Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
The moment that was coming since the beginning of the story, Deathblade and Aeon face off once again, the heroes unite and the villain reveals himself
The Hunt
Chapter 26: Warpath
There were moments in history that people hoped and prayed to see. Miracles were the simple things made great, acts of kindness, unity, faith and courage were what made the difference and inspired. The people of Earth saw wonders preformed in their heroes. Ordinary men and women and the extraordinary working together to accomplish wonders. The war with the Squadron Supreme was not about the ideals of a nation, but the ideal view of humanity. One side said humanity was weak and thus needed inhuman rulers, but the other said no 'we are not weak, we do not abandon each other'.
Rescue and Justice flew across city landscapes, coordinating search and rescue efforts. Stingray swam across the sea, working with Namora and other Atlanteans to rescue the people caught in the disasters caused by the waves from the battle between Attuma and Deathblade. Darkhawk shot down satellites that dropped from the sky. The armoured hero changed into his artillery form and shot down one stray satellite after another.
"Machine man, please tell me you recorded who was blowing those satellites up," he said.
"Affirmative Powell, I've recorded the AIM agents fleeing," Machine Man said as he flew into Earth's atmosphere.
"This is Crystal, tell Mr Richards I've secured food for the humans," Crystal of the Inhuman royal family looked at the devastation across Earth with concern.
"Alls we need is a way to distribute it," Star Lord said from the cockpit of the ship carrying Crystal and the food she had grown in the Kree labs.
Pink energy suddenly surrounded the food stores, teleporting them away.
"Leave distribution to me and thanks again for the help," Blink said.
People in New York screamed as a Skyscraper was split in half. It tumbled straight towards the streets below. But the citizens in the buildings landing zones strangely disappeared, either in puffs of purple smoke, surges of lightning or silver blurs. Surge and Speed ran side-by-side, grabbing civilians whilst Nightcrawler teleported larger groups onto undamaged buildings. The falling building however stopped in midair and the civilian's left behind looked on in astonishment as Prime placed the massive chunk back where it was and repaired it with his heat vision.
"I've got the city covered Sieg, I can join you guys in another half hour," Prime said.
"Forget it Prime, we need someone to support Citizen V and the Sentinel squads," Hindsight Lad spoke over the radio.
"Stay in the city son, save any lives threatened there!"
Prime widened his eyes in awe, hearing the voice of Captain America. Cap stood on a O.N.E Squad Sentinel, right beside Juston's own Sentinel. Several other heroes and the surviving founders of Sieg's Avengers also stood with the American sentinel as they made their way through the streets of Oklahoma.
"Stay in your homes, if you have basements hide there and wait twenty four hours, this is for your own safety," Wind Dancer moved from one house to another.
"They're going to attack Asgard, we'll try to keep the fighting away from here but you need to keep yourselves safe citizen," Prototype told a family before flying into the air.
"This place of fine dining does cook the greatest of Midgardian burgers, I implore you to remain safe within the confines of the kitchen, and make us a fine feast for our victory," Volstagg explained to the diner chef.
"We've got some of our citizens held up in city hall with the mayor and a few have taken refuge in Asgard itself we've tried getting them out but they insist on staying," a local cop explained to Sieg.
"Keep the people you can keep safe, the others are in the heaviest fortified area of the city, anyone who wants out of Oklahoma is welcome to take the portals to Utopia Ariel and Blink have created," Victory explained.
He wore his full armour, hiding his face as he promised the people he would. The intention was for the super human army to retreat back into the shadows after the battle. It would be difficult and not just the battle but the possibility that if they won the people would label them tyrants and go after them. Sieg watched Sofia and Juston carry several people to the portal Blink had created. Mere seconds after the people went through, Molly Hayes ran out.
"Princess Powerful is here," she said cheerfully.
"No way, you go back to class Molly," Nico grabbed the girl by her hat and began dragging her back through the portal.
Karen and Smasher both laughed as Molly argued with the mage. Meanwhile in Utopia, Anole, Indra and Noah tried holding back Rockslide.
"Let me go, I'm gonna fight with Sieg, if Surge and Prodigy of all people get to help why shouldn't we?" Rockslide.
"Because if we all end up going Cyclops is gonna be even more pissed with Sieg, not that he isn't going to have the self righteous confrontation with him anyway, 'how can you get my people involved in a human problem, Utopia needs every bit of protection it can get, that doesn't include humans that I would have invited in if you hadn't done it first without my permission'" Noah explained.
"Why don't we just join in guys?" Noah's shadow-self asked.
"As much as I would hate to agree with the creepiest thing since Quinton Quire, why don't we help out?" Anole asked.
"Grounded," Nico pointed her staff at Molly, causing the ground to swallow her legs like quicksand. "The reason everyone isn't at Oklahoma is because we already have a sizable force there, we don't want to overload the field with players," she explained.
She waved goodbye to Molly before running back through the portal. Jimmy Hudson pulled his cowl over his face and popped out his claws. He stood with the blade wielders of the army, heroes like Kid Briton, Black Knight and his squire Faiza, Colleen Wing, Anachronism and X-23. Sofia took her position with other flyers like Red Raven, Skybolt, Beak and Hulkling. Dr Strange led those heroes whom could use magic, which included the likes of Brother Voo Doo, Wiccan, Nico, Jennifer Kale and Clea. Prototype landed in the midst of an army of bruisers such as Mettle, Nara, Lyra, Patriot, Smasher, Hyperion and Red Hulk, whilst Sunfire took to leading a group of blasters and elementals with Striker, Hazmat and Living Lightning.
"Everyone, we're standing here at the place of the most important battle in history, make no mistake, this is bigger than just the country, bigger than the Earth. This fight is just one part of a battle taking place across time and space, the battle between good and evil is a never ending one, but this is not a battle against simple evil, it's a battle against an evil that seeks to destroy us, I have seen that evil first hand and one day, not today, not tomorrow, perhaps not even in the next year but someday that evil will try to directly attack our world and we, like today will need to stand ready, we will need to assemble at dawn," Captain America explained and all listened.
Kate Bishop loaded her crossbow, whilst Finesse linked her sticks together and Power Man ran Chi across his hands. The wind blew and Cap looked up and smiled. Thor landed with Valkyrie, Noh-Varr and the Eric O'Grady Antman. Thor walked through the Warrior's three, even ignored his lover Sif to get to Cap. Steve removed his helmet and widened his eyes in surprise as Thor lifted him off the ground, gripping him in a tight brotherly hug.
"I knew, I knew with all my heart that you would return to us Captain," Thor said.
"That sure Huh!"
Cap and Thor looked up as three armoured heroes landed before them. War Machine and Rescue both wore heavier, more battle ready armour, whilst Tony Stark, Iron Man wore a set of armour different than his usual designs. It instead had a gold and navy blue colour scheme. His faceplate slid open revealing the man himself, complete with an eye patch from his fight with Deathblade.
"Tony," Cap said.
"Steve, we were a little busy, I'm sorry about Bucky and the others," Tony lowered his head slightly.
"We lost a lot of good people at Washington Tony, including the man elected to lead this country, after this is done, we can leave the people to elect a new leader," Steve explained.
"Sounds like a plan, we should get to it," Tony said as he offered Steve his hand.
Steve moved to touch Tony's hand and a brief vision of the last time they met like this flashed before his eyes. That meeting resulted in a fight that cost Goliath his life and perhaps shattered their friendship.
"Listen Steve, I'm not as good at any of this stuff unless I'm doing it with you," Tony said.
Steve smiled warmly as he grasped Tony's hand. The brothers hugged one another and widened their eyes slightly as Thor slapped their backs. Everyone smiled at their reunion, but with any warm moment between men there was always someone with an mood killing comment.
"GAAAAY!" Lyra slammed her fist into Deadpool's face, sending the merc flying.
Steve put his helmet back on and turned towards the army of heroes. He nodded to Sieg and ushered him to come forward. Karen and White Tiger slapped him on the back, causing him to stumbled forward. The two girls giggled as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"You all came here because of the encouragement and inspiration of one young man, Victory Peace, he's proven himself to not only be in touch with his humanity, but also the inner darkness that we must all overcome, he stands as an example of what we should all strive to control, that is why in this battle, I'll be at his back!"
Cap and Iron man slapped Sieg's shoulders and the young man looked at the heroes he had assembled. They looked at him, waiting him to say something inspiring. He thought of what Sven would say, he'd tell them all what was at stake, Then he looked at the silhouettes of the Supreme army, the psychotics, villains and murderers that had been turned into wannabe heroes, flanked by armies of AIM, Hydra agents and renegade Hammer agents. Turning back to the heroes, Sieg noted the looks of anxiety on some of their faces. So he did what he felt he should do, not Sven, not Captain America, him!
"Fly, blast, shoot, run, slash, fight, build, think, SURVIVE!" he yelled as he swung around. "Use everything you are to survive this fight, to beat them, and create the better future we know we can create by working together, PROTECT THIS WORLD CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE ARE! Not Avengers, Not X-men, Not Thunderbolts or Warriors, BUT PROTECTORS!"
With a roar, Sieg summoned his sword and ran. Cap ran, whilst Thor and Iron man flew, followed by their closest allies. Karen bellowed as she raised her spear, her combat armour surrounding her body before she and her squad charged. Inspired and strengthened by the example set, the assembled heroes ran, flew and fought with what they had or were. They used what power they had and engaged the army of Squadron members. King Hyperion was clad in a type of battle armour alongside his lover. Blue Marvel and the true Hyperion flew so fast it seemed as if they had disappeared, slamming into Hyperion so hard that the shockwave knocked Power Princess back.
"Ribbons," Nico said.
"Crimson chains of Mephistopheles," Kale chanted.
"Cytorack bands," VooDoo and Strange thrust their hands forward and the myriad of binding spells trapped Power Princes in midair.
Mettle ran alongside his teammates, swinging his fist round straight into A Hydra mech. The force of his punch threw the mech back and on top of Bio-General. The armoured man blasted the mech off before War Machine and Rescue slammed into his chest. Iron Man flew into the squad or Hydra agents, firing repulsors blasts at each soldier before firing a beam that deflected off of Cap's shield, hitting all the soldiers around them. Kid Briton slammed his sword into Blue Eagle's shield. The winged villain pushed Kid Briton aside and flew into the air. He turned his head, raising his shield as Jimmy gave X-23 a boost in midair. She dragged her leg claw through Blue Eagle's shield, breaking his defence apart.
"Keep it up," Kid Briton grinned as he flew into the air.
He raised his sword and slammed it into Blue Eagle's axe. Brian laughed before kneeing the man in the face. He then elbowed his neck and slashed him across the chest. Blue Eagle fell to the ground, looking at Kid Briton in horror as the young hero dived towards him, aiming his sword forward. Suddenly, Jimmy caught Kid Briton's sword with his claws and pushed the boy back.
"No killing if we can help it," Jimmy growled.
"Oh so you're the PG-13 Wolverine Huh?" Briton asked.
"And you're the living British working class stereotype," Wondra said before knocking Blue Eagle out.
Doctor Spectrum and his partner, the female Spectrum fired energy blasts across the battlefield, hitting heroes in the back as they grappled with Squadron Justifiers. Inertia punched Nara, throwing her onto Apex. Juston's Sentinel fired a blast, throwing Inertia back. Lady Lark flew behind Juston and let out a sonic scream, causing him to cover his ears for protection. Cammi quickly fired her blaster, hitting Lady Lark's wing. Red Raven then slashed Lark's other wing and bought her to the ground. Inertia charged at Juston's Sentinel, only for Nara to get in her way. The Atlantean girl slammed her fist into Inertia's, creating a shock wave that knocked them both back.
"We've got incoming," Reptil pointed to the sky.
Zombified versions of the Valkyrie began flying out of the sky, led by a man wielding a sword and axe.
"Impossible, Lord Bor," Sif gasped.
"Whose Bor?" Tony asked, turning to Thor.
"My Grandfather," Thor lowered his head slightly.
"Well he's looking good for his age!"
"Not now Tony," Steve sighed.
Cap threw his shield, hitting several Aim agents. Tony began firing discs from his knees and elbows, hitting the Hydra agents around him. Thor flew into the sky, followed by Blackwing and the other flyers. Reptil changed his arms into a pair of wings and grew a raptor head. He flew upwards, biting a zombie and whipping another with his tail. Striker fired electricity, whilst Tempest used fire and ice to halt the advance of several Hydra mechs. Skybolt fired missiles from his wrists, whilst Rescue repelled several agents with her magnets. Sieg slashed apart the rifles of several Hydra agents before dispatching them with his martial arts skills. Power Princess broke out of her bindings with a great yell and flew directly at Sieg. He turned, raising his sword. But before Zarda could land a hit Sif landed between them, hitting Zarda with the flat of her blade.
"You'll go through me before you get to anyone else," Sif said.
"I've been waiting to see which of us is stronger," Zarda grinned before punching Sif across the head.
Sieg stabbed his sword into the ground summoned several crystals. He injected the crystals into slots on his armour and the markings across his suit began to glow. His chest plate changed to a blue colour whilst his gauntlets turned red. He then picked up his sword, which turned into a larger great sword. Sieg ran his finger across the blade, lighting it up with fire.
"Here we go, SIF MOVE NOW!" Sieg yelled.
Sif jumped into the air as Sieg swung his sword around, launching an energy wave at Zarda. The flames and electricity burned her flesh, but it miraculously healed as she fell to the ground screaming. Once again Sieg slammed his sword into the ground, his armour returning to its normal form. But the armour shined brightly as Sieg jumped into the air. Zarda got off the floor, looking at her shattered gauntlets and helmet in shock. She looked up and screamed as Sieg flew towards her, launching his foot forward. He hit the Squadron's second in command with a devastating kick that launched her across the battlefield.
Far away from the battlefield, the Squadron's Hyperion heard Zarda's scream. He glared at the true Hyperion and Blue Marvel before throwing them both of off him. They continued to fly across the sky, their eyes glowing as they faced off.
"Zarda, that bastard Sieg will pay," the evil Hyperion growled.
"If you think Sieg killed her then you don't know a thing about being a hero," Blue Marvel said.
"I don't need to know how to be a hero, alls I need to know is that I have power and thus that gives me the right to rule over whomever I please," the madman grinned.
"Blue Marvel, go and help the others, I'll deal with him," the real Hyperion hovered past Blue Marvel, looking at his evil counterpart with an empty expression.
"You idiotic fool, you truly believe you can beat me alone?"
"You are superior to me in only one aspect!"
"And what is that?"
"You are more human than I am," Hyperion said before he and the evil Hyperion seemingly disappeared.
Blue Marvel cringed, hearing the sonic booms the two Hyperions generated as they took their battle beyond Earth. The very axis of the planet shifted, switching day to night in America. Hawkeye looked at the stars in confusion as he and his team began to approach Project Pegasus. They had gotten wind of the GLA's distress signal, thus Tony told them to investigate. Clint formed a team consisting of himself, his wife Mockingbird, the Captain and Elsa Bloodstone of Nextwave, Century and Stingray. The team flew in one by one into the base. Elsa and Bobbi gasped in horror at the trail of dead bodies.
"Oh my god, its Flat man," Stingray pointed at the decoration on the wall.
Flat Man had been cut apart to form a line of men, as if he was a mere piece of paper. Bertha was on the floor, her chest and throat sliced open while Doorman had pinned to the wall with energy swords. Hawkeye readied his bow as he walked deeper and deeper into the facility, followed closely by Mockingbird. Unbeknownst to the group they were watched by one of the men who murdered the GLA. Muramasa's Apprentice watched them from the shadows, preparing the same energy sword he had used to kill Doorman.
Aeon looked at the sky, he wasn't as disturbed by the sudden shift in the time of day than the others were. He gave Zack an encouraging pat as they walked into the prison complex. Victoria Hand had finally given them permission to oversee the imprisonment of Deathblade, under the condition they were watched. Henry Gyrich stood in front of Deathblade, flanked by his many guards. He looked over the special bindings that had been used to disrupt Cade's abilities. Cade raised his head, sensing Sven's arrival, it was against his original plan but he wasn't deterred.
"Lets get this over with," Cade said.
"Indeed, take him to the main hall," Gyrich ordered his guards.
Cade walked with his guard, but not before shooting a look at the two way mirror, he knew his rival was watching him. Moonstone and Ares stood watching Aeon and Zack, they had bought with them Ms Marvel, Wonder Man, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Beast and Wolverine. A few minutes passed before Gyrich, Hand and Monica Chang walked into the room.
"This is a courtesy Avengers," Gyrich growled as he adjusted his suit.
"Oh Henry, is that any way to treat your old friends?" Beast asked as he flipped behind Gyrich.
"Stand back mutant," Monica said, putting a hand to her pistol.
"Lets not get into that stereotype of throwing fists at each other, we're here to warn you about Cade Hunter," Ms Marvel said.
"The team with the woman who depowered all mutants is telling us to be careful?" Moonstone huffed.
"No, the man whose been fighting Cade Hunter for years is telling you!" Sven said as he stepped forward.
"I know about you Aeon, or should I say Sven Reilly," Gyrich smiled as Sven raised his head in shock.
"How do you know that?" Zack asked.
"We know a great many things about him, we know his father Slade Reilly was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. before he disappeared," Victoria explained.
"He has no extended family, just his sister and her children whom are living with their grandmother, and an adopted brother Jason Reilly, he's a child therapist I believe right?" Monica asked.
"We're also aware of most of your friends too, our own agent Brute, the billionaire James Crowner and his dear assistant Gloria and Chauffeur Jack, a school teacher in San Francisco by the name of Lazlo Collins and a drifter wanted in connection with the NYPD's investigation into Osborn's children," Gyrich added, shifted uncomfortably as Beast smiled at him.
"Was that supposed to impress me, or is this the beginning of a threat?"
"Your psyche profile mentioned you were naïve, especially in your faith of Cade Hunter, how long is it going to take for you to see that though he isn't insane he belongs in a jail cell?" Moonstone asked.
"About as long as it'll take the government to see you belong in the cell right next to him," Sven retorted.
Ares smirked as Karla glared at Sven.
"Enough posturing, you know more about Sven than you should, but we are not here for that," Wolverine said.
"You're here to warn me that I'm in over my head, that trick worked with Hand but not me, I have this perfectly under control," Gyrich said.
"Like you had Camp Hammond under control?" Carol asked.
"And where were the Avengers then?"
"He has a point," Wonder Man said.
"I didn't come here to discuss past history, I came here to say that I think you should put Cade Hunter in my custody," Sven explained.
"Really, and do you have more resources than the government? Can you trap Hunter in your little cavern full of computers and all those sad tributes to dead friends, you might have to put up one for your adopted son after this is all over," Gyrich explained.
"Sieg is going to survive!"
"You do have a habit of losing your children," Gyrich retorted.
Carol and Wanda shot glares at Gyrich whilst Beast growled behind him. Aeon looked at the floor for a moment before walking towards Gyrich. Monica drew her pistol and Gyrich backed away, straight into Beast's chest.
"I did not lose my wife and son, they were taken from me, murdered by one of my greatest enemies Godu, whom was aided by the government, people who thought they were in the right, whom thought their judgements were sound. I heard about your KIA incident and how you tried to manipulate technology beyond humanities grasp, the government may have given you a pass to repeat that disaster but the souls of those dead because of it haven't," Aeon's eyes glowed red, reflecting off of Gyrich's sunglasses.
Gyrich widened his eyes, finding himself in a white void. He looked upon Dragon Lord, the original Michael Van Patrick and the Scarlet Spider Van. They were all followed by the faded ghostly images of normal people killed as a result of his actions, civilians, Hydra agents, soldiers and mutants. Aeon clicked his fingers, snapping Gyrich out of his trance. The man fell back but was caught by Hand and Monica. He wiped the sweat from his brow and glared at Aeon.
"You may have faith in your little guilt trips but I think we both know that Cade Hunter is beyond caring about the people dead because of him, he's a man driven by results just like me," Gyrich explained as he walked out of the room.
'Cade, you are nothing like him, I know that,' Sven thought.
"Are we going to go now sensei?" Zack asked.
"Go with Carol and her friends Zack, take a breath outside, I need to stay here for a while," Sven sighed.
"Everything's going to be all right isn't it?"
"Everything will be fine Zack I promise you," Aeon patted Zack's head and turned him around, pushing him to walk with Wanda and her team.
Aeon sighed as he turned and looked at where Gyrich had examined Cade before sending him into general populace. Beast and Wolverine looked at the man with sympathy, after all Gyrich had revealed all his failures. Sven walked out of the room and began to walk the corridors of the prison. He came upon a prison cell guarded by two Guardsmen.
"Who has this private cell?" he asked.
"Doctor Octupus, the man went into the final stages of cancer before this mess with Osborn started, we're keeping him here cause, well we're not stupid enough to risk sending him to those European countries where a mercy death is okay," the Guardsman explained.
Sven put a hand to his chin as he looked at Octavius's cell. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away. On the Helipad of the facility, Carol sat on the edge of the pad with Zack. She jealously watched Simon speaking with Wanda, whom seemed more interested in Zack. The boy however looked out at the sea that separated the prison facility from New York. It was Gyrich's solution to the problem of revolving door prisons for super villains; keep them away from the places they would terrorize. Zack widened his eyes slightly as he saw two figures heading towards the building. He stood up, reaching for his escrima sticks.
"Hold on Zack, they're friends," Carol smiled.
"BOYS!" Wanda yelled.
Speed and Wiccan landed on the helipad, hugging their mother. Zack watched the scene and sighed.
"What's wrong Zack?" Carol asked.
"I'm really sorry Miss Danvers, I want to be bright and happy like sensei wants me to, but I cant shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen. I see everyone making their peace with their families and I wonder, what family do I have?"
Wanda dropped her smile, seeing her illegitimate son upset. She took Tommy and Billy by their shoulders and led them towards Zack.
"Zack, these are my children Thomas and William, do you know why they are my children?" Wanda asked.
"Sensei told me that you were desperate to have children back when you were married to the Vision. Your chaos magic shaped Billy and Tommy from two souls from Mephistos realm, and they only existed when you thought of them. I didn't really understand the rest," Zack sighed.
"Its okay, I'm still shaping it together myself. You see Zack despite Mephisto's hold over them, Tommy and Billy were reborn, and I spent years believing I hadn't ever had children. I finally realised what had happened, the lie my teammates had told me and I snapped, my powers grew out of control and I became the nexus being of this reality. My power grew so great that my delusions started becoming reality, my dream of a world ruled by my father replaced this world for a while. That's where I met and fell in love with your father," Wanda smiled as Zack gasped. "Zack, I'm your…"
But the heart felt moment was ruined by a sudden explosion. Minutes before the explosion itself, Cade was pushed into the general population of the prison. Super powered criminals and villains gathered around him, laughing at his seemingly helpless state. Ezekiel Stane watched several bald headed criminals approach Cade. Stane tapped his finger against the railing, triggering the machines inside his body. They began flying out of the pores of his skin, across the prison to arm every imprisoned villain with what they needed, deactivating their control devices and even arming them. Villains like Whirlwind and Shockwave were covered in armour grown from Stane's Nanotech.
"So you're the one killing all the villains, the one whose decimated Hammer because it was full of dirty agents, bet you wish some of those agents were here now," Ezekiel Stane grinned as his own armour replaced his prison overalls.
Cade looked at the super villains beginning to surround him. Villains such as Chemistro, Crossfire, Grey Gargoyle, Mr Hyde, Scorcher and Razor Fist surrounded him on the ground; Whirlwind, Shockwave, Cyclone, Bird-Man and Black Wing hovered in the air. Cade huffed at the seemingly upgraded appearances of the villains. Outside the cellblock however, Hammer agents were running through the corridors, trying to get to the armoury. Gyrich sat in the observation tower, watching the chaos take place with a remarkably stoic expression.
'This is for the greater good,' he thought as he looked at the camera feed of Cade's imminent torture.
But the man remained remarkably calm, despite the fact that he was outnumbered.
"You idiots, none of you get it do you? I wanted this to happen, I wanted it to be this way, but you've only made it more satisfying by arming yourselves, I get to kill you looking like the monsters that you are," Cade explained.
"You're remarkably calm for someone whose about to be torn limb from limb, Octavius and mine Nanobots are going throughout the whole facility Deathblade, we're releasing the women prisoners right this moment," Stane said.
"Intellect alone is nothing in a fight Stane, but here's my bit of intellect…the technorganic virus, it was once used by Eli Bard and then by Gothica, I took possession of it and adapted it to my own use, right this second one of the people I have bought back is releasing the clips of my cuffs," Cade's cuffs suddenly slammed to the ground, followed by his chains. "Now Yellowjacket is going to release the locks of this containment suit, allowing me to let out all the energy I've been gathering since my 'arrest!'"
Slowly, the parts of Cade's containment suit began to fall apart. His armour covered his body and glowed a bright red colour.
"You can't have that much energy," Ezekial laughed.
"Cute, you think I'm locked in here with you, truth is rich boy…YOU'RE LOCKED IN HERE WITH ME!" Cade yelled.
He released his energy, flashing like a nova, releasing an explosion that ripped the wall behind him and the cells in front of him apart. Aeon snapped his head around as the explosion threw Beast and Wolverine past him. Without waiting for the smoke to pass he ran forward, creating two arm shields as he ran. Cade walked through the rubble that was his cellblock, some of the villains were already dead and others were critically injured. His focus however was on the mastermind of the supposed break out. He formed his twin scythes as he walked closer and closer to Ezekiel Stane. The son of Iron Monger had his armour blasted off, his already burnt face was worse from the attack. His legs were also trapped underneath rubble and he had no way of defending himself from his would be killer.
"You pathetic freak of a man, all that intellect and all that money and what do you do with it, MAKE GUNS! You make me sick, you could have changed the world, saved it from all the problems, men like you are all capable of that. But one little accident or not being loved when you were a kid drives you to commit horrors. Well no more!"
Deathblade raised his scythes and swung them down at Ezekial. Suddenly, Aeon landed in front of Deathblade, intercepting his scythes with his shields. The two rivals looked at one another and their eyes began to glow red. Cade dragged his blade across Sven's shield, but Sven struck back, pushing Cade backwards. They lowered their weapons as they looked at each other.
"So its come down to this hasn't it?" Cade asked.
"It has," said Sven.
Cade let out a sigh as he raised his scythes.
"I've actually been waiting for this moment, the moment one of us proves the other wrong, if you think I'm a monster for this, then show me how much good your righteousness does!"
"Don't do this Cade!"
"I'm done being patient Sven, this ends now!"
Deathblade suddenly jumped at Aeon, kicking his left shoulder to knock him off balance. He then swung around, dragging his scythe across Aeon's left shield. Aeon stepped back and swung his arm around, punching Deathblade across the head. The dark warrior flipped backwards and threw his scythe at Aeon. But Aeon bashed the blade aside and ran at his rival. He swung his arm at Deathblade, only for the man to duck under the blow. Deathblade then elbowed Aeon across the face, then kicked him in the side. He swung his scythe only to hit Aeon's shield. Aeon pushed Deathblade back, then delivered a series of punches against Deathblade's chest. After quickly recovering, Deathblade converted his scythe into a spear, and then stabbed Aeon''s shield into the ground. Aeon detached his shield and slammed his head into Deathblade's. The pair dived into hand-to-hand combat, punching at one another. Their fight was like a dance, punch and block, punch and block. Deathblade tried to grab Aeon, but the hero smartly jumped back. He then went on the offensive, jumping at Deathblade. But Deathblade ducked and Aeon's fist flew over his shoulder. Then he curled his arms underneath Aeon's shoulders and slammed him face first into the ground.
"Not bad Sven, but you did a lot better in our fights back when you were in touch with your inner savagery," Deathblade growled.
"I learnt discipline during my travels Cade, and I let go of my hatred too!"
"And you're still the self-righteous momma's boy who surprised me, your determination wont help because your heart's not in the fight!"
Aeon rolled, slamming his elbow into Deathblade's face. He then jumped to his feet and kicked Deathblade in the chest, knocking him over a pile of rubble. Deathblade back flipped, landing smoothly on his feet. He recovered just in time, dodging Aeon's punch and throwing him over his shoulder. Aeon rolled across the ground, stopping on his hands and knees. The Avengers suddenly ran into the cellblock, followed by Zack.
"SENSEI!" Zack yelled.
"The other cell blocks have been opened Avengers, either try to stop me and give the villains a chance to escape or stop them," Deathblade said.
"He's right, we need to get the prisoners back to their cells," Ms Marvel said.
"I could make a spell, teleport them to their cells," Wiccan suggested.
"You'll never pull off that kind of power without a price Billy, focus on getting things under control, with Stane's tech shut down half of the prisoners will be depowered anyway," Aeon explained.
Zack walked around Wonder Man, gritting his teeth together as he watched Aeon and Deathblade walk around one another.
"Lets finish this," Deathblade growled as he broke off into a run.
"LETS!" Aeon roared.
He changed into his bestial form as chains burst out of Deathblade's wrists, grabbing his scythes. Deathblade jumped, swinging his chains around, slashing Aeon with the scythes. Aeon struck back, swinging his tail around. Deathblade planted his feet on the tail and jumped as Aeon swung. He then flipped in midair, planting his feet on the ground before launching himself at Aeon. Deathblade dragged his blades through Aeon's shoulders. He landed behind Aeon, turning and raising his hands, blocking Aeon's tail. Aeon let out a roar as he followed through with his strike, spinning around and swatting Deathblade with his paws. Deathblade flipped in the air, his form and shape itself changing. His helmet opened like the jaws of a great beast, the chains attached to his spine like twin tails and his scythes hovered in midair. He ran on all fours, growling like a wolf as he pounced on Aeon. They rolled backwards, crashing through several walls. Deathblade dug his teeth into Aeon's shoulder and Aeon stabbed his claws into Deathblade's sides.
"Sensei," Zack muttered as the Avengers flew in separate directions.
Only Scarlet Witch remained behind, watching the man she once loved battle his nemesis. The two beasts let out howls and roars of pain as they stabbed one another with their tails. Wanda grit her teeth together as the two beasts changed back into their armoured forms. Aeon jabbed Deathblade twice and then elbowed him across the face. Deathblade kneed Aeon in the gut and kicked him back. Zack kept on watching the fight between the two bitter rivals as exchanged punches again and again. That's when he noticed something, that they were both holding back. Despite his statement, Cade didn't seem to have his full heart in the fight, not like he had in New York against the Avengers. He summoned a sword from his armour and clashed it with the escrima sticks Aeon formed. Sven smacked Cade across the head, and then elbowed him in the face. Deathblade's helmet suddenly began to crack and he stepped back, converting his broadsword into a pair of hook swords. He flipped the escrima sticks out of Aeon's hands and raised both his swords. Aeon stood in place, his eyes seeming to egg Cade on. Cade then slammed the blades into Aeon's shoulders, creating two holes on his armour.
"SVEN!" Wanda yelled as Cade half-heartedly threw Sven into the wall opposite.
"Just give up, and LET ME DO WHAT I HAVE TO!" Deathblade yelled.
He turned to Ezekiel and turned his hook blades into his signature scythes. Zack suddenly landed between them with his escrima sticks ready. Cade narrowed his eyes at Zack and took a step forward. But he suddenly stopped as he recognised the huge resemblance Zack had to his rival. He stepped back and looked at his blades.
"I will never kill a child, especially his!" he said before flying through into the other wall.
Zack let out a sigh of relief before throwing one of his sticks at Ezekiel's head, knocking him out. Wanda landed beside Zack and took the boy in her arms.
"Don't you ever scare me like that," she said.
"I'm sorry mom!" Zack smiled as he hugged the woman back.
Wanda widened her eyes slightly before letting the tears fall down. Ms Marvel and Wonder Man flew into the room, both carrying several unconscious villains. They both smiled at the scene as mother and son hugged for the first time. Sven however, the man Zack recognised as his father was nowhere to be seen.
Hawkeye and Mockingbird moved through the corridors of project Pegasus, both keeping their eyes out for trouble. Muramasa's apprentice walked on the ceiling, glaring down at both heroes. The other heroes walked through masses of dead bodies, agents that tried to stop Muramasa's infiltration. They came a stop at a massive doorway, where Muramasa himself stood with his own brand of Dark Avengers, including the supposed first Hulk Tyrone Cash.
"Great, more witnesses," Trickshot said as he knocked back an arrow.
Muramasa suddenly placed his hand on Barney Barton's wrist and pushed his arm down.
"I wouldn't, you'll spoil the fun!" Muramasa smirked.
"TONY IF YOU CAN READ ME PROJECT PEGASUS HAS BEEN INFILTRATED!" Stingray yelled over his radio.
Century brandished her axe while Elsa pulled her pistols out of their holsters. The Captain charged ahead of the group, aiming his fist at Muramasa. He easily dodged the man's punch and teleported behind Stingray. Stingray flew upwards, firing energy blasts from his hands. But Muramasa blocked them with his energy shield and smirked as his allies battled with the Avengers. Elsa and Trickshot exchanged respective gun and arrow fire, Century clashed his axe with Gorgon's artificial claws whilst the Captain grappled with Superia.
"We need immediate support now, any available heroes get to project Pegasus now," Stingray said.
"You know what's behind that door don't you?" Muramasa asked the armoured hero as he fired blasts from his visor.
Stingray flew around the blasts, hitting Toxic Doxie and Trickshot with his own energy blasts. Hawkeye and Mockingbird broke off into a run down the corridor, with Muramasa's apprentice flying behind them on a platform he created from his energy. Both veteran heroes were already aware of his presence, Hawkeye swung around and fired his arrow. The apprentice blocked the arrow with his sword, but the arrow itself was a feint, Mockingbird threw one of her Escrima sticks behind it, knocking the apprentice off his platform. Muramasa drew his energy sword and eagerly ran at the Avengers. He slammed his sword into Century's axe and began madly striking the man's weapon. Century pushed Muramasa back and swung his axe at Muramasa, but the armoured man ducked and cackled as he kneed Century in the chest, then punched him across the head. Stingray flew behind Muramasa, only for Muramasa to slice off his left wing. The hero slid across the floor, hitting his head against the wall.
"One down, correction…two down!" Muramasa smirked as he drove his sword through Century's chest.
Captain and Elsa looked at Century and gasped as he fell to the floor, his eyes locked in a shocked state. Muramasa grinned as Captain yelled, running towards him with his fist pulled back. He easily grabbed Captain's fist, cackling as the man widened his eyes.
"You know, that scene of your origin with the hung bear, that reminded me of Evangelion, in fact your death reminds me of Evangelion too," he explained.
"What are you talking about?" Captain asked.
"Just say I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you again and again," Muramasa chuckled.
A portal suddenly appeared behind Muramasa as he flipped Captain around, throwing him into the fiery portal. He stood looking at his wrist, as if reading a watch as his victim screamed on the other side of the portal. Muramasa clicked his fingers, causing another portal to appear over Elsa. Suddenly, blood, organs and entrails rained down on the young woman, knocking her off balance.
"You really shouldn't have bought them along Hawkeye," Muramasa grinned as Hawkeye and Mockingbird ran into the room. "Obscure characters like them, what made you think they would actually last?"
Clint widened his eyes as Muramasa thrust his sword through Elsa's chest. He knocked back several arrows, firing them at the Dark Avengers and Muramasa. Several arrows flew into Gorgon, pinning him to the wall, whilst Mockingbird jumped between Trickshot and Toxic Doxie, hitting them with her bo staff. Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow at Superia, knocking her into a wall. He knocked an arrow back, firing it at Muramasa. He barely dodged the projectile, dropping his smile as he ran at Hawkeye. Muramasa swung his sword at Hawkeye, who ducked and hit Muramasa's chin with the palm of his hand. He kicked Muramasa in the face, knocking off his helmet.
"Pretty good, but not good enough, you should have bought more team mates," Muramasa swung his sword, only for an energy blast to hit him in the back.
"Some of these 'obscure characters' were good Avengers you psychopath," Stingray growled.
Muramasa looked up, grinning as Hawkeye pulled an arrow out of his quiver.
"Time to finish this," the Avenger said.
Hawkeye put his arm forward and placed the arrow on the string, preparing to knock it back. Suddenly, Muramasa's apprentice appeared next to him. The youth swung his energy sword straight through Clint's right arm. Stingray, Mockingbird and Hawkeye widened their eyes as his arm from elbow to fingertips dropped to the floor. Clint yelled in agonising pain, clutching the stump his right arm had become.
"Well done," Muramasa praised his apprentice, putting his helmet back on. "Now, finish with the other two!" he smirked as Hawkeye fell to the floor and passed out from the pain.
Deathblade smashed open a door, touching the crack on his helmet as he walked towards a bed of some kind. He widened his eyes slightly, for the bed was empty, devoid of who was supposed to be there. When he heard footsteps behind him he sighed.
"I don't suppose you care enough to grab your radio and tell Gyrich that Doctor Octopus is missing?" Cade asked as he turned to face Ares.
The God of War drew his axe from his back and glared at Deathblade.
"The plans of a second rate threat is of no concern of mine, I am a god, you said you were on a mission to punish evil yes? Well so am I, the evil you have committed is the murder of my brother," Ares explained.
"You've tried to kill him more than once, in fact you've killed your fair share of people in the past haven't you Ares? You claim to be a warrior and to only follow worthy warriors, but the truth is your just a coward, you didn't join Osborn because he was a good warrior, you joined Osborn because at that moment, he was the winning side…what a brave warrior you are," sarcasm dripped from Deathblade's face as he readied his scythes.
Ares let out a war cry as he ran towards Deathblade.
Next Chapter 27: Tesseract
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, the battle continues next time, and Octopus's fate is revealed in the Amazing Spider-man family fic.