DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.
Chapter 5: Shapes of Things to Come
Borderline's group managed to fit inside Moon Knight's crescent-shaped ship, and the small resistance force eventually landed at what appeared to be an abandoned apartment complex.
"This is it?" Angelica asked.
"No," Borderline said, entering the complex as he spoke. The others followed, and the minute they entered, Borderline used one electrified pole to strike the wall.
While this seemed to be an action without purpose, the portion of the floor upon which the group stood quickly sank into the ground. The elevator descended down a long shaft, eventually stopping.
"Bottom floor," Remy smirked, "Computers, spare costumes, and oh look, a secret base."
"What is this place?" Angelica asked, gazing in awe at the science that surrounded her.
"This was a base used by the Illuminati," Moon Knight explained, "abandoned after the Civil War started."
"Who are the Illuminati?" Dr. Connors asked.
"Evil," Borderline said with a tinge of bitterness. "Orchestrated Civil War by having Nitro explode near school. Had Captain America killed. Launched the Hulk into space."
Angelica stood agape. Borderline continued, evidently on a semi-passionate rant against his hated foes.
"Illuminati wanted to rule superhero community," Borderline said. "Tried to make themselves dictators. Instead they gave Osborn an opportunity."
He lowered his sunglasses for the first time. Angelica saw two green eyes behind them…two pained and angry green eyes. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to give him such a hatred of the Illuminati.
"Tony Stark led them," Borderline snarled. "He was followed by Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Namor, Charles Xavier, and Dr. Strange."
At this Angelica's jaw dropped. Dr. Connors, however, simply shook his head.
"I don't believe it," Dr. Connors sighed. "I thought those men were heroes, but they're really absolute monsters."
"They most certainly are," Moon Knight nodded. "Persiana is Tony Stark's daughter, and he was willing to end her life just to make his insane dreams come to fruition."
"Need to stop Osborn, now," Borderline said, returning to his typical fast-paced deadpan voice as he pushed his sunglasses back up. "Find a spot to do something. Need to clean this place up."
As the various members of the renegades sought tasks to perform, Borderline approached a computer console. He pressed several buttons, activating it, just before uploading the contents of his cell phone-like device to the computer. Afterwards, he removed his phone, viewing a picture that had appeared.
There were two people in the picture. One was a young, jubilant-looking girl with bright green eyes and a wide smile. She was standing in front of a school, which was unmistakably the one Nitro had destroyed in the Stamford Incident. The other person in the picture was also unmistakable.
It was Borderline.
Stark got what he deserved, Borderline thought as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. Now his mess needs to be cleaned up.
White high-heels tapped the floor of the Dark X-Men's new base. Emma Frost let out a sigh as she left her office, honestly reluctant to greet her new team. As soon as she entered the foyer in which they were gathered, she could already feel a headache approaching.
"Good evening," Emma began to her new teammates, attempting to maintain her composure. "My name is Emma Frost, and I will be the leader of the Dark X-Men."
One of the members snorted in response, but Emma took no notice.
"As members of this team, I'll need to be able to have names to address you by," Emma smirked. "You can't possibly be that meaningless, now can you?"
She looked to the being to her right, which appeared to be a grey-furred man with yellow eyes and curving black hair.
"We will begin with you," she said.
"Very well," said the man. "My name is Henry Phillip McCoy II, but given the presence of a more 'honest' mutant by that name, I suppose you will refer to me as Dark Beast."
"Dark Beast is an alternate-reality counterpart to the similarly-named member of the X-Men," Emma explained. "Just so we can keep this short, I believe you are next."
She nodded to a man in an blue-and-orange costume. Like Dark Beast, he had a relatively unusual appearance, but his consisted of two bird-like wings and a visor over his eyes.
"Fine," said the man. "Name's Calvin Rankin, but nowadays you can call me Mimic. I have a lot of the X-Men's powers."
"As one can see from your appearance," Emma nodded. "Next."
This time her command was directed at someone who, for all appearances, appeared to be a bald man in a wheelchair. Upon closer inspection, however, the man's skin seemed to turn blue and red hair seemed to grow from his head. In mere seconds, the man had transformed into a blue-skinned woman with yellow eyes and red hair.
"I'm Mystique," said the woman. "If you have any brains at all, you can guess what my power is."
"Indeed," Emma smirked. "Moving on?"
Next was a man in a red-and-white costume with the Greek letter for "Omega" printed on his chest. He looked at Emma briefly before responding.
"Call me Omega," said the man. "I'm no one's weapon."
"Despite your—how shall I say—'dealings' with the government of Canada," Emma said. "And, last but not least, I believe you all should know this one."
All eyes turned to the last member of the Dark X-Men. This member was the one who let out a snort when Emma said she was the leader.
It was Daken.
"Yeah," Daken snarled. "Now, how about we get this show on the road? I want to dish a little payback out to Jones and her pals."
"You do understand that I still have need of them, right?" Osborn scowled at an arrogant-looking man in glasses.
"Of course," said the man. "I know they contribute to society as well as protecting it. But, eventually, they have to go."
"And the others?" Osborn asked.
"They'll all be taken care of," the man said. "My plan is guaranteed to be a success."
"Except when it fails," Osborn countered. "When have your little plans ever succeeded in the past?"
"What's past is past," the other man said nonchalantly. "This is the future, Mr. Osborn. You and your Avengers are the future. I'm only trying to do what's best for my country, same as you."
"Fine," Osborn said. "But I'm keeping Venom and Carnage for a while, Gyrich."
"Trust me," smirked Henry Gyrich, "my 'Aliens Go Home' policy will prevent another invasion and benefit you at the same time."