Chapter 8 - 'Twas the Night of Grand Mayhem
'Twas the night of grand mayhem and all through the abode,
Not a creature was stirring - not even the Toad.
The food was hidden, tucked away with care,
In hopes that by morning it all would be there.
The Brotherhood were safe, all snug in their beds,
But they dreamed of Mystique bashing their heads.
Mystique's in her room locked away from the rest,
They wallow in filth while she gets the best.
When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
They all leapt from their beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the roof was Quicksilver in a dash,
When the roof caved in with one great big crash.
Like moons of cold steel with great heaving force,
They tore through the house like it was completely on course.
Then, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But five mutant men, each exiting a sphere?
A red-caped man floating all neato -
They knew in a moment it must be Magneto.
More powerful than most armies his minions they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
Now Sabertooth and Gambit the Cajun!
On Pyro, and Colossus the Russian!
These little jerks deserve a concussion!
To the top of the stairs!
To the top of the walls!
Now pound away!
Pound away!
Pound away all!"
As leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
The Brotherhood ran rather than die.
So out to the grounds the brothers they flew,
Getting smacked around, Mystique with them too.
And then in a twinkling all motion ceased,
As both sides waited to be fury unleashed.
They formed up in ranks and focused their powers,
Though only seconds had passed it seemed more like hours.
Sabertooth's sheer anger ruffled his fur,
Pietro so nervous he at times seemed to blur.
Pyro had two tanks of propane flung on his back,
And on the opposite side Lance's head tilted back.
Blob's body - How did it move with weight it be not meant to carry?
Piotr's abs were of steel, with muscles and tendons that were downright scary!
Gambit's eyes were jet black, yet red with a glow,
And Todd's droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow.
Mystique was tense and ready to shift,
While Eric waited calmly - his opponent was quick.
They formed broad lines, five to a side,
Tension was thick, all noise had died.
Things were rapidly spiraling out of control,
Soon the field would be burnt black as coal.
Even the animals could tell there was something to dread,
If they didn't leave now they'd all soon be dead.
They spoke not a word, but kept at their work,
Growled at each other and sneered like a jerk.
A twitch of a finger, a bat of an eye,
Any sudden moves and they'd all surely die.
They watched each other closely, nerves failing fast,
And most of them prayed to not get a cast.
But then an explosion came, and a shrill, screaming cry:
"OKAY YOU FREAKS, YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sinister Six did not really intend to kill Magneto, Mystique or the others, they just all thought it was cool to say it. Except Doctor Octopus and the Vulture, who refused to use words like 'cool' and 'sucks' outside their grammatically correct context, and instead referred to the death threat as 'intimidating'.
In any event, the Sinister Six attacked. Hobgoblin flew in tossing pumpkin bombs. Toad caught one to the face and was flung back, unconscious. Gambit started flinging cards back, and the field was lit with explosions.
Soon another light source came as Electro entered. Far beyond Storm in sheer power, he managed to fry Quicksilver before he could reach Rhino, who slammed directly into Blob, knocking the 'unmovable man', boy really, straight into the Approaching Colossus, who was in full metal mode. Rhino charged straight in, but the Russian was managing to hold him, until a stray explosion caught him in the back, knocking him off balance.
Mystique choose this time to strike, transforming into a bull and running over top of Piotr to hit Rhino, who barely felt it as he backhanded her into a tree, which collapsed over her.
"Foolishness! What could you two boys hope to accomplish!"
"More than you think old man!"
Doctor Octopus was making quick work of Avalanche with one tentacle while two others had crushed Pyro's flame jets. But that didn't mean that Pyro was helpless. After all, in a battle with that many explosions, something had to be on fire, he just had to find it. Concentrating, the Australian found a small flame in the base of the house. Fanning it with his mind, he managed to cause the Brotherhood house to explode, throwing Doctor Octopus back, releasing the two of them.
"HA! Eat that mate!"
"Oh, I think you'll be the one eating something…"
Just as Pyro was feeling victory however, the Vulture swooped down and caught him, banking to draw Pyro into the air. When they were high enough, the old man flew back down, slamming Pyro into the dirt, ending his struggles, making a lot of the flames begin to die.
Sabertooth was not without problems however. On his way to start tangling with Rhino he suddenly found himself in a jungle. Pushing his way through, the scenery suddenly changed to that of an arctic wasteland.
"RAUGH!!! What the hell is this?!"
Sabertooth stopped for a moment and considered. He started sniffing the air, and found an unfamiliar presence to his right. He leapt, and the illusion shattered, revealing Mysterio.
"I am Mysterio, master of illusion! You certainly won't be a challenge!"
Mysterio was not one to back down from a fight. The man could go blow for blow for a while with the likes of Spider-Man. Sabertooth however, was a different matter all together. While Mysterio was able to fend off the first leaping claw attack, the second on proved a little too much, as Sabertooth slammed into him, sending them both to the dirt. While an able bodied fighter, Mysterio was not a wrestler, and was in pretty serious danger…
Until a recovering Doctor Octopus used a pair of tentacles to contain the beast. A thump to the ground told of Gambit's failure when Hobgoblin finally tossed a gas grenade into the mix against orders. He was supposed to use them in transport should anything happen.
Magneto chose this time to strike. He also offered them a few choice words.
"None of you will leave here alive."
Doctor Octopus fought with Magneto's powers for control of his tentacles while Hobgoblin's glider seemed to shrivel into a ball, the compressed fuel and flame exploding.
"You are nothing compared to me, relying on tricks instead of yourselves. But what can I expect, you are only human after all."
He mentally harnessed the Vulture's wings and flung him back into Mysterio. Rhino charged, but his roar alerted the dark mutant, and he simply floated up, causing Rhino to slam into the rubble of the Brotherhood house.
Magneto allowed himself a small smile.
"You will fall, you will crumble, you will die. And the entirety of the human race after you. Homo Superior will inherit the planet, and you will be but a memory."
During this time, however, some of the Brotherhood and Acolytes were beginning to recover. Doctor Octopus, seeing this, broke his concentration to bellow two words.
"ELECTRO! NOW!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke with a start, and raced for my closet. I could feel it.
Whatever's going on down there, I have to stop it.
Using my Spider-Sense to avoid the security systems, I was soon off the grounds, webbing my way to the other side of the city where something really bad was happening.
I reached the outskirts, but the Sense kept pushing me on.
Not there yet…
Oh boy.
I knew what it was now. Or at least I hoped I knew.
Great. The Six attacking the Brotherhood. Trying to save my enemies, that's real smart.
But my feeling of responsibility wouldn't let me do anything less. Dealing with both the Brotherhood-of-so-called-evil-mutants was a walk in the park, especially in costume like I was. But dealing with the Six at the same time? Suicide.
Suddenly, the feeling stopped. That was almost worse than the feeling itself.
That means that somebody won.
I closed on the Brotherhood house, or what was left of it. Landing in a nearby tree, I scanned the grounds.
Zip, zero, zilch, nada.
Tire tracks however, said that someone disappeared in a hurry. With nothing more I could do, I headed back to the institute as sirens approached. I hid until they had passed before leaving.
The last thing I need is a spider sighting.
Given the news reports wouldn't say too much, I resolved to tell Professor Xavier everything I knew in private the next morning.
'Twas the night of grand mayhem and all through the abode,
Not a creature was stirring - not even the Toad.
The food was hidden, tucked away with care,
In hopes that by morning it all would be there.
The Brotherhood were safe, all snug in their beds,
But they dreamed of Mystique bashing their heads.
Mystique's in her room locked away from the rest,
They wallow in filth while she gets the best.
When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,
They all leapt from their beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the roof was Quicksilver in a dash,
When the roof caved in with one great big crash.
Like moons of cold steel with great heaving force,
They tore through the house like it was completely on course.
Then, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But five mutant men, each exiting a sphere?
A red-caped man floating all neato -
They knew in a moment it must be Magneto.
More powerful than most armies his minions they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name:
Now Sabertooth and Gambit the Cajun!
On Pyro, and Colossus the Russian!
These little jerks deserve a concussion!
To the top of the stairs!
To the top of the walls!
Now pound away!
Pound away!
Pound away all!"
As leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
The Brotherhood ran rather than die.
So out to the grounds the brothers they flew,
Getting smacked around, Mystique with them too.
And then in a twinkling all motion ceased,
As both sides waited to be fury unleashed.
They formed up in ranks and focused their powers,
Though only seconds had passed it seemed more like hours.
Sabertooth's sheer anger ruffled his fur,
Pietro so nervous he at times seemed to blur.
Pyro had two tanks of propane flung on his back,
And on the opposite side Lance's head tilted back.
Blob's body - How did it move with weight it be not meant to carry?
Piotr's abs were of steel, with muscles and tendons that were downright scary!
Gambit's eyes were jet black, yet red with a glow,
And Todd's droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow.
Mystique was tense and ready to shift,
While Eric waited calmly - his opponent was quick.
They formed broad lines, five to a side,
Tension was thick, all noise had died.
Things were rapidly spiraling out of control,
Soon the field would be burnt black as coal.
Even the animals could tell there was something to dread,
If they didn't leave now they'd all soon be dead.
They spoke not a word, but kept at their work,
Growled at each other and sneered like a jerk.
A twitch of a finger, a bat of an eye,
Any sudden moves and they'd all surely die.
They watched each other closely, nerves failing fast,
And most of them prayed to not get a cast.
But then an explosion came, and a shrill, screaming cry:
"OKAY YOU FREAKS, YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sinister Six did not really intend to kill Magneto, Mystique or the others, they just all thought it was cool to say it. Except Doctor Octopus and the Vulture, who refused to use words like 'cool' and 'sucks' outside their grammatically correct context, and instead referred to the death threat as 'intimidating'.
In any event, the Sinister Six attacked. Hobgoblin flew in tossing pumpkin bombs. Toad caught one to the face and was flung back, unconscious. Gambit started flinging cards back, and the field was lit with explosions.
Soon another light source came as Electro entered. Far beyond Storm in sheer power, he managed to fry Quicksilver before he could reach Rhino, who slammed directly into Blob, knocking the 'unmovable man', boy really, straight into the Approaching Colossus, who was in full metal mode. Rhino charged straight in, but the Russian was managing to hold him, until a stray explosion caught him in the back, knocking him off balance.
Mystique choose this time to strike, transforming into a bull and running over top of Piotr to hit Rhino, who barely felt it as he backhanded her into a tree, which collapsed over her.
"Foolishness! What could you two boys hope to accomplish!"
"More than you think old man!"
Doctor Octopus was making quick work of Avalanche with one tentacle while two others had crushed Pyro's flame jets. But that didn't mean that Pyro was helpless. After all, in a battle with that many explosions, something had to be on fire, he just had to find it. Concentrating, the Australian found a small flame in the base of the house. Fanning it with his mind, he managed to cause the Brotherhood house to explode, throwing Doctor Octopus back, releasing the two of them.
"HA! Eat that mate!"
"Oh, I think you'll be the one eating something…"
Just as Pyro was feeling victory however, the Vulture swooped down and caught him, banking to draw Pyro into the air. When they were high enough, the old man flew back down, slamming Pyro into the dirt, ending his struggles, making a lot of the flames begin to die.
Sabertooth was not without problems however. On his way to start tangling with Rhino he suddenly found himself in a jungle. Pushing his way through, the scenery suddenly changed to that of an arctic wasteland.
"RAUGH!!! What the hell is this?!"
Sabertooth stopped for a moment and considered. He started sniffing the air, and found an unfamiliar presence to his right. He leapt, and the illusion shattered, revealing Mysterio.
"I am Mysterio, master of illusion! You certainly won't be a challenge!"
Mysterio was not one to back down from a fight. The man could go blow for blow for a while with the likes of Spider-Man. Sabertooth however, was a different matter all together. While Mysterio was able to fend off the first leaping claw attack, the second on proved a little too much, as Sabertooth slammed into him, sending them both to the dirt. While an able bodied fighter, Mysterio was not a wrestler, and was in pretty serious danger…
Until a recovering Doctor Octopus used a pair of tentacles to contain the beast. A thump to the ground told of Gambit's failure when Hobgoblin finally tossed a gas grenade into the mix against orders. He was supposed to use them in transport should anything happen.
Magneto chose this time to strike. He also offered them a few choice words.
"None of you will leave here alive."
Doctor Octopus fought with Magneto's powers for control of his tentacles while Hobgoblin's glider seemed to shrivel into a ball, the compressed fuel and flame exploding.
"You are nothing compared to me, relying on tricks instead of yourselves. But what can I expect, you are only human after all."
He mentally harnessed the Vulture's wings and flung him back into Mysterio. Rhino charged, but his roar alerted the dark mutant, and he simply floated up, causing Rhino to slam into the rubble of the Brotherhood house.
Magneto allowed himself a small smile.
"You will fall, you will crumble, you will die. And the entirety of the human race after you. Homo Superior will inherit the planet, and you will be but a memory."
During this time, however, some of the Brotherhood and Acolytes were beginning to recover. Doctor Octopus, seeing this, broke his concentration to bellow two words.
"ELECTRO! NOW!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke with a start, and raced for my closet. I could feel it.
Whatever's going on down there, I have to stop it.
Using my Spider-Sense to avoid the security systems, I was soon off the grounds, webbing my way to the other side of the city where something really bad was happening.
I reached the outskirts, but the Sense kept pushing me on.
Not there yet…
Oh boy.
I knew what it was now. Or at least I hoped I knew.
Great. The Six attacking the Brotherhood. Trying to save my enemies, that's real smart.
But my feeling of responsibility wouldn't let me do anything less. Dealing with both the Brotherhood-of-so-called-evil-mutants was a walk in the park, especially in costume like I was. But dealing with the Six at the same time? Suicide.
Suddenly, the feeling stopped. That was almost worse than the feeling itself.
That means that somebody won.
I closed on the Brotherhood house, or what was left of it. Landing in a nearby tree, I scanned the grounds.
Zip, zero, zilch, nada.
Tire tracks however, said that someone disappeared in a hurry. With nothing more I could do, I headed back to the institute as sirens approached. I hid until they had passed before leaving.
The last thing I need is a spider sighting.
Given the news reports wouldn't say too much, I resolved to tell Professor Xavier everything I knew in private the next morning.