Insanity Reigns
It seems so long ago that a time existed where every ounce of my being wasn't filled with festering hate. Back when Wyatt was alive and I held the Gold Medal for crime fighting. Wyatt Wingfoot, Sandman, and myself were feared by New York's criminal underworld. We had toppled Tony Twist, Black Mask, Rose, and King Bedlam. Only one bastard stood above all the rest. The man's soul was brimming over with greed and an undying lust for power. No matter how hard we fought him things always ended up being a stalemate. That was until he sent her after us.
Her name was Fatale and until this day I've never faced anyone with more skill. Using a device developed by Stark Industries she managed to turn William into a mud monster and me trapped within him. I struggled to get free because even though I was blind I could feel the murderous intent emanating off the woman. My struggling was worthless just like me.
Wyatt put up a good fight, but without William and myself he was less than whole. I remember beginning to smell the fear of Wyatt once he realized he wasn't getting any help. I don't know how many drunken nights I vomited and cried over that smell. She didn't prolong his fear though and ended his life quickly.
Watching his dead body plop to the ground let me know one thing. Kingpin had at long last broken our stalemate and he had won. Sandman was left in permanent disfigurement. Even Professor Howlett couldn't do anything for poor William. So he had himself locked in stasis until the day someone could help him.
Now I play by their rules. I kill them instead of handing them over to weak courts. Kingpin was the first to die and many others followed. Now I make my way to Chicago with Charlotte Jones in my sights. There won't be another Wyatt. I dare the devil to even try and let another innocent victim fall in my path.
Philadelphia"Did you really have to turn Moon Knight into a frog?" Bluestreak asked as she picked herself up off the pavement.
Mistress Strange crossed her eyes at Bluestreak, "I did what had to be done. He was about to strike Stepstone. Would you have preferred that I turned him to stone? What would have been to your liking?"
"Look all I'm saying is that maybe you should sit down with someone and have some quality time. Cuz if the first thing you think about doing to someone is turning them into a toad I think we have some issues there," Bluestreak said.
"And just who gave you a psychology degree?" Stepstone interjected. She appreciated the fact that Mistress Strange had covered her back no matter the method behind it. Mistress Strange reminded Illyana of the Storm of her world who had so tragically fallen in battle against Diablo. The two possessed the same tenacity and willingness to do whatever was necessary to achieve victory.
"If nothing she should have turned the whole lot of those inferior Defenders into toads," Reed von Doom added haughtily. He was now beginning to understand why his father, Victor von Doom, hated the heroes of his world so much.
"Maybe everyone forgot, but we were helping the bad guy back there," Bluestreak reminded. She wasn't comfortable with how her team seemed to so easily adjust to the fact that they had just got done helping a villain conquer Earth.
"We didn't forget. We just know what has to be done," Hardcase said walking towards his four teammates with Blink by his side. He didn't like helping Rune anymore than Bluestreak did but they couldn't afford to fail in what the Tallus requested of them.
"And the next time you disobey an order Bluestreak, I will personally kill you so I can get a better replacement," Blink barked. It was never something she would really do, but Bluestreak was one person who could grate on Clarice's nerves to no end. If she wasn't pissing off Mistress Strange, she was playing a joke on Stepstone or complaining how much the Tallus sucks.
Mistress Strange smiled smugly at Blink's comment. It had been a long time and it was sorely needed. On her world she had been treated with the highest level of respect. Dealing with Bluestreak's wanton disrespect was nearly unbearable and it was taking the Sorceress Supreme everything she had to not send Bluestreak into the Realms of Xavier.
Hardcase felt bad for Bluestreak. The young woman had a good heart and playful soul. While she wouldn't admit it he could tell the stress of the things the Exiles had to do was getting to her. Acting like a goof ball and being a general pain was her way of working off the stress. It wasn't a particularly helpful way, but it was obviously the only way Bluestreak knew how.
Stepstone cared nothing for Bluestreak. The blood of Quickgold ran through her veins and that was enough to stir distrust in Illyana even if it was an alternate Pietro. She could see the man in her eyes and Stepstone wanted to strike it down. Quickgold and his Mutant Guard had kidnapped and tortured her little sisters for three days until they finally died. Then he blew up Farouk Tower killing Shinobi, Roberto, and Kamikaze. She had been engaged to Kamikaze and their wedding was supposed to have been in three days. It was the greatest blow of her life and now if she didn't succeed in the Exiles her older brother Colossus would die in the explosion as well.
"Look boss I wasn't about to let that statue fall on Gambit's head. That's just not the type of person I am," Bluestreak explained truly believing that would be enough of an excuse.
"Let me tell you one thing I've learned about being an Exile. You might as well throw out any assumptions about yourself because if you're part of this thing long enough you're going to do plenty of things that don't fit into the type of person you are," Blink replied the tone of her voice chilling the air. Clarice was still reeling from the loss of most her team only a few missions ago. She lamented Sunfire and Morph greatly, but the others she felt joy for. One couldn't help but to get lonely though. With them they had been together so long that they were all quite close. Now she felt like an outsider having to lead a bunch of new folks who didn't quite mesh like her old team use to.
Everyone stood their silent wrapped up in their own thoughts. Each of them recalled a time when they hadn't lived up to expectations of themselves. For Reed von Doom it was when he had to slaughter a planet full of children being trained by his father to become soldiers. That act had earned him the hate of his father and the scorn of the last remaining heroes he had taken as allies. For Stepstone it was when she forced Quickgold to choose between the lives of his two sons as she held them over a cliff. It had been only a day after the Farouk attack. Ultimately, Pietro chose and one of his children died that day. The screams of that child still haunted Illyana. For Hardcase it was when he used mind control technology to create the largest gang war in history. He had done it all so Ultraforce could regain their credibility in the public eye by stopping the violence. Mistress Strange knew her greatest sin was stealing the power of Kale, Clea, Mordo, Harkness, and Calizuma. It had made her Sorceress Supreme at long last, but had cost her a great deal of credibility. Blink and Bluestreak both felt they had greater sins to commit yet.
"The Tallus just told me our mission," Blink said breaking the period of reflection.
"Don't keep us in suspense," Bluestreak, daughter of Quicksilver, begged falsely.
"This world has an insane Daredevil who is slaughtering crime bosses. We're supposed to stop him from killing Charlotte Jones. That's our first objective. Our second objective is to find Elektra and warn her that Rose has sent assassins after her."
"Couldn't we just split up for this one and get things done quicker?" Stepstone asked not seeing any kind of difficulty in the objectives that had been handed to them.
Blink shook her head in disagreement sternly, "Not a chance. We have no idea what powers the Daredevil of this world has and we have no idea how Elektra might react to us. I'm not assuming anything here. Assumption could end up with us all dead."
Assuming is what Blink and the others had done on that vampire world. It had ended up with Morph and Sunfire dead. Losing them hurt as much as losing the teammates of her own world. Clarice's life had been a parade of death and she had a feeling that the parade had barely begun to play their music and throw its beads.
"So what do you suggest we do then Blink?" Reed von Doom asked as he materialized a nail filer from thin air and went to work on his right hand.
"Mistress Strange can you do a location spell and find Charlotte Jones?" Blink asked hoping that the answer would be a positive one.
Ororo flew into the air and raised her arms up high. She wasn't sure how the magical nature of this world flowed, but she hoped it would be attuned to her own. Her abilities would be of great use to end this mission quickly and head on to the next world.
"Sons of Sandu give me the sight to find the one called Charlotte Jones across this great vastness. Sons of Sandu give me the sight," Mistress Strange mumbled as a red aura surrounded her body. The aura remained for a few minutes before the sorceress descended to the ground.
"Are all your spells that dramatic?" Bluestreak asked.
"Only for one with such a small brain," Mistress Strange replied.
"I wonder who much of that smack will last after I knock your head around at Mach-1?" Bluestreak spat.
"If you two ladies are done exploding estrogen everywhere…can we get back to work please?" Hardcase asked begging.
"You're lucky he asked nicely. Let me make this clear. Bicker when we have downtime. Right now we have a mission before us. Anymore being smartasses to each other and I will personally make sure you get replaced. Get my drift?" Blink exclaimed gripping one of her darts tightly.
"I can probably do ten times as much as you and ten times as fast. I don't need you giving me grief all the time," Bluestreak snapped. As she did she barely missed a javelin that was thrown at her by none other than Blink.
"I will not have any more back talk! I'm the leader of this team and that's final," Blink yelled before turning to Mistress Strange, "So where are we headed?"
"Ms. Jones is in Chicago."
"Good that's where we're going then," Blink commanded.
ChicagoWilliam Stryker had been working under Charlotte Jones as her right hand man for over ten years now. In those years he had never been more afraid for his life than he was now. The infamous Daredevil had put his boss in his sights and Stryker knew nothing good could ever come from that. He hated to say it, but he wasn't expecting his boss to be alive for much longer.
"You can come in now William," Jones said as her lieutenant of sorts walked through the door a little more timidly than normal. Seeing this disturbance she asked, "What's the problem William?"
"I'm just concerned for your safety right now. Daredevil is really dangerous and could do a lot of damage," William said.
"Believe me I know. That's why I've hired the London Three."
William stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at the middle aged black woman, "You mean Psylocke…"
"Black Knight and Mindwarp. Yep those three. They're going to help me take down Daredevil and solidify my place as top dog across the nation. You're looking at the new Kingpin," Charlotte smiled.
"You sound pretty confident boss, but what if those three can't beat Daredevil. What then?"
"Do you have any idea of the reputations of these guys? Mindwarp took down an Avengers team all his own and killed every last one of them. Psylocke assassinated Xavier and Magneto without even trying."
"And Black Knight detained the Hulk and sold his DNA on the black market. Yes I know they're not to be reckoned with, but neither is Daredevil. Remember how Garrison Kane hired Absorbing Man and Diablo to protect him?" William asked knowing that his question would bring back memories into his boss' mind. She had been a former lover of Kane and hearing of his death had opened her eyes to just how dangerous Daredevil was.
"What do you suggest I do then William? Run?" Charlotte inquired trying to fight back her tidal wave of frustration. She knew that Stryker was only looking out for her best interests and getting mad at him really wasn't going to help anything at all.
"That's the only reasonable option. If you run maybe the Daredevil will decide to chase someone else."
"I can't live off maybes William. No, we're staying here. The London Three will have to work," Charlotte said.
"You think he's coming anytime soon?" Black Knight asked holding his Obsidian Blade at his side as he stood at the edge of the rooftop. Playing watchdog for Charlotte Jones wasn't exactly his idea of a prestigious job, but fighting Daredevil was going to be great.
"He'll be here. He never backs down from a kill," Psylocke said practicing with her katana. She had rendered Black Widow's head clean off with the weapon.
Her brother Jamie aka Mindwarp loved watching his sister in action. The way she wielded the sword made him think of their father in his prime, "Yea and when he comes I'll turn his organs to goo."
"Come now luv. You gotta let the rest of us have a bit of fun," Psylocke grinned.
"Fun. Oh we're going to have a ton of that," Daredevil laughed as he leaped into the middle of the London Three.
"Bout time you showed up. I was starting to get antsy over here," Black Knight said as he charged forward and cut Daredevil across the chest with his Obsidian Blade. It revealed a bit of black armor underneath that made Dane quickly back pedal, "You…have the Armor of Strange?"
"You're damn skippy. How else do you think I got the drop on Diablo and Absorbing Man?" Daredevil asked grinning in a most ironic manner. He was grinning like a devil.
"Doesn't make a lick of difference mate. You're going down!" Psylocke yelled as she stabbed Daredevil in the back. Her sword went straight through the armor and popped out of his chest.
"Betsy no!" Black Knight yelled, but his warning had come too late.
Psylocke's body and her sword began to lose their color and in only moments she had turned to salt along with her weapon. The wound she had inflicted on Daredevil healed instantly and with a swift kick he sent the pile of salt that was Betsy Braddock flying into the air.
"You bastard!" Mindwarp yelled as he used his illusionary abilities to make Daredevil see hundreds of tiny scorpions crawling over his body.
"Its no good. Illusions have no effect on him," Black Knight said.
"Then what will hurt that freak?" Mindwarp asked beginning to fear his sister's fate would befall him as well.
Five pink javelins flew by the heads of the now London Two and struck Daredevil square in the chest. Pink temporal energy arced across the fearless man's body and sent him to the ground in convulsions. Black Knight smiled, "Looks like that will hurt him."
"Are you two alright?" Blink asked as she landed on the rooftop with precision. Following behind her were the rest of the Exiles.
"We're fine. Who are you? Are you with SHIELD?" Mindwarp asked ready to put his powers to work again.
"No. They can't be. Look who's with them," Black Knight said pointing at Stepstone. The Illyana Rasputin of his memory had been one of the most vicious members of the Russian based Supreme Masters. She had taken down an entire troop of Ru'Tai without breaking a sweat. If she was here Daredevil really must have become a threat.
"Look we're from different realities. We have a mission. Take down Daredevil," Blink explained pointing towards the direction of the fallen hero.
"He wears the Armor of Strange. Only thing that can dispel it is the Soulsword. Unfortunately that weapon was destroyed years ago," Black Knight sighed.
"Luckily I have my own," Magik said as she walked over to Daredevil prepared to cut him in two.
"Hold on! There is an easier solution to all of this," Reed von Doom said pulling out a tiny blue cube from the interdimensional hole inside of his black glove, "From what it seems like Daredevil is just a hero who's lost his way. Killing him won't make things right."
"And your little toy cube will how?" Jamie asked anger beginning to simmer up in him. This madman had just killed his sister and whomever this techno clad fool was wanted to ignore that.
"It's going to put him in a state of stasis indefinitely and thereby preventing the death of Daredevil," Reed explained as he unleashed the cube from his hand. The object flew forward and struck Daredevil. The unconscious body disappeared somewhere only Reed von Doom would know.
"And if there's a problem with that I suggest you keep it to yourself," Blink warned.
Bluestreak took a cautious gulp, "Before we go around throwing any punches anybody know where Elektra is at?"
"Elektra Summers?" Black Knight asked.
"I was thinking more along the lines of Natchios, but whatever fits," Bluestreak laughed.
"She's in Romania. Serving as Protectorate for President Zemo," Mindwarp informed.
Mistress Strange sighed, "Zemo of all people. I hope we do not encounter him."
Stepstone wanted to counter Strange's comment, but decided to hold her tongue. The Zemo of her world had been a great man. He had unified many of the broken countries of Southern Europe after the Brood Invasion. Along with the X-Men they worked to bring stability to the horribly changed continent.
"Our focus is Elektra. Not Zemo," Blink reminded.
"With that said, we need to get going. I don't want to spend the night on this world if we don't have to. The accomdations don't seem suitable for my tastes," Reed von Doom remarked.
A pink portal opened up only a few feet away from where the body of Daredevil had been.
"Let's go. Right now," Blink commanded.
"Nice talking to you fellas," Bluestreak waved as she zoomed into the portal.
"Forgive her sense of formalities," Reed von Doom said as he flew forward into the portal.
As the last of the Exiles departed Black Knight looked to Mindwarp, "Yea this is going down in my list of weird experiences."
Interlude"Wake up Daredevil!"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Vange. You're sleeping. Against your will."
"How? Why?"
"Some have doubted your crusade. I don't. Let me help you."
"What's the catch?"
"Help me in my crusade as well."
Next Issue: Sinister world opens up with a bang.