Disclaimer: I dont own Marvel
Sorry for the long wait guys but I'm back now with a tie in to my Azure Eagle and Spider-man story and the game changer for the storyarc, it takes place directly after Deathblade's last appearence a few chapters ago.
The Hunt
Chapter 21: Crossing the line part 4
Deathblade looked at his scythe and the cracks in his armour. If he took any more damage he'd risk shattering the armour and releasing his pent up energy. Moonstone was more powerful than she appeared; after all it took a gigantic energy blade to knock her out. But energy had been focused mostly on the Sentry, an opponent Cade knew he'd have to dispose of fast. He looked over the edge of the building, his eyes seeing the sins of yet another criminal. This man's sin was written into his very blood. He was the son of Norman Osborn, Gabriel.
'What kind of woman would allow Osborn to crawl over them?' he wondered.
He remembered Osborn's sins, rape was never one of them. According to Gabriel's soul, he was the son of the very woman Norman was best remembered for murdering. Brandishing his scythe, Cade floated off of the building, descending to the ground like a dark angel. His eyes glowed as he looked upon a man that was once his ally. Azure Eagle now stood with more blood on his soul, he had allowed anger to get the better of him. If he attacked, it would be his anger Cade would exploit.
"Deathblade," Kyle said.
The fear Kyle felt was obvious to Cade. After all Kyle had seen Cade fight against opponents far stronger than him. Cade looked to his side, seeing Gabriel and his sister Sarah. She was thinking on the sins of her past, if she got in the way she would die. Deathblade brandished his scythe and pointed it at the blonde woman.
"Step away from him or you'll be cut down too," he promised her.
"Cade," Azure Eagle caught Deathblade's attention for only a moment.
"Kyle, I thought with you bearing the spirit of hatred now you would understand, that man is beyond our abilities to forgive!"
"Yeah, but he's already down, he's no threat to us."
"A drug dealer is no threat to us, that hasn't stopped us both from killing them has it? Oh yes, I know what's happened to you, the lives you've taken for the sake of hatred!"
"Like you've taken lives for vengeance?" Kyle growled.
"Justice and vengeance are two sides of the same coin, now if you excuse me!"
Cade sighed underneath his helmet as Kyle again stepped in his way.
"I have no wish to fight you Kyle, but you know nothing will stand in my way!"
"If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me," Kyle slid into his fighting stance, his armour covering his body.
'Kyle you fool, why, why do you have to make me do this?' Deathblade thought as he lunged at Kyle.
He slammed his scythe into Azure Eagle's wings, ducking as the hero fought back. Deathblade deflected Kyle's sword swing and counterered with a kick to his chest. Kyle slammed into the side of a car, catching his breath just in time to block Deathblade's scythe with his wing. The blade cleaved through the metallic wing and blood sprayed from his shoulder. Kyle threw a punch at Cade's face, but the man sidestepped the blow and slammed his knee into Kyle's cut. He let out a pained cry and Cade noticed Sarah gasp in fear and concern.
'Stay down, stay down please,' the vigilante thought, looking at Kyle with pleading eyes.
But Azure Eagle didn't stop; he converted his remaining wing into a futuristic bow. He knocked the string back, forming a flaming red energy arrow. Deathblade held his scythe with both hands as Azure Eagle released the arrow. With a great yell, Cade swung his blade at the arrow, splitting it in half. The two arrows slammed into the buildings either side of Cade, creating gigantic energy pillars that consumed all in their path.
"What next Kyle, what do you have in store for me? Just give up!"
"YOU GIVE UP!" Kyle yelled.
Deathblade ran forward, swinging his scythe at Azure Eagle. The strike split the bow in half and cut Kyle's right shoulder. But the man still fought on, trying to punch Cade in the head. He caught the fist, slamming his head into Kyle's helmet so hard that it shattered. Then he kneed Kyle in the stomach and pushed him to the floor. With another kick, he sent Kyle rolling onto the hood of a car.
"Foolishness, you knew this would happen, you never stood a chance!"
He turned to the Stacy's, 'no, the Osborns' he justified. But as he raised his scythe again, he felt movement behind him. Kyle had gotten off the hood of the car and glared at Cade, his arms limp with blood dripping from his shoulders.
"I told you, you'd have to get…THROUGH ME!" Kyle yelled.
Gathering all his strength, Kyle atomised the ground underneath Cade. The armoured man look down, his glowing eyes widening slightly. Kyle yelled, the energy pillar shooting out of the ground. Cade rushed away from the pillar, stopping right in front of Kyle. Time seemed to slow down and Cade got a good look at the shock in Kyle's eyes. Some part of him must have thought he could win, but it mattered little to Deathblade. He threw his arm forward, stabbing a wrist blade underneath Kyle's rib cage. The young man gasped and Cade kicked him back, breaking the blade inside Kyle's gut.
"You shouldn't have gotten in the way, no one should be getting in the way," Deathblade snarled.
He turned to Sarah and Gabriel, now more determined than ever to kill them. Suddenly, the ground shook and Cade looked to where the object had impacted. It wasn't an object at all but a person. He stood as tall as a Hulk, with the mass of muscles to match. But he was covered by armour similar to all those connected to Aeon. A pair of bull like horns stretched out of his head and his helmet opened like the jaw of a beast.
"Brute, understand that Kyle got in my…"
The closest friend of Azure Eagle gave the vigilante no time to speak, punching him straight in the face.
"No, no, NO!" Sven yelled.
The intense burst of emotion separated him from Ms Marvel. Carol rubbed her head, exhausted and awed by the fusion. She didn't notice the initiator of that fusion until he slammed into the ground. Aeon climbed out of the crater he left, his eyes wide in horror beneath his helmet. On the other side of the city, Sieg's eyes flashed and he too sensed the moment of Azure Eagle's defeat and the intense rage Brute unleashed on Deathblade. Sven stumbled slightly, leaning against a car for support. His hand left a dent on the roof as he pulled himself onto his feet.
"What happened?" Carol asked.
"He's doing it, Deathblade's crossing the line!"
He broke off into a run, intending to reach his rival before he could do anymore damage. Brute's punch had sent Cade flying across the street, towards a place where many sinners would gather.
"We have to get to the courthouse, quickly," Sven said.
Whilst Sven and Carol continued the pursuit, Sieg fought an intense battle with Iron Lad. The future despot fired surging repulsor blasts from his hands, trying to shatter Sieg's crystals. Sieg however had grown in his resolve, skill and strength and whilst Nathaniel Richards was influenced by his anger, Sieg was influenced by his determination to win. He slid underneath his crystals and kicked Iron Lad in the chest. Then he struck Iron Lad with his shield, causing the liquid metal to distort and temporarily expose Iron Lad's face.
"You know I'm pretty sure your friend's in the Young Avengers would be ashamed of you," Sieg said before punching Nathan in the head.
Iron lad stumbled back slightly and growled before taking flight. Jason slashed Squadron members with his energy blade, showing his superior experience and fighting skills. Karen however continued an even match with Arachnophillia. Every punch they threw at one another was countered and it came to the point where they were even pulling on one another's hair. Jason kicked a final squadron member in the chest before launching an energy bolt to finish the man off. His armour disappeared as the heroes Sieg assembled ran to his side.
"It is over?" Citizen V asked.
"Almost, alls we have to do now is slip back into the shadows as Sieg said," Jason said.
"Easy for him to say when it's going to be the cameras on him," Darkhawk said.
"That doesn't matter, right now we need to stick to the plan, it's the only way we'll win!"
"He's right, trust me when I tell you that what Sieg's about to do is the right thing," Blue Marvel said.
Sieg kept his ears open, looking for Iron Lad. He narrowed his eyes as the armoured teen swooped towards him. Iron Lad fired a blast, hitting Sieg's shield. The energy intensified, rebounding off of Sieg's shield and hitting the buildings around them. Ben and Derek stood away from the battle, making sure to capture every minute of the confrontation between the two heroes. Sieg flipped back as Iron Lad swung his fist forward. He hooked his legs around Iron lad's arm and rolled, throwing Iron Lad headfirst into the ground. Keeping his legs locked in place; Sieg kept a hold of Iron Lad and tucked his wrist underneath the boy's chin.
"Give it up, my future is mine to decide, unlike yours," Sieg said.
"You don't get it do you? Your actions are having devastating consequences to the time stream," Iron Lad explained.
"Make sense of it all Iron Lad, stop attacking me and just come out and say what I'm doing, no riddles, no implications just explanation. EXPLAIN IT TO ME!" Sieg yelled.
"YOUR CREATING NEW TIMELINES!" Iron Lad screamed.
Sieg paused for a moment before savagely punching Iron Lad in the head.
"Idiot!" he growled.
Sieg got off of Iron Lad, just as a portal appeared before them. Zack and the other heroes of the Initiative and Academy stepped out, widening their eyes slightly at Iron Lad's appearance.
"Please don't tell me you guys are from a few seconds in the future," Sieg said.
"Unless we're going to lose in the next few seconds no," Mettle said.
"Cameras? And I left my make up mirror at home," Striker groaned.
"Make up mirror? Are you gay?" Prima Donna asked.
Giant man pinned Iron Lad to the ground, whilst Tigra checked on Sieg.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes Miss Grant I'm fine, my dad managed to heal me," Sieg said.
"Looks like you got some new powers," Zack smiled.
"No, I think this was always my power, there was a time when dad struggled to fully awaken his connection with the spirit realm, now I've fully awakened mine," Sieg explained.
He turned to Iron Lad, awaiting the fallen hero's answer. Nathaniel sighed, ceasing his struggle.
"All right, I'll explain it," he said.
"Explain it so that we can all understand it, no complicated science mumbo jumbo," Sieg said, causing Nathaniel and Hank to frown.
"All right, when I said that you were creating new time lines I meant that your actions are creating a number of alternate earths in the time stream. But the thing is that's begun to effect the palace of the Timebreakers, they're the forces that are responsible for the stability of the Multiverse. With the walls of their fortress crumbling because of the creation of multiple futures, pasts and presents reality itself will eventually fall apart. That's why you had to fulfil your destiny, just as I had to fulfil mine eventually," Iron Lad explained.
"Wait, the original Aeon told us that this damage is because of someone's deliberate actions," Zack said.
The Academy students nodded their heads, remembering their strange encounter.
"Someone is trying to reach this palace you speak of," Veil said.
"Basically idiot you've been manipulated into getting rid of one of the guys that can stop it," Hazmat glared at Iron Lad.
Iron Lad widened his eyes and Hank let go of the boy. Nathaniel sat on the ground, rubbing his head.
"I thought, that my separation from Kang was because of the ripples created by your actions, but if what your saying is true, someone's actually pounding at the walls of reality, changing everything with every strike," panic spread across his face as his genius mind fully comprehended the events taking place.
"It makes sense, the sudden changes in history and what not, I admit my destroying the M'Kran crystal didn't help," Sieg sighed.
"But the original Aeon sent Slade Muga into another reality to make things right, or to at least delay the fortresses fall," Zack said.
"I think I felt that, but who would try to strike at the heart of all reality and what would the result be?" Sieg asked.
"Time travel and reality warping isn't an exact science, not even Wanda fully understands it, and then there's the amount of power it takes just to travel to another reality. Some people believe that changing the past results in the formation of a new reality, but there have been certain cases when that hasn't been the case," Hank explained.
"But the true reality in all cases has always been restored to its original form and structure, could it be that some realities have one strict path and history but when outside influence interferes with it the result is a new reality?"
"It's an interesting theory Sieg, and I suppose theories and a little bit of faith is all we can rely on," Iron Lad sighed.
"So you're going to stick around and help us?" Zack asked.
Iron Lad nodded his head, causing Sieg to smile. The apprentice of Aeon turned to Ben Urich, motioning for him and Derek to come closer. Ben nodded to Sieg and led Derek closer to the heroes. With the camera still rolling, Ben took his microphone and walked to Sieg's side. The feed was going live now, so the whole country would see the next minutes.
"Can you give us your name?" he asked.
"I am Victory Peace, because right now that is who you need me to be. I am one of you, a person, a human. Everyone in a mask shares the common bond of humanity with you and as a human we will use these powers to protect you. We will not try to control your lives, nor will you or any government you elect control us. Everything that has happened over the past few days, the tragedies and deaths have been carried out both by people that haven't been made accountable and by those put in the position by the government you support. Norman Osborn was someone you believed in and he killed more people for his own selfish desires as your supposed protector then he ever did as the Green Goblin. I am making my own intentions clear, from this moment on myself and those that follow me will be your watchful protectors, you can complain, you can oppose us but we will protect you to the best of our abilities, and when it is done, we will slip back into the shadows of society, we will return to being one of you," Sieg explained.
Sven ran past several TV stores, not noticing Sieg's live feed. In Crowner tower James spat his coffee out, surprised by Sieg's declaration that he and every hero that mattered would not try to influence the world.
"Victory peace, do you think this makes you a hero?" Urich asked.
"I'm not trying to be a hero, I'm just trying to do that's right with my powers, everyone else can make that judgement themselves, because at the end of the day I'm fighting so that they can and have the right to call me whatever they want. I am Victory Peace, I will do what is right, that will be my form of heroism!"
Sven continued to run down the street, struggling slightly as Carol lifted him off the floor.
"Your boy just settled the registration debate, the gist was: 'complain all you like we're still taking the scissors away'", Carol explained.
"It's about time somebody said that," Sven said.
Cade clicked his neck back as he got up off the floor. He felt through the cracks of his armour, gasping slightly. His form underneath the armour was not pure energy as he suspected but flesh. The helmet of his armour had shattered just enough to expose tufts of his blonde hair and his right eye. He got off the floor, examining the rest of his armour. It was starting to fall apart and Cade knew that he would need to get away fast. He walked forward, stumbling slightly as his vision blurred and ears ringed.
"Sir, put your hands on your head!"
As Cade expected Brute had punched him to the outside of the courthouse, the last place he should be. People were gathered for one of the first trials before the city officially reopened. Guards had their pistols pointed at him, but they were of no concern to Cade. She-Hulk was here, standing between him and her client, accused of supporting her gang boyfriend. The guards ignored She-Hulk's warnings, aiming their pistols and shouting out warnings. They opened fire and Cade received visions of the sins many people in the crowd had committed.
"Daddy please, mommy will be back!"
"Alls you have to do is turn your back for a few seconds…pleasure doing business with you!"
"It was an accident, surely the police will see it that way…fuck no I'm not going to destroy my future cause some idiot couldn't handle my drugs, I didn't force them to take it!"
"You chose to marry me, that means you'll do as I DAMN WELL SAY!"
"I know I should have gotten my children out, from the moment he put the gun in my hand I knew I should have gotten away…but god he turned me on so much!"
Deathblade roared, a yell so powerful that it echoed throughout New York. All those with a spiritual connection to him felt his anger as he walked into the crowd.
"RAPE! CORRUPTION! MURDER! ABUSE!" every sin was followed by a slash as he cut down the seemingly innocent civilians in front of him. But none saw what he could, no one could see the darkest secrets they had hidden within their souls.
He let out an agonising scream as he jumped over She-Hulk, his eyes finally resting on the client she was protecting. Without even a seconds hesitation he raised his scythe over his head and swung it at the woman. Aeon landed on the ground, his eyes wide in horror as he watched Deathblade's attack.
"CADE NOOO!" he screamed.
But Deathblade ignored his rival and without stopping and no sign of remorse he cut the woman down as easily as he would have any other criminal. As her head and body fell he looked at her in contempt.
"And the worst sin of all, Insanity!"
"CADE LOOK OUT!" Sven yelled.
Deathblade didn't turn, he allowed She-Hulk to punch him across the face, sending him crashing through a building. Bricks piled on top of him and his helmet shattered completely. She-Hulk smashed the bricks aside, her business dress tearing as her muscles expanded.
"You monster," she growled.
She picked him up and dragged him by his hair. Jennifer placed her foot on Deathblade's chest plate and slowly began to apply pressure.
"Savage beast, think you're a hero huh? YOU'RE A MURDERER!" she screamed.
Her clothes had torn to the point where she had turned into taller, longer haired version of her cousin. The very action of gritting her teeth together generated shockwaves that cracked the windows. With every second that passed Deathblade's armour cracked and his ribs became closer to being completely crushed. Suddenly, an armoured leg slammed into She-Hulk's neck, knocking her off of Cade. She-Hulk stumbled to the side, glaring at Aeon as he assumed his fighting stance.
"Jen, stand down," Carol said.
"She-Hulk smash!" Jen growled.
Aeon crouched and pulled his fist back. His body became enveloped in light and he showed no fear as She-Hulk ran towards him. When she swung her fist around he disappeared, reappearing just inches from Jen's arm. He punched She-Hulk in the face, then elbowed her cheek. His armour cracked, but he showed no fear, jumping over She-Hulk's attempted clothesline. As soon as Aeon landed, he kicked at She-Hulk's legs, bringing her to the ground. Her muscles expanded more and she let out a roar that three Aeon back. Carol crossed her arms together, keeping herself steady as She-Hulk's anger and in turn her strength grew.
'She shouldn't be this angry, Jen's usually more controlled than this,' Carol thought.
She-Hulk slammed her fists into the ground, causing the civilians to scream and run. Aeon got off the floor and looked at She-Hulk. He realised that if he didn't stop her, it wouldn't just be Cade she would kill. Crossing his arms together, Aeon released the power of his armour, shattering it to reveal the grey cloth form underneath the pads. Red lights began to glow across his body as a pair of red energy wings burst out of his back. He suddenly began flying forward, pulling his fist back. She-Hulk swung her fist at Aeon, only to hit an afterimage. She had enough intelligence left to gasp in shock as Aeon appeared in front of her. He swung his fist upwards, punching Jennifer in the gut. The energy of his wings intensified, eventually causing his body to glow an intense red colour. Flying into the air, Aeon let out a yell as he poured his energy into a single strike.
"So that's how much power he has," Iron Man said as he and the other Avengers flew onto the scene.
Aeon flew above the clouds and beyond the Earth itself, his yells muted in space. Even the explosion his fist created as a distant flash to some. He fell, the power of his wings having faded from exhaustion. Aeon retained a tight hold on Jennifer, her body having shrunk back to her human form wouldn't survive the impact, but Sven would do his best to cushion the fall.
"Oh my god," Carol gasped.
"Sven,"Cade looked up at the sky in concern.
Suddenly, a green and purple blur flew into Aeon, grinding against the building it struck. Aeon looked at the Hulk in surprise as the green giant jumped from one building to another, stopping at the courthouse. He placed both Sven and Jennifer on the floor, nodding to Sven in respect.
"Stubborn man help Hulk's cousin, Hulk help stubborn man!" he said.
"Thanks," Sven said as he got off the floor.
Shaking the rubble off of his head, Sven looked to where Cade was laying. Iron Man and Carol had the palms of their hands pointed at Cade as Hammer agents flew into the area. Sentry and Moonstone both hovered over the real Avengers, while Hand marched towards Cade with Ares behind her.
"Cade Hunter, you are under arrest for multiple counts of homicide, attacking a government facility and disturbing the peace. There's more, but I think we'll save that for the trial dirt bag," Hand growled as she kicked Cade in the chest.
Cade showed no sign of the blow affecting him. Instead he looked up, past the heroes and straight into Sven's eyes. Sven widened his eyes in shock, but also confusion because his rival hid a subtle satisfied smile.
The Squadron Supreme had apparently lost, at least that was the feeling Power Princess and Hyperion got when they looked at the TV. Hyperion slammed his fist into the screen, blowing it up completely. Zarda walked to her lover's side, rubbing his shoulders soothingly. They as well as Nighthawk, Arcanna and a handful of others were the only members of the team left. Tyrone Cash stomped into the room, snarling at the lack of a TV.
"We were so close, we would have won if you two were there," he growled.
"Zarda and I were busy trying to take Utopia," Hyperion said.
"And you of course failed, failed to do something as simple as wipe out those damned mutants," Cash said.
"Screw you," Zarda said.
"Now, now children, lets not argue over spilt milk!"
The Squadron members froze as a sinister laugh echoed throughout the hideout. They turned to the owner of the laugh, his gloved hands clapping together. He walked out of the shadows, followed closely by his apprentice. The apprentice wore a black dome shaped helmet that lacked any facial features. A black suit with red padding and a red omega symbol on his back covered his body. He carried a thick black sword and judging from the direction his head faced, away from the Squadron members, he wasn't interested in anything that was going on. The master however stood taller than the teenager, wearing black pads over his suit. Omega symbols were stamped to his gauntlets and his massive shoulder pads had studs in and held up his red cloak. His mask exposed his mouth, but the rest of his face was covered by a knight's visor and helmet.
"Who the fuck are you?" Hyperion asked.
"The one who gave you your power, you didn't think it was a guy called Neo Cortez do you? Seriously, Neo Cortez, you think there's someone alive with a name like that?" the man in the cloak asked.
"Master, you are digressing," his apprentice said.
"Ah yes, I am I am, very sorry about that folks, and my on the nose alias. But I wasn't quite ready to reveal myself just yet, I needed a little more time to prepare, just enough time to put together my grand scheme," he explained.
"What was your grand scheme?" Zarda asked.
"Simple really, there's a certain object I need to obtain, it's at this facility which just so happens to have a very small amount of defences, with every hero on the planet distracted, we're going to walk in and take it."
"WHO ARE YOU!" Hyperion yelled.
"Oh how rude of me, I never actually introduced myself, I'm the instigator, the man who shapes the people of the world to do very bad things, I am the collective soul of every evil bastard that ever lived. My name is Muramasa!"
Next Chapter 22: Question and trial
Next time Muramasa elaborates on his history and connection to Deathblade and Aeon, whilst Cade is held for an imminent trial.