The New Exiles

by Agent-G

The Exiles lives are changed forever, but now for the better and with a new mission in life and a new mentor looking out for them but also with new evils on the rise. [COMPLETE]

5. Chutes and Ladders

The New Exiles

By The Uncanny R-Man And Agent-G

Shout Outs-

Damn-my-name-was-taken: Yes I told him so don't worry about it.

Ruby631: Well technically they did, just not in person like in this chapter.

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Chapter 5: Chutes and Ladders

Dr Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum-

The Exiles reel from the sudden revelation of the young woman's identity. "So she's Selene's daughter, huh?" Morph asks. "I didn't even know that the witch had a kid."

"Selene was that woman dressed in all that black leather looking like she came from a porno, right?" Vincent asks.

"Yup." Valeria replies crossing her arms. "Or as we prefer to call her, 'The Evil-Bitch- Monster-of-Death!"

"Sounds friendly." Vincent mutters to himself.

"So how exactly are we going to rescue this woman?" Blink asks. "I'd bet that her prison is heavily guarded."

"You'd be correct in thinking that." Dr Strange replies. "August is locked away in the highest tower..."

"Guarded by a fire-breathing dragon." Morph interrupts. The others look at him in confusion. "What?" He asks. "Am I the only one that's seen 'Shrek'?"

Heather is the next to ask a question.

"Am I correct in assuming that we'll have to go through Belasco and S'ym?" She asks.

"I'm afraid not." Amanda replies. "They're both dead."

A collective sigh of relief rises from the assembled Exiles.

"Don't think yourselves lucky yet." Wanda warns them. "Blackheart is now ruler of Limbo!"

"Aww crap!" Morph mutters. He heard of Blackheart, he was the son of the devil and not exactly a nice...thing. He faced him once when he was an Avenger at one point and he wasn't looking forward to meeting him again.

Once again, Vincent feels left out, not really knowing what the Hell the others are talking about. "Care to enlighten the new guy exactly who this Blackheart guy is, so I can join in the collective pant wetting?"

"He's the son of Mephisto." Heather replies.

"And Mephisto would be the Devil, right?" Vincent asks, guessing where this is going, and since he was brought up by a priest, he knew about certain things like all the names of the Devil, Angels and other things.

"Got it in one buddy." Morph replies.

"Aww crap!" Vincent groans. "I was brought up believing in God and the Devil now I'm actually going to meet big red's son."

Limbo-

A large white teleportation disc appears in the air above the demonic realm known as Limbo and out heroes jump out. Vincent casts a wary eye over the army of demonic foot soldiers outside the entrance to Blackheart's fortress. It was like something out of Dante's Inferno.

"Don't worry." Strange says, sensing Vincent's worry. "The guards cannot see us, I have cast a glamour spell, hiding us from their sight."

"That's good to know." Vincent replies, sighing in relief.

"So all we're gonna do is walk straight in?" Morph asked. "This is the easiest mission ever!"

"That's what you think!" A voice booms above their heads. "Honestly Strange, did you really think that I couldn't sense your pathetic attempts to creep into my fortress?"

Everyone looks up at the astral projection of the colossal demon that was all black with a thorn like hide and deep red eyes. Vincent turns to Morph for information. "Let me guess." The Canadian samurai says. "This guy's Blackheart."

"You catch on quick Vince." Morph replies. "There'll be hope for you yet."

The astral Blackheart waves his hands and there is a brief flash of light as the glamour hiding our heroes is broken. "Attack the mortals!" The astral Blackheart yells. The demon army lets out a deafening battle cry as they charge towards our heroes.

"And I thought this was going to be easy." Heather sighs, bashing a couple of demons with her colossal furry fists.

The other Exiles and Dr Strange and his associates join the battle. Our heroes throw everything that they have at the demons, from energy blasts and teleportation lances to magical fireballs and invisible force fields but the demonic army is too vast and our heroes are soon overwhelmed and defeated. The demon army gathers them up and carries them to the main chamber of Blackheart's fortress.

Vincent's Reality-

The white haired brother was slammed into the side of a building with great force. So far he and his other surviving brother had been fighting this Guardian for five minutes and already they knew they couldn't win. So far they had pissed him off and hurt him a little but he was trying to take them alive for questioning. That was not expectable.

He concentrated on the Guardian while he back was turned and fired an ice blast at him. Their opponent was to busy with his brother who was firing an energy blast at the front which was being blocked by the sword.

Guardian cried out in pain as the ice started to freeze his body. "We have him now." The blond one said passively and poured on the energy.

'Damn...not good.' Adam thought to himself. 'Okay then...try...this move!' He concentrated on his Ki and focused like he had learned from an old friend of his. He suddenly disappeared. The ice and yellow energy blasts then combined. The magical forces combined violently and a sudden explosion rocked the area.

The two sorcerers were knocked off their feet from the shockwave. Guardian had materialized behind a building protected by the large walls. He moved about getting the frost and ice off his back. He grinned to himself. "I love that move." He said to himself he was glad he had learned it; it had come in handy too many times.

"TARGETS DETECTED!" Came the loud booming voice of a Sentinel.

"What?!" He said to himself and ran to an opening in the wall and saw a few Sentinels land in the area. He saw the two dark sorcerers still on the ground trying to get up, apparently their glamour spell had been broken and the Sentinels that had been sent to investigate all the noise could now see them. "Damn it I need them alive I got to-" But it was too late the giant robots had just blasted the two fallen magic users.

"Damn it." He muttered under his breath. He abhorred senseless killing like that but it was out of his hands now. "I better get back to work." He said putting his sword away. He still had a lot of people that needed help on this world.

The main chamber-

The Exiles and company are now shackled in unbreakable magic chains and are brought in front of Blackheart's throne. The demonic lord of Limbo is sat upon a throne made of something that looks suspiciously like human bones and he carries in one of his hands the Soul Sword a powerful mystical blade of power.

"Well look at this." Blackheart chortles. "The invincible Dr. Steven Strange finally kneeling at my feet. How does it feel knowing that your abysmal little life is about to end?"

"I would prefer it even more if I were to take you with me, you abomination!" Strange replies, glaring at the monstrous demon in front of him. Blackheart just laughs out loud at Strange's words, his deep, booming laugh resounding around the room.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." The demon lord says to them. "Guards, lock them in the cells, they will be executed with the other traitor. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to notify Lord Doom and Lady Selene of the good news."

"Well it was nice knowing you guys." Vincent sighs, as they are lead away to their certain doom.

The cells-

Morph is pacing the cell that he is sharing with Vincent who was sitting patiently on the floor but his face was another matter is Morph didn't know any better he looked like he was trying to control himself. Morph was trying to think of a way out. Then an idea pops into his head. He conveys his idea to Dr Strange via telepathy.

Doc, I've got an idea how to get these collars off us.

I'd be glad to hear any ideas that you have Morph. Strange replies.

I'm reminded of an episode of 'Angel'...

I'm not sure that now is a time for pop culture references Morph. Strange replies.

Hear me out for a sec, Doc. Morph says. Can you sense anything magical from these collars?

The collars are dampening my ability to sense but... yes, now that you say it, I can sense some magical energy emanating forth.

Morph grins as his plan begins to bear fruit. Well, I'd bet that these collars are part magic and part scientific, seeing that Doom and Selene are both behind this.

I think I can see where you're going with this. Strange says. I already have a release spell in mind.

Now we just need to find some horsehair to short out the locking mechanism. Morph says.

I believe that the floor coverings are made of horsehair. Strange replies.

Great stuff. Morph says. Now, chant the spell while you place the hair in the lock.

There is a brief silence as Strange follows the plan.

It worked! Strange grins. Your plan worked Morph! I will be there to rescue you momentarily.

August's Cell-

August, a woman in her early twenties with long black hair and ice blue hair in ruined clothing had her wrists shackled but otherwise she was free to move around. But she didn't care, nothing mattered at the moment. She had lost everything.

She thought about her life since that was all there was for her do to.

Born fifteen years before the fateful witch trials in Salem, to the then Priestess of Nova Roma, Selene, during one of her mother's travels away from Nova Roma. Augusta grew up as a privileged child in the sleepy little town, that was until her mother grew bored and decided to liven life up a little, add to that the fact that August had inherited all of her mother's mutant powers, from her manipulation and creation of fire to the ability to psionically drain the life force of others. Selene also schooled her daughter in the black arts.

Anything that happened that the townsfolk could not explain was explained away as witchcraft. So when babies disappeared or livestock was poisoned, witches were blamed. Many innocent women were burnt. All of this was down to Selene.

As it often happens when you're immortal, Selene soon grew bored with the chaos that she had caused and decided to move back to Nova Roma. August went along with her. Augusta stayed at her mother's side for many years.

But it was not to last. During the fateful few days when the teenage mutant group known as 'the New Mutants' arrived at Nova Roma, August was intrigued by the young mutants. Unfortunately, her mother tried to kill them. During the earthquake that ensued after a young Nova Roman, Amara Aquilla manifested her powers, Selene was buried, leaving August alone. Growing weary of ruling Nova Roma, August decided to travel the world.

During one such trip to Calcutta, August was met by a mysterious woman that asked for her help. Unknown to August, this was in fact Selene.

When the woman's true form was revealed, Selene asked her daughter to join her in the Hellfire Club. Not being one for wealth and fortune, August turned down the offer. A fight ensued and August was stripped of almost all of her powers, except her flame powers and super strength.

Selene did not kill her daughter outright, she thought it a much better punishment to take away her immortality, leaving her mortal. Then August continued drifting around the world.

When she neared the United States, she saw a broadcast of a group of mutant superheroes called 'the X-Men' and decided to travel to New York to see if she could join them. Needless to say, she was happily accepted and became a valued member. She also began a relationship with her fellow teammate KurtWagner.

Alas, all this was not to last. Selene hatched a plan to release Dr Doom from Hell. Doom had been trapped there during an earlier battle with the Fantastic 4.

After releasing Doom, they hatched a plan to take over the world. They also created an alliance with the ruler of Limbo, Blackheart who had taken over thanks to Selene. The deadly alliance did not hesitate to begin their campaign of terror. Many fell during their first attempt to conquer the Earth, including August's then fiancé, Kurt. She remembered that day she came home to the mansion and found them all dead. Except for Kurt, Selene and her demons had kept him alive just so she could kill him right in front of her eyes.

Selene remembered a prophecy that Blackheart and told her about a daughter killing the mother and thinking that it was August. So Doom and Blackheart hatched a plot to kill her. But the one single strand of decency happened to still be alive in Selene's had convinced them to lock August away to a secret Limbo prison before she could be killed. That is where August lies today, waiting for death and maybe to be one day reunited with her love on the other side.

Later-

Strange, Morph and Vincent have removed their collars and have now released the others. 'God I'm glad that's over!' Blink thinks to herself. 'That damn cell reminded me too much of Sinister's and the experiments.' She shudders slightly from the memory of that horrible time in her life. 'That's a point in my life I just want to forget now we just need to find August.'

"What does the PADD say, Blink?" Heather asks. "Are we anywhere near our girl?"

"The PADD says that her cell should be just around the corner." Blink replies seeing a short-range map pop up in it. The PADD seemed to have a built in tracking device that somehow was calibrated to the Exiles. Blink had discovered it by accident while trying to look up some information, but she wasn't complaining.

Sure enough, August's cell is around the next corner. That much can be seen by the amount of guards guarding the door.

"I'll take care of these guys." Vincent says seriously with a dark expression on his face. "I hate being locked up, so I owe them one." A grim expression on his face, as his eyes take on a crimson glow.

"Any particular reason?" Morph asks seeing his expression.

"I was locked up as a kid...let's just leave it at that for now." Vincent replies grimly after a couple of seconds.

"I'll help." Val adds. "The sooner we get rid of these guys and get this August chick, the sooner I can kick Doom's ass."

"You've gotta love a girl with a plan." Vincent grins.

Outside August's cell-

The guards outside Augusts' cell are distracted by an attractive blonde human girl sidling up to them. "Hey stud." The girl coos seductively. "You lookin' for a good time?"

One of the guards gets a lecherous smile on his face and leans down to kiss the girl. Their lips are no more than mere millimeters apart when Val snatches up the demon's knife and slits his throat with it. The other guards just look in amazement as Val drops the guard's corpse to the ground.

"You're gonna pay for that girlie!" One guards growls.

"I tend to differ in the matter." Vincent replies as Val drops the invisibility field around him. The demon guards hardly have enough time to gather their weapons when Vincent incinerates them with an energy blast.

"So, do you wanna open the door or shall I?" Val asks.

"Ladies first." Vincent replies gesturing to the door. Val just smiles brightly as she uses an invisible force field to knock down the door to August's cell. They step in and see a bedraggled raven-haired young woman cowered in a corner.

"There's no need to be afraid." Vincent says in a calming voice slowly walking towards her. "We're here to rescue you."

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything." August replies and for the first time in her life hope is coming back into her life. She doesn't know who some of these people are but she doesn't care. "But it'll be a little difficult for me to escape with this restraining collar."

"I'll take care of that." Val replies, stepping up and using the horsehair idea on August's collar. With her restraining collar gone, August grabs Val in a huge hug. The last time she had seen Val was a couple of years ago when she had gone to Dr. Strange for help with her magic abilities.

"It's wonderful to see you again Val!" August grins.

"I don't want to break up the bonding ceremony but we have to get going." Vincent says. "We're kinda on a schedule."

August follows them out of the cell towards the others.

Later-

The Exiles, August and Dr. Strange and his associates carefully creep into Blackheart's throne room. As soon as they rescued August, Blink announced that their mission had apparently changed; they now had to dispose of Blackheart so that Amanda Sefton could regain her rightful pace as the ruler of Limbo.

Fortunately for them, Blackheart is asleep on his throne, the Soul Sword lying across his knee.

Amanda carefully crept toward the sleeping demon. She carefully inched closer to pick up the Soul Sword. She needed the Soul Sword to cement her rule over Limbo. No sooner has she taken the sword in her hands then Blackheart wakes up with a start. The Exiles, hidden away, gasp in shock. Before the colossal demon can say a word of warning, Amanda swings the Soul Sword around, cleanly cutting off his head. The Exiles sigh in relief as the demon's head bounces onto the floor.

"Nice work Amanda." Blink says. "I guess that you're the leader of Limbo again."

"I somehow doubt that." A voice says from behind them. Our heroes turn and see Selene and Dr. Doom standing in the doorway, flanked by yet another army of demons.

"Will you hand over the Soul Sword peacefully or will I have to take it from you?" Selene asks then with a predatory grin on her face. "Please say that I have to take it. That's always more fun."

"The day that I hand over the Soul Sword to you is the day you pry it from my cold, dead hands." Amanda replies angrily.

"Very well." Selene says. "If that's the way you want it. Minions, attack!"

Then all Hell breaks loose (literally!) The army of demons surges forwards to battle the heroes. The heroes do not falter; they meet the demonic hoard with equal force, not giving an inch. Blink throws her teleportation lances, Vincent incinerates them with energy blasts, and his uses super- speed and strength with his combat skills, Heather and Morph smash them with their fists, Dr Strange blasts them with magic, Wanda hexes them, Val blasts them with invisible force fields, Amanda uses the Soul Sword and August blasts them with fireballs.

Val fights her way through the demons and makes her way towards Doom. "You'll pay for killing my family." She hisses.

Doom just snorts contemptuously under his cold metallic mask. "Your powers are useless against me Valeria, I can use the powers of Hell itself!" Val shields herself with an invisible force field as Doom blasts her with a huge ball of magic.

"Tel me tell you something Doomsie." Val says. "Your magical armor may protect you from my invisible force fields but what about an enchanted dagger?"

Doom watches as Val takes out an ornate-looking dagger. "That isn't...?"

"The Blade of Haraxis?" Val asks. "The only blade that can disrupt any and all magic, apart from the Soul Sword? You certainly got that right!" Doom barely has time to defend himself as Val launches herself at him and buries the dagger deep into his chest. He lets out one last gurgle of surprise as he falls down dead. Val leans down and plucks the dagger out of Doom's chest and throws it to August.

"An enchanted dagger cannot hurt me." Selene laughs. "I am immortal!"

"That's where you're wrong, mother." August replies. "Disruption of magic isn't the blade's only power, it can kill immortals too!"

"You're bluffing." Selene says glaring at her child.

"There's only one way to find out." August replies with a grin.

Selene attempts to blast her wayward daughter with a fireball but August rolls out of the way and throws the dagger. The dagger flies through the air and imbeds itself in Selene's stomach. The sorceress lets out a surprised gurgle as her body begins to disintegrate. Soon, all that is left of Selene and the dagger is a pile of dust.

"That was for Kurt you bitch." August mutters to herself, her eyes misting up slightly. With their mistress dead, the demons surrender, the fight taken out of them.

Later-

With the battle done, and the villains disposed of, the Exiles and their allies are back in Dr. Strange's only now in a large living room with man strange furnishings and they are all relaxing after their battle. The Guardian makes an appearance to them all they are a little surprised at his rugged appearance.

"Dude! What happened to you?" Morph asks him.

"I ran into a little trouble, nothing to worry about though." He assures them. Although behind his masked feelings he is worried about what he had come across. Magical forces like that weren't normally found in realities like that one. He knew it was Dark Circle or another group just like them that those triplets had worked for. But which group and for what reasons he would never know.

"I take it you got all those people to a safe place?" Vince asked the strange man in black.

"Yes, it wasn't as easy as I thought since there are always those that want to stay behind and fight to the last." He says while brushing off some dust. "And I see things here have turned out well."

Then the Guardian sees August looking lost over to the side and he moves to her. "I know what you have lost and I know you feel a void in your life with everyone you cared for gone because of Selene and Doom." He says in a caring voice. "So I want to give you a choice to join the Exiles, maybe with them you can find a new purpose for your life."

August takes a moment to consider it all. His words had hit home for her, she has no one waiting for her, no reason to fight for or to live for anymore in this world. And it's just too painful, everything in this world only reminds her of what she had lost. "I think I will...if you really want me."

The Guardian smiles kindly at the woman and nods. The Exiles then bid Dr. Strange and the others goodbye.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to leave?" Dr Strange asks. "You could still have a place here August."

"It's not like I have much left to live for." August replies mournfully. "My fiancé's dead, so are my fiends and family. Besides, if I went with these guys I might actually do some good."

"We'll miss you." Val sniffs, hugging August.

"Hey, buck up kiddo." August replies, returning the hug. "At least you kicked Doom's ass."

"I suppose that I did." Val grins wiping her eyes.

August then turns to bid the others a final goodbye. "Well, I'd better be going now." She says she goes and stands with the others. Morph thinks on something. "Hey didn't the others where we left TJ said that their Kurt was on a mission with this woman named August? You don't think...naw. What are the odds of that?" Morph doesn't see the slight smirk on Guardian's face.

Dr Strange and company wave goodbye and they disappear in a flash.

END...

NEXT: NEW HOME