6. A Sinister Odyssey
On the Left part 2
A SHIELD Research Facility,
Caracas, Venezuela,
Inside an underground research facility buried beneath the capital of Venezuela, four figures appear. One pink, one Caucasian, one white and one brown, they split up without a word. Heading for different points, they establish a defensive perimeter whilst the white woman goes to a terminal, beginning to type rapidly. "Got it," she says quickly, inserting a disc for the data to be burnt onto. Suddenly, a SHIELD agent notices the light of the terminal screen in the supposedly deserted room and opens the door, gun at ready. Unfortunately for him, one agent isn't going to be enough. The ground spins for the man, he drops to his knees retching. Vertigo doesn't let up. Blink teleports over and knocks him out with a swift kick to the back of the head. He drops to the ground.
Still silent, she rejoins the others. Suddenly, the lights flood on and the doors burst open admitting agent after agent. Blink yells, "Domino!" and jumps into the fray, followed by Cecilia with Vertigo hanging back to afflict as many as possible. Hundreds of agents flood the room, in groups collapsing as Vertigo targets them or dropping one by one as Domino picks them off. Cecilia's force field sweeps across knocking down numerous troops while Blink jumps around picking up those avoiding the other attacks. Eventually, she opens a portal in front of the door sending every agent rushing into the room outside the facility. Soon, all the agents are down or locked out. Domino yells, "Got it! Let's go!" and Blink is about to 'port them out when a soldier jumps up and grabs at Vertigo. With a spin, her foot whirls out and the man's jaw is broken with a loud crack. Before he has time to fall, she has whipped an arm around and crushed his windpipe, leaving him choking and gurgling on the floor. Blink looks at the woman strangely. That had been very fast. Turning to Blink, the blond woman says, "Stop staring, it's time we were gone already.". Blink nods and in a moment, they are back in Sinister's catacombs.
Sinister's Catacombs,
Vertigo, Blink, Domino and Cecilia arrive back in a flash of light. They relax a little, having escaped a potentially fatal situation. Cecilia asks, "Any injuries?" but everyone shakes their head. "Alright, I'm off to do my meditation," she says before leaving. Domino says emotionlessly, "I need to take these to Sinister." Only Blink knows her well enough to detect the furious undertones to that sentence. It would be best to stay away from Domino for a while. Vertigo turns to Blink and asks, "Up for a spar?" Blink had been struggling with Cecilia, 'porting rapidly to try and get around her forcefield. The woman had kept up very well for someone untrained, her power had phenomenal potential. Suddenly, everything had started to spin and whirl, the ground vanishing ad reappearing. Holding on to her balance by the tiniest of margins, Blink had looked around, searching for the source of the latest attack. A smirking blond woman stood in the corner, grinning. Her face changed to shock for an instant as she collapsed, shot in the head by Domino. Clarice shivered. "Umm….I suppose I can," she relied hesitantly. "Lead the way.". Turning, the blond woman walked off to the training area Sinister had set up for them.
Since being forced into joining Sinister, Domino, Clarice and Chamber had been training the Marauders daily. Chamber had stopped training and joined the trainees recently, his training with Rumlow giving him an edge but Domino decided that Sinister wasn't to know about that. So Chamber played clumsy and Blink and Domino trained the Nasty Boys. Clarice had been stunned to find them still alive, she was certain that Domino had killed at least three and she knew she had killed Strong Gu,y but they were fine. Sinister explained and it made it even more terrifying. These Nasty Boys, they were clones. Sinister had a lot of dangerous missions for them and they had suffered losses repeatedly. They were just clones.
Blink shivered again and trailed after Vertigo towards the training area. She hoped Domino came up with something because she didn't know how much longer she could stay here.
The Training Room,
Sinister's Catacombs,
Blink dropped to the ground with a thwack! Rolling to the side in a blur of motion, she only just evaded Vertigo's foot dropping like an axe onto the spot where she'd just been. This was a little more serious than a spar. Springing to her feet, she sprang forward, twisting in mid-air so the attack that seemed to be coming at Vertigo's torso hit her in the knees, whipping her feet out from under her. The blond woman dropped to the mat and tried to rise again but Clarice planted a foot on her throat to hold her down. "What do you think you were doing?" she demanded sharply. If that kick had landed it would have broken something fairly important. And it had been so fast. Vertigo hadn't even been capable of following Blink a week ago but now she was moving faster. It was only experience that had let Clarice survive that bout. The blond woman simply smiled and said, "Sorry, I just got a little too into it." Clarice let her up, slightly shaken. The woman had been trying to kill her. Teleporting to her own rooms, she walked around the corner to wait for Domino. They had to talk.
The Living Quarters,
Sinister's Catacombs,
Domino stalked through the corridors, as furious as she had been nearly constantly since Sinister had caught them in his trap. She whirled around the corner, hands instinctively flying up before she realised it was Clarice waiting outside her door. "What are you doing here?" she snapped instantly. "Domino we have a problem," the girl replied seriously. "I was just sparring with Vertigo and she…she moved differently. I don't know how, I don't know why. She nearly killed me. Dom, she's moving fast. Like Red Lotus fast. I know you don't know what happened to him, whatever you say, but this is freaking me out. We have to do something, if we keep training them and try something, we'll get beaten. Badly," she finished in a rush. Nearly panting, Clarice really did look panicked. Domino started to reply, "Clarice we..." but cut off as another figure approached. "Well, well, if it isn't my favourite girly girls having a chat. Whatcha talking about; girlies?" the giant figure asked suggestively. Domino turned to Strong Guy. "Didn't you learn last time what happens when you turn up outside my door with a suggestion like that?" she asked coldly. Strong Guy smirked and said, "Well the way I figure it, your just hidin' your real feelins, darlin'. Lets just go inside and talk about it a bit more." Clarice stared at him, completely repulsed. She still felt guilty over what had happened in the assault but that guilt was fading rapidly. He was quite possibly the most repellent person she had ever met. He advanced, trying to crowd them into the room. "Guido," Clarice began but stopped cold as Domino pulled a gun. "You disgusting person," she said coldly. Two shots later, Clarice was staring at Domino in horror and Strong Guy was lying on the floor. Not getting up. "Why…Dom, why did you…Won't Sinister…oh crap, Domino, what the hell were you thinking?" the girl demanded, stunned and angry. Sinister would kill them. He'd blow them up. Turning to Clarice, Domino calmly put the gun away. "I did the same to the last one and I'll do the same to any more that turn up outside my door. Now go away, Clarice, I'll look into it," she said coldly. Opening her door, she walked into her room. The click of the lock echoed across the corridor. Sighing, Blink turned to her own room. She needed some sleep badly. If the Nasty Boys wanted to kill her now, they'd just have to wait until she woke up. Closing her own door with a soft click, Clarice curled up on the bed. She hoped she could hold on long enough for whatever Domino was doing to work.
Domino' Room,
The Catacombs,
Domino sat on her bed in a lotus position. He's already completed the first batch of upgraded clones her mind said, speaking to someone who wasn't there. I just need the proof and then….you have to help me hold on for a few more days. If I can hold him out for just a few more days…
Chamber's Room,
The Catacombs,
Lying on his bed, Chamber studied the roof. He hated this place. It was even worse than when he was living with Cockrum. He jumped out of bed suddenly, too restless to even pretend to sleep. He pads down the corridors and halls, just generally wandered around. He passes Vertigo but doesn't acknowledge her, since the club he's refused to have anything to do with her. Passing down the halls back into the residential area of Sinister's complex, he realised he was wandering past Clarice's rooms. He ducked inside to see how the mission had gone earlier tonight.
Blink's Rooms,
The Catacombs,
She was asleep in the bed so he turned to leave when something slammed into his back, flinging him against the door. A voice asked "Jono? What the hell are you doing here?" and the pressure eased up. He turned and Clarice looked at him angrily. Well, I was coming to see how your mission went today but I think I might leave before you decide to break my arms… he sent. Blink flushed slightly, and said, "Sorry, Jono. I'm just a bit on edge. Did Domino tell you about what happened with Vertigo?" when he shook his head, she told him, "I was sparring with her today. She's moving fast. Really really really fast. I…I think Sinister has done things to the Nasty Boys, with all the cloning. He's making them better and better. Improving them. I don't know. I just think we need to look at it so that when we try and leave, we know what we'll be up against." She rushed out. Jono thought she might have been overreacting, that Vertigo was just getting good but….if Sinister really was improving them, that could be a serious problem. Ok, well then let's look around, Blink. If he's improving them, he needs to be getting samples of superior products from somewhere, he sent. She blinked rapidly but then looked at him, realizing he made sense. "Let's go," she said quickly.
The Labs,
The Catacombs,
Nothing here, Chamber said, turning away from the room he had been examining. Clarice turned from her own room with a sigh. "Nothing here either. Maybe I was just being paranoid but….she had been enhanced Jono. There was no other way." She said hesitantly. Turning to the last door, she found it security coded, the only one so far. "What's behind here, I wonder?" she mused aloud. She tried to 'port behind the door, but encountered a teleport blocker, locking her out. "I can't port in Jono," she said excitedly. "There has to be something here, there has to be!" Thinking, she realised something. Sinister was used to working with teleporters like Slipstream. They could take themselves, they could take people but they couldn't just send things. Smiling, she turned to Jono as the door vanished and reappeared leaning against a wall. Walking into the room she stopped dead in shock. "Holy Fuck!"
Chamber, meters behind Clarice walked up behind her and stopped dead. Inside the room was a scene as horrific as any he'd ever seen. Red Lotus lay strung up in what seemed like a cradle made of cables, drips coming from nearly every part of his body. What was left of his body. His legs had been removed as had one of his arms, which lay on a dissecting table on the other side of the room. Beside him, Clarice clutched her mouth in horror. "He..he..holy shit!" she stuttered out. Grabbing her arm, Chamber dragged her out of the room. She was still in shock. Clarice, put the door back, he said as though speaking to a small child. Put the door back, Clarice. In a daze, she turned and the door was returned to its place looking completely undisturbed. Now take us back to the living quarters, Clarice. Take us back there.
Outside Domino's Rooms,
The Catacombs,
A second later, they reappeared outside Domino's rooms. Clarice was starting to recover, still shivering and clutching her sides but ok. Chamber started pounding his fist on Domino's door, when suddenly, a hole burst through the centre of the door and hit him in the chest. If he had been pretty much anyone else he would have died. Blink murmured, "I forgot to warn you. We had a …confrontation with Strong Guy before. He's been harassing Domino and she…she shot him. Again. She's done it at least one other time." Turning to the door, she called, "Domino, let us in already. Stop with the guns. We need to talk." The door opened, Domino wiping something off her face. "What is it?" she barked furiously. Pushing her back into the room, Chamber barged his way past her. Clarice followed. We went poking around in Sinister's labs. We found….we found why the Nasty Boys are so improved, he sent quickly. "Wha…" she began to ask but he forced a vision of Red Lotus and his condition into her mind. She stopped talking. Turning away from them, she paced into the Spartan room, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Blink, I've trained you as well as I could against telepaths, and you too, Jono. What I tell you now, you must keep from Sinister at all costs." "He's a telepath?" Blink asked surprised. Chamber just nodded. He had known, felt Sinister trying to probe him sometimes. "Yes. Moving on," Domino snapped. "I knew something had happened to Red Lotus. I made sure word got around about the end result of our visit to the Kitchen. It was only a matter of time before whoever took Lotus realised that they needed us as well. I've been in contact with a number of people who are after Sinister for reasons of their own I think I better take you to meet them later. For now, just stay calm. It will be a few more days at most," she finished. "Stay calm. I've got another meeting tomorrow night. You can come along."
The Next Night,
A Deserted Alley near one of the Catacombs Entrances,
Domino, Blink and Chamber 'ported into the alley. Finding it deserted, they silently made themselves as unobtrusive as possible, sliding into the shadows. A moment later, two people made their way down the alley. The first, a large man with dark skin, walked confidently while the second, a Caucasian woman with purple hair, strutted along beside him. "Domino," the man says. "I did not tell you to bring the whole family." Turning to the woman, he asks quietly, "Any more than the three of them?" Domino answers calmly, "There are only three of us here, Lucas. Now calm down and get those shapeshifters to stop pretending they're garbage bins." Turning, she looked sternly at the corner where two garbage bins sat, suddenly melting to reveal two people, one a woman with a white streak through her hair, the other a man who looked completely white for a moment before sliding into plain features and normal skin tone. Blink didn't bat an eyelid but Chamber's face gave away his surprise. Turning to Domino, Blink asked, "Is this who I think it is?" Domino's face did not change. "It is!" Clarice snapped. "It's the bloody Mutant Underground!"