Walker winced as he sat in the airplane hanger that FACT had rented to be the base of operations in the Dallas area. He could barley see, his body still occasionally spasamed and his supposedly impervious Vibranium shield had been buckled after it cooled down after the Melter's attacks. All in all he was pissed, his team had been beaten because they had underestimated the Thunderbolts abilities and they had paid dearly for it. Trickshot had come off worst of all; Barney Barton wouldn't be in the field for the next few days and had been flown back to the RAFTs Level 1 trauma centre. Ragnarok had been collected and was currently having his cybernetics replaced and fortified; it would be unlikely if he would be back in commission before the mission was over. Dr. Covington and Ai Apaec had survived mostly intact and Walker was convinced it was due to cowidance and not their impressive regenerative abilities. Moonstone had come round first and had been sent on recon in the vain hope that the Thunderbolts would be stupid enough to walk around in the open in their costumes. Needless to say her attempts turned up nothing and she had returned with a headache and a bad mood.
"Walker we are ready for you." Lane called from the end of the Quinn Jet's Cargo Bay. Stalking over Walker saw what looked like Hand ninjas and AIM agents being led off the plane followed by a phalanx of Guardsmen dragging a large wooden casket on their shoulders.
"What are these people doing here?" Walker growled, "They are some of the most violent criminals and dangerous terrorists in the world."
"They are here to do what you and you're Avengers failed to do." Lane replied. Umbridge put his faith in you and I put my faith in the contents of this casket. Dr. Sophen would you care to inspect the contents to make sure that they are the real deal before I let our associates get to work?" he asked Moonstone as she came to spy on the commotion a half finished bottle of water in her hand. Reluctantly she walked over and wrenched the lid of the coffin up before looking inside.
"It's real but I would advise that you don't even think about doing what you are about to do."
"Thank you Dr. Sophen you're advice is not needed or wanted for this operation." King announced as a pair of AIM agents removed the corpse and put it down on the work bench next to the deactivated Ragnarok.
"I am curious about what you plan to do with that thing." Walker stated, "And why AIM and the Hand are required."
"It's elementary Warden." Lane announced, "AIM is going to fit a remote guidance system and shutdown node into the neural system so we can control the operative by remote. Technically that's all we need but to reactivate his hyper-cognitive abilities we need to revive him, something that is the Hand's speciality."
"I'm sorry but I can't go along with this." Walker told Lane, "I want no part in this butchery and the chaos it will cause."
"Noted, Robert Umbridge also balked at the idea, said that the subject is too dangerous to be brought back to life. If you and Dr. Sophen wish to step out then we will understand, you may as well go back to the Raft Warden this plan can't fail.
The dazzling red-head stepped into the Chinese Restaurant like she had done so many times before. Once again using her 'Faye' persona Melissa had been dispatched to get food for her teammates, safe in the knowledge that FACT didn't know about the stunt that they had pulled to capture Joystick back in Las Vegas. The restaurant was unusually empty and there was a strange smell, peeking her head around the corner Melissa looked down to sees Chen, the owner, lying on the floor with a penny embedded in his skull. Resisting the urge to vomit, due to the side effects of genetic camouflage use and the gruesome discovery, Melissa scanned Chen's body and saw a second corpse slumped just inside the kitchen, his blood leaking onto the floor. Focusing on the blood lapping on the floor Melissa's eyes widened, the pool wasn't random it was shaped into a glyph. As sirens begun to ring around the city centre Melissa bolted, she had got the killers message and it was her duty to warn her teammates of the impending danger.
(Skylark and Oxide lured Joystick into a trap using the 'Faye Persona' and five hundred dollars in Road to Redemption - Part III)
"Stop wriggling." Juno ordered Boomerang as she dabbed his shoulder wound with an antiseptic wipe. "I said stop wriggling." she snapped slamming his arm down and collapsing on-top of him. Blowing a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes she looked down to see Boomer smiling, a grin that despite the dire situation they were in was infectious. Delicately she dabbed his wounds not that he was immobilized, "What's so funny?" she asked.
"Me and You." Boomerang replied, "You being the nurse and me the sap needing bandaging." he added looking down at his hands now covered in gauze. "I can barley throw anything with these oven mitts on my feelers."
"You want me to kiss them better?" Juno asked.
"It is my fourth most enjoyable dream." Boomerang told her. "The others all involve baseball." Juno rolled her eyes before kissing both his hands and helping him back onto his feet.
"Well soldier you're A-OK to move." she told him, "Don't think anything about what I just did it will never happen again."
"Unless I get another bloody arrow through my hand." Boomerang asked hopefully. Juno cracked another grin and laughed, "Okay but only then." she added walking back towards Chris and Abe, the later leaning on a lump covered in camouflage webbing. Boomerang put his hands together and mouthed 'thank you' up at the sky before joining the others. As he arrived he saw something move in the shadows and reached down for a boomerang, wincing as he grabbed it. Scanning the darkness he heard the fire escape above him creek and activated his jet boots, elevating to the same level as the mystery stalker.
"Okay buddy." he whispered, "Come on out."
"Fine you got me." a voice replied and Moonstone walked out into the dim light casted by the rocket thrusters. "I call a truce. I have some really bad news for all of us."
Abe watched Boomerang crack his knuckles and wish that the Australian marksman would stop it, the very sound was annoying and could hide the sound of the other Dark Avengers creeping up on them as Juno handcuffed Karla, a futile gesture really since the former Thunderbolt could probably split them open and kill all four of them in seconds if she really wanted to. The very fact that she hadn't worried Abe, he knew that Karla never helped anybody unless she was going to get some kind of advantage out of it as well.
"So where is Melissa?" Karla asked.
"Out," Abe replied bluntly, "Now why are you here and being reasonable?" he asked checking the perimeter for more interlopers as he walker around her.
"Chill out Walker and I decided that only one of us should go." Karla told him, "Besides I could already have incapacitated all four of you by now so trust me when I say that the Dark Avengers are not going to come rushing in for round two just yet."
"Then why are you here?" Chris asked. Abe turned and shook his head causing the younger man to step back and cross his arms, an angry scowl on his face.
"She's here about the slayings." Melissa stated as she emerged from the alley causing everyone to jump, "There have been seven in the last hour and a half all done with mundane items and all with the same sigils left behind." Karla looked Melissa up and down before smiling curtly and stretching her manacled hands above her head, the sound of rattling hand cuffs accompanied by the sound of Juno cocking her Tech 9 and aiming it at Moonstone's head.
"Wow Melissa, I see a lot of me in the new you; tall, athletic and ruthless." Karla commented, "The old you would ask me how I'm doing first, make sure that I was okay. Whatever happened to you I both love and despise it but never the less I'm going to play the hero and help you because deep down you know that the Thunderbolts worked best when I was in charge."
"Oh shut you're yap woman." Boomerang moaned, "It was bad enough I had to listen to it for months in that wretched time machine but now that I'm free it's even worse."
"Fine then I won't tell you about FACTs dirty little secret." Karla announced smiling. "Really Melissa keep you're mongrel from barking he makes everything so common."
Snarling with anger Melissa summoned a sonic axe before kicking Moonstone over and holding the blade over her neck. "Start talking Karla because you were right, I've become ruthless and I really want to do this. What's more Abe doesn't look like he's going to stop me."
"I could but why bother when I can get rid of you're backstabbing corpse." Abe commented. Karla laughed and repositioned herself before looking up at Melissa as she kept the axe levelled across her neck.
"Good, that's what you're going to need to beat him, to kill him. The sigils are a lightning bolt centred in some crosshairs am I right?" Karla asked as Melissa nodded, "FACT used AIM tech and Hand magic to bring a corpse back to life and to keep control but it always seemed hinkey to me. The slayings prove that, I'm surprised that you two didn't figure out who was responsible considering the clues he left behind."
"Just tell us already." Chris cried, "All the cryptic stuff is causing me head to hurt."
"Lester is back." Karla announced speaking each word slowly and deliberately. "Well it's been a blast, I expect to see some of you later but not all of you." she added phasing through the handcuffs and taking off leaving the Thunderbolts standing in the back alley, a range of expressions on their faces. Melissa looked around the group Chris looked confused, Abe worried, Juno was unphased but then she was a master at hiding her emotions on the other hand Boomerang looked horrified and was mumbling something about owing Lester money.
"Chris." Abe announced, "I read you're file, you were hired to confirm Bullseye was dead and buried, can you give me a location."
"Small place in the middle of Hells Kitchen, next to some woman called Elektra." Chris replied, "Are you saying that Bullseye is back?"
"If we believe Karla." Melissa butted in, "It makes sense, the unusual projectiles and the anti thunderbolt symbols. He and I had one to many altercations and I won them all, something that made him madder then usual." Looking over she saw Abe pull the camouflage tarpaulin off of his armor and dialled in a number before sighing. "Time to tell the world, that's if they are willing to listen." He was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "This is Abner Jenkins AKA MACH V and I have an urgent message to be delivered to Daredevil. We have information suggesting that Bullseye is alive again and is in Dallas. I know that you probably hate us but we are going to try and stop him here, if we fail you can call off the search for us, we won't be in any shape to run anyway. Whatever the case good luck in you're search."
"Answer Machine?" Boomerang asked. Abe nodded before turning to Melissa who stared back at him, her green eyes boring into his skull. For a single moment they could read each other completely, saw that they were thinking the same thing and smiled.
"I'll go and change." Melissa stated before turning the corner to where the few supplies the Thunderbolts had managed to rescue were stored.
Two hours later Melissa sat cross legged on the top of the Belmont Hotel dressed in her old Songbird uniform. She was glad to be back in her original costume, her Skylark get-up was okay but it didn't have the nano under weave or thermal conservation network that Fixer had built into the Thunderbolts first costumes. She had been up on the roof getting a 'feel' for the city, listening for screams of terror and reaching out to the thugs and murders out in the late September night. Most were sloppy and drunker attacks but there was one signal that seemed sharp and skilled, Melissa bit her lip, she had found Bullseye. Silently she called for him, filling his head with instructions and locations, luring him away from his victims. It didn't take her quarry long to arrive and Melissa heard Lester's almost silent footsteps sound behind her.
"I was waiting for you." she announced as he stood behind her. Getting to her feet she looked him in the eyes, the sockets glowing cyan as Lester's jaw clacked open and closed like a broken door, he was obviously trying to speak but couldn't restricted by the forces that animated. "I look upon you and the fear I have is gone." Melissa told him, "All I feel is sorrow, even you don't deserved to be used as a puppet." Bullseye made a guttural wheeze and quickly struck her plunging a knife towards her chest only for his prey to sidestep the blow and elbow him in the face.
"You are broken goods." Melissa commented as Bullseye staggered to his feet and threw another punch which was easily blocked, "To think we were worried about you going after Daredevil." Bullseye twitched, his eye spasaming before it burst blue gel seeping out of the sockets before he back flipped away from Melissa, a trio of knives flying at her. Quickly blocking the attack with a sonic shield Melissa took to the air and scanned the top of the building, in a few seconds Bullseye had disappeared. Listening she heard a swift whoosh and saw the fan blade of an air-conditioning unit fly up towards her, the spinning flail quickly cut through by her sonic sword as Bullseye scooped up a handful of grit and threw it up in the air, the particles bouncing off Melissa's body save for the bits that stuck in her eyes. Blinking as she tried to clear her face Melissa felt something collide with her, knocking her down, the impact followed by a heavy thud and a sharp pain.
"Thank you for that." Bullseye sneered, "Seems like anger can motivate anybody, I'll kill the rest of you're friends just like the voice in my head asked me to but after that I'm going after the blind guy." Listening to his retreating footsteps Melissa rubbed her eyes to see a pair of knives sticking out of her chest, the tips penetrating her lungs causing her breaths to become shallower.
"Abe." she wheezed, "Forget me get to the airport and get out of here." Coughing she knew that Abe and the others were staking out a second rooftop across the city and wouldn't hear her. Blinking she heard footsteps and saw a pair of thigh high biker boots strut into view.
"Wow Melissa you are in a bit of a situation." a familiar voice said.
"Diana?" Melissa coughed, "How?"
"Oh don't worry about that." Diana told her as she squatted down, her long dark hair hiding her face, the surface covered with bulging wires and golden wisps of breath emerging everytime she breathed. "After I've finished you needn't worry about anything ever again." she added as one of her fingers transformed into a needle thin syringe.
Abe checked his armour's chronometer and frowned, Melissa hadn't checked in with him for the last half an hour. He already had a good idea about what had happened but he quickly shunted that thought to the back of his head. It was almost midnight and Bullseye still hadn't arrived to finish what he had started on Thunderbolt Mountain alongside Karla and Mac Gangran. Silently he wished he had been there alongside Melissa, with the two of them together they would have thrown the three traitors so far that they would need passports and airfare to return to the United States. Behind him Boomerang cracked his knuckles and Abe decided he was going to stop Myers from making it a nervous habit. Spinning round he saw a figure dressed in dark blue perched on one of the search lights clutching a pair of chopsticks. Dropping down into the pool of illumination Bullseye staggered forward a lock of pink hair wrapped around one of the utensils he carried, his eyes rotted away leaving vacant hollows set in her decomposed flesh.
"One down." he purred as he flicked the chopstick through his hands getting ready to throw the shaft of wood. "And four to go."
Thunderbolts #24
Things are about to change for the Thunderbolts but before they can make their escape their going to have to escape the Dark Avengers and their allies camped next door to their ride. So get ready for Iridium vs. Bullseye, Melter vs. Moonstone, Boomerang vs. Ai Apaec, Smokescreen vs. US Agent and Songbird vs. Revenant as the Sun sets on Liberty.
I just want to thank Kraut007 for his review, since you are only a guest I couldn't PM you to thank you in person.
As for Whipcord1989, take you're own advice, google the Thunderbolts and then write back to me, I look forward to your next review.
As always leave you're questions, comments and queries as a PM or a review I look forward to any kind of feedback you leave. Impurest Cheese