You can…"
She was unable to complete the order as a large dragon-like image came down out of nowhere and crushed the bridge, sending it down on top of Marilyn. Marilyn managed to protect herself from being killed, but for the moment, she couldn't do much to counter her attackers. As she moved to climb out from under the debris of the bridge, she heard her men fire and the returned roars of a dragon in the air.
Marilyn managed to climb out on the Illuminati side of the river or canal. She looked to see two lone men standing there. One wore dark colored robes and had a long beard showing from beneath the hood of his cloak. A glass cylinder with a silver dragon encircling it hung from his hip, and the inside of the cylinder seemed to be filled with red, white, and blue smoke, though not in that precise order, and knowing that many countries used those colors, Marilyn didn't try to guess what nationality he was.
The other wore a red and black robe and did nothing to hide his features. He carried a somewhat aristocratic appearance about him. He also wore a large and heavy looking chain with a large gemstone surrounded by gold embellishment to look like the rays from the sun. Inside the gemstone was a dragon's eye.
"So, witch, we meet," the aristocratic man spoke, "we meet, at last."
"You aren't Chinese," Marilyn commented.
"And neither are you," the aristocratic man retorted, "but unlike you, I answer to a cause greater then mere power."
"If you don't want power, then I will accept your surrender of all Illuminati forces in China," Marilyn answered.
"Cute," the aristocratic man, "but was referring to the principle behind Illuminati rule… look at the name of organization Illuminati… we have been illuminated by knowledge that is unknown to everyone else in the world."
"And yet you can't out think your own creation," Marilyn answered, "being smart doesn't make you better, being 'first' doesn't make you better…"
"But preventing chaos does," the aristocratic man answered, "without our guidance the world would have a major war every twenty years, because people are too greedy, too stupid, to unenlightened to know any better. And when they fight, all they do is destroy lives. We maintain peace."
"And expect those better then you to serve you without question," Marilyn answered, "or did you simply not think that your creations would not think for themselves?"
"We are One and Five of the Illuminati Council, witch," the aristocratic man answered, "we have years of experience at maintaining peace and prosperity around the world…"
"The twentieth century was a huge success at that, two World Wars in the space of twenty years and several smaller wars that were equally devastating in those areas," Marilyn shot back, "I am Marilyn. Khan's witch, and if you will not surrender, you will die!"
"It is you who will die!" Five growled and raised the cylinder.
Three ghostly two headed eagles flew out of the cylinder and attacked Marilyn, starting to carry her off. Each of them was one of the colors of the smoke inside the cylinder. As she was lifted into the air, Marilyn noticed the carnage these two had brought on her troops. Vehicles were smashed and bodies lay about the field, though some appeared to only be wounded, and she noticed several groups of infantry hastily digging foxholes on their side of the river or canal.
"You can not beat me!" Marilyn screamed as she ran a strong electric current through her body and electrocuted the three eagles into nothingness and then floated in the air and cast her aim at Five, "Fulminos Venite!"
The lightning blast was easily dodged, but it did allow Marilyn to dive down and then kick Five away while he was still dodging the lightning strike. She had little time to respond as a dragon flew at her from behind. She managed to avoiding taking a serious hit, but it did nock her down and it cut the straps that held the body armor she wore on. She then watched as the 'dragon' then looped up and returned to the gemstone that One was wearing.
"You are not the only one who knows magic," One smirked, "and I doubt even survive the 'Dragon's Eye'."
"We'll see," Marilyn answered and raised up large vines from the ground beneath One.
They wrapped around his legs and arms and held them away from the gemstone on his chest.
"I do not need to hold the gemstone," One growled and called forth the dragon again.
This time, however, Marilyn anticipated the attack and dodged the dragon's charge at her. Then, while the dragon turned around, she rushed One and grabbed the medallion he wore and flipped over him. Once back on he ground, she held the gemstone to the center of his back.
"What are you…" One began before looking back to see the dragon flying back toward him at great speed.
The impact was not pretty or pleasant. Blood spattered everywhere as the dragon flew through One and returned to the gemstone. Marilyn only gave a slight chuckle as she looked at the massive hole in the now dead One. It was short lived as a blue and red two headed eagle took her feet out from under her while a white two headed eagle took the medallion that One had been wearing.
"Not for you!" Five answered.
Marilyn only responded with a lightning spell to the cylinder that he carried. The strange device in a puff of smoke sending the medallion flying away into one field while Five was thrown into a field on the opposite side of road. Marilyn then advanced on him with the full intention of finishing him off. He successfully tripped her as she approached.
"Ah, physical combat," Marilyn answered, "My favorite."
Five then attempted to stomp on Marilyn's face when Marilyn, still on her back, caught his foot and threw him into the air very easily. Marilyn then climbed back to her feet.
"Because like all of the supermen you created," Marilyn spoke triumphantly, "I am stronger then you."
"We didn't create you," Five stammered out as he tried to recover his breath from the throw.
"Yes, Khan, made me, and I will share in his prosperity," Marilyn replied, "for I am strong, and you are weak."
Five threw a punch at Marilyn, only to have her dodge, grab the arm and then twist it till it was dislocated. Five screamed in pain, but Marilyn pulled him into a wrestling hold that put the Illuminati Council member at a serious disadvantage.
"You might have been strong once," Marilyn said triumphantly, "but that time has passed."
And with that she snapped his neck.
Unknown Location
"She won't go to the Nepal base?" Three growled into the communications screen in the main Illuminati headquarters.
"We were lucky she agreed to work with us at all," the commando answered, "She fears we would experiment on the other gargoyles."
"We probably would," Three grumbled, "Demona is the only one of value."
The commando seemed to catch that, "Yes, and she seemed to sense that desire. We believe she will work with us, but I doubt she do anything big until she thinks she's trained up the other gargoyles."
That left Three heavily frustrated. Khan had begun a major offensive, likely the one that Khan intended to take Beijing with, but so far no reports had come in. He had hoped that there would be some good news to come in that would give them something to be optimistic about, and as unlikely as it sounded, an alliance with Demona would do just that. But for now, all they could hope for was loose cooperation.
Tibet, Khan's Base
"Do we control Beijing?" Khan asked.
"Not as yet, sir," Marilyn answered, "tougher then expected resistance at Cangzhou has slowed us down."
"I do not like delays," Khan answered, "there are matters that must be finished soon."
"You may like this one," Marilyn answered, "One and Five were the cause of it. We took heavy casualties, but they were defeated, and I am sending the bodies to you."
"One and Five?" Khan asked.
"Yes," Marilyn nodded, "and I killed BOTH of them."
"What report have you received from Damien's forces?" Khan asked.
"They've moved slowly because of Damien's stone sleep, but the Chinese have not proven they could stop his forces anyway," Marilyn answered, "they have taken Jining and are driving to Shangdu. I expect they will advance faster come nightfall, and with One and Five gone, your Khanate is assured."
"That is good news," Khan smiled, "Good news indeed."
To Be Continued…