Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel
The Hunt
Chapter 17: Supreme march
"Everything that has happened is the result of a dead man's last will. Though he died his plans to create a world of chaos and hopelessness succeeded!"
The Avengers watched Deathblade cautiously. Even though he wasn't armed and his armour showed no signs of offensive weaponry they knew that he was dangerous. His eyes still let out that ominous glow as he looked at each Avenger. When he looked at Karla Sofen he saw the blood on her hands before she even got the moonstone. He saw a young woman suffocating her ill mother with a pillow. When he looked at Venom he saw his most recent sin. He saw him holding a brown haired child, giving them to Squadron Supreme forces.
"Tell me Hand are you competent enough to keep these criminals imprisoned when you don't use them? Did Gargan tell you about his little visit to the Parker family?" Deathblade asked.
"What are you talking about?" Hand asked.
"He's obviously lying through his teeth, I haven't done anything," Venom said.
"Gargan's the one whose lying, I can smell it on him," Wolverine growled.
"My armour can detect his heightened stress levels," Iron man said.
"My common sense can tell he's lying," Hawkeye muttered.
An energy blade appeared around Deathblade's arm as he took a step towards Venom. The Hammer agents and the registered Avengers raised their weapons. Aeon watched the scene, but he held no interest in what would soon happen. He let out a growl as he changed into his bestial monstrous form.
"Zack, get on my back now," Sven ordered the young boy.
Without hesitation, Zack climbed onto Sven's back as he spread his wings.
"We've got hostile activity here," a Hammer agent said, pointing his rifle at Aeon.
Sven let out a vicious roar that caused the agent to stumble back.
"I don't have time for this, Sieg needs my help," Aeon said.
"Aeon wait, I've just got a call from Jocasta, some of our academy students have come back with Sieg," Pym said.
Aeon immediately turned to Pym, marching towards him and bringing his monstrous jaw close to Pym's face.
"Can you take me to him?" Aeon asked.
"Yes, we can get going right away, Tony keep things covered while I'm gone," Hank slid his goggles down as he shrunk to wasp size.
Tony's helmet covered his face, his now single eye glowing as he stepped towards Deathblade.
"You critically injured some of my people Hunter, plus I owe you for my eye," Tony said, aiming the palm of his hand at Deathblade.
"If you people were true Avengers you'd be agreeing with what I'm saying," Deathblade didn't even bother looking at the Avengers, he kept his eyes focused on Venom.
"Vengeance isn't the answer, AND NEITHER ARE THE AVENGERS!"
The heroes widened their eyes in shock as Wonder Man suddenly slammed into Deathblade's side. He then delivered a vicious punch that cracked Deathblade's helmet and sent him flying into the side of a building. Ionic energy leaked out of Simon's eyes as he breathed heavily. Scarlet Witch approached him from behind, slowly moving her hands towards him.
"Simon, what's wrong with you?" she asked.
"The Avengers Wanda, they're what's wrong," Simon growled.
Wanda moved her hands away from Simon, fearful of the amount of energy leaking from his body. Sven looked at the scene for a moment before turning to Pym.
"Take me to Sieg and please hurry," he said.
Pym nodded his head, flying over to a door.
"Jocasta, grant Aeon and uh…the kid on his back access," Pym fumbled as he looked at Zack sitting on Sven's back.
"Access has been granted Doctor, just walk through," Jocasta said.
Aeon barged past Pym, destroying the frame of a door as he walked into the Infinite mansion. He looked at the wreckage that had been left by Deathblade and Korvac and sighed. Zack stared at the new "door" Sven had made with his own body. He resisted the urge to chuckle at the cartoon like silhouette Sven had left in his wake. Pym shook his head as he flew after Sven. He didn't know whether Sven's intelligence had been reduced because of his transformation, whether he was too focused on Sieg or whether he really was that stupid. Sven crashed through a wall, desperately around the medical bay for Sieg.
"What the heck is that?" Reptil asked, turning his head into a T-Rex's as he looked at Aeon's new form.
"Calm down kids, that's Aeon, Sieg's mentor," Pym said, growing to full size as he appeared before the students.
"Obviously he is an inept teacher, Sieg was beaten by Parker Robbins, a man lacking any special abilities," Finesse spoke with her usual cold attitude.
"I think someone else had been there," Veil nervously whispered.
Aeon stalked past the academy students, nearly hitting Finesse with his tail. They weren't sure whether the act was deliberate, but Zack still blew a raspberry at the cold girl. Tigra and Jocasta widened their eyes as Aeon pulled the door off its hinges and squeezed into the room. He crawled towards the bed Sieg had been laid on, pushing Tigra and Jocasta aside.
"Aeon, I was working with Sieg recently, he was going after the Hood, he had several other teammates but they weren't with him," Tigra explained.
Sven looked down at the boy, running a clawed finger over his cheek.
"Oh Sieg, I am so sorry, I couldn't keep my promise," tears ran down Sven's eyes as he picked Sieg up.
"Wait, don't move him too much, Sieg's injuries are quite severe, so far we've discovered severe bruising around his chest, several internal injuries, damage to his nervous system…" Jocasta cut her explanation short as Tigra shook her head.
"Aeon I think you should know, Sieg made sure that the Hood couldn't get away, the police have Robbins in custody thanks to him," Tigra said.
"Yeah, I admit he probably would have gotten away if we went through with…with what we intended to do to the Hood," Striker sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "He damn near broke my wrist but he reminded me that, maybe heroism is about a little bit more than fame," he lowered his head as the other students followed him into the room.
Zack jumped off of Sven's back and joined him at Sieg's bedside. Sieg's breathing was slow and weak, the point where Sven couldn't even see the boy's chest rising. Sven hugged Sieg, wrapping his wings around them both.
"We need to give him medical treatment Sven, he's been poisoned," Hank said.
"Aeon are you listening, Sieg needs medical attention," Tigra said.
Sven opened his eyes as he turned to Hank.
"Doctor Pym, I need to use those special doors of yours, there's only one person who can help me save my son," Aeon said.
Any response Hank could have given was cut short by the shocking event that happened next. Portals suddenly began appearing at every door in the mansion. Hank shrunk to wasp size while Tigra and Jocasta got closer to the other students.
"The transport network has been overridden, I'm detecting multiple unauthorised entries," Jocasta explained.
"Quicksilver, Speedball what's going on in your areas?" Hank asked over the radio.
"Pym, hundreds of soldiers have started pouring out of the portals, they look like the kind Ariel can make," Pietro explained, appearing behind Hank in a blur of green and silver.
"Here they come!" Tigra snarled as several individuals flew out of the portal in front of her.
The Avengers widened their eyes in shock as they saw their own allies flying out of the portals. Hardball ran into Jocasta, hitting her with an energy-enhanced fist. Gargoyle grabbed Tigra, slamming her into the wall. An energy blast suddenly hit Quicksilver in the back as Red Nine and several other heroes stepped out of the portal behind him.
"Those guys are members of the Initiative," Reptil said.
"What are those helmets they're wearing?" Mettle asked.
"Become justified," Red Nine said before firing a blast into Mettle's chest.
The blast threw Mettle through the wall. Melee ran at Finesse, punching her across the face. Striker fired an electrical blast into Prima Donna, only for Frogman to kick him in the chest, throwing him into Veil.
"They must have attacked Utopia," Quicksilver said, repeatedly punching Red 9 across the head.
Hardball blocked a punch from Mettle, and then punched back with an energy ball around his fist. He encased Hazmat in an energy ball before throwing her into Reptil. Veil changed to her mist form, only for Gravity to slam her form into the ground. Gravity then caused the floor to collapse, sending the academy students falling onto the floor below them. Zack jumped down after them, hopping over Prima Donna and Butterball. The silhouette of a knight appeared around him as he swung his arm at Hardball. The knight standing over Zack bashed Hardball away with his shield, and then retracted a sword from his wrist. He pointed it at Prima Donna and Hardball and fired a blast that knocked them both back.
"Okay that was pretty cool," Reptil said.
"But completely useless, Hardball's skin is indestructible and Prima Donna seems to be unaffected as well," Finesse explained, watching the two-brainwashed Avengers get back up.
"I'm not trying to hurt them super genius," Zack said.
"Who are you anyway?" Striker asked.
"Ulti-boy, Mettle give me a boost," Zack ran at Mettle, jumping off of his hands.
Mettle threw Zack upwards, allowing the boy to spin in midair. Zack fired several blasts from his hands, hitting the helmets around the hero's heads. His eyes glowed a red colour as he landed behind the students.
"Those helmets they're wearing are giving off some kind of signal, its messing with their heads," Zack said.
"Ulti-boy is correct, I am detecting a signal, though it is not radio or electronic in origin," Jocasta explained, hitting Melee with an energy blast.
Aeon swung his tail around, throwing Red 9 and Spinner aside.
"Ulti-boy, help the Avengers, I need to get Sieg medical support," Aeon said.
"Do what you need to do Reilly, we'll be fine here," Pym said, growing to giant size and pinning several Justifiers to the wall.
"Speedball, Robby do you read me?" Tigra asked.
"They're coming in droves Greer, these guys are hitting me around the whole mansion," Speedball said, bouncing off of several walls.
Robbie landed in the atrium, followed closely by several Initiative members. Speedball fired a blast from his hand, knocking Komodo back. He then took a punch from Prodigy, which sent him flying into the wall. Speedball suddenly bounced off the wall, hitting Prodigy and sending the man flying into Vox.
"I'm truly sorry, but I need to go know," Sven said.
"JUST GO SIEG! SAVE YOUR SON!" Tigra roared as she pounced on Melee.
Aeon took one last look at the Avengers before running through the portal with Sieg. It didn't matter which one he went through, he needed to get away. Sven felt his insides turn as he travelled across dimensions, reappearing through whatever doorway Red 9's group took. That doorway turned out to be a very specific place Sven didn't want to end up in.
"Great more super humans!"
"Silence!"
Sven narrowed his eyes at the Justifiers holding up the civilians. They were packed into a small office, one made smaller by Sven's presence. Aeon destroyed the frame of the door, robbing the Justifiers of any chance they had to send more troops in. He then focused his attention on the Justifiers and their prisoners. Amongst them was Miriam Sharpe, suggesting that they were back in Stamford.
"Become Justified, bring meaning to your existence," one of the Justifiers said, offering Sven a helmet.
"Sorry but I've already got meaning in my life, to protect," Sven said as he gripped Sieg's body.
He swung his tail, knocking back all the Justifiers and slashing a cut across the room. Aeon then moved forward, charging through the Justifiers and knocking them through the wall.
"You people, I need a hospital right away!"
"There's no one left at the hospitals, only people with basic first aid knowledge are here," Miriam said.
"Yeah you people drove them away," the civilian's burst was accompanied by cheers of agreement from his peers.
"Damn it, I need a fully equipped medical unit, you people have those I-Phone things right, tell me where the nearest fully equipped hospital is," Aeon explained.
"Why should we help you?" one man asked.
"Are you insane?" Aeon bought his face close to the man, snarling at his lack of empathy. "I'm trying to save a life here and you people are delaying me? Damn you, if he dies I'll come back here and rip you to shreds!"
Aeon spread his wings, creating a wind that threw the civilians back. He flew away from Stamford as fast as he could. Sven lowered his head slightly, regretful of his outburst. Threatening to kill that man had been a little too severe a threat. Sven's adrenaline and anger would increase tenfold in his current monstrous state, and right now he had plenty of reasons to be stressed. He looked at the boy in his arms, a boy in desperate need of medical attention.
"Déjà vu huh Sieg," Sven whispered to the boy.
Then
"So how's school been going?"
Sieg turned to his father figure and legal guardian with a smile across his face. He handed Sven his notebook, his smile deepening as Sven nodded his head in approval. Sven messed up Sieg's hair, much to the boy's embarrassment.
"Was it hard for you too Sven?" Sieg asked.
"School? Yeah I had moments when I felt like giving up, but then I figured out the fact that there may come a day when Aeon or Fusion isn't needed anymore, or its at least not possible for me to be Aeon, so I dedicated myself to getting a degree and set up the detective agency that now gives us our food. One day that agency could be yours if you want it Sieg, you still have control of your life," Sven explained, kneeling at the boy's side.
"But I'm not really good at this stuff," Sieg pouted.
"Everybody has difficulty in an area, everyone does, so don't be disappointed if you cant be good at something, try to improve in that area if you can. Have a dream and make that dream a reality, if you want you can be anything, a journalist, a brick layer, a chef…a scientist," Sven lowered his head as he looked at the silver haired boy.
For a moment Sven saw a much older silver haired man standing in Sieg's place.
'Heinrich, I'm trying to be the father you couldn't be,' Sven thought, picking Sieg up off the floor.
He placed the boy on his shoulders and began walking down the street.
"I want to be a hero dad, a hero like you," Sieg said.
"A hero huh? Wait that's the first time you've called me dad," Sven widened his eyes slightly.
"There have been other times, besides why wouldn't I call you dad, you always look out for me like a dad would," Sieg sighed as he rested his chin on Sven's head.
'Dad,' Sven liked the name Sieg gave him.
Sven suddenly stopped as he looked up at the sky. He narrowed his eyes slightly as a portal of some kind appeared above Manhattan. Ships and worm like creatures began flying out of the portal and randomly shooting the buildings of the city. Grey skinned aliens, carrying rifles slid down the walls, attacking civilians and police officers alike. Sven placed Sieg on the ground, patting him on the shoulders. It was his way of telling him to do what he'd been trained to do. Sieg couldn't fight yet, so he needed to run and find someplace to hide. Sven took a step forward, squeezing his hands into fists as black fabric covered his body. Layers of grey and red armour then covered the fabric, ending with Sven's helmet.
"LEAVE THOSE PEOPLE ALONE!" Sven yelled, jumping at the aliens as the markings of his armour glowed red.
He punched one of the aliens across the face, taking his rifle and throwing it into the nearest alien trooper. Aeon then moved forward, running between energy blasts as he proceeded to use his martial arts techniques. One punch and kick after another knocked the aliens back, Sven slid underneath one alien, then kicked him in the back. Jumping to his feet, Sven deflected an energy blast into another alien.
"Need a hand?"
A series of energy blasts suddenly flew into the aliens, knocking them out. Sven looked up to see Iron Man flying at the alien flight platforms. The Hulk suddenly landed on one of the worm creatures, repeatedly hitting its back. Thor then threw his hammer into the creature's mouth, blowing it apart from the inside. Sven looked down the street to see Hawkeye, Captain America and Black Widow engaging the aliens at close range. He then focused his attention on the aliens running towards him.
"All these heroes together…its gets me pumped!" Sven groaned as the markings of his armour glowed a red colour.
He let out a roar as energy wings burst out of his back. His armour began to crack as the energy of the wings grew in their intensity. Aeon let out a growl as his armour continued to crack.
"I'll unleash all of my power and wipe them out at once," Aeon said as his hands glowed a red colour.
Suddenly, a beam flew past Sven's head. He ran forward, delivering a quick jab to the shooter's face. After knocking the alien out, Sven looked in the direction the shot had gone. He gasped in horror, for the shot wasn't intended for him. The beam had flown through Sieg's back, leaving a smoking hole where his lungs should have been. Sven turned to the aliens and fired a beam from his eyes. The beam completely disintegrated the aliens in front of him. Sven yelled as the energy disappeared and he ran to Sieg's side.
"Sieg, no…" Sven was in complete shock, his helmet shattering to reveal a tear stained face.
He picked the boy up and let out a scream that echoed through the streets.
Now
Years had passed and now they were in the same situation again. Sieg's life hung in the balance, and Sven flew as fast as he could to get him the help he needed.
"James, can you still hear me?" Sven asked over the communication line.
"The Comm. Net's still up Sven, Lazlo's got some trouble in San Francisco, Jack's following up a lead on super villains with She-Hulk and Starfox, Rick's disappeared and Kyle as usual isn't answering the net, but my contacts in the NYPD told me that he's gotten involved in this Osborn mess. I was trying to call Soldier, that guy in the mask to see if he could help out but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the Earth…"
"James I don't have time for a progress report, I need you to give me the address of Rebecca Winters my old private doctor," Sven cut James's explanation off.
"Reb's dead Sven, she died four years ago from stomach cancer, what's wrong?" James asked.
"Sieg's hurt really bad, he's been poisoned and Avenger's head quarters was attacked before they could heal him. I read that the X-men have a healer, I'm gonna try reaching him," Sven explained.
"Elixir, Josh is a good kid and his healing power would certainly get rid of the poison, but he's on Utopia, San Francisco's become a war zone right now," Gloria said, walking into the conference room.
"Damn it, I don't have time to fight my way through an army, I need the location of a still active hospital now!"
"Wait Sven I just got a report from Pym, he said Sieg was poisoned with a virus that isn't recorded on the database, no civilian grade hospital will be equipped to treat him," James turned to Gloria, who hesitantly nodded.
"Sven we might be able to get in touch with Hellfire," she said.
"Her powers have been known to heal people with conditions similar to mine, but Sieg's losing that power, he's losing my link with him and the powers that came with that link," Sven said.
"You drew him back from death itself before, if anyone can do it again its you Sven," James turned his attention to another screen as Stark and Richards contacted him.
"Crowner, download all of your files on Deathblade to me, I need what you know about his personal history and activities over the past few years," Tony said.
Tony then turned his attention to Hand's forces as she and her men walked into the building Deathblade had been thrown into. Bringing up several holographic screens, Tony began cycling through various pieces of data and reports his armour retrieved from law enforcement and news agencies.
"Great, the Squadron's stepped up their efforts, they're focusing their efforts on San Francisco and they've attacked the Infinite mansion. But they've also left Camp Hammond open and are using brainwashed heroes and civilians as a militia. They're sending their recently created "super heroes" across the globe to key locations," Tony explained.
He pointed his finger at an "A" symbol on one of the screens. The symbol of the Avengers began blinking and a smile crossed Tony's face.
"I'm preparing a signal for anyone whose ever been an Avenger, if they haven't already been affected by the Squadron's Justifier mind control then they'll be moving to the positions I've flagged for them. The rest of us will split into teams and head for those locations…just got the Intel from James Crowner, Deathblade doesn't like hurting kids, Young Avengers stay here and assist Commander Hand in capturing Deathblade. The rest of you Avengers ASSEMBLE!"
Tony sent the signal and across the world heroes and people that had been associated with the Avengers began receiving messages to assemble. Stingray swam across the ocean, pursued by multiple Justifier Atlanteans. War Machine flew across the sky, firing missiles at Nuke and Bio-General. In space, Crystal, Moon Dragon and Mantis flew on a ship heading the Moon. Flying alongside them was Dark Hawk and Quasar. Tony flew away from the city, flying high into the air, beyond the clouds and straight towards space. As he flew, he tapped various buttons on the holographic screens appearing around him.
Not only was Tony Stark activating his latest weapon, but also he was monitoring the situations developing across the world. His Stark satellites bought up the images Tony was looking for. He saw Machine Man engaging Blue Nova, activating his bladed arms. Blue Nova fired a blast from his hand, only for Machine Man to dodge it. Aaron landed behind the android, slashing the machine across the gut. Sparks flew out of Blue Nova's chest as it flew backwards away from Machine Man. Tony slid the image out, watching a clip of Luke Cage's Avengers.
"We need to focus on civilians," Luke said, sliding in front of two downed civilians.
His action was just in time to protect the people from the flames of a Justifier's flamethrower. Several arrows then flew into the Justifiers, stabbing through their chests. Hawkeye fired two more arrows, intercepting the projectiles of the Gold Archer.
"Oh shit," the Gold Archer muttered.
"Can't beat the eyes of a hawk Robin hood," Clint smirked as he fired an electric arrow into Gold Archer's chest.
Iron Fist slammed his fist into Silver Gorilla, throwing the hulking creature back. Mockingbird hit Temptress across the head with her staff, while Dr Strange fired an energy blast into a crowd of Justifier's.
Tony focused his attention on his current flight path. He was aiming for one specific satellite near the moon. Crystal and her team of Avengers looked at the red and gold blur flying to the satellite. A few seconds later, Crystal covered her eyes when a light engulfed the satellite and Iron man.
Deathblade shook his head as he picked himself up of the ground. Granite and bits of rubble fell off his armour. He ran a hand across the crack on his helmet, withdrawing it as a piece of the armour fell off. Creating two scythes, Cade began turning on the spot. His eyes continued to glow as he sensed the Dark Avengers coming. They were his targets, anyone who had committed a sin was. Deathblade suddenly swung around, swinging his scythe into Sentry. The blade broke upon contact with Sentry's skin, allowing Reynolds to punch Deathblade in the face. Cade was sent flying into the wall. Moonstone phased through the wall and aimed the palm of her hand at Deathblade.
"Give it up Hunter, your surrounded and outnumbered," Karla said.
"Exactly, and the rest of the Avengers are focused on the Squadron," Deathblade said.
"Not all the Avengers!"
Suddenly, Speed ran in and punched Deathblade across the head. Tommy immediately ran to the side of the Young Avengers as they entered the room.
"That was pretty stupid of you Tommy," Billy said.
"I know but we need to end this fight quickly, he damn near broke my knuckles though," Tommy cringed, shaking his hand around.
"I'd get away kids, this is gonna be a bloodbath," Venom giggled as he and Ares entered.
"The only blood that will be spilled today is evil blood," Cade growled.
"Bah, evil, you mortals take the actions of your betters and think of them as evil, I can not speak for the others but as a god I have more rights than other lowly beings," Ares explained.
Deathblade let out a sigh as he rested his scythes on his shoulders. The blades regenerated as he directed his gaze towards Ares. Not even Speed had noticed how fast Deathblade had been in closing the distance between himself and Ares. He slammed his scythe into Ares's axe, swinging around and delivering a second swing that knocked Ares back slightly. Ares swung his axe downwards at Deathblade, missing Deathblade's shoulder by inches. Cade changed his scythes into cross spears, thrusting them at Ares's shoulders. Ares batted the spears aside and threw a punch towards Deathblade's head. Ducking underneath the punch, Deathblade swung his spears upwards, cutting off Ares's chest plate. The armour fell to the ground and Ares immediately slammed his elbow into Deathblade's helmet. Deathblade pulled his head back, dodging another punch from Ares. He then flipped back, watching as Wonder Man appeared before him.
"Mr Williams what are you doing?" Cassie asked.
"Stay back kids," Wonder Man growled.
He pulled his fist back, only for Cade to side step his punch. Cade then hooked his spears around Wonder Man's head and dragged him face first to the ground. Spinning his spears around, Deathblade turned the spears into scythes as the Young Avengers pounced on him. Karolina fired a blast from her hand as Xavin ran towards Deathblade with her rock arms ready. Deathblade suddenly jumped, flipping headfirst and kicking Xavin in the chest. He then flipped again, slamming Xavin into the ground with his foot. Deathblade then jumped at Patriot, dragging his scythe across Eli's shield. Hulkling flew at Deathblade, only for Cade to hook his scythe onto Teddy's neck and divert him towards the wall.
"TEDDY! Your gonna pay for that," Wiccan snarled as he flew at Deathblade.
Melter, Vision and Speed joined Wiccan in his close range assault. Cade blocked Speed's jabs, backhanding the speedster, and then kneeing him in the chest. Vision fired a blast from his eyes, only for Deathblade to deflect the blast into Karolina. He then kicked Melter in the gut, bringing him to his knees. Deathblade raised his scythe, bringing it to Melter's neck. Suddenly, two arrows struck Cade's shoulders, causing him to drop his scythes.
"Back away from him or the next ones go through your knee caps," Kate Bishop warned the man as he turned to her.
Deathblade broke the tail feathers of the arrow and shocked everyone with his subsequent action. With great effort and pain he pushed the arrows through his shoulders, pulling them both out of the front.
"That was gross, yet so bad ass at the same time," Speed said.
"Stop this battle now before its too late," Deathblade looked at the Young Avengers, creating his energy sword.
"Right back at you," Patriot said.
"You may think your fighting on the side of the angels, but I doubt Hercules would agree with you, I doubt the people you've enslaved would agree," Cassie said.
Deathblade shook his head, looking to Melter as he got off the floor.
"Mr Hunter if I may interject, this is against your beliefs," Vision said, floating in front of Cade.
Despite Vision's arrival, Cade kept his eyes focused on Melter.
"I have read your file, you killed many people Cade, but they had all taken lives, Mac Gargan is a victim of the symbiote and Ares has…evolved, just as the original Vision did, just as Cassie's father had. You once believed that redemption was worth granting to people, are Gargan, Sofen and Ares not worth giving that chance?" Vision asked.
Again Cade ignored the android and kept his eyes on Melter.
"Why are you staring at Melter?" Speed asked.
"Because unlike you his lack of control resulted in more than the destruction of a building," Cade said darkly.
The other Young Avengers widened their eyes as Melter lowered his head.
"He's right, my parents died because I lost control," Melter said.
"DON'T PAINT YOURSELF AS THE VICTIM THERE WERE MORE!" Deathblade yelled, stepping towards Melter.
"Stay away from him," Karolina said, flying in front of Deathblade.
"Move aside," Deathblade growled.
"No, everyone deserves a second chance," Karolina held her ground, aiming her glowing hands at Cade.
"Janice Holden," Cade lowered his head slightly as he spoke. "She was 84, due to age she was a little bit senile, but she maintained an independent lifestyle and a happy one. Janice had grand children, a boy and a girl, they're twenty-four and the girl has had her first child. Before they met me they were wondering what happened to their grand mother, whom suddenly disappeared when she went shopping!" Melter's gaze dropped to the floor as tears began to run down his eyes. "Tell them what happened to the poor woman Melter!"
"I-I…I'm sorry," Melter trembled, bowing to Deathblade.
Deathblade dropped the arrows as the Young Avengers stared at Melter in shock. Even Moonstone and Ares were taken aback by the startling revelation. Melter looked at his hands, bringing them to his eyes as he yelled hysterically. Karolina landed at his side, rubbing his back and letting him vent. Deathblade however showed no sign of sympathy; he merely pointed his sword at Melter.
"If you had even an ounce of integrity you would have given yourself into the Initiative or the police and told them that you couldn't control your powers. Instead you hid and ran, refusing to accept responsibility for your blatant crime, when you were told taking a life was something heroes did you accepted it and sat back and watched as Executioner murdered, Enchantress manipulated and Big Zero blindly hated," Cade explained.
"And what happened the first time your powers manifested Cade Hunter?" Karla Sofen asked, flying up behind Cade.
"I saw the sins committed by the people around me and in an insane rage I killed them all, ten people and many more since," Deathblade sighed, but quickly hardened his gaze. "I left civilisation and worked on controlling my powers, becoming something better than the evil in front of me. I tried to be good, to be a hero, but now…I will become the villain if it means I am rid of all the worlds evil and what I see when I look at you Sofen, is evil!" Deathblade pointed his sword at Moonstone.
They looked one another in the eyes, preparing to attack each other. But the energy from Deathblade's sword suddenly began to float away from him. He looked at his arm in confusion, watching the energy fly away from him. Deathblade tried to create an energy blade, only for the energy to fly away from him again. Squeezing his hands into fists, Deathblade turned to the wall. Suddenly, the wall was blown open, knocking Cade back. Dust and rubble spread across the room, causing some of the Young Avengers to cough.
"What the heck was that?" Teddy asked.
"A little invention of mine Hulkling, it runs off of the unique energy Deathblade generates," a voice said from behind Hulkling.
Teddy and Billy turned around and widened their eyes as they saw Iron Man hovering off of the ground. But he wasn't wearing his usual red and gold armour. This time he wore pitch-black armour, with glowing red eyes and a glowing red reactor on his chest. Tony aimed the palm of his hand at Deathblade and fired a repulsor blast.
Sven landed at a hospital. It was one that had been abandoned during the invasion and no one had bothered to repair it. Some medical supplies had been left behind but nothing that could be used to treat Sieg's poison. Sven laid Sieg onto a stretcher, returning to his normal armour form. He traced a finger across Sieg's cheek, thinking of the first time he let Sieg get injured.
"I know you can hear me Sven, you heard me when you were a baby, you heard me when you were wounded facing the Chitauri, you heard me when I brought you back with my own soul, I heard you when you were fighting Hyperion and Zarda and I heard you when you stopped the Academy students from torturing Robbins. So many people have told me that your going to fall into darkness, but how can that happen when you've always tried to do the right thing, even when the Hood tortured you you'd refused to give into the desire for vengeance. Then you said, that you thought of me as a father," Sven explained.
He gripped Sieg's hand with his own and squeezed it tightly.
"So in return I'll tell you the truth Sieg, even though we do not share the same family I raised you, taught you, sacrificed for you. You were never like a son to me Sieg, you are a son!"
Aeon's armour began to glow as he held Sieg's hand.
"So as I did all those years ago, when the Chitauri nearly killed you, not only will I give you my blood but part of my soul as well. Not to give you my power, but to awaken your power Siegfried Wallace!"
For a moment Sven's armour took on a gold colour before he passed the energy into Sieg's body. The young man gasped as green gas flowed from his nose and mouth. Sieg opened his eyes, revealing his new gold eyes and letting out heavy breaths of excitement.
"This isn't a gift Sieg, its me giving you the unconditional love a parent should give, no matter what Sieg I'm proud of you. Go out there and show everyone, that you aren't the evil they think your going to be," Sven explained, maintaining his hold on Sieg's hand.
A smile spread across Sieg's face as he squeezed Sven's hand back.
Next Chapter 18: Crossing the line
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Next time Deathblade faces off against an upgraded Iron man and the Thunderbolts. Aeon arrives just in time to see Deathblade do the unthinkable.
Also I'll be introducing more spinoffs and tie ins to the Struggle of the Apprentice series
Upcoming Spin-offs and Tie-ins
Young Avengers Presents: Reunions
Stature, Hulkling, Wiccan and Speed, they are the children of heroes. But with Deathblade's return comes the unexpected resurrection of their parents. Wiccan and Speed meet the mother of their spirits and struggle with the possibility that she may not be responsible for her crimes. Scott Lang sees a side of his daughter he always dreaded and becomes torn between pride and fear. While Hulkling dreads the answer that he may not be the only son of Mar-Vell.
One-Shot: Spider-man: Fear and Responsibility
Mary Jane and Peter have recovered their child little baby Mayday Parker. But before he can accept his role as a father, Peter must confront Osborn about the abduction of his father.
Galactic Avengers one shot: The Hunt
Crystal, Moondragon, Quasar and Darkhawk have all been Avengers and together with the Guardians of the Galaxy they must protect their people not just from the vicious Squadron Supreme, but a famous Avenger enslaved by a man seeking absolute justice.
Destined Rivals
As Deathblade faces off with the Avengers, Carina Walters meets with the cosmic beings including Death, Galactus, Odin and others. She recounts the story of Cade Hunter and his rivalry with Sven Reilly. A condensed origins story that also details their first incredible fight and the shocking conclusion.
Ultimate Destiny-Classified