A TANGLED WEB Part 8: Endgame
Chapter 38
by Charlie Nelson a.k.a. Ordinaryguy2
Originally Posted: 7-31-2011
Updated: 3-18-2022
The main crossovers in this chapter include: Angel (2000-2004); The Avengers (2012); Child's Play (1988); Deadpool (2016); Gargoyles (1995-1996); Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999); The Herculoids (1967-1969); Jake 2.0 (2003-2004); Lost (2004-2010); The New Mutants (2020); Nightbreed (1990); Predator (1987); The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994-1998); The Six-Million Dollar Man (1974-1978); Star Trek: The Next Generation; X-Men (2000)
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Thor grappled with the Borg-controlled Greek demi-god Hercules. Part of him reveled at the opportunity of taking on the Greek legendary figure, but with the Borg threat looming over all reality he didn't have that luxury. Hercules was different than he had thought he would be - his face was shaved, and his hair was long. There were other things as well but perhaps it was due to the differences in their alternate universes.
Thor and the Avengers had been captured by the time-despot Kang the Conqueror. Kang had put his controlling-collars on the Avengers and then used them to take out the Fantastic Four. Once they were put under Kang's control as well, he sent both teams out to collect the X-Men. Kang was about to divide then into smaller teams to collect Spider-Man, the Hulk, Ghost Rider, Blade, Dr. Strange, and even the Punisher, but one of his monitors informed him of a sudden breach in an area of time that had been completely walled off to him before. He seized the opportunity, knowing that he might never have another chance, and took his newly acquired warriors to explore this unexplored land. Instead, his fighters were beaten and freed from his control, while Kang slipped away into the time stream. But now that they were here and learned what was going on, all of them – Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men – agreed that this Borg group needed to be stopped.
While Thor was near invulnerable, the shower of blasts from the drones firing on him hurt. He swung his enchanted hammer Mjolnir and let it fly knocking many of the drones down; while their shields did protect them from the damage from the hammer, the inertia was strong enough to dash them about like dominos. This attack did leave him vulnerable to Hercules, who struck him with enough force to knock him back where another partially assimilated drone, the OSI agent Steve Austin, swung his bionic fist right into Thor's jaw. The Norse deity stumbled back, mostly from being caught off guard. He almost missed catching his hammer as it returned to him. When he looked over at Steve Austin, Thor could see that the fist of the bionic man had shattered into bits of plastic and metal, some of which still dangled oddly from his wrist.
Thor readied himself for another attack from Hercules, when something landed on his shoulders and attacked his head. Angela of the Gargoyles, also in the first stage of assimilation into the service of the Borg, tried to stick her claws into Thor's eyes, eyes being one of the easiest things for the Borg to replace, but had her hands grabbed before she could inflict any damage. He swung the female Gargoyle around like a baseball bat hitting Hercules. Thor let them tumble away across the ground. Thor knew Hercules would be back on his feet in a moment, but Angela would be down for a little while until the nanites could repair some of her broken bones.
Steve Austin delivered a bionic kick to the side of Thor's head resulting in smashing his foot to a jangled mess. Thor caught himself from falling just in time to bring his hammer Mjolnir up to block a high intensity beam from one of the Sleestak fully-processed Borg drones.
A head-sized rock smashed into the fleshy side of the Sleestak drone's head, killing the drone. The thrower of the stone crashed into Steve Austin from behind, and struggled to pin him down.
Angel, a soul-cursed vampire, wrestled with Steve Austin, trying to keep the bionic drone from getting loose. "I can't hold him long!"
"You do not have to for long," Thor said. "I shall smite his head and give him a warrior's death."
"Whoa! Hold up there, winghead! No head flattening needed. We have this one," said one of Angel's associates, Charles Gunn, as he ran up and injected a large hypodermic needle into the side of the bionic man's neck.
Steve Austin began to tremble and then convulse. Angel jumped up and then back.
"What did you inject him with?" asked Thor.
"Something the scientists have been whipping up," answered Gunn.
"They don't have much of it," Angel went on to explain, "but what extra they have, we are trying to use to save as many of those that have become drones as possible. It's also only made to deal with the drones that haven't been refitted with accessories."
Thor nodded at this. "What would this serum do to a fully processed drone?"
"Don't know for sure," Gunn responded. "But that creepy, bald, mad scientist guy Sivana seemed to imply that it would be an interesting application and he'd like to try to study the resulting implosion sometime."
As Steve Austin began to vomit up the nanites in his system, Thor and the others took a couple of steps back.
"Is this what is supposed to happen?" asked Thor.
"Yes," came a new voice. Mr. Fantastic stretched out onto the field. "I've got more serum."
"We will need it," Thor said as he renewed his grappling attack with Hercules.
Mr. Fantastic's arm moved in a snake-like strike, embedding the needle deep in Hercules' exposed shoulder.
"The female Gargoyle would be a good candidate for the Borg antidote," suggested Mr. Fantastic.
But as they moved toward her, Angela stood up and leapt into the air, using her wings to take flight.
"Oh no you don't." Mr. Fantastic stretched out his arms and wrapped them tight around her wings, then pulled her back to him. The leader of the Fantastic Four fashioned the rest of his body into a large airbag to keep her from further harm. "The injection quick! She is very strong!"
Thor picked up one of the unused syringes from the ground and injected the young, female Gargoyle in her shoulder.
"Very good," commented Mr. Fantastic. "You could have been a doctor."
"Most of the Borg are gone," Thor commented, as he threw his mystic hammer at the Borg controlled Giant-Man in the distance, making him reminisce about fighting frost giants while defending Asgard. "What has happened?"
"The villains," began Mr. Fantastic, as he let Angela loose so that she could expel the miniature robotic nanites from her body. "They managed to deploy some type of cloud that disintegrates flesh. It covered a large area of the field on which the Borg were advancing. Now that a majority of the drones have been destroyed or disabled, they seem to be pulling back to regroup."
"You're partially right," Angel commented. "They aren't pulling back. They seem to be staying at their current position and waiting for reinforcements before marching forward again."
Charles Gunn ducked behind the corpse of a small dinosaur that had been the victim of a stray shot. "Meanwhile, they're going to keep trying to pick us off."
Angel jumped down next to Gunn while Mr. Fantastic lowered himself down to the ground with his malleable abilities. Thor caught his returning hammer and used it to deflect anything aimed at him. "Their giant is now down," proclaimed the Norse thunder god.
"I've got to get a hammer like that," Gunn said.
"They may not be advancing, but most of their number are closer to the heroes side of the battlefield," Mr. Fantastic pointed out.
"Don't they have some kind of hive mind?" asked Angel, speculatively.
"Yes," answered the leader of the Fantastic Four.
Gunn understood where Angel was going with his idea, and decided to add some of his own ideas to the mix. "They have that field by the triage that the Borg Collective can't get through. Can't we extend it?"
"It was made with magic," Mr. Fantastic replied. "And Wotan, the magician that made it, said it would be near impossible to enlarge, with all the excess energy flying around."
"What about a radio jammer?" Gunn said. "I mean, something like a radio jammer, but with magic."
"I don't do magic," answered Mr. Fantastic. "And the resources to my disposal are very limited, but still…" Mr. Fantastic considered his options. "Professor X, can you hear me?"
Yes, Reed, what is it? came the telepathic reply.
"I want to try something that may neutralize the enemy."
Please elaborate.
"I need to examine a few people to see if it will work. Can you have Electra Woman and Sonar report to the triage, please? Perhaps Static Shock, too, if he is available."
I'll do it right away.
"I'd also like to examine you."
There was just a slight pause. Very well. I see what you have in mind. I'll be waiting.
Reed Richards turned to his companions. "Hopefully this will work. Meanwhile I have five syringes left. Use it wisely." He handed the serum to Gunn. Then extended his body into loops around Hercules, Angela and Steve Austin in order to bring them with him, but hanging their bodies to the side so that the expulsed nanites left a trail behind him.
"That is truly disgusting," Angel commented. "It's like cybernetic dysentery."
"I agree." Gunn spat in the dirt, disgusted. "Let's just hope we don't end up experiencing that."
"You have permission to stake me first."
Instead of commenting, Thor looked up and watched as Black Adam flew through the sky, returning to the villains' side. The god of thunder could sense the godly empowerment in the Egyptian and knew that it was evil. A fight between them would be legendary, and long remembered. But it would have to be after this escapade with the Borg was ended. He blocked another blast from one of the Borg drones with his mighty hammer. "Onward to battle!" he shouted as he swung his hammer when the Norse god of Thunder was suddenly hit with a barrage of lightning. "Who doth dare?!" shouted Thor.
Looking up, he could see the first stage drone of Pyroman firing bolts of lightning at him.
Thor used his mighty hammer to throw himself into the air after the electrical drone.
"Angel!" warned Gunn.
The vampire looked up to see the Black Terror trying to use Carl the Gnome as a club on him. Angel ducked to the side, but was still hit and sent flying into a couple of Gorillas and their ally, Mikey Dundee and Michael Garibaldi.
"Got him!" came a feminine voice. Shadowcat raced forward and literally ran thru the Black Terror with her phasing powers. The drone spasmed as if shorting out and collapsed. "Now you have to get him into the dead zone."
"I just have to give him this shot that can cure him!" stated Mr. Fantastic. He tried to pierce the down man's arm, but the needle would not pierce his skin.
Gunn shook his head. "How do you give a guy that is invulnerable a shot with a needle?"
"Maybe if he shallows it?" suggested Angel, who was walking over very lopsided. His jacket was torn and would have to be replaced.
"Give it, here," Shadowcat said. Taking a syringe from him, she stepped toward the Black Terror, phased the syringe onto him body, and emptied it into his system. "Now take him away, boys."
Carl the Gnome, looking up and still a bit dazed, wolf whistled at Shadowcat. "Hey, toots."
"Quiet, I'm watching my boyfriend taken on that burning metal man for the second time."
Carl glanced over just in time to see Colossus come to grips with the Man o' Metal for the second time. And this time the Russian mutant wasn't going to let his opponent toss him away.
As loud clangs of metal being pounded into metal began to be heard around the battleground, Carl came to the conclusion that he did not want this girl's boyfriend to test just how much it takes to damage a hard to damage gnome.
Carl was crawled away when Thor nearly landed on him with a stunned Pyroman.
"Richards! I have one more for you to test your nanites on. And fear not about his electrical abilities interfering with the nanites. I used Mjollnir to drain his power for the time being."
Mr. Fantastic stretched his head and hands over. "That sounds good. According to Professor X, these are all heroes. I hate the thought of any of them dying like this after all the good they have done."
Thor laughed. "A heroic death is something to strive for. Valhalla awaits those worthy heroes to-"
"Would you stop your rhetoric and follow me?" Shadowcat stormed down into the fighting, and rushed into the midst of the combatants. A boomerang from Daredevil went through her head without causing any harm. She shorted out two Sleestak drones and the Green Turtle before rushing through Man o' Metal and her boyfriend Colossus.
"Kitty! I could beat him!" complained Colossus, his accent thickening in his surprise.
"Your muscles are needed elsewhere," she said.
Thor was already fighting Samson, relieving a wounded Goliath and Vincent. The Grendel drone was reaching for Thor from behind.
Seeing the monstrous man as the one Kitty was referring to, Colossus charged to protect the Asgardian from the Grendel monster.
Kitty Pryde looked back to see Dyna Girl trying to hold back the drone of Lash Lightning and Leech. She rushed forward with only one drone in front of her that she would later learn was Prince Valiant. But the Borg had adapted, and she was badly shocked and pushed away from the drone. As she lay there, shaking from the jolt, she was vulnerable.
As the drone reached down for her, a small, purple, winged dragon flew and landed in front of the young mutant. The first stage drone of the valiant prince paused as it waited for updated instructions.
It was just about to act when it was attacked by a fierce wolf. The wolf dove around him, finally coming in behind the drone and biting him in the rear and tugged so that the drone had to fight to keep its balance.
Illyana appeared in front of the drone and swung her blade that glowed with blue fire just as her eyes did. The blade burned through the Prince Valiant drone causing the drone to collapse and convulse.
Psyche caught up with them, and immediately went to check on Shadowcat. "We have to get her out of here."
"We have another problem," Magik remarked coldly.
Psyche glanced over at Wolfsbane. The young wolf whining as gray-ish veins were spreading from her mouth.
"She bit him," Magik explained.
Bring her back with you, came the voice of Professor X in their heads. We have a few cures, but since she is in the very beginning of the first stage, it will be the easiest on her.
Wolfsbane was starting to trot away, as Psyche got to her feet to chase after her.
"Bad doggy," Magik teased as one of her portals opened up underneath her. She did a similar portal for the drone she had downed.
"Where?" Psyche asked.
"With the scientists who have the cure. Where else?" Magik said with a grin. "Now let's grab Kitty and get out of here. My brother would never forgive me if I let anything happen to her."
Nightcrawler bamphed in. "Her professor asked me to bring Kitty to the doctors," explained the nutant as he picked Kitty up and bamphed away with her in a cloud of brimstone stench.
"Hey guys!"
Sunspot was waving his arms to get their attention.
"Incoming!" He pointed behind them and up.
The girls looked up in time to see a large green missile come crashing down near them, knocking them off their feet from its impact.
The green giant roared in outrage and unreasonable anger. It took the girls several breaths to realize just who this was.
"Hulk!"
From somewhere out of the melee of fighting bodies, the Black Widow rushed over to the green giant whose eyes latched onto her. "The enemies are the gray ones. Try not to hurt anyone else," she instructed. "And the ones with mechanical arms will try to stab you to make you be like them. Don't let them stab you."
The Hulk snorted, and then glanced around. Before they realized it, he charged toward Man o' Metal and Colossus, smashing both of them up into the air.
Magik swore, then opened a portal for her brother to fly into and another one in front of them, that he flew up out of before she closed it. With most of the kinetic energy of the blow used up, Colossus fell to the ground with a thud followed by a groan.
Hulk noticed the return of one of those he hit and went to pound his some more.
"Wait!" cried Black Widow. "Wait, this one is actually on our side."
"We should have Professor X put a glossary of who is who in his head, so he knows who to attack," surmised Psyche.
I fear the Hulk would not take well such an intrusion in his mind, projected Professor X. His thoughts are already in turmoil and if I tried to influence him, it could have drastic consequences. Pardon me, but something else I must deal with.
"Hey! Green Genes! Yeah, you, you gamma-powered douche bag! That's right! I'm talking to you!"
Deadpool stormed over, slashing one Sleestak drone aside with a katana as he did.
"You know what this green idiot did?" Deadpool turned to the others. "I was trying to chop up a demonic murder doll, when olive skin here hears its cries of pain and comes over and tosses me into the air. Luckily, I soared for miles before starting to come down towards this battlefield. If that winged Angel fellow hadn't caught me, I'd still be healing from having my leg bones going up my—"
"Red man hurt doll man!" Hulk accused. "Hulk stop red man."
"Well, the doll man was bad!" retorted Deadpool. "He likes to stab little kiddies and kittens! Puppies, too! And you let him get away!"
Hulk looked taken aback. Then, hesitantly, he reached down into the front pocket of the remains of his pants and extracted a very damaged Chucky doll missing an arm and leg.
"The… the horror," murmured the doll. "Someone… please, kill me. Don't let him put me back… not in the pocket! Just toss me in a volcano or an alligator. Just not…" He shuddered. "Not the tight pants! With holes! I've seen things I can't unsee! Gimmie a knife so I can stab out my eyes!" Chucky began to sob.
"Huh." Deadpool regarded the possessed doll for a moment. "I guess getting thrown through the sky was worth this."
"This is wasting time," Magik motioned for Black Widow to get the doll from the Hulk. Then she gave it to Magik. Black Widow then had the Hulk help Thor fight Samson and the several Sleestak drones that were trying to overwhelm the Asgardian.
Magik dropped the Chucky doll to the ground and then stabbed it with her soul-sword, destroying it utterly.
"Cool sword," remarked Deadpool. "Me, I was thinking of giving the Borg the doll. They deserved each other, don'tcha think?"
Magik was about to retort when a series of sparks seemed to open up a round portal from which came several people, some of whom they recognized.
Doctor Strange led the way followed quickly by Ghost Rider who drove passed him on his bike straight towards the first stage drone of a dark Leprechaun. Conan ran out of the portal with she-devil Red Sonja at his side. Conan took on the drone the Peloquin of the Nightbreed, while Sonja used her blade to fight Leroy Gomm and his smaller companion, Devil Lude, who were also of the Nightbreed. The Punisher opened up with an AK-47 to visible tear up the drone of Dr. Philip Decker, who had been hunting the Nightbreed when they were dragged to the Land of the Lost, as well as the three Sleestak drones behind him.
Deadpool let out a wolf whistle and rushed over to be the one to confront the drone of Shuna Sassi of the Nightbreed, the naked woman covered in sharp quills and gray veins.
"Good day, children," said a white dog standing on his back legs while walking like a Human with a young, wide-eyed boy tailing after him. "My colleagues and I have been instructed to come to this location by a telepath known as Professor X. Do you know to whom I refer?"
"I am so not dealing with this," muttered Magik. She turned to Psyche. "They are all yours." She opened one of her portals and jumped inside followed quickly by Lockheed.
"Uh, hey there," she said to the dog who she now realized wore eyeglasses as well. Iceman had created another ice barrier to protect them from the combatants, but that was very temporary. "Professor X is inside our protective wall over there. If you could have any and all non-fighters follow me, I will take you to him."
"Ah, yeah, let's get out of the war zone Strange dropped us into," said a large man with a worried face.
"Dr. Strange said he couldn't open a portal inside our allies defenses, Hurley," responded Kyle.
"I don't care. I've been shot at by an alien warlord, chased by a massive alien monster, then a tyrannosaurus. Then later I was chased by Leatherface, followed by Michael Myers, and then Ghostface only then to run into Jason Voorhees! I am not having a good day! And to top it off, now I am in a comiccon warzone!"
"You survived and are uninjured," pointed out Kyle.
Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes wiped the sweat from his brow. "Actually, I may have a broken or sprained rib from when Spider-Man picked me up to get us out of the Ghost Rider's way. Wait, can you sprain a rib or just bust it?"
"You can injure the intercostal muscles that you use for breathing," stated Johnny Smith from behind them. "Broken ribs hurt worse because they are rubbing against each other every time you breathe."
Hadji had been examining some of the plants. "If I knew more of the plants in this area, I could make something to help with the inflammation. Maybe the doctors here have something that can help you, Hurley."
"I know what would help," offered the pirate in their group. "Rum. Helps take the pain away. Old pirate remedy." He offered his flask to Hurley. "Go on. Take a swig."
Hurley winced, from the smell as well as the thought of what kind of bacteria was all over that flask. "I don't think I hurt that bad."
Capt. Jack Sparrows shrugged and took a swig himself. Then handed it to Jim Taggart who was tending some small lizard hatchlings he had discovered and decided to take with him since he had seen the dead mother. He didn't want to leave the little things to just die, so he made a little cage out of twigs and brought them along, feeding them as he went with scrapes of meat. Bringing these back to Eureka would make him a hero. Plus, he thought they were adorable.
"Hey, what is up with Blade?" asked Alex Mack as she pointed.
Doctor Strange was trying to explain to Blade why he couldn't stake the dark broody man.
Just then, Professor X gave them a dossier of who everyone was in their head, with his apology for not communicating with them more as he was dealing with several emergencies.
"Dude, that guy that Blade wants to stab is a vampire!"
"His name is Angel or Liam," said Cassie, frowning at learning information that someone else put in her head. It reminded her of certain teachers as well as the Yeerks. "He's supposed to be the only vampire with a soul," she said from the information Professor X had put in their heads
"Still, a vampire?"
Ben Tennyson looked contemplative. "I wonder if the Omnitrix could copy a vampire?"
"Don't you dare!" snapped Cassie. "Those things are supposed to be evil with a capital E!"
"I was just wondering. That's all," he said sheepishly.
"Well, just don't. Ok?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I see several of other shapes I'd like to copy though," she said, trying to redirect his thought.
They watched as Igoo went toe-to-toe with two orc first-stage drones.
"Let's go help him out!" said Cassie even as she began to take on the characteristics of a polar bear.
Ben sighed. "I have to wait for the Omnitrix to reenergize before I can change again."
Cassie snorted her understanding and then made tracks toward her orc targets.
"Do not worry," said Buzz Lightyear. "I will go and watch her back." He gave a quick salute. Buzz had lost most of the functions of his armor due to their battle with the xenomorph aliens with acid blood. He still had a wrist-blaster, and a vibro sword. He needed to find replacement armor and weapons soon.
Ben went to stand on the sidelines, glancing at his blinking Omnitrix, wishing it would hurry up and be done already.
Alex Mack found a position opposite him. He soon saw that she was using her telekinesis to levitate the wounded in to be tended. Hadji helped by pointing out still forms on the ground.
Near him was a man with a bow who seemed to be shooting trick arrows. The thing the telepath had put in his head told him this was Hawkeye and that he was part of a group called the Avengers.
"Cool arrows," he said.
Hawkeye fired off another arrow which caused a minor explosion where it hit a first stage drone of a Rock soldier knocking it away from where it was about to attack Red Sonja from behind.
"You're good with that," remarked Ben in awe.
"I am pretty good at it," he said. "I was fortunate that one of the magician's were able to renew my supply of arrows or I'd have to use something else." He frowned. "We had some kids here earlier. We had them get to safety, but now we have you here."
"Um, I had a delayed flight?" He hoped humor would help that he didn't know what to say.
"Yeah, you'll fit in here. But if Professor X calls for you to am-scray, just do it, ok?"
"All right."
They watched as Spider-Man wrapped up the first stage drones of Arakh and Scarab. The spider-themed hero then snagged the first stage drone of the Badger into his web. Then two Sleestak. And then another Sleestak. One of the green and purple armored drones used by Lex Luthor began helping Spider-Man in placing more drones in the webbing.
"He's tying them all together in one ball of webbing," remarked Ben.
"It's either brilliant or foolish," commented Hawkeye. "Depending on if it works."
"Coming through," came a gruff feminine voice. An orange female covered in rocks came jogging past them and joined the fight on the Steel Sterling drone.
That was Rogue. She is one of my students. explained Professor X to those near her. She has borrowed the power of the Thing so that we may perform medical treatment on Ben Grimm's natural human form. It is only temporary, and physical manifestations like the orange rock-like hide of the Thing are not pleasant for her. So please be patient with her.
oOoOoOo
The blockade on the heroes' side was very active. Now that the villains had cleared away most of the drones attacking their side, thanks to Skeletor and Mist Master, the heroes were working hard to remove the drones on their side.
"C'mon, Lore! Slow down already!" shouted a young man.
Lore, the evil 'brother' of the Starfleet android Data, was forced to comply with his 'master's' wishes thanks to a program that one of the Time Lords known as the Doctor had introduced into his system. "I saw him over this way! If I wait for you, I'll never catch him. And then he will have the drop on us!"
"You're right," admitted Foley. "But try to not go more than, uh, let's say fifty meters from me, ok? Please?" Jake Foley had only been adventuring in the field as an NSA agent for a few years now. When an accident injected him with experimental nanites, they had enabled him to a variety of feats such as superhuman strength, speed and senses, as well as healing. It also enabled him to move from being a top-notch computer technician to being part of a Special Ops team revolving around his new abilities. But during a recent battle against the Borg, the nanites in his body had been destroyed by the superhero Static Shock because the Borg had gained control of the nanites in his body. Fortunately, when the Doctor had informed Lore about the new programming that had been made a part of him, Jake had stepped in and made himself 'master' over Lore, and Lore now had to obey his every command.
"And why's this alien want you so bad?"
Lore grit his teeth so hard some of his artificial teeth started to form stress cracks. "Because it pissed me off and so I shot off his arm!" There was a bit more to it than that. The Yautja leader had shot of Lore's arm in their first encounter, and Lore did likewise in return. And as the saying goes, 'Most people can't take what they dish out.'
Jake gulped, but pushed on forward. "You think he's going to just come after us?"
"I shot off his arm. He's going to come after me."
"What about the Elf lady? Where did she take off to?"
"Don't worry about Sela!" Lore snapped. "Worry about that damn alien that wants to destroy me!"
"What's he look like?" Jake jumped over the stunned form of the Blue Rajah, who had one of his forks still clutched in his hand.
"You can't see him but he's big. He has a high-tech body camouflage making it nearly impossible to spot him. My optics can perceive him, but he's taken precautions to keep out of my line of sight."
"Then how are you going to get him?"
"Just stay out of my way while I do this, and we'll all survive to another day. Unless something else here kills us."
"Are you sure you don't want my help?"
Lore ran a quick diagnostic check to see if the Three Robotic Laws was still functioning in his system. Because once it was removed, Jake would be swiftly terminated. But that was not the case just yet. "Just… find someone here to help, and leave me alone so I can kill this thing."
Jake felt a bit dejected, but then looked back and saw the Blue Rajah. Here was someone he could help. He turned back to Lore. "I'm going to help with the wounded. So good hunting. And come find me when you are done, ok? I'm worried about you."
Lore scanned the various groups of bodies, some pressing forward to try push the Borg back, others waited to be rescued, being either wounded or stunned. Somewhere in all this was the extremely dangerous alien hunter. "Where are you, you miserable excuse for a carbon based lifeform?"
He was almost distracted when he saw the young girl River Tam look over the wall and shoot in rapid succession, always hitting the drones she shot. Within a few nanoseconds he deduced that the young Human must have enhanced senses. When she ducked down again, her head turned to regard him. Then she pointed back behind him.
Lore turned as he leaped to the side, a deadly metal disc passing by where he had been, just grazing his clothing. He fired his phaser, just missing the one-armed Yautja hunter.
The one-armed alien was about to rain down more blasts at the android when he found himself encapsulated in a yellow substance that shorted out his camouflage circuits, leaving him visible for everyone to see.
"Good job, Gloop!" called out Zandor, leader of the Herculoids. "Hold onto him!" Zandor, Igoo and Gloop had been about to join the other heroes to the push back the Borg, when Gloop had alerted them to the presence of another alien like the one that had killed their friend, the ten-legged, horned, ceratopsian dinosaur Tundro.
The alien predator was not finished. Stuck inside the protoplasmic creature called Gloop, the Yautja reached with his remaining hand for his vibro-knife and started to slash his way out.
Gloop gurgled a scream of extreme agony as he pulled away from the Yautja and collapsed into a quivering puddle.
With a cry of anger, Zandor fired an energy pellet from his slingshot, but the alien trophy seeker leaped out of the way. In retaliation, the Yautja used his shoulder-mounted plasma caster and blasted the ground in front of Zandor, knocking him off balance and make him duck for cover.
A man in a black leather jacket jumped onto the Yautja's back. "I got him!" shouted Mr. Furious of the Mystery Men, as he tried to apply a choke hold.
The one-armed Yautja reached back with his remaining arm and grabbed hold of Mr. Furious' jacket.
"Now he's got meeeeee!" Mr. Furious flew through the air only to be caught by the massive rock ape creature known as Igoo. And because Igoo is made of rock, the impact was enough to render Mr. Furious unconscious and break a few bones.
Setting the stunned Human down on the ground, Igoo let out a roar and charged forward. The Yautja's shoulder-mounted plasma cannon fired again hitting Igoo in the shoulder, making him spin and fall to the ground. Smoke and a light glowing from the molten area of his shoulder were the only things an observer could see.
Lore fired a shot, hitting the alien hunter's shoulder plasma cannon, disabling it. "That'll even the playing field some."
The one-armed hunter roared with rage as he fired his netgun at Lore. The net projectile covered the android, violently throwing him back against the ground, and then began to constrict around him.
"What the hell are you waiting for?" Lore shouted, as his artificial skin covering began to give way to the constricting net.
A phaser shot set at maximum struck the Yautja on his left side. The alien hunter had only a second to bellow his wrath before being disintegrated to nothingness.
"I could use some help here!" hollered Lore. His internal sensors were telling him that his outer casing of his frame was starting to be compromised by the alien net device.
A small explosion of smoke and brimstone appeared next to him. Emerging was a skinny man with dark blue fur, three fingered hands, two toed feet, and a forked tail. "One moment," he said with a German accent, before reaching out to touch Lore's hand.
There was another explosion of smoke and brimstone. Lore felt free of the cutting net, but for just a moment his sensory input devices tried to make sense of the dimension he seemed to be skipping across. Then he was back, but just a few feet from where he'd been entrapped. It was not at all like the teleporters he was used to. The being could teleport on his own through biological means. "How…?"
"Teleportation, mein friend." Nightcrawler of the X-Men gave a beaming smile. "I see that you are an android, so I am guessing you don't require immediate medical aid. Are your systems critical or should I take you over to the triage area so someone can try run a diagnostic test on you?"
Lore had already been running a self-diagnostic test, but he was still irritated that this strange flesh and blood creature felt that he couldn't repair himself if needed. "My damages are mostly superficial. You needn't concern yourself with me."
"Very well. And now I must go." There was another small explosion of smoke and brimstone, and the demonic-looking hero was gone.
Lore looked up at an approaching figure. "You took your sweet time."
Sela scowled. "I had my phaser set at the highest setting. I had to be sure the shot would count."
"Next time you can be the bait." Lore took a visual reading of his outward appearance. His clothes and skin showed evidence of numerous indented square cuts similar to a pineapple. In some places the clothes and skin had even fallen off, revealing the exoskeleton underneath. "I look like I've gone through a meteor shower!"
"You survived. That's what counts," she said coldly. Then she turned and fired. "Damn! Some of those Borg drones managed to slip through!"
"The battle line must have fractured when they were trying to force the Borg back."
"I don't think so," Sela said. "Look."
As they watched, one of the drones that had been lying broken on the ground got up and began to scan the surrounding area.
"They were either playing dead or they just needed a little more time to repair themselves. These Human heroes must have been too anxious in overpowering the Borg."
"That was sloppy of them, but what else can you expect from a bunch of Humans. Present company excluded, of course. I know you were raised by Romulans to override that aspect of your heritage." He glanced around, ignoring her withering look.
"Speaking of which, do you see your Human anywhere?" She said it intentionally, knowing that it would irritate him as much as his reference to Humans did her.
Lore let out a series of expletives in computer-speak. Sela turned to see what was the matter. Thirty feet away stood Jake Foley, his skin showing the tell-tale evidence of the Borg nanoprobes in his body.
"Lore, you will come with us now. Take us from here immediately." It was coming from Jake's mouth, but it wasn't Jake.
"Lore!" Sela tried to turn fast enough to bring her weapon up to use, but the android was faster. His fist struck her in the side of the head, sending her tumbling away. He could only follow Jake's commands, and evidently, he'd have to do just that even if Jake was taken over by the Borg.
Gritting his teeth, Lore rushed over to Jake as they made their way out through the edge of the wall where the Borg had captured a few more victims, including the Blue Rajah, Mr. Furious, Brennan Mulwray, Sinbad, Maya, the Punisher, and a few others. "Damn you, Foley!" Lore spat. "Your carelessness has damned us both!"
Updated AuThOr'S NoTeS: 3-18-2022
I added a lot this time. Basically, everything from about when Pyroman strikes Thor up until Lore comes to play is all new material. It's a lot to keep track of. Fun for me though.
ChArAcTeR InDeX FoR ThE ChApTeR:
Angel / Angelus / Liam (David Boreanaz) – from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Angel (1999-2004)
Angela (voiced by Brigitte Bako) – from the cartoon Gargoyles (1995-1996), Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles (1996)
Arakh (voiced by Scott McNeil) – from the cartoon Mummies Alive (1997-1998)
Austin, Col. Steve (Lee Majors) – from the TV series The Six-Million Dollar Man (1974-1978), The Bionic Woman (1976)
Avengers (Ant-Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Wasp) – from the movie The Avengers (2012), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Badger / Sykes, Norbert – first appeared in the comic book Badger #1 (1983) by Capital Comics
Black Adam of Earth-S / Teth-Adam / Adam, Theo (voiced by Lou Scheimer) – from the cartoon The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! (1981-1982), first appeared in the comic book The Marvel Family #1 (1945) from Fawcett
Black Terror / Benton, Robert – first appeared in the comic book Exciting Comics #9 (1941) by Nedor
Black Widow / Romanoff, Natasha (Scarlet Johansson) – from the movies Iron Man (2008), The Avengers (2012), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Blade (Wesley Snipes) – from the movie Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) Blade: Trinity (2004)
The Blue Rajah (Hank Azaria) – from the movie Mystery Men (1999)
Borg – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation
Carl, the Gnome (Danny Woodburn) – from the TV series Special Unit 2 (2001-2002)
Cassie – The Invasion (1996) by K.A. Applegate, of the Animorphs series
Chucky (voice by Brad Dourif) – from the movie Child's Play (1988)
Colossus / Rasputin, Piotr 'Peter' (Daniel Cudmore) – from the movies X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) – from the movie Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984)
Daredevil / Hill, Bart – first appeared in the comic book Silver Streak Comics #6 (1940) by Lev Gleason
Deadpool / Wilson, Wade (Ryan Reynolds) – from the movie Deadpool (2016)
Decker, Dr. Philip K. (David Cronenberg) – from the movie Nightbreed (1990)
Devil Lude (Vincent Keene) – from the movie Nightbreed (1990)
Doctor, The 7th / Professor, The (Sylvester McCoy) – from the TV series Doctor Who (1987-1989) (mentioned only)
Doctor Strange / Strange, Dr. Stephen (Benedict Cumberbatch) – from the movie Doctor Strange (2016)
Dundee, Mikey 'Crocodile' (Serge Cockburn) – from the movie Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)
Dyna Girl / Judy (Judy Strangis) – from the TV series The Krofft Supershow 'Electra Woman and Dyna Girl' (1976)
Electra Woman / Hall, Lori (Deidre Hall) – from the TV series The Krofft Supershow 'Electra Woman and Dyna Girl' (1976) (mentioned only)
Eureka – from the TV series Eureka (2006-2012)
Fantastic Four (Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, Thing) – from the movies Fantastic Four (2005), 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Foley, Jake (Christopher Gorham) – from the TV series Jake 2.0 (2003-2004)
Garibaldi, Michael (Jerry Doyle) – from the TV series Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
Ghost Rider / Blaze, Johnny (Nicolas Cage) – from the movie Ghost Rider (2007), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
Ghostface – from the movie Scream (1996) (mentioned only)
Giant Man / Wilson, Ron (Kevin Heffernan) – from the movie Sky High (2005)
Gloop (voiced by Don Messick) – from the cartoon The Herculoids (1967-1969), Space Stars 'The Herculoids' (1981)
Goliath (voiced by Keith David) – from the cartoon Gargoyles (1994-1996), Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles (1996)
Gomm, Leroy (Tony Bluto) – from the movie Nightbreed (1990)
Gorillas – from the movie Planet of the Apes (1968), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972), Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Green Turtle / Chu, Hank – first appeared in the comic book Blazing Comics #1 (1944) by Rural Home
Grendel (Crispin Glover) – from the movie Beowulf (2007)
Grumpy, the Tyrannosaur – from the TV series Land of the Lost (1974-1976) (mentioned only)
Gunn, Charles (J. August Richards) – from the TV series Angel (2000-2004)
Hawkeye / Barton, Clint (Jeremy Renner) – from the movies The Avengers (2012), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) – from the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)
Herculoids (Dorno, Gleep, Gloop, Igoo, Tarra, Tundro, Zandor, Zok) – from the cartoon The Herculoids (1967-1969), Space Stars 'The Herculoids' (1981)
Hulk / Banner, Bruce (Eric Bana) – from the movie Hulk (2003) – (Edward Norton) – from the movie The Incredible Hulk (2008) – (Mark Ruffalo) – from the movies The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Iceman / Drake, Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) – from the movies X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Igoo (voiced by Ted Cassidy) – from the cartoon The Herculoids (1967-1969), Space Stars 'The Herculoids' (1981)
Kang the Conqueror – first appeared in the comic book Avengers #8 (1964) by Marvel Comics (mentioned only)
Kyle (Matt Dallas) – from the TV series Kyle XY (2006-2009)
Lash Lightning / Morgan, Robert – first appeared in the comic book Sure-Fire Comics #1 (1940) by Ace Magazines
Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) – from the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) (mentioned only)
Leech (voiced by Lou Scheimer) – from the cartoon She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1987)
Leprechaun (Warwick Davis) – from the movie Leprechaun (1993)
Lightyear, Buzz (voiced by Patrick Warburton) – from the cartoon Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001)
Lockheed – from the movie The New Mutants (2020)
Lore (Brent Spiner) – from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-1993)
Luthor, Lex / Brainiac (Michael Rosenbaum) – from the TV series Smallville (2001-2011)
Mack, Alexandra 'Alex' (Larisa Oleynik) – from the TV series The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994-1998)
Magik / Rasputin, Illyana (Anya Taylor-Joy) – from the movie The New Mutants (2020)
Man o' Metal / Dempsey, Pat – first appeared in the comic book Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics #1 (1941) by Eastern Color
Maya (Catherine Schell) – from the TV series Space: 1999 (1975-1977)
Mist Master of Earth-1 / Sti-Tuan, Yer – first appeared in the comic book Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #253 (1979) by DC Comics (mentioned only)
Mister Fantastic / Richards, Reed (Ioan Gruffudd) – from the movies Fantastic Four (2005), 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Mister Furious (Ben Stiller) – from the movie Mystery Men (1999)
Mulwray, Brennan (Victor Webster) – from the TV series Mutant X (2001-2004)
Myers, Michael (Tony Moran) – from the movie Halloween (1978) (mentioned only)
Nightcrawler / Wagner, Kurt (Alan Cumming) – from the movie X-2: X-Men United (2003)
Orc – from the game World of Warcraft
Peloquin (Oliver Parker) – from the movie Nightbreed (1990)
Professor X / Xavier, Prof. Charles (Patrick Stewart) – from the movie X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Psyche / Moonstar, Dani (Blu Hunt) – from the movie The New Mutants (2020)
Punisher / Castle, Frank (Dolph Lundgren) – from the movie Punisher (1989)
Pyroman / Martin, Richard – first appeared in the comic book America's Best Comics #3 (1942) by Nedor
Red Sonja – first appeared in the comic book Conan the Barbarian #23 (1973) from Marvel Comics
Reyes, Hugo 'Hurley' (Jorge Garcia) – from the TV series Lost (2004-2010)
Rock Soldiers – from the cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)
Rogue / Marie (Anna Paquin) – from the movies X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Samson – first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Comics #1 (1939) by Fox Comics
Scarab (voiced by Gerard Plunkett) – from the cartoon Mummies Alive (1997-1998)
Shadowcat / Pryde, Kitty (Katie Stuart) – from the movies X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Shank, Warlord (George Takei) – from the TV series Space Cases (1996-1997) (mentioned only)
Shuna Sassi (Christine McCorkindale) – from the movie Nightbreed (1990)
Sinbad (Zen Gesner) – from the TV series The Adventures of Sinbad (1996-1998)
Singh, Hadji (voiced by Danny Bravo) – from the cartoon Jonny Quest (1964-1965)
Sivana, Dr. Thaddeus Bodog, of Earth-S (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) – from the cartoon The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! (1981-1982), first appeared in the comic book Whiz Comics #2 (1940) by Fawcett (mentioned only)
Skeletor (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) – from the cartoon from the cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985), She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985) (mentioned only)
Sleestak / Altrusians – from the TV series Land of the Lost (1974-1976)
Smith, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) – from the TV series The Dead Zone (2002-2007)
Sonar of Earth-1 / Wladon, Bito – first appeared in the comic book Green Lantern #14 (1962) by DC Comics (mentioned only)
Sparrow, Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) – from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Spider-Man / Parker, Peter (Tom Holland) – from the movies Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) (mentioned only)
Static Shock (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – from the cartoon Static Shock (2000-2004) (mentioned only)
Steel Sterling / Sterling, Jack – first appeared in the comic book Zip Comics #1 (1940) by Archie Comics
Sunspot / da Costa, Roberto (Henry Zaga) – from the movie The New Mutants (2020)
Taggart, Jim (Matt Frewer) – from the TV series Eureka (2006-2012)
Tam, River (Summer Glau) – from the TV series Firefly (2002-2003)
Tennyson, Ben (Tara Strong) – from the cartoon Ben 10 (2005-2008)
Thing / Grimm, Ben (Michael Chiklis) – from the movies Fantastic Four (2005), 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) (mentioned only)
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) – from the movies Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Three Laws of Robotics – first appeared in short story "Runaround" by Isaac Asimov (1942)
Tundro – from the cartoon The Herculoids (1967-1969), Space Stars 'The Herculoids' (1981)
Valiant, Prince – from the comic strip Prince Valiant (1937)
Vincent (Ron Perlman) – from the TV series Beauty & the Beast (1987-1990)
Voorhees, Jason (Warrington Gillette) – from the movie Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) (mentioned only)
Wolfsbane / Sinclair, Rahne (Maisie Williams) – from the movie The New Mutants (2020)
Wotan of Earth-2 – first appeared in the comic book More Fun Comics #55 (1940) by DC Comics (mentioned only)
Xenomorph Queen – my character, Xenomorph species from the movie Alien (1979) (mentioned only)
X-Men (Angel, Beast, Colossus, Iceman, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Rogue, Shadowcat, Storm, Wolverine) – from the movie X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Yautja – leader – my character, Yautja species – based on the movie Predator (1987), Predator 2 (1990), AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004), Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Predators (2010)
Zandor (voiced by Mike Road) – from the cartoon The Herculoids (1967-1969), Space Stars 'The Herculoids' (1981)