Chapter 15
"There's Something Bad Going Down."
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters – 9:00 p.m.
In a top-secret high-tech facility, far advanced beyond the conventional level of advancement of almost the rest of the country, and the world, Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury, a powerfully built man in his late forties with graying hair and a black eye patch covering his left eye sat behind a large metal desk. The room was large, spacious, practically non-decorated, and had the air of being the residence of a brilliant leader and solider who knew how to led and protect like the back of his own hand.
The facility that he was in was of the state-of-the-art level in technology and people. Only the best of the best were allowed to participate in the matters that were observed, planned, and carried out, for this was where they dealt with threats that even the CIA and FBI were not able to deal with. Threats and problems of the magnitude were beyond the comprehension of the normal citizen and even most of the U.S. government. In fact, the knowledge of these were too great to be allowed to be known the public to avoid spreading needless attention and chaos due to fear. This organization, under Fury's leadership, was SHIELD, Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, SHIELD for short.
Colonel Fury currently was wondering if he should feel relaxed or tense right now. He wanted to feel relaxed, which was something that was a rarity for him, due to the nature and pressure of his job as director of SHIELD. After all, there had been practically nothing of great concern to the regards of the organization in the last few weeks. However, Fury's better judgment and gut instincts told him that this was the sort of calm before the storm. After all, calmness in the world of super-secret security could be shattered in the blink of an eye and could happen when you least expected it.
Fury had followed his gut instincts pretty much all his life, even before he had joined SHIELD, and practically every single time, the shot they had fired had hit the bull's eye. Rules had to be followed, which applied Fury himself for even leaders were forbidden to cross the line, but his instincts and genius-level leadership skills were his greatest tools. Sometimes rules didn't do the job they were supposed to. Knowledge and skill always did.
During the past several years of Fury's time spent as supreme commander and top agent, the threat of other organizations whose power equaled or possibly even surpassed SHIELD's had grown. These organization's, whose interests were as far from the safety of the public as one could imagine, included Hydra, an international terrorist organization deeply involved with genetic engineering and experimentation forbidden by the ethical laws of modern science and the development of illegal weapons and technology. Another organization, whose threat was almost as bad, but not as obvious, was the Hellfire Club, which also had ties and locations all around the globe, whose intentions were not entirely clear, but sinister nonetheless. Fury had been working practically non-stop over the last few years looking for ways to bring groups like that down, those two especially, but with security like they had, it was next to impossible. And impossible was a word Fury hated.
Fury picked up two large folders, one of which was labeled "Hellfire Club." The other was a list of the most wanted criminals in SHIELD's database. Seeing both of these folders reminded Fury of mutants, which was another thing he knew about that the general populace did not. Mutants had been known to SHIELD for years, and Fury had more than his fair share of experience with them. Hell, one of SHIELD's tasks was to capture and incarcerate rogue mutants who were dangers to others. In fact, he even had mutants working under him as secret agents and combat warriors. While most major branches of security would spit on the idea of mutants working for them, Fury was above such things. Being super-secret had its advantages.
For a few minutes, Fury looked over the files and felt he needed an update on progress regarding these two. After ten minutes of reading and thinking, he pressed a button on his communications system. "Lieutenant Hinson," Fury contacted one of his staff.
"Yes, Colonel?" asked the male voice on the other end of the line.
"Has Agent Sage reported back in from her latest infiltration of the Hellfire Club's New York Branch?"
"Affirmative, Sir," said Hinson, "She reported in less than an hour ago."
"Good. I want to see her and Agent Bishop in my office right away. There are some things I need to discuss with them."
"I'll send them right away, Sir," Hinson answered, and then signed off.
After turning off the system, Fury went back to his studying of the documents. Of the list of criminals SHIELD most wanted to capture, there were four of which he was interested in, one of which because he had been broken out of SHIELD's clutches by means unknown. But all four of the criminals he was looking into had one thing in common. They all had been affiliated with Hydra. And since they came from three different nations, that gave one a pretty good idea how far Hydra's reaches went. As for the Hellfire Club, he would need to hear what Agent Sage had to say before he thought any further.
Just then, the chime on Fury's door rang. Fury looked up from his desk and gazed at the door. "Come," he called to whoever it was.
The doors slid open, and two figures, a man and a woman stepped inside. The woman was tall, slender and full-figured, with shoulder length jet black locks hair that ended in slight curls, skin as white as porcelain and vibrant blue eyes that seemed to glow and radiate with intelligence and knowledge. She was Agent Sage, a mutant with a mind that functioned like a computer; able to store and process huge amounts of information within her mind, and a memory so perfect she remembered everything down to the slightest detail. Sage was also a telepath, and could even analyze the mutagenic fields of other mutants, which allowed her to bring their mutant powers to their full potential quickly, jumpstarting them to full levels of advancement.
Agent Lucas Bishop, the man with her, was of African-American decent with chocolate-colored skin. A shoulder-length mop of black dread locks and a mustache and beard framed his dark face, black eyes as dark and deep as a moonless night surveying the world. He was big strong man, six and a half feet tall at 223 lbs, massively muscled with a body as well-developed as that of a professional NFL football player. Like Sage, he was a mutant as well, possessing the ability to absorb any form of kinetic energy directed at his body without harm and then rechanneling it into amplified physical strength, speed, and stamina. He could even focus that energy through his hands, firing it as destructive plasma bursts or concussive force.
Fury looked at the two mutant agents, and then motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. "Agent Sage, Agent Bishop," he greeted them.
Sage and Bishop both nodded. "Colonel Fury," they responded.
"Please sit," he told them. They complied.
After looking at their blank faces for a few moments, Fury decided to cut to the chase. "I think there's no point in beating around the bush, so let's just cut to the chase shall we. There're some things we need to discuss," he said, "I've made some theories regarding some of the people currently under our surveillance. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but unless I'm proven otherwise, I can't say anything for certain." He then turned to focus specifically on Sage.
"Sage," Fury told her with a tone that left no room for nonsense or pleasant conversation, "I know you got in less than an hour ago, but I need to know how your current status is of finding out what we need to know about the Hellfire Club in the New York City area."
"I'm trying my best to get the information that we need," reported Sage, "But I'm afraid it's more difficult that I first anticipated."
Fury wasn't really expecting Sage to provide him with concrete details, for he had a fairly good idea on how tight Hellfire security was and that made gathering information difficult. Nevertheless, he felt a sense of disappointment well up in him. "May I ask why?"
Sage's expression didn't even flinch at the question. "Well, Colonel," she explained, "For one thing, the person who has the information that you're asking me to acquire is the leader of the Inner Circle. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."
Fury nodded. He knew too well. "Yes, the Billionaire industrialist Sebastian Shaw," he recalled, "I have a pretty good idea on how much of a bastard and hardhead he can be, but I still want to know why."
Sage sighed in exasperation. "He doesn't trust me enough," was her short answer.
Bishop looked at his partner with confusion on his face. "He doesn't trust you?" asked the beefy man, "Sage, You've been inside the Hellfire Club for the past four months and now you're saying that Shaw still doesn't trust you?"
"Trust me, he doesn't," she replied, "Frankly, I don't think he trusts anyone. Even his own son Shinobi."
"Haven't you tried asking him for it?" asked Fury, "if he didn't disclose it to you as part of your undercover role, maybe you could ask him for it."
Sage shook her head vigorously. "I can't do that. That's risky. If I were to ask him for things he didn't trust me with or disclose to me deliberately Shaw would become suspicious of me. He would then have be watched as closely as could be, then it would be impossible for me to do my job."
Fury and Bishop both sighed. They had expected Sage's role to take time to build up in order for her infiltration assignment to work, but this was slower than they had anticipated. For one thing, four months and passed and they still seemed to be on square one.
"And quite frankly, Colonel," said Sage, "I'm starting to think that Shaw is suspicious of me already."
Fury looked worried at that. "Why? You, didn't give him any unintentional hints as to why you're in the Inner Circle did you, Sage?"
"No. It's the fact that I'm leaving the Hellfire Club complex during the night sessions, which most of the others stay at until dawn breaks. And because Shaw is the leader of the Inner Circle, he becomes suspicious of anyone who isn't totally loyal to it. Since the Inner Circle's members are so discriminatingly elected and 'persuaded' as they so ironically call it, he feels that they only have total loyalty. He may be questioning my false loyalty. And once Shaw feels suspicious, it's next to impossible to convince him otherwise."
Fury contemplated Sage's words. This was not the way it was supposed to be going. Not at all. The Hellfire Club was as masked an organization as could be. To the public at large it was a wealthy person's club, a place where only the unimaginably wealthy and powerful were welcome. But that was simply a façade, a shroud of deception constructed to hide something infinitely more sinister and diabolical. The exact nature of that was unknown even to SHIELD, but the fact that it was there was enough to make them stop it, which was the main specialty of the organization.
Sage had been working at SHIELD for the last several years, and apparently, under the instructions of not one, but two men. Nick Fury and Charles Xavier. Xavier had known Sage long before Fury when he met her in Afghanistan years ago. Sensing her powers with his telepathy, he had taken her to his school, apparently not yet having teenage or child students, and had trained her, giving her astounding control of her powers.
However, Xavier had known of the Hellfire Club back then as well, which had been in power ever since the late 1700s, and had been keeping a close eye on it as best he could out of fear of what the club was doing with its resources and members. Part of that fear was that most of the members of its ruling council were mutants, and powerful ones as well. And apparently, that had attracted the attention of Nick Fury as well, and that brought Xavier and Fury together in a rather unexpected fashion. Through classified means, Fury had learned of Sage, and had approached her with an invitation to work for SHIELD as an undercover agent for top-secret assignments.
Apparently, that was the same time she was considering joining Xavier at his institute as he recuperated form the loss of his legs in Afghanistan. When she had talked with the both of them later on, it turned out that Xavier had hoped to not only train Sage in the use of her powers, but also to "spy" on the Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club, who apparently, was a target of suspicion for Fury as well. After much discussion and thought, an agreement was reached. Xavier had been suspicious of Shaw, not only because of his mutant powers, but also for his vast wealth and power and what he would use it for. But if his suspicious proved justified, he would have needed a means to bring Shaw to justice, and that was where SHIELD would be handy. Sage agreed to train under Xavier and then join SHIELD, under the condition that both men would be informed of her findings. While Fury was uneasy on that, he knew Xavier could keep a secret, and with that, things had finally been ironed out.
Bishop was of a somewhat different background. Years ago, Bishop had been a top gun police officer in the Los Angles Police Department. He'd manifested his abilities of kinetic energy absorption and projection years before, but managed to keep them hidden. As long as he didn't fire the energy, and only use to fuel his strength, he did a good job of hiding it. He liked beating the shit out of people who deserved it, which was one reason why he became a cop to begin with. And for years, that was his profession.
But later on, when SHIELD, having obtained knowledge of him by means unknown, offered him to work with them and bring down the biggest assholes in the world and the worst criminals ever to set foot on Earth soil, he couldn't turn that down if he wanted to. He had quite the force and had joined up in SHIELD, where he could use his powers to their fullest. Working with a super-secret CIA group was his idea of a good career.
Sage continued to inform them of her findings. After finally being accepted into the Inner Circle, which was the first step of the mission, Sage's progress had been slowed due to Shaw's ruthless and non-trusting nature, which was actually one of the reasons of his major success as an industrialist.
"How much information have you received then?" asked Bishop, whose face was scrunched up with the thought of his partner being in that notorious group without him by her side. During their years as SHIELD agents, Bishop and Sage had formed a fast friendship, and perhaps, it was deepening into something more.
"Not much I'm afraid," Sage responded sadly, "But I've gotten a bad feeling by who he's allowed into the Inner Circle."
Fury's mind froze at those words, sensing a very bad omen behind them. "Tell me more," the Colonel pressed.
Sage realized what she had said, and almost mentally slapped herself but stopped, for she would have told him eventually. "Well," she said, "I've known that Shaw was a mutant before I attempted to join," she said. Both Bishop and Fury nodded. "Well, from what I've seen, he's been letting certain members of the Inner Circle's members go with reason. At first I thought it was because he didn't trust them, but when they joined I learned that they're mutants as well."
The air was silent, and that meant only one thing. Trouble was brewing. "Do you know much about these new members and their powers?" asked Fury.
Sage looked at her boss with deep eyes. "Well," she reported, "One is Harry Leland, a cooperate lawyer, I might add, who as the power to increase the mass of any object he sees. Shaw gave him the position as the Inner Circle's Black Bishop due to his excellent financial management skills and knowledge of economic matters. He made his own son, Shinobi Shaw, the Black Rook, for some unknown reason. There's some blonde named Emma Frost, who's a telepath with the power to turn herself into indestructible crystal, and Jason Wyngarde, who's a psychic like Frost, but of some other type. Then there's some guy named Donald Pierce, who isn't a mutant, but from what I've seen, he could be trouble as well."
"What makes you think this Pierce guy is so bad?" asked Bishop, "Something he's good at or some connections he has?"
"For one thing, this Pierce is filthy rich, which is hardly surprising since almost all of the members of the Inner Circle are, but I've discovered that he's a cyborg. He has arms and legs artificially constructed of robotics and armored with something that really makes me worry."
"Go on," said Fury.
"Adamantium."
Fury's worry was growing by the second. He didn't like where this was heading. Not at all. He wasn't surprised by the fact that Shaw had let previous members go, for a man of his type would definitely do that, even if it wasn't for a good reason. But all these new members, all mutants with formidable powers, and also some guy rich enough to get a hold of adamantium cybernetics. Adamantium wasn't something that cold be gotten easily. Hell, only a handful of people on Earth knew it existed and even fewer knew how to produce it. If Pierce know how to get it, that couldn't be good. Fury knew of only one organization around who could produce that unbreakable metal. Hydra.
But if all these new members were mutants, then something had to going on. The Hellfire Club was always in search of ways of increasing it's wealth and power, and mutants certainly could be used for that sort of thing. But to what end? It sounded bad.
"Could it be that your being a mutant made it easier for you to get accepted?" asked Bishop.
Sage nodded. "Without a doubt." What Sage didn't want to mention was the outfits that the Hellfire Club's dress code required women to wear, which consisted of capes, panties, corsets, and high, lace-up boots. Sage was never one to dress in such a way, and doing that around someone as contemptible as Shaw and that spoiled son of his made her feel dirty. It was something she would rather not talk about.
"I don't like this," said Fury, "Knowing the Hellfire Club and their motives, I think there's a major scheme at work here."
"What kind of scheme?" asked Bishop, "You think they're planning something here?"
"There's no doubt, Bishop," said Sage, "I know what my gut tells me, and I'm telling you those bastards could be up to something bigger than we think."
"This isn't good," Fury mumbled, "Do you have any idea as to what they're planning?" he asked.
Sage shook her head once more. "No, Shaw's made no mention of a 'master plan' here, nor has anyone else there, but I have a feeling he is and isn't saying anything about it to anyone. And until he does, there's no more info on Shaw to give."
Fury leaned back in his chair and sighed with disappointment. Another meet-up with Sage, and some good information had been given, but not what he needed as legal motivation to bring that place down.
"By the way," said Sage suddenly, "Shaw is suspicious of another person there."
Fury looked interested in this, as did Bishop.
"Who is this person?" asked Fury.
Sage looked uneasy at talking about this person, and that didn't give either Bishop or Fury comfort in the news. That probably meant there was more here that simply Inner Circle planning. "Her name's Selene," Sage admitted finally, "She's the current Black Queen of the Inner Circle, and let be tell you, she's a real bitch."
"Why is Shaw suspicious of her?"
"The same reason he's suspicious of me," said Sage, "Because she's leaving the club at night for long periods. In fact, she's doing it even more so that me. But Shaw isn't so shaky with her as me."
"Wait a minute," said Bishop, holding up his hand. "You just said that this Selene is doing what you're doing to a higher degree, and yet Shaw isn't as suspicious of her. Well, how does that work?"
"Frankly," Sage Sighed, "I don't know exactly, but she's important to Shaw and whatever he's doing. The two of them don't like each other, I'll tell you right now, but because their both as ruthless as conquerors and high-ranking members, they don't really think so much of other as a threat like me. I'm not as harsh as they are, so I think they're seeing that as a sign that I'm hiding something."
For a moment, the three SHIELD members were silent and couldn't speak due to the overloading information to be processed by their brains.
Finally, Fury broke the silence. "Well, you two," he said in his best commanding voice, "I think there's nothing more we can do now but wait on the Hellfire Club issue. We can't really get into that unless we can irrefutable proof of a masterminded scheme here and we need more information to do that." Fury looked at Sage with a hint of regret in his eye. He didn't want to tell her to do this, but he had to in order to not put the mission in jeopardy. "Sage," he told her.
"Yes," she answered, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you do something I really don't want to."
Sage was suddenly uneasy. Whenever someone said something like that to you, it always meant you weren't going to like it. But when someone like the head boss of something like SHIELD did that to you, you had to prepare for the worst fate could throw at you.
"If Shaw is becoming suspicious of your leaving the club so often," said Fury solemnly, "then I think you need to leave it less often."
Bishop leapt to his feet. "Colonel,----," he began, but Sage silenced him with a hand on his.
"Why?" she asked Fury, feeling more than a little uptight on this.
"If your leaving the club so often is causing Shaw to not trust you, then that's putting the mission at risk, and you as well. If you didn't leave so often, then perhaps Shaw will learn to trust you more and possibly give you the info you need."
Sage thought on that. It held logic. That could possibly work in her favor. As for the part of being safer herself, it could make Shaw ease the number of eyes watching her every move, which could reduce the risk of being caught in the act. Sage nodded.
Fury looked at his two mutant agents and spoke with a deep dark tone of danger. "If what we've learned is anything is to go by," said the SHIELD commander, "There's something bad going down."
Sinister's Complex, 11:00 p.m.
"I hope that those I sent you are living up to your expectations, Mr. Sinister."
"Oh, they are," Sinister answered, "I will have need for their unique abilities soon. Very soon. It's truly a pleasure to work with you, Viper." Sinister was currently sitting in his large, throne-like chair in the main laboratory in his complex. Before him was veiwscreen a large as dining room table, taking nearly half a wall of computer. On it was an image of a lovely, yet eerie woman with dark green eye shadow and lipstick and green-dyed hair. The green was so unforgiving that it reminded whoever saw it of poisons, toxins, and venoms. And that was exactly the intention of the color.
"Well," Sinister suddenly corrected, "I haven't had the need for their services yet, but soon I will. After all, the things that I will be wanting will be rather hard to acquire, and those you sent for me are truly ideal ones for getting them for me."
"I do hope you haven't forgotten our agreement," said Viper, her eyes taking a darker, more serious look, less welcoming that before, which wasn't welcoming at all, "I don't just lend my minions without a price. So I expect to be paid no less than what I demand."
"Yes," Sinister admitted calmly, "I will share my secrets with you. And trust me, Hydra will benefit from them more than you can care to imagine."
"I hope so," said Viper, smiling like her namesake. And with that, the screen went blank.
Always so impatient to improve your power, Viper, Sinister thought to himself as he climbed out of his chair. Any normal man who had been sitting in the chair for as long as he had would probably have stretched themselves out to loosen up their joints. But Sinister's malleable body didn't need such actions, for it never stiffened up from long-term immobility.
The immortal geneticist fixed his gaze over at a large door at the far side of his lab. A massive door, with a special DNA, fingerprint and retinal scan identification lock, was what it was. For behind it lay what Sinister considered to be among his most precious items. And work.
Without even thinking of self-denial, Sinister walked over to the door, his long cape-like strips of black cloth trailing behind him under his large tall collar, the light of the lab glinting off his black armored bodysuit and whitening his already chalk-white face. He approached the lock release terminal beside the door.
He raised his left hand, and placed it on the flat panel there. A greenish line passed over his palm and fingers underneath as a red scanning light passed over his entire hand from above. This would scan both his DNA and fingerprints. A row of three red lights sat on the top of the terminal. Two of them turned green, indication that two of the required locks had been released.
Sinister then bent down and put one of his red eyes to a small transparent lens. A bright light shined into his eye as it looked over his retinal pattern. With that, all three of the lights were green and the door opened. Inside lay a large room.
Sinister walked into the room carefully, a mixed feeling of excitement and disappointment welling up his in chest. It was here where he had made huge leaps with his work, and huge failures as well.
At the center of the large chamber was a massive computer with a built-in station to type information and calculate scans. This computer was connected to a large cylindrical chamber that was open on one side and had bizarre mechanisms with projection and transmission apparatuses built into them, pointing to the chamber like laser blasters targeted at an unmoving victim. AND to the immediate right of all that were several large glass chambers, cylindrical in shape and tall. The glass they were made of was bulletproof, and they were all empty, save for breathing masks an intravenous tubing eeling into their empty interiors for their sides. Had these glass chambers contained a specimen, they would have been filled with suspension/chemical bath solutions and the breathing masks and tubes would have been hooked up to that being, feeding nutrients into their arms and flowing oxygen into their lungs, keeping them alive while suspended in a liquid environment.
What Sinister wanted more than anything was to have these glass chambers filled, with what he was planning to genetically engineer. It would have meant that he was making progress with his plans. Plans to bring mutant-kind to the ultimate expression and limits of their powers. That was what this was all about.
Right now, Sinister would have felt like he was where he belonged. In his opinion, the place a scientist belonged was in his lab and with his work. But now, he had only two of those criteria met. He was in his lab, but he had no real work. Well, work he wanted to do anyway.
There were certain mutants out there that he needed. But he had none of them in his grasp. Well, he had a few, but only a few. He needed more. And the four that were the core essence of his plans were not here. He didn't even have blood samples from them to work with. He was beginning to get impatient with that.
One look at the far wall of the chamber made frustration build up in Sinister. There were large storage containers, two-dozen of them at least, lined up in a row on that wall. Each of them contained an organic specimen suspended in a formaldehyde preservation fluid. And each of them were dead. They had been simply stored there for future reference to Sinister's experiments. That was their only use.
Sinister looked over them carefully. The first one, containing a specimen the size of a two-year old child, was molted and deformed, hardly recognizable as humanoid, with an elongated head and right arm only a third the length of the left. The second was almost seven years old, but with hair longer than its body, and skin that was covered with dark blue boils that reminded one of bruises. The third had three arms, on extruding from its back and the entire body, a sickly greenish yellow, was bloated like a balloon as if filled with pressurized fluid. Each specimen was totally grotesque and ugly in its own way. It was sickening to Sinister.
Not from their appearances, but of what they represented. His past failures, his failed attempts to bring the genes of powers together like he wanted. SO much time, so much failure. To be reminded of it was totally exasperating to say the least. They hadn't been able to take the genetic work, and their bodies had collapsed in every way imaginable from the mutations.
But Sinister had hope, for now he was getting closer, and had better knowledge and tools at his disposal. If he only had the biological specimens he needed, then he could work on this more and be even closer to his goal.
A presence in the room brought Sinister back to the physical world, away from his thoughts. He sensed it with his telepathy. And he smiled, feeling better already.
He turned to see the slim, sexy form of the dark sorceress Selene standing in the doorway of the chamber, her vermillion lips curved in an evil smile and her onyx black eyes shinning with terrible sparkle.
"Selene," greeted Sinister, "How good to see you again. However, I would have thought you would have still been at the Hellfire Club."
Selene only laughed. "Well, I was," she answered dismissively, "But I just wanted to get away from that ignorant fool Shaw. He's always so concerned about money and getting more of it. The fool's delusion of money being power is something I'd rather not be around."
"I see," Sinister answered, smiling, "remind me again just why you go there?"
"Well, a woman has to have her pleasures," Selene smirked slyly, "and of course, since I'm the Black Queen, I can order people around like I so deserve to."
That last part got Sinister laughing, a cold evil roar of maniacal amusement. "Both you and I deserve to give orders. But soon, we shall be giving orders to those worthy of our orders. Those who worship us as their god and goddess, as their creators, as their masters and commanders."
"I like the way you think, Sinister," said Selene, "giving orders to those who use money as power is not worthy of a sorceress of my caliber, nor is worthy of a scientist of your genius."
"My dear Selene," Sinister smiled at the raven-haired sorceress, "you flatter me."
Selene only smiled deeper, her eyes glowing red as fire with her power. "You have no idea," she said suggestingly. Sinister was about to talk more, but then he saw two forms emerge into the light behind Selene. And once he saw them, his eyes narrowed with intrigue.
They were like dogs, the size of Irish Wolfhounds with the shape of Dobermans, but totally unearthly. The one to Selene's left was like a hairless Doberman with skin as black as tar, with a series of sickly yellow veins running over its epidermis like vines of clinging ivy. Rather than four legs, it had five, the fifth extending from its chest between its two front legs. The thing's eyes were yellow and glowing, and its mouth filled with viper-like fangs, a long eely tongue snaking out and dripping with green saliva.
The other one was totally different. It was like its musculature was on the outside of its body, the crimson red muscles and flesh moving wetly with each movement. Along the exposed spine was a series of horny spikes that extended from the neck to the haunches, where a long tail, like that of an iguana curled with a life of its own. Red eyes glowed like fireballs, as the lower jaw of the lipless mouth split lengthwise and formed two quiver mandibles, a grotesque leech-like tongue coming out, the gapping orifice at the tip opening to reveal shark-like teeth and tiny tendrils like worms.
Any person in their right mind would have run for their lives, but these creatures intrigued Sinister. They didn't seem to be natural, but with a sorceress around, that was hardly surprising. "You've brought some visitors with you," he pointed out.
Selene only laughed. "You must mean my pretty puppies here," she said in a playful, yet dangerous voice. The five-legged one hissed, a loud resonant hiss that was like that of an angry cobra. The other, muscle-skinned one made a deep growl like a tiger, its mandibles curling and uncurling as it's lamprey like tongue squished upon itself, ropes of drool falling from its fangs.
Selene looked at the red muscled one, and hissed loudly at it, bearing her neon light-bright teeth into view. The thing's fanged tongue extended to her face, but stopped before it got there. Selene then made loud kissing sounds with her lips, as if leaning in to kiss the thing's appendage. However, the creature pulled its tongue back and pulled its jaws back together before she could.
"Precious aren't they?" she asked sinisterly.
"I admire you care for animals," Sinister said sarcastically, "Especially the supernatural ones."
Selene only laughed. "You should see what good pets they make," she joked, "And guard dogs. It's so entertaining to see them rip a victim's heart out. Or lick their blood up off the floor once their done tearing them up."
Sinister walked up to the five-legged dog thing, which began to hiss dangerously at him. "I've always wanted to study supernatural wildlife," he told Selene.
"How fortunate that I can provide it for you," Selene answered.
Sinister reached out to touch the black vein-covered skin of the creature, but as his hand got within biting range, the dog thing lashed out and took a big bite out of his hand.
"Aaarrhhh!" Sinister shouted, more in rage than in pain. He pulled his hand back. The middle and ring fingers were now gone, and the hand itself had a huge chunk of it bitten off, all the way to the wrist. Bright green blood and flesh pulsated sickly. But at that moment, the hand healing itself, the flesh growing back and the fingers returning. IN less that three seconds, the hand was as good as new. "You're lucky I heal fast," Sinister hissed at the stupid creature.
Selene looked at the offending creature with anger. "You miserable piece of shit! You'll pay for your insolence!" At that, Selene's eyes glowed red again, and she raised her hand, red energy surrounding it. A red beam shot form her hand, striking the five-legged creature. At that moment, the creature was enveloped in a red haze and was howling in what could only be called pain, even by supernatural standards. Selene kept it up for two minutes, then let up. The dog-thing got to its five feet, and this time was quiet.
"Mangy animal," Selene spat, "You train it to behave, then it pisses on your shoe. When will demons learn to obey their mistress?"
"Maybe I could use some of my torture techniques," Sinister suggested, "maybe that will train it."
Selene smiled at that. "I think that the next time you misbehave," she told the abomination, "I'll leave you in Sinister's tender loving care." The words were laced with sarcasm. But the demon animal was intelligent enough to see the threat. It bowed its head in miserable defeat.
After the animal had quieted down, Selene looked back to the black-hearted scientist she had come to know so well. She decided to show a little, shifting the weight of her body to one foot so she stood in a provocative stance.
"I was merely looked at these disgusting failure's of mine," Sinister said, gesturing to the storage tanks on the far wall, "but your beauty can always brighten my day."
Selene smiled that chilling grin of hers again. "Why do you spend you time with this wastes of flesh? When you could be doing so much more?"
"I need the mutants who have what I need," answered Sinister, "But until I have them I have to work with the resources I have. I was about to go and collect from out three 'guests' when you arrived. You could join me. After all, they can be unnecessarily feisty. And you have a way of getting them to calm down."
Selene knew what he meant, and smiled again. "How romantically 'sinister'," she cracked.
Sinister laughed at that joke, and the two of them left the room in search of their "guests", the two demon dogs following them.
In another part of Sinister's complex, in a cold dark corridor, practically devoid of light and warm, was a holding cell. Within its cold featureless confines, three young people, no older than sixteen, resided, two girls and one boy. They were cold, tired, and scared, as well as hungry. They were thinning and growing weaker by the day. And around each of their necks was a shiny yellow collar with a red light on it. These three young mutants couldn't access their powers with them on.
The boy, named Neal Shaara, was sixteen, and was of East Indian nationality, with darkly tanned skin, jet-black hair and eyes, and handsome features. AS a mutant he had the power to fly and to fire powerful blasts of concussive force and super-heated plasma form his hands. He was leaning back against the wall
Sitting with him was an attractive sixteen-year-old Native American girl with long flowing locks of black hair falling down to her slender waist named Danielle Moonstar, a psychic able to read minds, as well as bring out other's fears into life-like images.
And on one of the bunks of the cell, fast asleep, was a girl of fifteen, who had a strikingly different appearance. She had long magenta-colored hair and had skin of the same hue. Her ears were pointed, like those of an elf, and had bright green eyes as well, even though they were closed. Her name was Clarice Ferguson, a mutant who power was to create portals that could teleport anything and anyone across great distances, and to create energy lances that could teleport targets away or destroy them on a molecular level.
All three of them had been here in Sinister's lab complex for the past month, and they were scared out of their young minds. Neal had been in his homeland of India six months ago, but fate had given him a hard slap when his rich family had been killed in a house fire. Neal alone had escaped and was captured as he had fled the blaze in the dead of night. Seized by terrible unseen hands, he was drugged and then taken away to here.
Danielle had a mysterious past. A long long time ago, she had been hiking in the canyon near Dark Hollow, the town where she lived. But during her hike she had fallen into a fissure in the stone and the unstable rocks and caved in trapping her. But miraculously enough, she didn't die. Instead, her body had powered down, her metabolism and blood pressure slowing, until finally, she was in a state of sleep not unlike death. How much time had passed, she didn't know, but the next thing she remembered was walking up to find herself strapped to a table in here in this terrible place, an IV pumping a nutrient feed into her arm and finding the scary man, Sinister, grinning at her like a shark.
Clarice was the most unfortunate of the three. Until seven months ago, she had been living in a orphanage in New York, for her parents had died in a car crash when she was seven. It had been a fairly good place to live, but then her mutation had kicked in. Her hair and skin had changed from their normal colors to the purplish-pink they were now. Her blue eyes had turned green, and of course her ears had changed as well.
Unable to hide her mutation, the others at the orphanage had quickly found out. They had called her things like "freak," "monster," and "thing" names that made her sound like something less than the sentient human being she was. After being beaten by some of the older children and staff, she had been thrown out onto the streets. But then, not five minutes later, a group of terrifying people had ambushed her that night, and had taken her away to Sinister's complex.
Now, six months later, they were still holding up. They had never really been outside this section of the complex, for it was here that they slept, lived, and ate, and where Sinister did the occasional scan and bodily test on them.
As Clarice slept soundly, Danielle and Neal merely sat and said nothing, for they didn't feel like talking. Nor did they want to. They were wishing to get out of here. But no one knew they were here. No one would come for them.
Suddenly, the cell door slid open with a loud whoosh. The sound awoke Clarice at once, her green eyes widening in surprise and fear. Neal and Danielle were already on their feet, anger and resentment steaming in her eyes. Clarice hurried to get as far away form the entering personnel as possible before the reached her. None of them could use their powers so that was not an option to defend themselves.
Sinister, the one they first saw when they arrived, stepped inside, carrying a large syringe in his right hand, and carrying to additional syringes in his left. Beside him was Selene, grinning like there was no tomorrow that the three frightened young mutants.
"Good evening," Sinister smirked at the youngsters, "It's time for your next blood test!"
"Please don't hurt us," Clarice begged, shaking with terror. She was so frightened she could hardly keep still.
"You let us out of here, you bastard!" Neal snarled at the grinning scientist, who pulled out a small device from his belt and tapped a flashing button on it. Immediately, the three teens felt pain wracking their bodies. It hurt like electricity burning through their flesh.
"You brats better behave," Selene smiled, "or my little doggies may accidentally rip you to pieces!" The two dog-things she had brought with her stepped into view, their demonic forms and salivating maws utterly alien. Danielle and Clarice both screamed at the sight of the monsters. Neal gasped and pulled back as far as he could.
Selene was delighted at the sight of their terror, she loved inspiring terror in her victims, or awe, depending what her intention was.
Sinister merely laughed and grabbed Danielle by the arm, yanking her up with his metahuman strength.
"Leave her alone!" Clarice shouted, and tried to charge Sinister. However, Selene, who had higher than average strength herself, grabbed the pink-skinned girl and slammed her against the wall.
Sinister took the syringe in his hand and jabbed it into Danielle's arm. Danielle shrieked. Sinister paid no attention to her cries and drew the syringe until the entire vial was filled with dark red venous blood. He let Danielle go, the girl holding her arm when the madman had stuck her. Thankfully it wouldn't leave a scar.
Sinister then got a new replacement syringe and proceeded to get blood form Neal and Clarice. After three minutes of struggling, he had what he needed. After that, Selene and Sinister walked out of the cell with the demon dogs at their heels. After the door was closed again, Sinister looked back at the three pairs of angry, yet frightened, eyes staring back at him.
"Thank you for your time," he cackled, "That's all I need from you now. So enjoy some time of peace and quiet."
"While you can," Selene added evilly. The two walked off.
And that concludes this chapter! The plot is thickening with each chapter, and the tension and danger are mounting as I speak! I hope this is getting interesting enough for you. And I hope you don't mind that I've added some more characters to the mix!
Please Review! I must know what you think if I want to keep writing!
In addition, I've taken the advice of an author who's great at offering advice and I've done some redoing of my Character's powers. You will hav eto look at earlier chapters to see it in action, starting with the first and so onand working your way up. If you have questions, don't hesitate to send me a private message!
Lastly, there's a really good fic titled Knight's Calling by a good fanfic bud of mine called band20. It's an awesome fic with a great plot and characters, including a very good OC. However, it's in bad need of reviewers. So be courteous and take a look at it. I'm sure you'll love it!