So, I needed to let you know that, yes, I am alive. The reason I've been absent for so long? Well, there's this thing called college...
DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe that this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.
Chapter 9: Preparations for Battle
Emma Frost was less than pleased with her current situation.
Osborn had simply left her with his rag-tag X-Men, giving her only Daken as extra support. The entire team was unpredictable and unreliable, and worse yet they were being thrust into their first true mission without ironing out the kinks. Unfortunately, the team would have to work out their issues while on the job.
Emma once again gathered the team for a meeting. Mystique, keeping up her guise as Charles Xavier, was in a wheelchair. Cloak and Dagger stood together, yet also separate from the other members of their team.
"Now, then," Emma began, "I've brought you all here to brief you on your first mission as a team. Before I continue, I feel I need to inform you that you must learn to function as a team."
"Been there, done that," Daken muttered.
"Our task is simple," Emma continued, ignoring Daken's comment. "We are to hunt down and terminate a band of renegades who have become a thorn in Osborn's side. We must show them that their insolence will not be tolerated, and with the renegades' demise, we will send a message to the remaining members of the superpowered community: Norman Osborn will not be crossed. We depart immediately."
Cloak and Dagger looked at one another. If they were to act, it would have to be soon.
Borderline knew that this had been coming.
He also knew how this would play out. He wanted the battle between those he had assembled and those led by Emma Frost to be waged in private, preventing public scrutiny. Likewise, Emma would desire a public spectacle to be made of Borderline's group, sending the same sort of message that a public execution would.
His team was aware of the risks. Those risks had been made perfectly clear to the group upon their initiation. And they were willing all the same.
"Borderline?" said the voice of Angelica Jones.
Borderline, pausing his thoughts for a moment, spun his chair around in order to face her.
"This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it?" Angelica said. "This is your chance to undo at least some of the things Osborn has done."
"Almost," Borderline replied in his typical fast-paced deadpan voice. "Osborn's X-Men are just the first step. Need to return New York to the way it was before the Registration Act was passed. Then things will be good again."
"Why do you care so much?" Angelica asked. "What do Osborn and Stark mean to you?"
Borderline paused. Then, he sighed.
"Wondering when one of you would ask," he said. He then pulled out his cell phone-like device and showed Angelica the image he had viewed when they first arrived at their base.
"Is this…?" Angelica said.
"This is me with my little sister," Borderline said, the pace of his speech slowing down to normal. "We're standing in front of Stamford."
"Was she…?" Angelica trailed off.
"Yes," Borderline said. "She was killed in the explosion."
"I…I'm so sorry," Angelica said, "I didn't know—"
"You couldn't," Borderline interrupted, regaining the quick pacing in his words. "We need to get some sleep. Need to be a hundred percent to fight Osborn's X-Men. Or at least ninety-five."
"Okay," Angelica nodded. She then turned to walk away, but stopped. "Can we talk again sometime?"
Borderline considered it for a moment.
"When this is over," he said.
"Sounds good," Angelica smiled. She then left, but Borderline returned to his computer.
"We'll have time," he said, typing at his computer. "Once we're done. We'll have a lot of time."
The next day, Emma Frost led the Dark X-Men down the streets of New York. Mystique was disguised as Professor Xavier, and as such accompanied her team with the use of a wheelchair. As they marched through the streets, Emma broadcasted a telepathic message to the community.
"Attention, people of New York," Emma began with her mental voice, "this is Emma Frost of the X-Men. There is a group of criminals who seek to destroy the safe and peaceful society that the Iron Patriot has built."
"Safe, maybe," a familiar rapid-paced voice interjected. "Peaceful, never."
The Dark X-Men turned around and saw Borderline's team standing there, the trenchcoat-wearing teen at the center of the line. Gambit smirked, twirling his staff in anticipation of the fight. Dr. Connors kept his finger hovering over his belt, awaiting the need to utilize his Lizard powers. Angelica clenched her fists, tension overtaking her body. Moon Knight glared darkly at the false X-Men, while Toxin cracked his knuckles.
"And by the way," Borderline continued, "you're not the real X-Men."
"So sue us," Daken spat.
"And here I thought we would have to drag you out of whatever hole you were hiding in," Emma smirked. "Are you going to come quietly?"
"Answer's up there," Borderline said, pointing up.
The Dark X-Men all looked upward. All jaws dropped in unison at the sight of the object that approached them. A massive shape fell from the sky and landed behind Borderline's renegade crew.
Death's Head had joined the team.
"Greetings, yes?" said the self-proclaimed freelance peacekeeping agent.
"H-how…in the world…did you recruit such a—" Emma stammered, losing her composure completely.
"Money talks, eh?" Death's Head replied.
Meanwhile, Norman Osborn was furious.
"What happened to my fortune?" Osborn cried. "How did someone hack into my account and rob every last cent I own? The fact that this has also happened to Tony Stark's account does not in any way make up for this!"
"Many of you have committed crimes beyond redemption," Moon Knight declared.
"Especially your boss," Borderline added. "It's time he went down."
"Not if we have anything to say about it," Emma retorted. "X-Men, attack!"