Inferno

Chapter 7: The Inferno Burns

By

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- All familiar characters belong to Marvel.

Shout Outs-

Needles- Sorry, no plans for Excalibur Evolution or Uncanny Hellions I'm afraid. I have enough on my plate as it is.

Ellen- Yes, we will be getting a seventeen-year-old Johnny Storm. But remember, this is an X-Men fic, not the Fantastic Four.

Lil Jean- The rude joke that I was trying to make was liking breast. I'm a breast man myself. Get it? I know, crappy joke. I'll go away now…

Aaron- Sorry, no plans for Cable or Nate Grey in this fic. I think the whole time-tossed Summers child is confusing enough, don't you?

Slickboy444- Oh yeah, Selene has got one Hell of a mad-on for Rachel. Dr Strange will be invaluable in the fight against Selene, just you wait and see.

Agent-G- You'll notice that I didn't mention Captain America in the last chapter so yes, he is still frozen in this. The Avengers can work without Cap y'know.

Thanks to- X-Man Fan, TheLegendaryManHimself, and GothikStrawberry.

Bayville-

The town of Bayville was in a state of chaos. Demons were terrorising the whole city. Bayville's police force tried their best to battle the inhuman hoard but found themselves being forced back by the demons' sheer numbers. Add the fact that their patrol cars seemed to have taken minds of their own and eating their occupants, and the police officers were obviously fighting a losing battle.

Patrol cars weren't the only inanimate objects that found themselves suddenly animate. Arcade machines came to life and blasted the people that were using them. Mailboxes bit off the arms of people that were posting letters. Even the garbage cans were at it, swallowing innocent people whole.

The source of this confluence of occult events was a huge tear in the fabric of reality high in the city's sky.

The immortal sorceress known as Selene looked down at the chaos she had wrought. An evil grin spread across her face.

'I haven't had this much fun since the last time I was in Salem.' Selene chuckled to herself as she watched a police helicopter morph into a winged demon and swoop down on innocent bystanders.

'You're sick!' Rachel hissed from her magical cage. 'You can't keep this up forever. Sooner or later you'll tire yourself out. And when you do…'

Selene turned to regard the time-tossed mutant with a caustic glare.

'I am immortal, my dear.' Selene boasted. 'I do not get tired. I could keep this up for all reality.'

'Vhy?' Kurt asked. 'Vhy do stuff like zhis?'

'Because I can.' Selene replied. 'I'm going to turn this pitiful city into a demonic playground and there is nothing anybody can do to stop me.'

'Don't be so sure, lady.' A mechanized voice said above Selene's head.

Selene looked up at the person that dared to interrupt her fun and saw a red and gold figure hovering in the air. It was Iron Man!

'Ah, the Iron Avenger.' Selene stated. 'I was wondering when your people would turn up. Tell me, where is the Thunder God?'

'Behind thee, sorceress!' Thor yelled in reply. 'Thou wilt pay for the chaos thou hast wrought!'

'Give me your best shot, Thunder God!' Selene challenged arrogantly.

Thor didn't reply. He simply raised his enchanted hammer into the air and called a thunderbolt down from the sky to strike Selene.

'Yeah! Zhat's showing her Thor!' Kurt cheered. 'Fry zhat bitch's ass!'

'I wouldn't celebrate just yet, Fuzzy.' Rachel replied. 'Look…'

Kurt, Rachel and the two Avengers stood aghast as Selene stood before them, unharmed by Thor's thunderbolt.

'Pitiful.' Selene smirked as she shook her head. 'You call yourself a Thunder God? I have sacrificed babies with more power than you!'

Before Thor could even move to defend himself, Selene let rip with a colossal fireball, knocking the Thunder God from the sky.

'Thor! No!' Iron Man yelled. 'You'll pay for that, witch!'

'If I can shrug off Thor's pitiful efforts, I am pretty sure that I can take anything you have to offer, Avenger.' Selene said as she inspected her nails with a disinterested expression.

Tony Stark narrowed his eyes behind his armoured mask. This woman sure talked tough, but could she take a fully charged repulsor blast?

Selene stood stock-still as Iron Man poured all the energy he could spare into a repulsor blast.

'Bored now…' Selene sighed as she stepped up to the golden Avenger and clutched him by the throat. 'You heroes are a waste of time.'

Iron Man tried to wrestle free of Selene's clutches as the sorceress began to squeeze, the armour of his suit groaning in protest at the woman's immense strength.

'You leave him alone!' A feminine voice hissed.

Selene cursed out loud as something zapped her in the face, making her lose her grip on Iron Man. It wasn't the fact that whatever zapped Selene hurt her, it was the fact that it took her by surprise.

'Jan… No…' Iron Man said weakly as he struggled to get to his feet. 'She's too strong.'

Selene snatched the diminutive heroine known as the Wasp from the air.

'Did you seriously think that your puny little blasts would harm me?' Selene sneered as she held the Wasp up to her face.

'Who said I was trying to harm you?' The Wasp replied. 'Smash her High-Pockets!'

Selene barely had time to react as a colossal fist grabbed hold of her and lifted her up into the air.

Yellowjacket looked down at the sorceress caught in his hand.

'Not so tough now, are you?' Yellowjacket sneered. 'Let's see how you handle me!'

'Seeing that you asked so nicely…' Selene replied, digging her nails into Yellowjacket's hand, and drawing blood. 'Nobody lays a hand on me! Nobody!'

Yellowjacket hissed in pain and dropped Selene to the ground below.

Far from getting splattered all over the sidewalk, Selene simply got up and dusted herself off. An evil smile spread across the immortal sorceress' as she spotted the remains of an abandoned car. Selene picked up the car with the merest hint of effort and swung it at Yellowjacket's ankle, eliciting a yell of pain from the giant Avenger. Selene smiled in satisfaction as Yellowjacket fall backwards into a nearby skyscraper, totally demolishing it.

Selene turned to regard the other Avengers, who were battling against demons on the ground.

'Who's next?' Selene challenged.

She-Hulk threw her demon to the floor and steppe dup.

'Bring it.' The Jade Giantess said as she cracked her knuckles.

Selene's evil grin just grew wider.

Elsewhere-

Not too far away, a jeep pulled up beside a screaming woman that was being attacked by a pair of demons. A ball of blue energy shot out from one of the jeep's occupants' hands. The demons screeched in pain and fled. The meat could wait.

'Way to go, Cuddle Bumps!' Toad grinned as he put his arms around the Scarlet Witch's shoulders. 'You kicked those demons' butts!'

'Hug me again and you'll get the same.' Wanda sneered.

Todd wisely chose to let go and hopped out of the jeep.

'Man, to think we only wanted to go to the movies.' Blob grunted as he surveyed the chaos around them. 'What the heck happened here?'

'I don't know what it is.' Pietro replied. 'But I say we amscray.'

Wanda grabbed her twin by the collar, preventing him from running away.

'If we want people to stop treating us like scum, we have to get them to trust us.' Wanda explained.

'That's if there's even anybody left after all this.' Lance added. 'This place is like Hell on Earth.'

'And you would not be wrong to assume so.'

The Brotherhood turned as one to see a red-cloaked man hover down to the ground.

'Holy crap!' Todd gasped. 'It's Doctor frickin' Strange! You've gotta get me his autograph!'

Strange ignored Todd's little fanboy act and turned to regard Wanda.

'Ms Maximoff, I have need of your powers…'

Pietro stepped up in front of his sister.

'And just how do we know you're not some perverted impostor looking out to get some mutant tail?'

The other Brotherhood members groaned into their hands.

'Pietro, you idiot!' Lance groaned. 'It's Doctor Strange. I doubt he's out for some mutant tail. We're in the middle of the end of the world for god's sake!'

Wanda turned to look at Dr Strange.

'You've got yourself a deal. Just get me away from these idiots.'

And with that, Dr Strange nodded silently as he levitated himself and Wanda away.

'Is that it?' Todd blinked. 'Just lave us to fight on our own. That bites, yo!'

'Let's get to work.' Lance replied, ignoring Todd's comments. 'There are people to save…'

TBC…

Next: Conflagration

Just what has Dr Strange got planned for Wanda? And what of Kurt and Rachel? Will they ever get free of their magical cages? And then there's She-Hulk. Will the Jade Giantess be able to stand up against Selene's never-ending onslaught? Tune in next time to find out…