Author's note: Hello! Thank all of you who commented and liked this story. I have absolutely no excuse for not updating in so long. It is all due to a lack of consistency. I just want to say I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy. Just a reminder English is not my first language so I truly hope to not have committed any atrocities with the English language and if so please let me know. Thank you all again.

THE LAST ULTIMATUM

Landmark city oil platform

It was close to sunset and a blanket of red light covered the city. Paine was sitting at the highest spot of the platform staring back at the unsuspecting Landmark and smiled. He then took a pair of goggles from the inner pocket of his jacket and stared at the sky. Having found what he was looking for Paine's grin increased and a weak laughter escaped his lips. On the other side of the platform the moist sea air pierced through Lioness awaking her from her long and uncomfortable slumber. The girl tried recalling the events leading to her current predicament but failed miserably and soon enough discovered that the pounding in her head was the least of her problems. She found herself strapped to metal pole only inches from the edge of the platform with the waves fiercely crashing against the support beams below.

"Why, hello, Ms Kathalina Lionny! Hey, everyone! Look, who finally decided to join us!" Spidah yelled to the other participants in the plot then whipped his head around to face Lioness adding his bad breath to her general discomfort.

"Get your face away from me and untie me this instant!" The arachnid jumped backwards seemingly startled. Magness came from behind and pushed her useless college aside. Placing a finger under Lionesses chin, Magness lid up and smiled.

"There, there. Woke up on the wrong side? Let me fix that for you!" Magness used her magnetic powers to rotate the pole and much to Lioness's horror, she was now fully facing the ocean. At that moment the girl unwillingly thanked being securely chained up, seeing that now her restrains were the only thing keeping her from falling into the water. Magness then leaned over and calmly whispered into Lioness's ear:

"One more outburst from you and that pole will be at the bottom of the ocean, with you still attached to it." Her voice sounded merciless and cold. As hard as it was, Lioness had to bite back the insult building up in her throat.

Lee was observing from a safe distance. He gave his accomplice's daughter an approving look as she walked by and couldn't help but think what animal he would use if he were to ever clone her.

"It's in place!" Paine yelled from above catching everyone's attention.

"Good! Now the only thing missing is Axel. Let's call him, shall we?"

"My pleasure!" Spydah said turning on Lioness alpha con, which he had in his possession. The devise lid up and so did Lee's face. The time for revenge was finally here.

Meanwhile Landmark

On the roof top of one of the city's highest sky-scrapers, a young couple was quietly enjoying each other's company. Judging by their outfits and the heavy looking leather bags laying near them, you could tell that they were probably a pair of lawyers after a long day's hard work. As the eager man's face approached his companion's in the hope of sealing the deal, a banging noise disrupted the used-to-be romantic moment. A sweaty, panting and visibly irritated King popped out from behind the recently opened door and started scanning the perimeter. The big guy didn't seem to notice the couple at first. Finally, sensing the weirded-out looks he was receiving, the team's animal lover wiped the sweat off his face and said:

"Oh don't mind me. I'm just looking for a friend of mine. About this tall, red head, kind of annoying…" Both lawyers shook their heads. A beep emerged from King's alpha con, breaking the uncomfortable silence. It was an indication that Lioness's alpha con was back on line. Axel called not a second later.

"King!"

"Already on it." Only a brief moment later the answer was in sight. Target: Oil platform located two miles east from city. "The platform was closed down last week because it didn't pass the safety requirements. It's old and unstable, the perfect place for an ambush. Smells like a trap to me."

"A trap or not, we have to get to Lioness as soon as possible. Meet us at the bridge in five minutes. It's the closest spot we've got." With this the conversation ended and King found out he was all alone. The couple must have made a swift escape while they could.

Back at the aquatic center Axel made his way to the garage where Shark was waiting, engine already running. The leader hopped in and the two rushed to the randevu. The raven head's mind was a mess. This whole ordeal couldn't have come at a worse time. Only a day before it all started, an unsuccessful flight test left them without their latest rides. The new proportion system had unfortunately put too much strain on the bonds keeping the vehicles together and they separated unexpectedly. Luckily no one got hurt but the pieces were unsalvageable so the rides had to be rebuilt from scratch. For now they had to rely on what they had. And what about Paine? He knew the guy was a solo player, so what could have made him join up with Lee? What did that nut job had to offer that was so irresistible to Paine? Freedom? Nah, that couldn't be it. A state of the art weapon? Paine's own Mu team? What could it be? The boy was so caught up in his thoughts; he barely noticed they were at the bridge until Shark slammed on the breaks right in front of King. The startled expression on the big guy wasn't so interesting. Hawk was there too.

"Hey dude! You're here!" Shark smiled perking out the car's window. Axel stepped out not saying a word and focused his attention on the red head. Despite the previous chain of events, the team captain knew that this was neither the time nor the place to settle his differences with the pilot.

"Ok, gather up, we need a plan." Shark and King breathed in relief. Hawk too let out the air he didn't knew he was holding. The untold apology was accepted on both sides. King taped some things on his alpha con and said after a moment:

"I hacked into city's mainframe and had the bridge cut off for maintenance, you know so we could have some thinking space."

"Good." Upon closer inspection, Axel noticed neither King nor Hawk had their gear on. The leader paused for a moment. Luck wasn't on their side today. "Ok, Hawk, you and I will go from the front, Shark and King, you go around the back. King I want you to help clear the way for Shark to get to Lioness while the two of us do our best to distract them," He thought that if he was the first one going after Lioness it would be too obvious. "Everyone agree?" As expected there were no objections. Axel smiled and hopped on the back of Hawk's bike before the other made it air-born. Seconds behind them, King strapped himself well in the co-pilot seat as he watched Shark grab the wheel with great determination; never a good sign in King's book. As feared, the blond pushed pedal to the metal and charged off the edge of the bridge breaking through all the security barriers as if they were none existing.

"SHAAARK!"

"Wohoooo!"

The flight was short before the platform was in site. From above, they could see all eyes were on them. Good. Paine was the first to open fire once the team got into shooting range.

"Haha, show time," Spidah grinned taking a battle stance. With the corner of his eye he spotted Lee sitting down on a container arms crossed over his chest. "Che," the arachnid let out annoyed. He was used to working for powerful people but none of them were as impartial as this guy. "Only gets his hands dirty with electronics eh?" Lioness too was excited. She couldn't wait to get out of the restrains and kick some ass on her own.

"Get me in closer," Axel yelled getting ready to jump off the bike.

"Easier said than done!" Hawk said frustrated trying his hardest not to get blown out of the sky. The pilot's final maneuver let him wide open for Paine to successfully hit one of his rotors, sending the bike spinning out of control. Both he and Axel managed to jump onto the platform just barely. The team leader sprang into action immediately.

"Jo-Lan Choubatsu!" The attack was aimed at D-Zel, but Magness got in the way and absorbed the blast.

"Hey you, long time no kill!" she said and kicked the other in the stomach making him recoil in pain. Hawk, who was not so lucky to land on his feet, tumbled along only to stop right at Paine's feet. Looking up in sheer horror, the pilot saw the villain smiling down at him fingers still on the triggers on his Jet Burner.

By that time, Shark and King were already on the other side and were quite proud of themselves for not being spotted right away, or so they thought. Flesh was more than eager to greet them by swinging his weight at the two. King pushed Shark aside and took the big fellow head on by himself. Shark scanned the perimeter searching for Lioness and caught a glimpse of Hawk getting flung into a pile of barrels like a rag doll. The surfer took a deep breath and charged.

"Hold on Lioness! I'll save you!"

"Oh, you're not going anywhere near our lovely little hostage!" Spidah smiled spreading his appendages in front of the surfer blocking his path. Despite the blond's incredible agility one of the arachnid arms dug deeply in his abdomen and sent him flying backwards. The blow was so strong it left the surfer panting for air close to the edge of the platform.

"Shark! Ah…Out of my grill!" Alert that his friend might be in real trouble; King focused all his strength on tackling Flesh out of the way when suddenly out of nowhere a barrel was send rolling towards Spidah. The arachnid dodged with ease.

"Haha, missed!"

"But I won't," Before Spidah could knew what hit him the arachnid found himself dangling off the edge of the platform with Flesh clinging onto his waist for dear life.

"D..don't let me fall now ok. I really don't like the water!" the big guy sobbed.

"You idiot!" the arachnid managed before his metal appendage gave in due to the weight and the duo plummeted into the water with a very loud splash.

King walked up to the surfer and helped him up.

"You ok?"

"Duuude, too close for comfort!"

"Thanks for the help!"

"No problem," Hawk said giving the thumbs up. "Now let's go get Lioness."

Meanwhile, Axel and Magness sparing match was underway with both seemingly at their limit. Lioness was struggling in her restrains and although she couldn't see what was happening, she could hear everything. If only she were able to help and not be so useless. The title of damsel in distress didn't suite her at all and nor could she stand it. "Axel…" Magness charged yet again but Axel managed to catch her arm and threw her over his shoulder. The girl back-flipped a few times gaining some distance between them but to his surprise didn't attack back. Instead she just walked over to her father and high-fived him. Paine popped his knuckles and smirked. To make things interesting D-Zel fired his engine and started circling around the two making an improvised ring. If it was meant to scare Axel it was doing quite the opposite. Paine was fist to take a swing, which Axel blocked just barely. The boy hissed back and answered with a kick. The man caught his foot and used his special touch on the limb. Axel felt a wave of pain creep through him, but it wasn't going to get him to back down this time. Much to Paine's surprise he found himself flying sideways almost crashing into the biker. This didn't make the man back down. He stood up and ran his hand across his lips which displayed a malicious grin. The team leader smiled but knew better than to underestimate his opponent. The two were at it again in a matter of seconds. Punches and kicks were flying all over the place.

Magness was closely monitoring the display from a safe distance. It distracted her enough for the rest of the gang to finally reach their imprisoned teammate.

"Are you ok?" King was the first to ask while trying to break the lock on the girl's wrists.

"I'm fine, just get me out of these." At this moment Mangness came back to her senses. She chucked and whistled to D-Zel to follow her. Axel didn't like this one bit and made a rush for his friends but Paine was reluctant to let the boy off the hook so easily.

The biker charged straight for Shark and Hawk, while Magness used her powers by hurling the remaining barrels at the team's general direction. Realizing the danger, King quickly acted as a shield for Lioness. The first one didn't do much damage but the impact from the second made him loose his footing. Now he was the one in need of urgent saving.

"King!" Lioness shouted at the site of her friend barely hanging at her feet, face curled up from the pain. He was so close to her and she could do nothing but stare. "Damn you!" she cursed and pulled on her restrains like a wild animal.

"King hold on! We're coming." Shark yelled. Magness turned and stared in disbelief. Shark was sitting on D-Zel's shoulders, covering his eyes, while Hawk was doing his best to steer. The sight of her boyfriend being mounted in such peculiar manner caught the girl off guard when they collided with her at full force. The surfer and the pilot then quickly rushed at King's side. Before they could lift the big guy to safety, the now barely conscious Magness popped her head from the crash site and used her magnetic powers to lift the metal pole that was holding Lioness in place.

"Oh no! NO!" the girl screamed as she fell forward in front of the horrified looks of the others, hands still tied behind her back. In their intent of catching her, Shark and Hawk swooped in at the same time both disappearing over the edge as well.

"NOOO!" Axel screamed at the top of his lungs. Paine chuckled. "Jo-Lan Choubatsu!" Gathering all his strength the boy poured all his frustrations in the attack. Paine stood no chance and was sent flying only to land next to Lee with a loud bang. The scientist puffed annoyed but did not move a muscle.

The team leader then frantically ran over to the edge, fearing the worst. Much to his surprise, he found his friends were safe?

King was gripping a loose cable, while Hawk was clinging on to his waist. Further down, Shark used one arm to hang on to Hawk's foot and the other to support Lioness.

"Lil help," King asked lifting his head up weakly gallons of sweat running down his face.

"Please," Hawk whined, while his grip was loosening, as well as the belt of the big guy's pants. Axel smiled relieved and the human chain slowly but securely started making its way up.

"You're safe now." Shark smiled back at Lioness.

"Gee, thanks." As soon as her hands were finally free, Katalina stood up and popped her knuckles. She proceeded to slam her fist unceremoniously into the pilot's scull. "You're late!" Hawk ribbed the sore spot and tried to laugh it off. So did the rest.

By the time the rescue mission was over, Paine was back on his feet and ready for round two. He was joined by a wet and very, very pissed off Spidah. The team stood united, ready to take on whatever was thrown in their way. Before the impact Lee's voice cut the air like a knife.

"ENOUGHT! Haven't you had your pitiful fun yet?!" The scientist's irritation had reached a boiling point. Paine frowned like a kid whose toy was taken away.

"Ah, I guess I had my turn. Too bad, I would have loved to spar with you a little longer, Manning, seeing this would be our last time. Oh well…" Paine said lilting his shoulders.

Axel stared confused. "Last time?" Out of the blue, Lee threw something that looked like a phone which the team leader caught on instinct. He then stared at the devise in his hands closely followed by the rest of the team.

"What is this?"

"I'm very glad you asked that Axel. Behold my latest creation!" Lee took out his remote and pointed at the sky.

The team lifted their hands, but it took them some while to actually notice anything. In the light of the dying day the Comet looked like nothing more than a slightly bigger dot.

"What? That little thing," Shark said scratching his head.

"Oh, I assure you it's no little thing. In fact it's the biggest bomb ever created. It has the power to, let's say, wipe out a hole city; a city like Landmark for example." Suddenly the mood changed dramatically. So that's what it was.

"You're bluffing!" King stepped in visibly agitated.

"No, he's not." A voice came out of Axel's alpha com. It was Garret. "I hope you don't mind but I have been listening," Garret said taping on his computer. "I spotted some inconsistencies in the satellite imagery while the fight was underway. This thing is jagged up with enough jet fuel to power up to 200 planes and the worst it to come; the core of it is filled with carismiam. The mixture is enough to bring the city to ashes." Lee lifted a brow and smiled.

"Oh, Garret! Nice to hear from you. Thanks for doing the technical explanation for me, but I'm afraid you left out a little detail I'm sure you have already figured out." Garret went silent. Adjusting his glasses, Lee added. "Once it's been armed, it can't be defused." After a quick pause he continued. "It's too bad I armed it a minute ago."

"What?!" Axel and the others quickly looked at the screen of the devise; there was a countdown started for 30 min. Axel's facial expression changed from confusion to pure rage.

"WHY! Why would you do this?! What do you get out of destroying the city?! Answer me Lee! ANSWER ME!"

"Why, you ask? The answer is very simple. I don't need it. I can just rebuild it and make it my very own mutant paradise, my perfect society." The scientist's eyes glowed with joy, arms spread to the sides emphasizing the grandiosity of his self proclaimed genius. Hearing this made Axel squeeze the devise so hard the screen started to crack.

"Ah, ah, temper, temper Axel. What you're holding in your hands is the only thing left that can spare your precious city."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I decided to give you a chance to be a hero and save all those innocent lives. You just need to put this console on the bomb and then boom! This nightmare will be all over… for them that is."

"You can't be serious!" Lioness objected loudly, expressing what everyone was thinking.

"Oh, but I am. You know I'm not the type to make jokes, Lioness." The girl felt her heart skip a beat. "It is what it is Axel. You always wanted to be the hero, now you get to die like one." Lee observed the expressions on the team's faces - anger, desperation and what pleased him the most: fear. After a dramatic pause, Lee added teasingly: "Don't look so sad, I left you 30 minutes to say your goodbyes. Just some heads up, when those numbers turn red you better get moving, or else." Having nothing more to say, the scientist signaled to his accomplice to start the chopper.

"Happy dyings, Manning. Say hello to your father for me," Paine said looking back from the pilot seat.

"Did you really think that you'd win in the end, Axel?" Lee whispered in the team leader's ear before walking away with a devious smirk on his face.

King let out a deep grow and screamed angrily at the chopper which was already lifting off the platform.

"Paine! Lee! You cowards!" The leader walked up to his friend and placed a hang on his shoulder. The sadness in the big man's eyes hit the raven head hard.

"Come on let's get out of here."

To be continued….

I hope you liked it and let me know what you think. I'm also on a get your sh*t together and finish your damn projects rampage so next chapter WILL NOT take long. Thank you!