" If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment."
— Marcus Aurelius
(Rouen, France: 2:00 PM)
" So after all, you and Dr. Vandark had gone away from Mt. Hoverla? " the elderly half-Kree woman asked. " Then, both of you saw the same scene in Kiev. "
" Seeing the oppressors are more frightening than encountering souls from the dead, " the Kree Lizard boy answered and turned to the map which the Bradford twins had given to him. " Dr. Vandark and I spent hiding and fleeing away from the invaders, until we found the other members of the Russian Rebel Forces. We got separated when I told them I had go to France. "
" From then on, you made a friend from Ukraine. "
" It is true, " the boy nodded. " I haven't heard of him several days after I headed my way to Poland. "
" You have made a long way to get here, " she commented and smiled.
Suddenly, the mother and son heard a loud knock on the door. Carol opened it and saw the brunette half-Lizard man and another man in his late fifties. The boy was glad to see his best friend and the paranormal scientist who he met back in Ukraine. The elderly Kree-hybrid gave them a sincere smile and let them in.
" Jared, you have just arrived, " she greeted.
" Yes, Madame Danvers, " Jared nodded and introduced the man beside him. " I would like you to meet, Dr. Jusis Vandark. "
" Ah, yes! You must be Captain Marvel! " Vandark happily beamed and shook the old woman's hands. " I'm so honored to meet you, ma'am. I have heard so much great things you have done in the past! "
" Please, just call me, Carol, Dr. Vandark. I am too old for this superhero business, " she chuckled and responded with the same gesture. " Likewise, my son has told me about you! "
" So, you have adopted, Svet?! " the paranormal scientist exclaimed and smiled. " How fascinating and thoughtful you are! I'm glad you have truly adopted and raised this man as your own son! "
" Yes, he is! "
" You are very lucky to have a mother like her, Svet! "
" Well, she is really one of the most awesome and incredible women I have ever met, " the Kree-Lizard hybrid smiled. " I wouldn't be like this, if I never met her in France. "
" I guess I'm one of the witnesses of seeing my best friend and his mother, " the half-Lizard added and turned to his friend. " Say, Bud. You have more translating jobs from Old Vandark. "
" You mean more documents to do? "
" I believe so. " Jared smiled and looked at the paranormal scientist.
" Ah, yes, " Vandark nodded and pointed at the file boxes. " But before that, I have some good and bad news. "
" What is it? " Carol asked.
" The people from Ethiopia had rescued a blue skinned Cat Faunus from a sudden onslaught in one of those towns two weeks ago. He almost died from that encounter, " he continued and raised his right hand in interjection.
" Thank goodness, " she sighed in relief.
" Mother, who is he? " the Kree-Lizard boy curiously asked.
" It was my friend Methuselah Belladonna. That's the guy I met in Paris, two years ago with Jared, Allen, and Karena. "
" You mean him? "
" Yes, " she nodded and smiled. " You could have met him, if we took you to the city. Anyways, he has been looking for someone like you. "
The Kree-Lizard boy remained silent and pondered in what the old woman had said. He curiously looked at Vandark and Jared, thinking to respond further.
" Svet? " the paranormal scientist raised his voice and called the hybrid's nickname.
" Are you all right? " his half-Lizard friend added.
" I'm just curious why did an old man like him want or need to know more about me? " he replied. " Was he a friend of the Kree Eternal just like the man I met in Moscow? "
" Kid, you have to know that Methuselah Belladonna is his alter-ego, " Carol instantly spoke. " He is the Kree Eternal Methu-Selah in disguise. "
" Why is he hiding to anyone? "
" He's just like you, " Jared answered. " He has been hiding and escaping from those enemies for a long time and looking for his missing son on Earth. Nobody from his race believed in him, since he predicted this invasion and slavery. "
" He used to be part of the Kree Army once, " Carol added. " He knew how terrible they did to the other planets he had gone. "
" That is also I want to tell you about, " Vandark spoke. " The MTF has been doing a manhunt for you throughout Europe in years. Even you find the Kree Eternal elsewhere, they still on their way to get you. "
" But I thought they had given up..."
" No, some of them are still finding for you..." his half-Lizard best friend added. " Regardless whether you have been hiding from Russia to France, they find their ways to get you aside from our enemies and consider you a threat. That's why we need to let you see the Kree Eternal before anything happens. "
The boy widened his eyes in shock as he began shaking and flowing his tears on his face. Carol instantly hugged him to pacify him. The two men sadly sighed when they saw him crying. She understood in what her son had been afraid of.
" You boys better go, " she calmly said. " It's not the right time to talk to him like this. "
" Okay, Madame Danvers, " Jared nodded. " Dr. Vandark and I will wait for him to get himself in the right mind. "
The two men left the room as the elderly half-Kree woman spent comforting her son. The boy remained weeping and trembling in fear as she sighed. At her old age, she learned how to empathize which she had never done before. It took her for sometime to pacify him and gently held his head.
When the boy had stopped crying, Carol wiped his eyes and rubbed his back.
" I understood you never wanted to encounter anyone of them, " she calmly replied.
" I told them to leave me alone. They thought I was that monster..." he faintly spoke and raised his voice. " I tried to stay away from them, but they have never given up! Then, some people from the Kree and the Lizards were still after me..."
" Have you seen them on your way to France? "
" Yes, the MTF Troopers found me after I left Dr. Vandark in Kiev. I spent escaping and running away for several days and nights. They tried to shoot me, but I hid everywhere from the forest into the abandoned farmhouse. Sometimes, I pretended to be a dead body and lied around with the dead slaves. I waited for them to leave and got myself away. "
" Then, where were you heading to avoid them? "
" I was supposed to go to Latveria to Sokovia, " he answered. " But there were more Kree and Lizard soldiers on my way there. Then, the MTF kept chasing me for going there. I decided to go to Poland. "
" Did you encounter anyone of them? "
" It was a mutant woman named Rogue who served for the Kree and the Lizards. She was never part of the MTF. "
Carol crossed her arms and remained silent as she remembered her younger years when that mutant was once her rival and absorbed her powers. She weakened the half-Kree woman and made her unconscious. The hybrid boy noticed her silence and curiously looked at his mother.
" Did she ever try to harm you? "
" Yes, let me tell you a story..."
(Twenty Six Years Ago: Dorohusk, Poland, 12:30 am)
Days after his tiring trip from Ukraine and being chased by the MTF people, the boy ended up on a street and turned his head around. He became more suspicious than ever if any of his detractors would follow him. The silent abandoned town was his place of his refuge, although the chaotic and gloomy environment had greeted him. There were bodies of humans scattered on the road and tarnished with blood stain. The once peaceful place turned into a skirmish battleground just like he had seen before.
The Kree-Lizard kept on walking and carefully avoided in stepping any scattered body parts. Then, he looked around and noticed an abandoned warehouse for his temporary stay while he was searching for any survivors after reading the map in Russian.
" Surely, this place is abandoned..." he thought and turned around. " Perhaps, this is the safe place to live away from the MTF Troopers, blue skinned people and lizards. If I find the Kree Eternal here, I would be glad to see him. "
On the wall to his left, there were two wanted posters written in Kree and Polska. One of them was a man in his late twenties with black hair and blue eyes. The other one was a half man and gorilla with a golden fur and a smirk. The posters had the names Dracken and Tomulk on them. The boy scratched his head while intently looking at them.
" I can't read this language..." the boy heavily sighed. " It's not even in Russian. How am I going to understand these?! "'
Just then, he saw a group of Kree and Lizards from a distance. He thought of hiding from them. Suddenly a red-headed woman with white highlights stood in-front of them. She was discussing further at them in how to capture for potential slaves and kill more people from the Rebel Forces. The boy got startled as the same enemies aside from the MTF would hunt him once again. He stepped away and turned to the rooms when the woman and her companions saw him.
" Well, well, well, look what we have here?! An SCP-682 clone boy! Those guys with guns are chasin' you all the way?! " she laughed and taunted him. " What's the matter, kid. You're looking for somethin'? "
" Who are you? " he asked.
" The name's Rogue, sugah! My friends are here to get ya! Ya won't see those guys anymore! Yer gonna join with us and become a slave! "
" Madame Rogue, he might kill you. The humans claim he's an indestructible lizard. We have seen him being chased by them several days ago, " the Kree soldier explained. " Aside from that, he joined the Rebel Forces and stopped our allies before. Now, it's your decision to capture or kill him. "
" I'm gonna make him weak, for good! Then, you guys are gonna kill him! " she laughed and held the boy's neck like choking him. The Kree-Lizard hybrid struggled to break free which he couldn't breathe. Her companions watched him dying as his eyes were about to close.
" Stop! Let go!! " he loudly cried.
" Your powers are gonna be mine, Boy! Then, you're gonna die! "
Rogue absorbed the boy's super strength and regenerative ability. He was yelling in pain and beginning to lose himself. The old mutant woman was able to see the horrible memories from SCP-682. She was evilly grinning and laughing as her body had gradually transformed into a copy of the indestructible lizard as her skin turned to scaly dark green. Rogue saw some spikes on her back, a tail, and sharp claws on her hands. The boy was falling down and being drained from what she had done.
The Kree and the Lizards watched the elderly mutant took his powers. She loudly laughed and saw him unconsciously lying on the ground. Her companions got dumbfounded after seeing her transformation. She angrily glared at them and crossed her arms.
" You stupidly disgustin' fellas, what are ya waitin' for, KILL HIM! "
The blue-skinned soldiers and some reptilians followed the mutant's orders as they were ready to take the hybrid down. Suddenly, a hand reached up through the floor and grabbed the hybrid turning him intangible and began to pull him through the floor. Still, they got dumbfounded from what they saw. Rogue angrily gritted her sharp teeth as she failed to take him down.
" Dammit! " Rogue angrily yelled. " Get him!! "
A pile of crates tipped over by themselves and fell on the Kree and the Lizards pinning them to the floor. The mutant became more furious to see it when she noticed the others had gone away.
" You idiots! Don't just stand there and do something!! "
The remaining Lizards and the Kree charged themselves to fight the mysterious beings. Rogue waited herself to use the spikes and claws from her body. The mutant became like a mad hybrid of 682 when she was ready to retaliate. Suddenly, she saw some flashbacks of the monster before she made her turn to fight.
" What's happening?! " she thought and grinned. " This is weird, but I really like it! I'm gonna bring skirmish for good! "
Ghostly wails filled the room as the lights flickered on and off sending the Kree and the Lizards into a panic. Still, Rogue was unhappy for her cowardly subordinates when she heavily sighed.
" It's a ghost! " the Lizard exclaimed.
" Run for your lives! " the blue skinned man cried.
" Let me handle that! " she menacingly grinned and began to crush all the crates.
One of the Kree began to spasm his body beginning to levitate. The others yelled in fear and ran away. Rogue kept crushing and throwing away.
" Foolish mortals!" it bellowed like a demon. " You have angered the spirits with your foul deeds. Run while you can... "
Rogue saw what was happening as she threw the crates towards the intruder.
" You guys are nothing, but disgusting crap! I'm gonna take you down! "
A shadow moved past Rogue as she heard a sinister whisper in her ears, " Throwing things is not lady-like behavior. You are a very old rude lady..."
" Because, I'm indestructible! I'm working for these freaks to get all of ya! "
A hand reached into her chest as a man appeared in front of her. Her chest flared with pain, " Defense means nothing to a ghost, you poor delusional woman. "
The elderly woman angrily gritted her teeth and released her spikes from her back.
" You're not gonna get it! "
The man became intangible making the attack useless, " I take it you're a slow learner..."
" I'm getting all these powers from the boy! You guys are gonna lose!! "
The man backed away and phased into the floor waiving good bye with a smile as the lights shorted out in sparks igniting a fire in the warehouse. The remaining Kree and Lizards yelled in fear as Rogue quickly escaped. She heavily sighed and saw what was happening.
" Dammit, these fools failed my plan! Now, I'm gonna do it myself, next time! " she furiously thought.
" A little too much for a common soldier, Rogue? " a voice asked behind her as a tall man wearing CIA tactical clothes walked up behind. " So, you became a rip-off like that 682? "
" Who the hell are ya?! " Rogue angrily gritted her teeth as she was ready to devour the man. " How the hell did ya know mah name?! "
" The name's Tasig Frango. I was hired by the Kree top brass to assist your cause.. the hybrid's important."
" I work for them, too! Ya could have joined me! "
" Really? "
" Yeah, You met that damn Methu-Selah, didn't you?! Where the hell is he?! " she yelled.
" Woah... calm down. I can hear you without the yelling. Yes, I met him, but he escaped me, sadly. "
" I'm gonna kill that boy for real! "
Frango straightened his tin foil hat and lit a cigarette. He puffed, blew smoke, and , " Why kill him? Top brass has given me orders to bring him alive. "
" Why are you keeping that freak?! That kid is nothing but trouble! He's supposed to be enslaved, but he refused to join us! He and his friends killed my allies! Now, he's gonna pay for everything! "
Tasig Frango eyed her angrily, " So you want to disobey orders from high command. They said you were crazy, but I did not think you were stupid! Do you know what they would do to you if he dies? "
" I follow Taryan's orders, not Methu-Selah's or anybody else! That Kree Eternal is nothing, but a traitor to his own people! " Rogue indignantly answered. " If you're gonna keep him alive, those men from the MTF will get him! He's better dead! "
" Do what you want. But if you get in the way of my orders, I will put you down to eternal sleep, " he darkly chuckled.
" Never!! I'm gonna get that kid, for real!! " she yelled and immediately left.
Tasig Frango sighed and shook his head, " That old lizard hag may be trouble to my mission. I may have to kill her, what a pain..."
The boy was still unconscious on the ground as Frango stood from the outside of the building and intently looked at him. The blue scar on his face was a Kree blood. The hybrid's facial appearance was uncanny to the Kree Eternal except for his green skin and hard scales inherited from 682. Frango intently studied the boy's limbs and tail as it was full of blue scars and wounds. Then, he found out that hybrid wore a blue astronaut's jumpsuit which he checked inside his tunic.
" Is there something to help? " a male voice curiously asked. " I took him out of that building. "
Tasig Frango sighed and turned to the man, " What's your role in this conspiracy? "
" I'm just watching what's going on here, until I saw this boy struggling with that old mutant woman and those fools. "
" Yes, the old woman is not as cool headed as she used to be. Pissing her off may be a mistake for you, " Frango said seriously. " Of course, you're lucky my mission does not involve you or your group."
" Oh, what is so special about this boy? " Dracken asked.
Tasig Frango coughed and glared at Dracken, " That's classified, I'm afraid. You should be careful asking a special agent of the Kree such questions. "
" I have heard about the Kree Eternal before. He must be roaming around this planet in years and looking for his son. No one knows who and where he is. "
" He better hope I do not find him first, " Tasig Frango calmly replied and tossed his cigarette butt on the ground. He stomped it with his shoe heel.
" Why? Do you claim to Methu-Selah's servant or from anyone? Did you see his child? "
Frango touched the ground as the ground collapsed and cracked seemingly for no reason collapsing the burned out warehouse into rubble.
"Shock wave, frequency 6000 decibels. The kid is important, but I have orders from high command to bring in the Eternal's head if I find him, " he said.
" Now, I'm seeing what you're getting, " Dracken smiled and looked at the boy.
Tasig Frango walked over to the boy and raised his right hand as the boy's body began to heal slightly from the drain, " Soothing frequency, 700 decibels. Still they didn't say he needs to be harmed to be brought in. I'm not healing him all the way. If I do he may escape again.."
" I saw and heard that old woman talking with a group of fools. They are looking for him and planning to capture or kill him. Their master is supposed to get the boy as a slave, but he resisted. So, they will kill him, instead. "
Tasig Frango sneered, " She is foolish enough to kill him then the Kree will kill her in kind. They want this boy alive. If he dies in her hands, she's a deadwoman."
" She works for them. A mutant like her is now an indestructible lizard."
Tasig Frango chuckled, " She is not indestructible. You were able to hurt her. The SCP DNA is durable, but not against spirits. "
" Well, apparently, she absorbed his DNA. Mutants are always like that, " Dracken shrugged and grinned. " But the boy is more than an SCP, he is something else..."
" The Kree superiors want the boy, so they can get to the Eternal. At least I think that's their conspiracy. I'm not sure."
" Aside from slavery and conquest, their master Taryan has made allies to the Lizards. During this unending invasion, they have stolen an SCP-682 DNA from an abandoned MTF Facility in America to create the lizard clones as their footsoldiers, but this boy has nothing to do with them. Taryan and his allies decided to make all the skirmish if any of the slaves escape or rebel. His son Kasius will be the next overlord after him. "
Frango shrugged, " That's war for you. Why waste time explaining what I already know about the Kree. My designation is a hired slaughter agent from. I only care about what I'm hired to do and that is find and kill the Kree Eternal. Nothing else matters..."
" So, you're planning to kill Methu-Selah and his child? " Dracken sneered and stood beside the boy. " Tell me the truth..."
" That depends. Do you plan to try to stop me? Not a wise decision, you know? "
" I need the truth. Your spirit seems to be lying. "
Dracken sternly glared at Frango as the man got nervous at the spirit. He was contemplating to disclose everything. Tasig Frango removed his tin foil hat as spirit's thoughts flooded his ears. Dracken phased Frango's body and saw the man's mind and spirit. He understood what his intentions were.
" You cannot be trusted...you are a liar..." he spoke. " You're also a fool like them!! "
Tasig Frango vibrated his body forcing Dracken out of it. Then, he grabbed the spirit with vibrating hands. Dracken could not phase out of the man's grip.
" NO ONE SCANS MY BRAIN. YOU FORGET YOUR PLACE GHOST! IM GOING TO BEAT YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR AFTER LIFE!! "
" Not on my watch, liar! " he punched the man's intestines and the lungs as he quickly phased out and grabbed the boy away from him. Frango touched his body and began to heal himself.
" Soothing frequency 12,000 decibels. You wont get away from me! I can hear your thoughts no matter where you go! "
Dracken headed his way as the boy was still unconscious. Suddenly, a monkey looking man appeared to see him.
" Tomulk, let's get out of here. " he reminded. " I found a mutant and another fool taking this boy's life. We're going to Krakow and find a place to hide. Quick! "
Tomulk intently looked at the boy and turned to Dracken. He smelled the Kree-Lizard hybrid and checked his face. His spirit friend crossed his arms and waited for him to respond.
" Why are you doing that? "
Tomulk backed away, hid behind his friend, and nodded, " He smells like one of them, but something's weird with him. "
" You mean Kree blood? "
" Yeah, but not just that, something else. "
" Something's not right. Tasig Frango the frequency man is not usually this powerful, " Dracken sighed and shivered slightly.
Tomulk gave his friend a serious look and replied, " Maybe the Kree did something to him. They have been known to make some experiments on people."
The boy was still unconscious as he never heard the conversation. Tomulk also checked the pulse and put his head on the boy's chest.
" Well, we need him to get out of here, before Frango finds him, " Dracken anxiously spoke and turned to the vehicle. " Like I'm seeing an abandoned truck, we can go to Warsaw. "
He pointed to in Frango's direction, " Make a run for it. I will keep him busy and give you time to escape."
" Right..." Dracken nodded. " I'll see you there..."
The spirit took the boy into the truck and covered him with a large blanket. He turned around and headed into the driver's seat. He looked for the key and began prepping up the engine. Dracken's past lives knew how to drive a truck as he headed away from the area. Tomulk was ready to face the intruder.
" Hey! Come out! " the monkey man cried. " Hey!! "
Tomulk searched around as he saw a man from a distance. A shock wave rocked the air knocking him off his feet as the man zoomed in his direction his face red with anger. Tomulk stood up from his fall and punched the ground which he also made the man fallen down.
" So, you're the jackass who wants to kill anyone! "
The man removed his tin foil hat again and sneered, " That's kill everyone, genius. Kill anyone is not even a proper sentence. Your friend took a truck to Warsaw? "
" It's none of your business, now..."
" I'm slaughter agent Tasig Frango. Why do people keep getting in my way when all I'm trying to do is my job?!" he exasperatedly said. " It is my job to kill people. Why is that so hard to understand?!"
" Look, you're wasting your time, " Tomulk replied and shrugged. " Why don't you go somewhere else and find a new job?! Sheesh, those freaks are making so much problems and you're adding one! "
Tasig Frango ignored him and held his hands to his head as if he was receiving a transmission. Then, he cracked his knuckles and looked at the ape man with a sigh.
" Yes, understood, sir, " he grinned. " Bad news, Tomulk. You and Dracken just made the list. Stand still, so I can kill you without mess, please! "
" Oh, goodness..." Tomulk sighed and began to cackle for crows.
Frango clapped his hands and pointed up smugly as his ship came down and aimed sixty laser targeting lights at the ape man, " Yeah.. not really giving you a chance to escape.. so sad.."
The flock of crows came to swarm and peck Frango as he got wounded and distracted. Tomulk quickly ran away from the scene and followed into the truck where he saw Dracken. He quickly jumped into the back and sat beside the unconscious boy.
" Hurry, up! "
The birds screeched in the distance as they dropped dead from the sky going suddenly silent. The ground began to crack and fissure smoke and heat shooting up from the cracks.
" Really?! Starting to think you guys don't want to die, " Frango's voice called from the distance. " It's kind of rude and insensitive you know. "
The truck had headed on a highway going to Warsaw. The trees and wind had greeted the travellers which they spent more than three hours on the road. Tomulk looked intently at the unconscious Kree-Lizard boy which he got puzzled of why those kinds of people were hunting him. He sighed and felt sad for him.
Just then, the sun slowly appeared from the east. The two weary travellers saw the outskirts of Warsaw. Deaths, Silence, and Chaos were all over the place. Dracken and Tomulk both sighed and sadly bowed their heads while approaching the city streets.
" If only Captain Marvel were with us..." the monkey man sighed. " She could have helped us in fighting these freaks. "
The radio turned on by itself as Frango's voice spoke monotonously, " Yeah just let me know when you're ready to die. I mean, I like overtime as much as the next guy, but c'mon. You guys are being rude and very unprofessional. I'm going to keep chasing you until you give up. You know work ethics and all that. Okay?! "
" Crap..." Dracken muttered and turned off the radio.
Tomulk pointed at an abandoned broadcasting station as a friend nodded and turned off. The two remained silent and quickly headed their way. The truck parked as the two carried the boy inside. Still, they remained non-talking and spoke in sign language, and facial expression which they seemed like playing charades.
