GI Joe/Marvel universe crossover.
I don't own Marvel or Hasbro.
Silence
Chapter 4: The Oracle
Time: early morning
Location: Taos Pueblo Reservation; Taos, New Mexico
Morning dawned as Charlie Iron-Knife sat in front of an open campfire. The dry, cool air of the New Mexico desert blew against him as the rising sun began to slowly hide the night sky. Two days were left of the soldier's leave. Two days before he returned to the activity of military life and the adrenaline of dangerous missions.
But for now, he simply sat and enjoyed the silence of human activity. The buzz of desert life and the cries of coyotes kept the GI Joe known as Spirit company. He was a man of many talents. A tracker and soldier. A shaman. Holding a degree in psychology, Charlie Iron Knife also often filled the unofficial role of councilor and psychiatrist, even though Psyche-Out was officially supposed to fill that role. However, in times of emotional distress, it was to the Native American and not to Kenneth Rich that most Joes went to.
This morning, away from the residents of his reservation, it was as a shaman that he greeted the rising sun.
He prayed. For wisdom. For peace. For an end to violence and suffering.
And gave thanks for the blessing he had been given.
His prayers finished, Spirit opened up a small satchel and drew out a small handful of powder. He threw the contents into the fire and watched as the colors of the flames changed. Spirit breathed in the incense and waited for the spirit world to advise him.
The desert and the fire blurred as his mind entered a dreamlike state. His spirit guide, an eagle, greeted him.
"Hello, Brother Iron-Knife," it greeted.
"Hello, Brother," Spirit replied.
"The tides of the world are turning," his spirit guide said. "The evil that exists in the world threatens all."
"That I know, Brother," the GI Joe replied. The eagle studied him fiercely.
"Yes, it has long been a scourge in the world. The intolerance and bigotry that threatened and destroyed your people has now become focused on another. Great evil will come of this."
Spirit's vision blurred and cleared to see a barricaded camp. Heavily armed guards patrolled the perimeters as men, women, and children wandered about inside. After a moment, the shaman realized that the miserable, hungry, and frightened people he saw were mutants.
"Is that a concentration camp?" he asked. The eagle didn't answer, instead saying…
"Much evil lies ahead and the future continues to grow darker." The concentration camp blurred and the shaman saw men and women fighting in the burnt out remains of cities.
"What can be done?" Spirit asked. His vision blurred again.
"Fortunately, the actions of one of your teammates may have provided a new hope. Like ripples in water, his decision will create new possibilities."
"Who…?" Spirit started to ask. He paused when the image of Beach Head stood in the fire.
"He is one of them. One of the new generation of mortals," his spirit guide continued. "A mutant. It is an identity he has hidden his whole life, until a mere few days ago."
The mask on Beach Head's face disintegrated, revealing a stern faced man with brown hair. As Spirit watched, his teammate's eyes began to glow as a strange light encircled his body. The brown of his hair lightened until it turned a silvery white. His skin darkened into pale lavender.
The energy flowing through the astral body faded and Wayne Sneeden's eyes ceased to glow. The stubborn, brown eyes that Spirit was accustomed to seeing now changed from red, to green, to amber. The colors of his eyes continually changed and shifted like a kaleidoscope.
"What is this?" Charlie Iron-Knife asked.
"The future," his guide replied. "One of many possibilities. Should he continue on the path he has begun, his mutation will change and his powers will grow. However," here the eagle paused. "However, this is not the only ripple he has caused."
The fire shimmered again and Spirit suddenly found Lifeline standing before him. Unlike Beach Head, his physical characteristics didn't change. However, the doctor's dream body turned and was suddenly grappling with a large, green humanoid. The shaman recognized the superhuman as the Hulk.
"I won't fight you!" he heard Edwin Steen yelled. The Hulk leapt at him and with uncanny speed the pacifist dodged and zipped around behind the giant.
"This one also, is a mutant," his spirit guide said. "He has incredible power." Spirit watched as Dr. Edwin Steen took a green fist to the face, taking only one step back from the force of it. The image then dissolved.
"It was Wayne Sneeden who gave him the courage to reveal himself. Now both men, as well as the one called Storm Shadow, will bring you and your fellow soldiers into contact with a wider world. You will meet new allies…"
The image of a group of men and women flashed before his eyes. Many wore yellow and blue uniforms, displaying awesome mutant powers. Others wore blue uniforms, one of whom wore an eye patch and sported graying hair. An image of Duke shaking hands with Captain America and the Norse god Thor flashed by, replaced by one of General Hawk and a bald man in a wheelchair. Spirit recognized the bald man's face as that of mutant rights advocate Dr. Charles Xavier.
"New friends…" the spirit guide continued.
Spirit's surroundings reformed into that of a swamp. The shaman once again saw Beach Head, though dressed in a brown jacket and the blue and yellow uniform he'd seen before. The odd physical changes were no where in sight and his normal brunette appearance was instead visible. As to be expected, the man was heavily armed.
Beach Head was crouching in the mucky swamp, in the shadow of several trees. Next to him was a red eyed man, wearing a long trench coat and body armor. With his long, brunette hair, the man had a roguish appearance.
"Don't worry, Mon Ami," the shaman heard the red eyed man say, recognizing what was clearly a Cajun accent. "No one knows der way 'round a swamp like Gambit." Beach Head's face gave a faint smirk in reply.
"This ain't the bayou Remy," the army ranger said. "We're neck deep in Dreadnok territory." The unknown Cajun smiled charmingly and flipped through a deck of playing cards.
"Good 'ting I brought these, no?" the other man asked.
The swamp disappeared and instead revealed a regal, dark skinned woman with silver hair. She and a red haired woman sat at a table with Scarlett, Cover Girl, and Lady Jaye, smiling and drinking tea. The sounds of a nearby scuffle caused all five women to turn and stare in one direction.
"Apparently Flint and Archangel can't play nice," Lady Jaye sighed. The vision began to blur as the silver haired woman descended upon a chagrined Flint and a blue skinned man with wings.
"New enemies," the eagle said.
Spirit saw Cobra Commander shaking hands with a strange, pale man with long raven hair. A blue skinned woman and a feral looking man with blonde hair stood next between him and Dr. Mindbender.
"What is your name?" the Cobra leader asked. The other man gave a chilling smile.
"Sinister."
A blur of images continued to assault his eyes, of faces that Spirit had never before seen. Some he recognized from intelligence files and news reports. Others were unknown.
The images finally faded and returned to the fire. The now ghostly image of his eagle spirit guide gazed solemnly at him.
"To avert the future disasters of this world, of the universe even, many strangers must work together." The eagle spread its wings and gave him a nod. "Take care, Brother Iron-Knife."
"Take Care," Spirit answered. "And thank you…my friend."
He opened his eyes and saw that the night sky had completely disappeared. The flames of his small fire had burned down to little more than embers. Charlie Iron-Knife stood up and stretched his legs, breathing in the clean, dry desert air.
The shaman looked across the expanse of desert towards the home of his family. In order to keep them safe, many more sacrifices would be required.
As he walked back towards the collection of houses, Charlie Iron-Knife thought deeply about his vision.
Time: 13:12; Friday
Location: GI Joe Pit; Interrogation room #7
Psyche-Out watched in silence as Beach Head sat and scanned another prisoner. Although irritated, the man faithfully followed General Hawk's orders and took a break every five minutes. The scans were proving to be very fruitful, as they had collected information not only on the attempted arms shipment, but also on other Cobra activities.
Even so, the psychiatrist was very concerned about how the mental scans were affecting the sergeant major. The man had become very fatigued from the strain of the continued use of his powers. Kenneth Rich gathered that this was probably the most Beach Head had ever used his unique abilities.
Psyche-Out was additionally concerned with what effect actually being in the minds of Cobra Vipers would have. Although Beach Head brushed off the psychiatrist's concerns, he seemed much more subdued than usual. Even though his usual stubbornness remained, his gruff snarkiness had disappeared.
Even more disturbing was the fact that the army ranger seemed to be temporarily picking up the personality characteristics of his prisoners. Hawk had become very concerned when Psyche-Out told him that the sergeant major had spent about fifteen minutes speaking with a British accent before it had disappeared.
The blonde was definitely going to push for giving the man temporary leave when this was over. Psyche-Out glanced at his watch and saw that Beach Head had two more minutes before he had to exit the prisoner's mind.
He looked down at the information that they had already gathered on him. Casey Zalweger, formerly of the U.S. Marines. The man had deserted twelve years ago. He also had ties to terrorist groups in Sierra Leone, which was why he'd been assigned to the Cobra mission.
"He doesn't know anything about the weapons," Beach Head suddenly said, sounding even more tired than before. "None of the Vipers do. It seems as though Cobra command kept the details from them in case they were captured."
"Bazooka and Lightfoot are taking a look at the weapons," Psyche-Out replied. "I'm sure they'll find something." The other man nodded absentmindedly as he continued the telepathic scan. The blonde pursed his lips, wishing there was something he could do to take the burden off of the ranger.
Beach Head's assistance with the interrogations hadn't gone unnoticed in the PIT, but although curiosity floated about the base, no one questioned what Hawk was doing. Good soldiers, the psychiatrist mused, not questioning whatever secret mission the army ranger had been given by Hawk. However, the blonde could tell that both Duke and Flint were perplexed by it, as well as Hawk's decision to keep them out of the loop.
"Time's up," Psyche-Out finally said. Beach Head hid a sigh as he pulled out of the Viper's mind. He rubbed his eyes briefly before heading towards the pot of coffee on the table. The psychiatrist opened his mouth, but then closed it. He'd learned long ago that the army ranger didn't take well to his criticism, calling it "Psycho-babble." Still, he had a job to do and overseeing the psychological health of his fellow Joes was his job.
"Is it getting easier or harder to do?" he asked. "The scanning I mean." A pair of tired, but still very feisty eyes studied him deeply a moment. Kenneth Rich had the sensation of having a spotlight and a scalpel prying him open. He suddenly realized the irony of a psychiatrist trying to judge if a telepath was 'out of his mind' or not.
"Both," the ranger finally answered. Then, as if not wanting to admit it, "It ain't a walk in the park to be in their minds. They enjoy killing innocent people." Beach Head was silent as he sipped on his coffee. Psyche-Out allowed his mind to wander to the other mutant on the GI Joe team.
Kenneth had been rather surprised, and a little hurt, when Lifeline had admitted to being a mutant. The two men had been friends for some time and Psyche-Out was unhappy that Edwin hadn't trusted him with his secret. The doctor had seemed to understand and had tried apologizing to him.
"It's not easy," Beach Head suddenly said. Psyche-Out looked over at him in surprise.
"What?" he asked.
"Being a mutant," the ranger answered. The psychiatrist realized that the other man had been following his thoughts. "Even though you, Hawk, and Snake Eyes are pretty accepting of us, there are others that aren't. There are a lot of people who don't want mutants serving in the military or any branch of the government."
"I know that, but…" Psyche-Out protested. Beach Head glared at him.
"You 'know' it, but you don't have to live through it," he pointed out. "Lifeline and I do. And unlike me, Steen ain't a telepath. He's got to make a judgment on where other people stand on mutant issues without being able to read their minds." Psyche-Out didn't reply, staring instead at his own coffee.
"I suppose you two have it easy," the psychiatrist finally said quietly. "Neither of you look different."
"Would it be a problem if we did?" the other man drawled dangerously. Psycho-Out looked at him sharply and sent him a fierce glare. Beach Head smirked in response.
"You're right," the ranger finally assented. "If we'd had any physical mutations, we wouldn't have been able to join the military in the first place, unless it was something we could hide."
Neither man spoke for several moments before the army ranger suddenly groaned and shook his head.
"Gawd…who would have thought that Lifeline the bloody pacifist was a walking one man army," Beach Head drawled irately. Psyche-Out actually smiled at this. Edwin was apparently capable of superspeed, superstrength, and flight. That, and apparently he had enhanced senses and invulnerability. The doctor had admitted to using his body to block bullets from his patients in the field, and at times using his incredible speed to destroy enemy weapons without anyone seeing.
The doctor had also stated that another reason he hadn't revealed his powers was that he hadn't want to use them to fight. If his powers had been known, the military higher ups would probably have pushed aside any misgivings about having a mutant on the team in exchange for using the doctor as a weapon.
Psyche-Out's smile faltered. Lifeline had also told them that his father had kicked him out of the house for being a mutant. His father, though a preacher, had been abusive towards his children. It had been during one of his rages that the doctor's mutant powers had manifested themselves. When the elder Steen had tried to punch his teenaged son, he had shattered every bone in his fist and in parts of his arm.
Edwin had spent the rest of his teenage years living at a friend's house and trying to control his growing powers. It wasn't until he was a young adult that he'd felt confident enough in controlling his enormous strength that he'd finally trained to become a paramedic.
"Like I said, not easy," Beach Head said quietly. "In many ways, Lifeline's had it worse than me. His powers are harder to control than mine."
"When did you figure out that you were a mutant?" Psyche-Out dared to ask. He knew that the other man had grown up poor and had some family trouble, but Beach Head never spoke about it more than necessary. Some of the bits and pieces that Kenneth knew had had to be gleaned from Gung Ho and Leatherneck, who knew more about the ranger's background than he did.
Now that he thought about it, Psyche-Out wondered how the two Marines would react to Beach Head's mutation. The ranger's eyes tightened slightly, but he finally did answer the psychiatrist's question.
"It was gradual," he finally said. "I didn't even realize it at first. First I was able to sense where people were and how they were feeling. Later I could hear the thoughts of people closest to me. Then I began to realize that I could feel events and emotions in places after they'd happened." There was a pause.
"My telekinesis though…" here Beach Head hesitated. "Well, let's just say that I didn't along with a lot of my classmates growing up. Some of the jocks tried to ruff me up between classes and I ended up telekinetically throwing them against some of the lockers."
"So they knew you were a mutant?" Psyche-Out asked.
"They guessed. There wasn't anyone else in the hallway at the time. A couple of the guys hit their heads pretty hard and the third wasn't really sure what had happened. They all called me a 'dirty mutie' after that, but they never had any proof."
Psyche-Out thought about that. Beach Head had claimed that he'd had it a bit easier than Lifeline, but Lifeline had never said anything about being called racial slurs in high school.
"He didn't say anything, but his classmates probably suspected," the army ranger said in response to his thoughts. "I doubt he was able to hide his powers that well when they first appeared."
"Did you sense something?" the psychiatrist asked. The sergeant major snorted.
"Him? I guessed. I've never had any problems with feeling his emotions and I don't remember ever trying to read his thoughts, so I never suspected anything, but…" Beach scowled suddenly before continuing. "I think it's because he's got gawd damn superspeed that I've never felt anything more than emotions from him. I tried to read him yesterday, but his thoughts were too fast for me to catch."
Psyche-Out smirked suddenly as a thought occurred to him. Beach Head swore violently as he caught the direction of his thoughts.
"Damn it! That damn pacifist has been holding back in PT!" he growled. Apparently this was the first time it had occurred to him. The army ranger uttered a few more swear words before continuing on his angry rant. "That sonofabitch wasn't even being pushed to his limits! All these years that Ah thought he was giving me a hundred percent, and he can crush a gawddamn tank and run ah few thousand miles without breakin' a sweat!
"I guess he'll need a new PT session," Kenneth smiled. Although, he wasn't sure how you pushed a mutant with godlike powers to his limits. However, he saw Beach Head smirk to himself. Knowing the man, he was probably thrilled with the challenge of it.
"Time's up, by the way," Psyche-Out pointed out. "Time to get back to work."
A new, maniacal light shown in Beach Head's eyes as he drained his coffee and returned to his seat next to the prisoner. Psyche-Out shook his head, but decided not to pity the doctor.
……………………….
Time: 18:21 Zulu; Friday (Saturday local time)
Location: Chinese/North Korean border
Snakes Eyes silently studied the landscape as he continued on his reconnaissance mission. He and the others were operating in rugged terrain, as they were at the foothills of the Baekdu Mountains. The Amnock River that split part of the Chinese and North Korean border flowed north of their position. The ninja, Scarlett, Stalker, Jinx, and Leatherneck were currently on the North Korean side of the border. Wild Bill was hiding on the Chinese side, waiting to extract them.
The ninja commando had carefully climbed up several hundred feet in order to get a better view. What looked to be one of the infamous North Korean prisoner camps was hidden just inside of the rocky valleys. He had spotted several Cobra transport vehicles near the camp.
Silently scanning his surroundings, the ninja noted that the North Koreans had used the terrain to their advantage. Weapons and secret watch posts were posted up on the higher elevated rock. The GI Joe team was in a decidedly inferior position.
He had managed to get close enough to one of the weapon stations to study it. It looked too modern to be Cold War-era Russian armaments and too expensive to have been funded by the North Koreans. It was possible the Chinese government had provided some of the funds, but Snake Eyes somehow doubted it. Although the PRC was willing to fund and defend its Communist neighbor, the last thing the Chinese wanted was Kim Jong il armed with equal or superior technology.
The ninja carefully climbed back down the mountain and rejoined his teammates. Back at the PIT, Firewall had managed to patch them into Cobra's communications.
"Cobra's double dealing the North Koreans," Scarlett whispered. "They've been funding some of their weapons programs." Snake Eyes motioned up to the weapons and watchposts on the mountain sides and signaled his agreement. The red head nodded at him before continuing.
"Based on what we've gathered so far, the PIT thinks that Cobra wants to secretly extract some of their political prisoners. We're not sure why yet."
A large explosion suddenly drew their attention towards the camp, which was followed by the sound of automatic fire.
"What?" Gung Ho asked. Stalker swore and quickly contacted the PIT.
"That wasn't us," he said. They looked at each other and back towards the Korean camp.
"Alright, fan out," Stalker ordered. "Snake Eyes and Jinx, move in but observe only. We'll be right behind you. We need to know what the hell just happened."
…………………………………..
Time: 18:47 Zulu; Friday (Saturday local time)
Location: Chinese/North Korean border; North Korean camp
Major Bludd and several Cobra Vipers took cover behind a transport truck. The North Korean soldiers scrambled for cover and attempted to shoot back at their opponent, who was proving rather elusive to catch. Although too erratic and fast to follow, his loud voice clearly advertised his presence.
"Hellooo? Anyone here speak English? English?" A red and black costumed figure jumped over some barbed wire and sprayed several soldiers with bullets. Major Bludd growled when he recognized the obnoxious stranger.
Deadpool.
Son of a bitch. What the hell was that mercenary doing here!?
One of the Cobra Vipers managed to shoot the strange mercenary in the head. The man fell down, but as the nearby Vipers began to congratulate themselves, the mercenary sprang back up. He ran towards the Viper that had hit him and kicked him hard in the groin.
Then he withdrew a katana and impaled him.
"That hurt," Deadpool spat. He then ducked down to avoid another spray of bullets, before jumping up onto an ammunition crate. The mercenary continued to fire his weapons, unconcerned with the bullets that hit him.
Unfortunately, as Bludd knew, the man possessed healing factor. He was also borderline insane.
"Hey, who's the head Cobra honcho here?" the mercenary yelled loudly. "Some Chinese dudes hired me to discuss your North Korean contract."
Major Bludd cursed. Deadpool continued on his rampage of the North Korean camp, attacking both Korean soldiers and Cobra Vipers. All the while, Bludd could hear the man singing 'Cobra minions running running, La-la-la-la-la….No Cobra wannabe Hydras here, La-la-la-la-la…''
Then suddenly, Bludd found himself face to face with the maniac. The masked mercenary cocked his head, seemingly oblivious to the destruction he had just caused.
"Hi, I'm Deadpool."
Bludd aimed his gun and fired.
………………………………..
Time: 18:21 Zulu; Friday (Saturday, local time)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Storm Shadow walked calmly through one of the infamous Tokyo crowds. The human traffic was heavier than usual, due to the influx of foreigners for the G8 Summit. Many had come to take part in the conference or to cover it for the news media. Others had come simply to protest.
He had removed his usual white garments in place of civilian clothing, knowing he could move around more freely that way. A small device in one of his ears served the dual purpose of being a communicator and a telepathic blocker.
It had been created by Dr. Mindbender as protection against telepathic scans. The Baroness had given one to he and Firefly, as Cobra intelligence indicated that several telepaths belonged to the mutant group known as the X-Men. It had been judged that at least one would be present in Tokyo. It hadn't taken long for both men to realize that the telepaths were none other than Charles Xavier and Jean Grey.
Cobra Commander had been very pleased by the information. He'd ordered both men to take out Xavier if possible, but to keep their main focus on their assigned missions. For now, MacTaggert and McCoy were staying close together with their mutant friends. Firefly and Storm Shadow had agreed that it was better to attack when they were separated.
For now, the ninja was carefully tailing the group, who was taking the opportunity to do some sightseeing before the conference officially started. Storm Shadow had become very cautious after spotting the X-Men known as Wolverine. The man had numerous ties in Japan, of which the Arashikage clan was well aware. He'd also read Cobra's intelligence files on the X-Men before coming.
Wolverine had enhanced senses including smell. His adamantium claws, healing factor, combat skill, as well as his impressive language skills made him a dangerous adversary. Thomas Arashikage was aware of the fact that while the device from Dr. Mindbender blocked Xavier and Grey, it didn't block his own scent from Wolverine.
And so, Storm Shadow made sure to keep his distance and used his skills in attempt to change his scent.
Thomas Arashikage stopped at a nearby street vendor and bought a stick of yakitori. Slowly eating the roasted chicken, he ambled along and peered into shop windows. To any observer, he was either a tourist or a Japanese citizen enjoying the nice day. As he walked along though, he carefully reviewed the G8 Summit schedule that he had memorized.
Hank McCoy and Moira MacTaggert were both scheduled to appear at 09:00 for a conference. They'd also been scheduled to speak again at a roundtable discussion at 14:00, as well as interviews in between with different international news reporters. Security would be tight during the conference, though it could be done. However, Storm Shadow had decided to strike McCoy either during one of his scheduled media interviews or on his way to one of them.
Storm Shadow easily slipped through the crowd and disappeared.
Time: 18:49 Zulu; Friday (Saturday local time)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
The X-Men known as Wolverine frowned. As the man was well used to Japanese crowds, Cyclops knew that something else was troubling him.
"What is it?" he asked. The shorter mutant growled slightly in reply.
"I think someone may be following us," he replied. Scott Summers looked at him before nodding.
"Understood."
………………………
Story notes: I hope most of you are familiar with Deadpool. If not, he's a psychotic, deranged mercenary who likes to frequently break the fourth wall and throw out witty quips about contemporary pop culture. Why is he here? Because I wanted him to be.
Mainly, I wanted an excuse for the Silent Master vs. the Merc with a Mouth.
And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing.
Next chapter: Up next, Storm Shadow and Firefly attack Beast and Moira while the GI Joe team on the North Korean border comes face to face with Deadpool.