ACT 1: EAGLE CLAWS

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Von stared at his glowing blue cylindrical device. He held it compactly in his gloved hand. The device was given to accomplished members of the Eagle Claws. It allowed them to return to their hideout after they blow onto it. Also, it served as a tracker of other members' devices, flashing red when in close proximity. The device was first designed by an Evolutionist scientist over five years ago. Vulcan was apprehensive at first, thinking the device could be dangerous if fallen into the wrong hands but the scientist assured that the device was custom made to identify the breath of its owner.

Von was handed his cylindrical device over two years, when he first joined the Eagle Claws. He was recruited by Dallas Pointe for his healing properties. He quickly rose among the ranks and became one of the team's most reliable healer. However, the team now relies on him a lot for smaller jobs as well, such as keeping an eye on captives and spying since he was not an offensive member.

He watched Belias through the metal bars; the red mutant was crouched in the corner. Belias remained on hunger strike for the past two days, refusing to cooperate with Vulcan's interrogation and demanded to be set free. Von and Dallas took turns watching over the Red Insurgent, Von taking the night shifts. He usually slept for three hours in the morning before being asked to assist any injured Eagle Claws or innocent mutants. Today, he took the afternoon shift on Dallas' request.

The doctor yawned, taking his hand over his mouth and blinked tiredly at Belias. The only light was white light which buzzed above them, almost out of power.

"They treat you dirt, don't they?" Belias said wryly, fingers touching the neon green colour around his throat. He was clad in blue, cotton trouser; his dirty green trousers from earlier were sent to the investigation room.

Von raised a thick brow, taken back by the other mutant. It was the first time the mutant had said anything apart from throwing nasty expletives at Vulcan.

"You work so hard for that bastard but he doesn't even give you a break," Belias continued, crawling to Von, his chains wringing around his wrists.

He held the metal bars, fiery eyes gazing into yellow. The demonic mutant smiled a wide pointy smile. Von took a step back nervously; sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"W-what are you talking about? Vulcan believes in me, that's why he asks so much of me," Von stammered defensively, hands clutching his filthy trench coat.

"Look how tired you are. Does your idol not see the darkness underneath your eyes? You're deprived from sleep!" Belias smirked, his grin growing wider when Von's defensive barrier crumbled.

"Ace isn't like that at all," the demonic mutant whispered, his voice low. The white light cast shadows across his face and pointed beard.

He continued talking with renewed glee, "Ace lets us satiate our desires. He looks after our needs. Your man Vulcan only keeps you as robots."

"T-that's not true," Von blurted but a small voice in the back of his mind said otherwise.

He was captivated by Belias' words, pondering whether to believe him or not. The lack of sleep was taking its toll. The only image his eyes could focus on was Belias' horrific face, the whites of his eyes contrasting with the flame like irises and sharp white teeth behind thin, deep red lips. The rest of his peripheral vision was clouded in darkness.

"Join us in our destination for a better world," Belias said, "Free me from here and I shall take you to Ace. Trust me for I am a helpless mutant like you. Together with Ace by our side, we will bring back peace for all mutants."

The offer was tempting. Von thought of the tiredness that constricted his senses. He was growing weaker due to the lack of rest. He wished to be recognised, not only by Vulcan but by the other members also. He was pushed back into the limelight by mutants who were on the offensive team. This was his turn to shine.

Heavy footsteps disturbed his thoughts. He fidgeted on his spot, ashamed of thinking such blasphemous plans. Vulcan entered the small room, clad in his usual black shirt and trousers. His curls were almost brown in the white light. The presence of his power lingered in the air. Belias hurriedly crouched back to the corner he occupied earlier. Von stood straighter and saluted Vulcan. Heat rose to his face in shame for his opprobrious thoughts.

"I've received a message from your leader," Vulcan's deep, thunderous voice resonated in the room as he stood opposite the metal bars, making eye contact with their captive.

In his large hand was a small square shaped, metal disk. Von eye the disk curiously as Vulcan let it rise to the air, a transient blue glow escaped from it. A scratchy, high pitched voice followed, soft and melodious yet deadly as an assassin stalking into the night. The power in the voice matched that of Vulcan's distinctive aura. Von's body trembled with fear, his heart hammered in his ribcage.

"I am Ace…" the scratchy, sonorous voice said from the disk.

Belias shivered in his dark corner, hugging his knees closer to his chest; horror etched on his features, his eyes rolled in their sockets at every direction.

"I know that you have imprisoned one of my top commanders," the voice continued wryly, "And for that I applaud you, Vulcan. However, I have sent you this message so that you may know Belias is of no use to me anymore. You have my full permission to eliminate him."

Belias let out a strangled howl and rushed towards the bars separating him from Vulcan, clawing them and sobbing frantically. Thick, salty tears trickled down his black, pointed beard. His prominent canines stuck out from underneath his lips as he implored Vulcan to spare him. Vulcan's brows furrowed in vigilant attentiveness while he listened to the rest of Ace's message.

Von wiped away the sweat from his brow. His mind told him to run, block his ears from listening to the unholy voice of Ace yet his body was rooted to the spot out of fear. Waves of tremors washed over his body as if he was the epicentre of an earthquake.

"I have always considered Belias a discernible character which is why I wished to rid of him from my group of freedom fighters in the future. I may have been prudent but you have fallen into my trap, Vulcan. I deliberately sent him on a mission, unbeknownst to Belias, so that your warriors may defeat him. Unfortunately, I thought wrong of you," the voice spoke in the same mocking manner.

"You are weak Vulcan. You and I could join together, get rid of humankind to ensure a safe future for mutants but no, your sense of ethics blinds the truth from your eyes. I am sure Belias must have revealed that I am planning on something ultimate. I welcome you to challenge me. The clock is ticking, leader of the Eagle Claws."

The disk exploded into sparkling dust, falling slowly to the ground. Belias wailed louder, banging his forehead against the bars. Von's eyes remained unblinking, Ace's voice still ringing in his head, echoing into the deepest corners of his mind. The power from just his voice, the confidence, the elegant speech, Von could only imagine what it would be like to meet the man in person.

"I found this disk while searching through your clothes. Looks as if your master isn't pleased with you," Vulcan told Belias with a dark scowl.

"Lies! Lies! They're all lies! Ace will never abandon me! I worship that man, you hear me? He respects me! You are lying!" Belias denied, shaking his head fury, "Ace will never abandon me!"

He repeated his sentence like a mantra, his body slid down until he was on all fours, banging his fists on the ground. Vulcan advised the demonic mutant to await rehabilitation with the Evolutionists. His memory will be erased so that he will never remember Ace or the Red Insurgents ever again. Belias howled in crescendo, grabbing the bars again and cursing wildly at the Eagle Claw leader.

"Goodnight Belias, I believe that is the best I could do for you," Vulcan said with a shrug, "Von, follow me out to the door."

Von nodded swiftly and scurried after the tall leader. Belias screamed until his throat was hoarse. Vulcan glanced over his shoulder. For a second, Von could depict pity shining in the deep brown eyes before they hardened to indifference once again.

"Oh and Belias, I will show Ace that his mob are no freedom fighters. They are terrorists," the powerful man suggested balefully before walking out of the cell room with Von bungling after him.

Vulcan stopped in his tracks once they were out of the room. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before crossing his arms and glancing down at Von. The little doctor cowered in his shadow. Had Vulcan heard Belias offering him to join Ace?

"Von, I'll be heading to Morocco this evening. I've been away from my family long enough. Could you send a voice mail to the Evolutionists tonight and let them know about Belias' rehabilitation? His real name is Grange Mustang and he's twenty-eight years old, originally from South Carolina," the man spoke with no suspicion in his voice.

"Affirmative!" Von agreed and stood straight again.

Vulcan gifted him a half smile before he tapped a hand on Von's shoulder and left. The doctor stood staring until Vulcan's broad shoulders were out sight in the dimly lit corridor.

His hand travelled to his erratic heartbeat, recalling Ace's voice and Belias' offer. He was never much of an extrovert, relying solely on Dallas' company. Sometimes he felt that Dallas only hung out with out of pure sympathy. Vulcan kept throwing him with responsibilities.

He slowly trudged back inside the cell. Belias was lying on the cell, sockets dry from wasting too much tears. The beast like mutant didn't give Von a second glance. Von cleared his throat, rubbing a gloved hand over his face.

"I-if I set you free, will you take me to Ace?"

Belias instantly gazed at him with an incredulous look. He asked if he heard clearly. Von hesitated, curling his fingers into his palms before replying with more confidence.

"When shall we leave?" Belias grinned.

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Pietro's eyes adjusted to the pale light from the stairs. He struggled in his straightjacket, feet steel shackled by the special power reducing chains. He had lost weight in the torture room, only living on stale bread and murky water. Duce refused to believe his account until Kitty was captured and both would be forced to talk about their background.

A faint feeling ate away at him from within, growing more potent as the seconds passed away. The feeling exuded through his veins like a water hose, washing through his spirit. He rarely felt this constricting force that was tightening the muscles in his throat, extruding the air out of his lungs. Pietro accustomed the feeling as none other than remorse.

Pietro Maximoff was feeling remorse. He had not only set dug his own grave in this foreign world but also Kitty's. Duce was hunting for her like a relentless demon, searching for the description given to him by Magnetos' son. He tried to brush the feeling aside but it wormed deeper into his subconscious like a resistant parasite.

He squirmed, wanting to free his hands, curl his fingers and stretch out the legs that were meant for running. Time was too slow for someone with his speed. Duce forced him to sit still for nearly two days, unaware that leniency didn't exist in Pietro's dictionary, let alone patience.

He focused back to reality when he saw the inhuman figure of Duce walking down the stairs to the dim torture room. Behind him, his cronies dragged a bloody faced boy around Pietro's age. The boy's soft, chestnut hair was matted over his forehead with dried blood. His light gray eyes met Pietro's, placid with confidence despite his injured appearance. The boy was dragged over to the chains that Pietro was trapped in previously, both wrists were then chained. The new comer was so weak from exhaustion and pain that he bent his knees, face hung low unencumbered at the dried maroon blood on his harmonious features.

Duce rubbed the many tattoo decorations on his bald head, dull eyes watching the new mutant inquisitively, surprised that the mutant wasn't lugubrious over his defeat and his imminent death sentence.

"I have to owe it to you, Samir Aryaan," Duce said, walking towards the boy and lifting his chin, the boy avoided eye contact, "You are one of a kind. It's not often that you animals can defeat me in a battle."

He pushed Samir's head back but the latter remained unresponsive. If Pietro didn't catch him blink, he was sure that the boy was dead, like a broken china doll. Duce waved a hand at his cronies who exited the room.

"Hello, I'm not exactly invisible here," Pietro muttered, irritated that all attention was directed on the new comer, also wishing to ask for permission to the lavatory since he needed to relieve his kidneys.

Duce musn't have heard him, or else decided to ignore him.

"Look, since you beat me in combat, I respect you. Now, if tell me which prominent mutant organisation you're from, I will ensure an easy verdict is passed onto you," Duce sighed, with genuine sincerity.

Samir gazed at him for once, his gray eyes lacking emotion before he smirked crookedly, blood evident in between his teeth. "Fool, I am not part of any organisation."

"Hey, I am just trying to help," Duce added with a silky shrug, "I won't lambaste you if you refuse it. At least try not to lie about your allegiance ."

"What makes you believe that I'm lying?" Samir enquired, painfully raising a soft brow.

"No mutant can have the amount of skill you showed in battle, without training that is."

"Well, hear it again: I am not part of any organisation."

"So be it," Duce replied with indifference, "I managed to save you from Kimbra's hands back here but I can't save you from the experiments ahead. Besides, we need more telepaths as guinea pigs. That aside, whereabouts of Persia are you from, Samir?"

"Wherever it is, it's none of your business."

"Hah! Just as I thought!"

Duce rubbed his knuckles into Samir's sticky hair in a mock manner before laughing darkly and leaving the room. A heavy yet thin silence filtered the air; only the sound of dripping water nearby cut through the wordless atmosphere. Pietro watched the battered mutant remain with his head facing the ground. Fresh and dry blood dripped to the floor.

"Dude, you know you shouldn't make Duce beat around the bush. Just make up some random organisation so he could set you free," Pietro told the boy, bored from the lack of company within the past couple of days.

Samir remained still for few moments but slowly turned his head to the right to gaze at Pietro's eyes. Blood trickled from his forehead to his eyes, resembling crimson tears. His lips were taut before curling into another cold smirk.

"Do you really believe that these people will set someone free after you give into them?"

"Well uh…"Pietro recalled how he shamelessly traded Kitty's appearance for hopes that Duce would not strike him ever again. It worked for an hour before Duce had him imprisoned into the straitjacket and chained to a chair.

Samir breathed deeply, wheezing as he inhaled, before letting the tension out into the air. "I am from the Red Insurgents but I will never give those bastards a means to triumph over this fact. Even if I am to die, this secret will follow me to the grave."

Pietro raised a perfectly arched brow, suddenly wishing he was placed into a separate room. "And why exactly are you telling me your secret?"

"Because we will conquer Earth very soon. In case you survive in this place, I hope you join us."

Pietro mulled over the offer. The Red Insurgents, the boy claimed, will rule over Earth. Will he join an organisation that was rising with power? The boy's condition was fragile, Pietro was unsure if he will survive the night in the torture room, hanging in those chains. How were the Red Insurgents powerful when one of their members was rotting away in the Triangle Organisation?

He demanded to know more about the Red Insurgents. After he got no response, he realised that Samir was unconscious, if not already dead.

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Dallas felt the vibration in the pockets of his cargo pants. He pulled out his 3-D phone and glanced at Kiki's picture on the screen. She asked him if he wished to join her, Ash and Kitty for a night out. Kitty was still traumatised over today's unexpected hassle at the mall so a night club, Kiki suggested, would be a good change of environment for her.

"Don't you think going out is inappropriate after she's seen people die today?" Dallas raised a brow at the Kiki hologram that was popping out of his screen.

The hologram hissed at him and exclaimed how bad memories can be forgotten over a good time. She added how they don't need him over anymore before logging out. The light from the hologram faded back into the screen. Dallas refrained from grinning. The girl knew no limits to social etiquette at times.

He sympathised with Kitty, remembering when he first saw innocents killed by the Red Insurgents or Triangle Organisation. However, he grew accustomed to the spillage of blood, flesh and organs. If he wanted to adapt to his world, he needed to accept that innocent people will die. He allowed his heart to harden into stone.

Dallas wouldn't have left with Kiki and the girls in any case. It was his turn to watch over that demon Belias. He was concerned about Von's health, who was staying awake all night and only sleeping a couple of hours in the day before returning to work.

He walked towards the corridor before pausing when he heard stealthy whispers emanating from the room Belias dwelt in. He pressed his ear against the door, listening with high concentration but the voices were muffled.

Instantly, he heard an explosion from within and bricks falling away from the wall.

"Von!" he cried, kicking open the door.

He imagined the little man dead on the floor, his white hair spiky and face black with soot from the explosion. Other images flashed, turning into worst case scenarios. However, he found Von peeling the neon collar away from Belias' neck, the wall behind the demon was broken. The cold, night air gusted into the cell room. The frigid wind blew their strands about their head.

"Von, why?" Dallas cried, fists ready to pounce at the traitor he once considered a brother.

"You guys never appreciated me!" Von yelled back, "All I wanted was some appreciation and rest but you lot kept throwing responsibilities on me! Never again, I, Dr. Bunny, will finally fulfil his darkest dreams!"

The little man hopped on to Belias' back. Belias, now free from his constraint, allowed the heat to gather in his feet before the fire lifted him into the air. He flew rapidly out of the hole in the wall and straight for the stars without a second glance.

Dallas blinked away tears that prickled his blue eyes, wiping his wrist before pulling out a packet of eagle down from his back pocket. He gingerly removed the feathers onto his hands, feeling his body morph. He was adamant to chase Von and knock some sense into him.

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A/N: I know this chapter is a little quick but the whole point was to give a more formal introduction to Ace and his Red Insurgents. The next chapter will be long and will give the characters more screen time that they deserve.

Featured OCs:

Von Richtor (Dr. Bunny) by The Big Bad Bunny

Samir Aryaan (Somnus) by me

Dallas Pointe (Skinwalker) by silverstarsofquebec