Avenging Justice:

Two Worlds Collide

Part XXII

Earth, Middle of the Pacific Ocean

The sleek profile of the Blackbird roared over the ocean, dipping to take a closer look at a set of coordinates. The ocean spread all around them, giving a very lonely, and very stark reminder. They were very far from home, and definitely far from any help if they ran into issues. The largest ocean of Earth, also held the most scattered land masses, with tiny islands dotting around it.

Polynesian explorers charted courses across this wide body of water, traveling across the long distances with an enviable skill. They followed the stars, winds and the current of the ocean to do this amazing feat. Cyclops was following his own stars, or more accurately, GPS satellites.

Professor X had sent them here. A brand new, very large, and very unique mutant life sign had suddenly appeared on Cerebro. It had been curious enough that he had scrambled the X-Men to leave immediately. Pushing the jet to its limits, they had made good time, and now they were very close. At least that was what the professor was telling them through his telepathic link.

Everyone on the jet was bored, or pouring over something to keep their minds focused. Beast was running an experiment on the computer, Ice Man sigh and slumped in his seat. Cyclops of course was flying, so his attention was more on finding their destination. Jean though, looked very worried, very, very worried. Scott went to ask her about it, when he saw a tiny speck of a landmass.

Slowing down, he made three complete circuits before finding a place to land on the beach. Carefully keeping the vertical thrusters on, he waited for the jet to settle, just in case he had to take off. Happy that he could get the Blackbird back out if needed, Cyclops locked the systems and prepared the team. As they left, he noticed Jean looked even more on edge. He gave her a smile, and she returned it, halfheartedly.

Exploring the island, the team was on high alert. The lush tropical forests stretched from the center outwards. In the trees and the scurrying around on the ground, were a wide variety of animal life. The sounds of the forest went silent as they marched through, and started back as they left an area.

Despite himself, Cyclops found his hand staying near his visor control. Jean's unease was bleeding over and causing everyone except Bobby to tense up. Ice Man was just so relaxed and cracking jokes, one would think he was oblivious to the others discomfort. It also made Cyclops want to blast him with a quick optic beam, but refrained. Cyclops was the model of restraint.

A twig snapped, sounding more like a tree trunk exploding. Cyclops quickly turned, hand all but pressed in on his visor control. More sounds of disturbance erupted all across the island, all around them. Behind him, Beast roared, readying for whatever might be coming at them. Jean was looking around, the sense of danger, threat quickly escalating. Meanwhile Ice Man had stopped joking, and ice spread from his feat all across the vegetation around him.

Then a loud boom assaulted their ears. Eyes closed as the pain racked their heads, they soon found themselves falling into darkness. Scott had just a moment of clarity, where he saw his teammates falling. His last sight before darkness took him was flying away from Jean, thrust out with great force. Seconds later soft, warmth surround him, but his last thought was for Jean. Darkness took him, with him seeing Jean being swallowed up by the jungle.

Earth, Over Europe

Tony Stark was putting his latest suit through its paces. This one had new defenses and made from a new blend of materials. It would still have the defensive properties of his other suits, but without being at the mercy of Magneto again. On top of the new material, which made it harder for magnetic fields to affect it, he had and electromagnetic shield that surrounded it. The alternating field would adapt instantaneously, making holding him harder.

If there was one thing Tony loved, was a problem to solve and he was rather pleased with himself on this one. Inside his gauntlet were new projectiles, plastic pieces coated with a neuro inhibitor. They would drop most people in seconds, and he figured that would be a good way to take a certain mutant terrorist out.

Now he just had to find the man. The big blue boy scout had went looking, but so far hadn't turned up anything. Tony though had a plan, and Jarvis was mapping out different points that would shield Magneto from Superman. The troubling part was that even taking that into account, that left quite a bit of area to explore.

He was hoping to further decrease that area with a more targeted search. The information on Erik Lenshier was hard to come by, which could mean the man's name was bogus. It could also mean that someone who had escaped Nazis was very adept at not being found. No matter, Tony had a score to settle. Magneto would be stopped before he hurt another person.

Earth, New York, New York City

Norman Osborn returned to his lab, back in his skin. Through the Goblin mask, he looked over the readouts. Four out of the five were successes. Each of the subjects had shown powers beyond those of mortals. Two though had died tragically, good thing they weren't ones to be missed. The other two seemed stable enough, though there were issues with their metabolic rate. One seemed to be continuously hungry now, while the other looked withered and lifeless.

Just to be sure, he sent nutrients to the hollowed out one, and that subject seemed to improve. That was going to be important when he sold this to the military. They were used to feeding their people nutrient rich, if not tasteful foods. Everything was going to work out, and he had saved the company, again.

The only one left looked perfectly normal. Too bad, he was going to have to get rid of her. Well, that was how science worked. Knowledge required risk and sacrifice, progress could not be kept at bay. Her contribution would be very slight, but not every experiment was meant to be a success.

Green Goblin punched in the codes on the panel before the unlucky subject, unleashing deadly chemicals into her pod. Another switch sent her pod rocketing down to the lower levels. He'd have one of his trusted people come by later and dispose of her body. They'd take her to the normal part of town, where drug addicts were normally to be found. She'd just be another casualty in the War on Drugs.

Relinquishing his skin, Norman took off his face and went back into his office. It was time to let the military know the good news. Walking into his boardroom, complete with those idiots he kept employed, he started the meeting. Of course they couldn't believe his success, but the data he brought with him was compelling.

"Too bad, we got the contract cut," one of his board, one Augustus Carelli said.

Norman nearly came out of his seat, "What?! Why wasn't I informed? I told you all that they only speak to me."

"We can't help it if you lock yourself in your lab," Augustus shot back. "Maybe you should choose if you want to be CEO or a scientist."

The man was surprised as Norman pulled him across the table by his tie, "If you nitwits could run things better, I wouldn't be needed in the lab. It took me a fraction of the time to make a breakthrough, then it took you to understand how out of your depth you were. Do not press me."

"Mr. Osborn," another suit began to say, but decided against it when Norman's crazy eyes struck daggers at him.

"Out all of you! When you scurry back, you better have ideas on how to save the company," Norman growled. "If not, you better not come back at all."

Once they were all gone, he let his anger go. The walls, the table and several of the chairs all felt his pain. Most of the chairs ending up in the corner, and his maintenance men would have some new holes to patch. The conference table was granite, so it stood up just a bit better than the walls. Still, by the time he was finished, his body ached at the unused anger still lingering about.

Storming back to his office, his assistant automatically knew that he was not to be bothered. In fact, beyond the quick acknowledgement, his assistant disappeared. OsCorp employees quickly learned to be scared, when the boss was in a mood. Considering the loss of the military contract, easy money, he was likely going to be in a mood for a while.

He sat behind his desk, mulling over the problem when his computer turned on by itself. The black screen quickly turned bright, before a silhouette stepped in front of a camera. The shape was large, a rotund, overweight looking man. His head was bald, but Norman could make out enough to know the suit he wore was expensive. He couldn't make out all the features, but he could see the man moved much more agile than a man of his size should be able to.

"Mr. Osborn, my agents tell me you have something I might find incredibly useful," the man said. "You can call me Fisk, and I may have a way to save your company."

"Mr. Fisk," Norman felt his fortunes change, "your reputation precedes you."

The large man leaned forward, a barely visible smile crossed his face, "As does yours. Such wonderful little toys you have. Almost makes one wish for Halloween all year. However, I have a proposition, and you are in a bind."

"My company is fine," Norman shrugged.

Before he could say more, Fisk interrupted him, "I know you lost the contract, one that would have kept your company afloat. As it is, you have what, three days before you go under? However, a man of your brilliance shouldn't be taken down by the buffoonery of those he employees."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Norman sat up straighter, a chill running down his spine. This, "Fisk" knew too much, and even he hadn't gotten the viability report yet.

"Your breakthrough, this stable serum," Fisk said. "I want it. I have associates that could use its edge, when dealing with some unsavory elements. Those same elements I see might be very interested in your nightly activities." Norman began to object, but Fisk cut him off, "I'll pay well, better than the government would for this. All I need is unlimited supply of the serum, or a way to recreate it. Think it over Mr. Osborn. Your company will survive, and you would have gained a very powerful ally."

"I'll have some documents prepared for you," Norman said, feeling the wind go out of his sails. "My company remains mine, and any future dealings will be on my terms."

"Of course, Mr. Osborn. If nothing else, Wilson Fisk is fair," the man said before the monitor went black, leaving Norman all alone with his thoughts.

Down in the depths of OsCorp, Elle awoke to burning. She lashed out and the pod she was in shattered. Her breath was coming in gasps, poison, that was what had been shunted into the pod. Plasma surrounded her, burning the air and melting the material of the ruined pod. She stumbled forward, something ignited, and a conflagration took over the surroundings. She found herself thrown forward, and she crawled away.

Around her fire suppressant devices began to turn on and the flames were soon out. By that time, she had made her way out. Where she was, she wasn't sure, but it was still in the city. Her clothing was nearly gone, the loose fabric burning away in swatches. She still had enough to be decent, but she'd draw attention. However, all she could think of, was getting back to the mission.

Yet, she was weak. Whatever had been done to her, had drained her and she felt herself stumbling. Falling against the wall, she saw crowds of people passing her. Some saw her, but backed away. Others went towards her, she though moved away from them. If the plasma came back, she didn't want anyone getting hurt.

"Hey," a gently voice said. "You look like you could use a friend."

Elle looked at the owner of the voice. A teen, not much older than her, with red hair and a warm smile. She was dressed in a long skirt and a sweater, complete with a coat that she took off. The young woman wrapped the coat around Elle, and the warmth overtook her. Elle fell, being caught by the other teen. She was tired.

"Let's get you home," the teen said. "I'm Caitlin, by the way, Caitlin Fairchild."