Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters; I do however own OC heroes and Villains.
Alright everybody here we are with the next chapter of Flames of War. Before you guys ask, Yes I have seen Guardians of the Galaxy which was EPIC! I loved every second of it and yes the Guardians will be making an appearance later on in the story (hope you guys are patient)
Also on another note I would like to dedicate this chapter to a comedy and Hollywood legend who has left us due to depression. I know this story isn't comedy but the man had a huge impact on my life and his work helped me get through a few tough periods, so I feel like I have to say this in memory of a great man.
Robin Williams
R.I.P
July 21st 1951 – August 11th 2014
Thanks for all the laughs and the happy memories man, we'll all miss you
"To die would be an awfully big adventure" – Robin Williams, Hook
Now on with the show
Flares of the war to come
Blackness
Pure blackness
That was all he could see around him, the area was silent as a grave as Viktor looked around him, desperate for an answer as to where he was. He was dressed in his Avenger gear, minus his Hat and mask, though even if he had his mask it couldn't hide the expression on his face, the utter confusion and fear as he looked around trying to get his bearings.
Callus was nowhere to be seen as where anyone else.
Until suddenly he heard a very familiar sound, the sounds of people in masses, it sounded as if there were thousands of people around him yet the only thing he was the pure darkness around him.
"What the hell is that?" Viktor murmured to himself as he looked to his surroundings, trying to find where the sound was coming from.
Suddenly a bright flash of light appeared right in front of Viktor's face, blinding him for a mere instant. Viktor grunted in discomfort as he regained his vision only to find that he was now stood right in the middle of what seemed to be Chicago, more precisely the city square. There were thousands of people filling the area, all of whom were walking fast in different directions; the whole scene looked like something you would see in the streets of Tokyo during rush hour.
But the weirdest thing was that not a single person was paying attention to Viktor as they walked past him and Viktor was not an easy person to not notice, well when wearing a black Leather Duster coat, bright red gauntlets and with bright red glowing eyes and standing at 7 foot it was nigh impossible to not be able to notice him in a crowd.
Viktor only arched his brow in confusion as the people didn't even look at him, men, women even families were just walking past him like he wasn't even there. A man dressed in a simple shirt and jeans walked past Viktor and bumped him as he passed by, not even looking back to apologize or look at whom he had just bumped into.
"Ok…this is weird" Viktor thought as he looked around him.
Another person bumped into him, this time it looked like a young blonde women with a child holding her hand, but as she bumped into Viktor she fell to the floor due to his large frame. Viktor being the gentleman he was instantly went to his knees to try and help the woman to her feet.
"Oh I'm so sorry miss, here let me help" Viktor said offering his hand.
"Such…" the woman started, her blonde hair covering her face
"..A Gentleman!" she said as her head jolted up, showing Viktor a sight that shocked him to his very core. The woman's face was horribly burnt, and not in a burn victim way, the skin on her face was burnt black and falling off showing charred flesh and pieces of her skull. Viktor recoiled in sheer horror and fell onto his backside.
"What's the matter? Aren't I pretty?" the woman asked as the entire right side of her face fell off showing her skeletal, bleeding features including her lower jaw and empty right eye socket, steam pouring out of it as she crawled onto all fours.
"Mister…don't you like my mommy?" the small boy asked, forcing Viktor to look at him, but this only served to horrify him more as the boy looked even worse if that was possible. His face was shrivelled and burnt to a crisp, only his eyes were intact and crying blood onto the floor, his face was also frozen in a look of pain and anguish but most of all fear.
Viktor crawled back in fear and horror but he felt a pair of hands on his shoulder and a male voice saying "Excuse me sir, you require some help?" Viktor turned to see a Police Officer whose face was sliced up and burnt beyond recognition, his entire left side was on fire and burning in flames. Viktor quickly stood up in fear and Dredd.
Viktor then realized to his everlasting Dredd that all the people where now staring directly at him, their eyes fixed on him. Viktor's breathing became heavy and laboured as he saw all the people's horrific faces, burns, cuts, some people were even missing limbs or all of their flesh. But the worst ones were the ones engulfed in flame with their flesh falling from their bones, their grimaced expressions fixed on Viktor, full of hate and rage.
"What…in god's name?" Viktor gasped as he backed away only for the people behind him to grab him and start tugging on his outfit and chanting and screaming their pleas to him.
"Why?"
"Why did you kill us?"
"You were supposed to protect us?"
"IT BURNS!"
"THE PAIN! IT BURNS!"
"I HAD A FAMILY!"
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A HERO?!"
"MY CHILDREN! THEY WILL GROW UP MOTHERLESS YOU BASTARD!"
"I miss my mommy"
"YOU BASTARD!"
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHY?!"
Viktor couldn't take it, he brought his hands to his ears and squeezed his eyes shut, but he could still hear the people shouting and screaming in pain as they began to swarm him, tugging as whatever they could grab, including his hair.
"SHUT UP! THIS ISN'T REAL! THIS ISN'T REAL!" Viktor shouted at the top of his lungs as he felt the people clawing at his face and limbs, feebly trying to attack him with their weak and burnt limbs.
"YOU KILLED US!"
"YOU MURDERER!"
"YOU MONSTER!"
"YOU DEMON!"
That final one struck a nerve and Viktor's eyes flew wide open and in a loud and booming voice he screamed "SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" His eyes burning bright red and he threw his arms open. But as he did the people around him turned to dust and ashes, falling to pieces like dry leaves as the red eyed Meta-human screamed at the top of his lungs.
Viktor opened his eyes once again, but he immediately wished he didn't. The surroundings were completely different now, the buildings were burnt down husks with flames still engulfing the city, the City Hall was ashes and the ground beneath his feet was scorched and burnt.
"….God…what….w-what have I done?" Viktor gasped as he collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face and onto the piles of ashes beneath him. The smell of death and destruction was fresh in the air as the smell of burnt flesh overpowered his senses. Viktor fell to all fours now as his gauntlets were now wrist deep in the ashes of the dead.
"….Why….why did this happen? Why?" Viktor cried as his tears fell to the floor. But then a new sound rung in his ears, the scraping of a blade as it left its sheath and it was coming from right behind him.
Viktor immediately rolled out of the way, barely missing getting decapitated but as his boots scraped across the floor the blade descended yet again. Viktor held out his gauntlets to block the attack, the blade then hit his gauntlets, sparks flying from the impact. The figure holding the sword was completely shadowed in darkness with the only thing showing, his red glowing eyes.
"Cyrus!" Viktor growled, but as he said it he heard a demented chuckling from the shadowy figure that only edged closer to him.
"Guess again, though I can't blame you…" the distorted voice said as he revealed his face
"….No…" Viktor gasped in pure terror.
"…I am the last person you would guess!" the assailant cackled as he showed his face. It was Viktor, only his face was covered in what could be described as black molten rock and his teeth were serrated like a shark and the fiery runes covered his entire body.
The Demonic looking Viktor lunged out with his left gauntlet and wrapped it around Viktor's throat, searing his flesh to the touch. Viktor gritted his teeth in pain as his neck burned with a loud hiss, the demonic Viktor then brought the original Viktor's face closer to his and roared, baring his serrated teeth and showing the burning fire within his gaping maw.
"We are no stranger to death such as this…don't you remember the fear and death we used to sow in our wake?" the Demonic Viktor asked before throwing Viktor to the floor.
"Don't you remember the way they used to look at us? How they would cower and tremble in fear like the worms they were in our presence?" he asked yet again holding his arms wide out. Viktor looked at his demonic self and saw the garb he was wearing was not the one he himself was wearing right now. Sure he had the same Gauntlets and the same sword he wielded against Cyrus, but he was wearing full medieval plate armour covered in a very familiar garb.
The robe of a Crusader, the red cross of St George splattered with blood.
"Don't you remember how they would scream as we killed them? Of course women and Children weren't exactly on the list…but things seemed to have changed since then"
"No…I am nothing like you, I'm different now" Viktor told the demonic version of himself
"AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA DIFFERENT?! How is what we did different to this? You remember the chaos, the anarchy and the blood we would spill on the battlefield, the widows and orphans we made with our fire? DO YOU REMEMBER HOW MUCH FUN IT WAS!?" the Demonic Viktor cackled at the top of his lungs, using his sword to keep himself from rolling on the floor with laughter.
"It was never fun…I…I never…" Viktor stuttered before his Demonic self-grabbed him by the throat again and hoisted him off the floor.
"Oh it was fun, we loved every second of it. Sure to begin with it was 'justice' for our family and 'just following orders' but after a while you started to enjoy it…we were good at it, we made our living off the blood and corpses of our enemies, we would walk through entire armies, leaving nothing but bloody stains and ash piles in our wake. It gave us a purpose, something to live for, the feeling of satisfaction as we tore our enemies apart with our bare hands while their bullets and arrows would bounce off our skin…don't you remember that euphoria we felt when they begged for their lives? Knowing that nothing could stand against us?" the Demonic Viktor continued as he flourished his sword, blood dripping from the blade.
"I…I….Never….wanted…" Viktor chocked out as the Demonic Viktor tightened his grip.
"Oh you wanted it, you felt weak when we lost our family, but killing entire armies, hearing how they told stories to their children about the Red eyed Demon, it made us feel powerful made us feel in control, seeing what we could do with all the power at our disposal gave you a feeling of pleasure that you couldn't describe. We were a god amongst mere insects, nothing could stop up us and nothing could challenge us when we wanted something…" the Demonic Viktor smiled, his red eyes sparking flames. Viktor then saw four shadowy figures behind him, figures of men he wished he had forgotten a long time ago but whose faces haunted him every time he closed his eyes.
"What's the matter Harrigan? Don't you remember us?" the tallest of the four asked, a man covered head to toe in black plate with a black Barrelled helm and a garb of the Red Cross of St George only black instead of white.
"Don't you remember the fun we used to have?" a shorter man asked, his silver armour shimmering with blood as it fell from his clawed Gauntlets and from between the fangs of his Wolf shaped Helm.
"Don't you remember the fires we started? The smell of their flesh as it sizzled?" another man asked, this time wearing a Phoenix shaped helm, his crimson armour glazed with ashes.
"Remember the screaming as we cut them to pieces, watching the heretics beg for their lives and pray to their non-existent god as they grovelled on the floor?" asked the final man wearing a Rhino shaped helm with no armour on his biceps, blood staining the Red Cross on his white garb.
"No…You…you are all dead" Viktor choked before his demonic self-dropped him to the floor.
"And whose fault is that?" the Wolf helmed man smirked, blood running from his lips.
"You are a killer Harrigan, always have been…always will be" the Rhino helmed man smirked
"There is no escaping what you have done, your soul is forever stained with the blood of those you have slain" the Black helmed man announced
"…But you had to go and grow a conscience didn't you? Start acting like a hero, denying what you were like it was a nightmare, but even after all this time you haven't changed a bit have you? You are a killer, plain and simple, it is the one thing you are good at, proof of this…3000 dead…how many were children I wonder?" the Demonic Viktor growled as he knelt down and locked eyes with the real Viktor.
"You determine what you are, will you be a Demon and wallow in self-pity as they scream their hate and loathing at you? Or will you show them your true self…and be the god you were meant to be?" The Demonic Viktor asked
"…Fuck you, that's not who I am! I'm no hero…BUT I'M NOT A MONSTER LIKE YOU!" Viktor shouted at the Demon Viktor who simply cackled in unison with the other armoured men.
"Hehehehehe….you are much more like me…than you think" the Demonic Viktor said as he flourished his sword and brought it down on Viktor.
"AAAAAGH!" Viktor screamed as he awoke from his nightmare, sweat was pouring from his face and caused his hair to cling to his face. He panted as he realized that what had just occurred was nothing more than a horrible dream, he looked down to see that he had burned holes in the bed sheets. The red eyed Avenger stopped breathing so fast and put his face in his hands, wiping his black hair out of his face.
The drugs that made him immobile seemed to be burning off faster than Reed and Hank predicted, this was probably because they didn't take Viktor's unfamiliar biology and stubbornness into consideration. He was now able to move everything above his waist when by Reed's calculations he should have only regained control of a single arm by now.
"Goddammit" he whispered under his breath in a trembling voice. The door suddenly swung open and in came Laura whom had a worried look on her face that only worsened when she saw the state Viktor was in. He was drenched in sweat and the look in his crimson red eyes was defiantly warranting concern from the Female Mutant whom closed the door behind her before approaching the British Avenger.
"Are you alright?" Laura asked as she sat at Viktor's bedside. Viktor's couldn't reply as he took his hands away from his face and looked at Laura. Laura couldn't believe the look on his face, she had never seen him like this, all the other times she looked at him he was so strong, sure and confident, but right now he looked terrified, vulnerable and the look in his eyes was simply heart-breaking. His hands were trembling, he was sweating buckets and his red eyes shimmered dimly in contrast to the dark surroundings of the room he was sat in.
"….I…I Killed them…..I killed them…" Viktor whispered with his eyes eerily wide open and unfocused. Laura put a hand on his shoulder and felt him trembling as he kept repeating those words "I Killed them….I killed them" as Laura slowly eased him into a hug, this was not a regular hug as Laura hugged Viktor's head to her chest as he cried, tears running down his face.
"It's alright, I'm here, it was just a dream" Laura said as she stroked Viktor's head caringly.
"…no….it…it wasn't" Viktor shivered in her arms as tears fell from his eyes.
Meanwhile down below in the lounge of the mansion, Steve was sat down with Peter and Carol. Both the Kree/Human hybrid and the Wall crawler were not in their hero attire and simply sat wearing civilian clothing.
"So how is he holding up?" Steve asked Peter
"Not good, he hasn't spoken a word to anyone except Laura for days, and even with her he doesn't say much" Peter replied with his legs crossed.
"He hasn't gotten a wink of sleep since we told him, I know he can go for a while without sleep but in his condition it's bad" Carol explained.
"Dam it, when will he be back on his feet?" Steve asked
"Judging by how he is physically recovering I would say a day at the least" Peter said. Inside Peter was slowly recovering himself, the image of Viktor's face when they broke the news was still ingrained in his mind, seeing the face of one of the strongest men he knew, his best friend break as they said those words was heart breaking.
Peter had to be strong now, not just for his own sake but for the sake of his loved ones, Carol was still shaken up after the incident in Chicago and Peter tried his best to be strong for her, but now he also needed to be strong for Viktor and the other Avengers in this hard time.
In a time such as this Pete would usually have the support of guys like Logan, Viktor, Tony and his other fellow male Avengers to help him stay sane, but Viktor was recovering and pretty much mentally damaged by what he thought he was guilty of, Logan had to leave for the X-Mansion for the X-Men and his other fellow mutants as tension against Mutants was getting dangerously high and Tony was doing everything he could in his power to make sure that the Super Human Registration act that was being talked about wouldn't be passed.
This meant Peter had to be more than just the Joker he had always been, he couldn't sit in the background and make puns and quips anymore, he had to be the strength of the group in more ways than one. His friends needed him, and he had to be there for them.
"How are the others taking it?" Peter asked
"Well Wanda and Pietro have left with Logan to the X-Mansion, apparently Wanda is taking what is happening a lot worse than a lot of the others, T'Challa is recovering over at the Wakandan Embassy, Namor has left for Atlantis and Thor hasn't been in contact with the rest of us since the incident happened, all in all we are in a poor state and if Cyrus or someone just as powerful appears I'm not sure how we will be able to cope" Steve said
"We'll get through this Cap, were Avengers, if anyone can pull through this we can" Pete said
"I know Pete, but you have to admit things are getting much direr by the second" Steve sighed
"Be that as it may Cap, we can't afford to fall apart, just like you said"
"True, let's just hope we can recover from this soon" Steve sighed.
"I really don't see a way out of this for us Pete, I think we may have reached the end of our rope this time" Carol said as she and Peter walked down the street, managing to avoid the protesters right outside the mansion. Cap's speech about how dire things had gotten had really darkened her cloud since she was already in an impressionable state.
"Don't worry Carol, we'll get through this, we always will" Peter replied, pondering of a way to cheer Carol up. He then remembered to ask her what had her so bothered, he knew for a fact that someone as strong and experienced as Carol wouldn't get so shaken up even after witnessing something that they hadn't caused. Pete understood why Viktor was so shaken up, but he needed to know why Carol was acting so jittery.
"What's the matter?" he asked the blonde
"Excuse me?"
"You've been acting, off, ever since we got back from Chicago, so what's up?" Peter asked firmly
"…It's just that, well, when I saw Viktor…when he was fighting Cyrus…it reminded me of myself when I was Binary, only that…that…" Carol had trouble explaining. Peter decided it best that she sit down and try to explain, so he quickly spotted a bench for them to sit at before continuing.
"Go on, it's ok" Peter said with a caring tone
"…when I saw him, go out of control, it made me think that…if that could happen to someone as experienced as Viktor, then it could happen to anyone of us, me included. It just scares me now that I actually think about the power that we have, to go from being a hero to…to a monster. I don't know Pete, I just don't like knowing what could happen to us if we snapped like that" Carol admitted. The image of Viktor, the 3rd oldest Avenger and one of the team's most valuable members turning into something terrible was still ingrained into her memory.
"Viktor's powers work differently than ours, he's my best friend but at the end of the day he isn't a human, a Kree or even a Mutant, so if I were you Carol I wouldn't worry about it" Peter said with care.
"I can still worry though, we're In a fine mess after all" Carol said with a hint of despair in his voice.
"Don't talk like that, we just hit a rough patch. The two of us should know rough patches don't last forever" Peter replied, trying his best to keep the love of his life calm.
"Yeah, I suppose we have hit a few" Carol replied as Peter put an arm around her shoulder in a caring manner.
"I just worry about what will happen in the future, with everything going on I feel that something big is gonna happen, something bad" Carol continued, leaning her head on Peter's shoulder
"I wouldn't worry, afterall, we're superheroes. What's the worst that could happen?" Peter smiled
"You're right, besides we have a wedding to plan" Carol said with a smile just as bright as Peters.
"Oh yeah you're right, I almost forgot" Peter said with a convincing tone
"I'm sorry would you care to repeat that?" Carol asked with a glare
"Kidding, I'm kidding" Peter chuckled, still aware of the fact that Carol could easily thrash him within an inch of his life
"You had better Mr Parker, or you will be in for a thrashing so hard that a fight with the Sinister Six would seem pleasant afterwards" Carol smiled, putting a finger to Peter's chest
"I don't doubt it, future Mrs Parker" Peter smiled back
"Oh god, I'm gonna have a hard time getting used to that" Carol replied
"I can't imagine having two of my names changed" Peter said, making Carol realize that 'Ms Marvel' simply would not do when she became a Mrs
"How about you change your name? Sometimes it's the guy whose last name changes" Carol smirked
"As if I wasn't emasculated enough being shorter and physically weaker than my fiancé, now she wants me to change my name" Peter smirked back making Carol giggle in response
"I'm kidding Pete, I'm kidding" Carol giggled
"I'm starting to regret rubbing off on you" Peter joked
"Oh really? I thought you enjoyed rubbing off on me, especially at night" Carol suggestively whispered in Peter's ear. Peter defiantly had a talent at cheering her up.
"Hehe, now there's my girl" Peter chuckled as he hugged Carol closer to him
*Charles Xavier's school for the gifted, San Francisco
Charles Xavier was sitting on one of the many porches that his school had to offer, simply watching his students in the courtyard during their Sports classes, playing a game of baseball with Colossus where many of the younger students who seemed to be having the time of their lives.
The Bald Psychic however didn't have a smile on his face like he usually would when seeing his students enjoying themselves. Instead he had a look of worry and concern, not for the present safety of his students but what the future would bring for them.
"Pondering are we Charles?" Eric Lehnsherr asked as he approached him from behind. The Professor slightly turned to meet eyes with his friend as he stood beside him.
"Oh I know that look. Now Charles, you shouldn't keep things pent up like this, talk to me" Eric said putting a hand on Charles' shoulder.
"I worry Eric, I worry for all the children whose lives may be ruined by this tragedy" Charles said with a worried tone.
"I wouldn't worry old friend, anyone that tries to harm them would have to go through us" Eric said patting Charles' shoulder.
"I didn't say these children" Charles said as he turned his wheelchair and left the porch. Eric with an arched brow quickly caught up with the Professor before he left completely.
"Now Charles, I may have misheard you, but are you seriously more worried for the humans than us?" Eric asked as he caught up with the Professor.
"Decades since we met and you still haven't changed have you Eric? The law that the government will pass might just end up starting a war, and if that happens it won't matter if anyone is a Mutant or a Human, we will all be in the same shoes" Charles continued as he drove his wheelchair down the hallways of the mansion.
"Can you blame me Charles? Anti-Mutant protestors are all over the place now, because of what Brimstone did they see a chance to try and pass this insipid law on us. Look at it in any way you like Charles, but it doesn't change the fact that humans will always see us as lesser beings to be controlled, this law is just proof of that" Eric responded
"Not all Humans are like those who want this law passed Eric, remember that. Though I think we can both agree that this law will only bring chaos in its wake, though I hate to say it but we don't have much say in the matter as the American people's trust in Meta-humans in general is lower than ever with this mess, that reminds me how is Wanda holding up?" Charles asked the Master of Magnetism.
"She calmed down a while ago, I have never seen her like this before Charles, she couldn't stop shaking and she just wouldn't stop mumbling nonsensical phrases to herself…I'm worried for her Charles" Eric replied.
Charles understood how Eric was feeling, he had known how complicated the Master of Magnetism's relationship with his children was, especially knowing all they had went through. They had been allies, enemies, teammates but an actual Family was a rare occurrence.
But after what happened in Latveria and how he was not there for his daughter when she needed him most he swore he would make it up to the both of them. Right now he was finding it extremely hard to do that, especially with all that was going on.
"Well Eric, I could take a look at her if you are that worried" Charles offered
"Don't worry yourself Charles, I had Emma and Betsy have a look at her, they are with her and Pietro right now, you have enough on your shoulders as it is" Eric said
"Very thoughtful of you old friend" Charles smiled, he only hoped that Emma and Betsy could solve Wanda's problem.
Meanwhile in Wanda's room the Scarlet Witch was hugging her legs to her chest while her brother had his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Wanda looked terrible under the circumstances, she had bags under her eyes, her pupils where bloodshot and her hair was messy and unkempt, that and the fact that she couldn't seem to blink and was mumbling indescribable words and phrases to herself was not a reassuring fact.
"Wanda…Wanda look at me" Emma asked as the brunette as she sat on the side of the bed.
"Come on sis, its Emma, you can trust her, she's our friend" Pietro said quietly to his sister only to hear her reply with a mumbled sentence of what sounded like gibberish.
"I don't think you girls are gonna get much out of her" Logan said as he leaned against the door with a cigar in his mouth. The leader of the X-Force was wearing his Jacket and jeans as he had chosen to check up on his fellow Avenger and so far did not like what he was seeing.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Psylocke asked
"I ain't a mind reader Betsy, besides im not the guy you want to go to when Mental issues are the problem" Logan replied, speaking from past experience.
"Come on Wanda, you can trust me, just give me your hand" Emma asked as softly as she could, trying to get Wanda to co-operate. Forcing herself into a mind such as Wanda's was always a very risky and dangerous process so the best way to approach a situation like this was with Wanda's consent.
Emma, being a Psychic mutant was used to being in combat situations where she had to infiltrate the minds of Omega level Metahumans like the Hulk or Juggernaut when they went out of control, the only difference between then and here being that failing to bring down hulk would result in a few broken buildings and craters in the ground, but failing with Wanda could cause her to change and tear apart the fabric of reality.
That being a worst case scenario, if they were lucky it would be restricted to the earth alone
"Wanda…please…you can trust me" Emma spoke softly holding out both her hands in a caring gesture. The other reason why she wouldn't do it by force was that Wanda was a friend and deserved to be treated with care and respect in these matters.
Wanda lifted her head ever so slightly so that Emma could see her bloodshot eyes, the Scarlet Witch then slowly lifted one of her hands and placed it in Emma's hands. The Blonde mutant smiled and placed her left hand on top of Wanda's, both her hands now in contact with Wanda's.
"Now Wanda, relax and show me everything" Emma said as she slowly closed her eyes.
Wanda did as was told, though Relaxation was not what was on her mind as Emma was about to find out why. The Scarlet Witch opened her mind to the blonde Mutant, allowing her to tap into what was causing Wanda to be like this.
Emma and Wanda both went silent as the others watched, allowing the blonde Psychic to do her work. But as time went by Emma's hands started shaking ever so slightly and her face went from one of serene concentration to a furrowed brow, her breathing started getting faster paced and laboured. Wanda kept her bloodshot eyes fixed on Emma, her left eyelid twitching ever so slightly.
"Uh…Is she ok?" Pietro asked, Emma not looking so good as time went by.
"Time passes much quicker on the outside Pietro, it takes time to tap into someone's mind when they are as Complex as Wanda's" Psylocke replied having experienced mind reading herself.
"Are you sure Betsy? Cuz Emma really ain't looking too good" Logan said as he leaned away from the doorway.
The Mutant in questions' eyes suddenly flung open and Emma let out an ear piercing yell as she quickly let go of Wanda's hands and leapt off the bed, before the others knew it she had her back against the wall and her hands squeezing her own arms in a hug.
"Whoa! Emma are you ok!?" Logan shouted as he quickly ran to her side. The blonde Mutant was shaking like hell and she looked absolutely terrified.
"Emma look at me, Look at me! Dammit Betsy get Chuck and Scott here right now!" Logan ordered his fellow member of the X-Force after Emma failed to respond. Psylocke immediately ran off to go and fetch the Professor and Cyclops.
"Emma…LOOK AT ME DAMMIT!" Logan yelled at the top of his lungs, making Emma jolt her head in his direction, the Wolverine getting a good look at her terrified expression in the process. He then looked at back and forth between Emma and Wanda, pondering on what to do next before coming to a decision.
"Emma…show me, show me what you saw" Logan asked, no ordered his fellow Mutant.
"Logan are you crazy!? Did you see what just happened to Emma?!" Pietro exclaimed, still trying to comfort his sister whose state hadn't changed.
"Trust me Bub, I can take it, people have messed with my mind, so im used to it" Logan said as Emma slowly and raised her trembling hands and held them to the sides of his head.
"Show me Emma…show me everything" He asked softly as Emma squeezed her eyes shut and went to work.
Logan was used to having Psychics in his mind; the Professor would spend time helping him try to regain his memories, Jean, Betsy and Emma would also tap into Logan's mind when he suffered from his memory loss besides he had also suffered having his mind attacked by psychic enemies like Mastermind and Selene.
But when Emma tapped into Logan's mind he felt a striking and searing pain strike him in dead centre in his brain, it felt like someone had shoved two drills into both his ears and they were meeting in the middle. The pain wouldn't stop as the images began appearing in his head, the leader of the X-Force couldn't comprehend the amount of images going through his mind in such a short amount of time.
As one image flashed, it had faded away and another two came and gone before he could register the first one. The pain was searing and not to mention disorientating as hell, the pain would almost be too much to handle if Logan hadn't experienced Adamantium being bonded to his skeleton which was the single most painful experience of his life.
That didn't mean that this wasn't painful as hell
The images that Logan could make out where moving way too fast for him to comprehend until they began to slow down to a pace that he could actually keep up with. The images where still hard to make out but Logan could now see certain things flashing in his mind, only a few managed to burn their way into his mind.
An image of New York in flames, the buildings all burnt out husks with ashes raining from the sky
A shadowy figure walking down the burning streets, the fire at his back making him impossible to see what he looked like apart from a single glowing red right eye
Mjolnir lodged in the ground, the inscription glowing on the side of the hammer with a blood splatter on the side, the owner nowhere to be seen
A burnt out suit of Iron Man armour with horrific battle damage and ashes pouring from the tore open gaps
A Metallic Skeleton surrounded by a pile of ashes, the claws on said skeleton looking eerily familiar
Captain America's shield falling to the ground before a large armoured boot stamping on it, the shield breaking into pieces under the force sending shards flying off as the shield was broken to pieces
A flag bearing the sigil of the Nova Corps burning as it fell to the floor, bearing thousands of burnt out Nova Corps corpses
All was pitch black until suddenly a pair of red eyes opened, followed by another and another and another, before Logan knew it he saw thousands of pairs of glowing red eyes before the owner of the first pair was suddenly illuminated as glowing fiery red runes appeared all over their body, runes much more intricate and detailed than those of Viktor
As the vision seemed to be ending, the visions became blurrier and blurrier like the static of a television screen, but before the visions ceased Logan saw one more image.
A flag bearing the Sigil of a Clawed Gauntlet engulfed in flames
Suddenly Logan felt the sheer impact and pain of every last one of those visions hit him like a sack of bricks around the head, enough to knock him back into consciousness.
"Logan, Hey buddy are you okay?" asked a voice as Logan slowly opened his eyes, the groggy feeling as nothing compared to the intense migraine that the visions inflicted upon him, not to mention how blurry his vision had become. It must have been a powerful force behind these visions as his healing factor was taking its sweat time curing the migraine, not to mention how it affected a strong Psychic like Emma.
"Uh…god, did anyone catch the number of that train?" Logan asked, rubbing his forehead as he slowly sat up helped by his fellow Mutants.
Logan's vision then cleared to find he was sat on the floor, Psylocke and Magik were present by his sides and Cyclops was there sat a few feet away, with his arms caringly around Emma who seemed to have calmed down a bit.
"Logan, what in god's name where you thinking?" a voice asked behind him, the Wolverine turned to see the Professor and Magneto both standing there, the Professor in particular with an outrageous look on his face.
"Oh hey Chuck, didn't notice you there" Logan said as he rubbed his head, his headache still not cleared.
"You could have killed yourself! Do you have a death wish or are you just stupid?" Magneto asked with an aggressive tone.
"Hey I'm touched you care so much Eric, but in case you haven't noticed im pretty hard to kill" Logan said, standing up.
"Logan, Emma is only alive because of her mental defences as a Psychic, the sheer force of whatever she transferred to you could have fried your brain stem, and I doubt your healing factor would help you much then!" Charles said with an outraged tone.
"Oh that reminds me, how are Emma and Wanda?" Logan asked paying the Professor no mind, his migraine now fully healed
"Emma is fine, she is simply in shock, but I don't know for how much longer Wanda will be…like that" Scott explained
"Wanda will be fine, she always pulls through" Pietro said, caringly holding onto his still trembling sister.
"Get Emma to her room Scott, she could use some rest, Illyana you help him" Charles asked, the red visor wearing Mutant almost instantly helping his love from the ground, Magik helping him carry her out of the room.
"Now Logan I know that you did that because you thought it would be a good idea, but you could have died even If Emma hadn't held back" Charles continued
"Then I guess I'll have to thank her later" Logan continued as he dusted off his jacket
"Logan this devil may care attitude of yours will be the death of you one of these days"
"Chuck come on, im fine, if I died then I might just listen but I aint, so let it go and don't get your brief's in a knot" Logan said as he put a hand on Charles' shoulder
"Besides I've had much worse" Logan said giving Magneto a look, most likely referring to when Eric tore the Adamantium out of his body that one time. Even though Logan and Eric were by all means fine with each other, there were still a few events that left Logan a bit pissed off at him.
"Anyway, I think I could use a drink after that" Logan said, leaving the room, Charles immediately turned in his wheelchair and began following Logan. Eric looked to his children asking "If anything happens to her, you come and get me alright?" the Master of Magnetism asked his son
"I will dad" Pietro nodded at his Father when he turned to follow Logan and the Professor
"Did you see anything when you were unconscious Logan?" Charles asked as he and Eric followed the leader of the X-Force.
"A few things Chuck, images, visions of a lot of weird and screwed up stuff. I'm still trying to make sense of all of it" Logan explained as he entered the kitchen. The Canadian Mutant went straight for the fridge to find one of his beloved Six Packs, Charles was against Logan storing his beer in the fridge but after a couple of years of Logan's stubborn behaviour he simply let the Mutant have his way.
"Did you see anything familiar in those visions?" The Bald Mutant asked the Wolverine as he took a swig of a beer bottle.
"A couple things, it's just a little bit mixed up like TV static right now, I doubt you would be able to make sense of it Professor" Logan said before taking another swig.
"Be that as it may, I would feel more comfortable if you had a rest, the strain that put on your mind must have been massive to knock you of all people unconscious" Charles asked
"Alright, alright ill have a lie down and once im back to 100% you can take a look in my noggin and see what's going on in there" Logan suggested before he finally downed the bottle.
"Besides I think we may need someone to help with Wanda's condition" Eric added
"Why's that? Wouldn't Charles be able to do it? He is the most powerful Psychic on the planet right now" Logan said
"Thank you for the compliment Logan, but I'm afraid if Emma ended up in that state after connecting with Wanda, I wouldn't be of that much use" Charles confessed, sure if he forced his way into her mind he may make some progress, but that his sheer mental power might kill her if he tried that.
"I guess Richards and Hank could take a look at her, jeez those two are gonna be busy between Wanda, Vik and the other Avengers" Logan chuckled
Viktor slowly and steadily put his right foot down on the ground before he turned slowly on his bed in order to place his left foot down over the edge of his bed. The Red eyed Avenger had regained control of his waist and thighs, yet his legs and feet where still numb from the drugs that he had been administered.
"Slowly does it" Laura said as she helped Viktor get his feet to touch down on the floor. "Are you sure you want to get out of bed? Hank said that…" Laura began only for Viktor to interrupt her
"Laura, there is one thing I know for sure, and it's that I can't stand one more minute in this God Dammed bed, that and I smell" Viktor said as he looked to Laura, the bags under his eyes and unkempt hair really made him look like hell.
"Ok, just take it easy ok?" Laura asked as Viktor put an arm around her shoulder to help him balance as he sat up off his bed.
Viktor stumbled at first as it was dam hard standing straight when everything below the Knees was numb, even if you were a Metahuman. Laura helped as best she could, but at the end of the day Viktor was about 650 pounds of pure muscle, making him very hard to support when he wasn't steady.
"Vik, are you sure you're ready? I mean it's fine if you…"
"Laura…I am not going to discuss this, I need to get out of this room…now" Viktor replied with a firm tone.
"Alright, just don't get too overzealous alright?" Laura said as she helped Viktor slowly but surely make it to the door. Viktor couldn't take this feeling for much longer, the feeling of weakness, the feeling that he was the one that needed help. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he was back to 100% the better; it also meant he wouldn't have to deal with the nightmares as frequently.
Once Laura helped Viktor out of the room, he took his arm from around her and leaned it against the closest wall. The way that Viktor did this made it look like he lost his balance meaning that Laura started to worry "Oh, Viktor are you ok?" she asked "I'm fine, I can make my way to the bathroom just fine by myself" Viktor said, putting on a brave face.
"Are you sure? Because it doesn't look like you can stand straight" Laura asked with concern
"Laura…I'm fine, if I can't make it to the bathroom by myself then how the hell am I going to get back to fighting high power Metahumans?" Viktor replied, putting on a smile to try to convince Laura that he was able.
"Alright, just take it easy ok?" Laura asked
"I'll try, but no promises" Viktor replied as he began to slowly make his way to the Bathroom, keeping his left hand on the wall to steady himself as he walked down the hallway. Each step was difficult and like crossing a canyon without flying In terms of difficulty for the Red eyed Avenger.
Every step gave Viktor time to think about where he had found himself, one might have thought that the main thought dominating his mind would be the disaster he helped cause in Chicago, but that thought was secondary compared to the very thought that was weighing him down.
He had the answers to the questions that plagued him all of his 950 years of life within arm's reach, Cyrus, the only being he had met in 9 and a half centuries that was even remotely like him. Whatever Cyrus was he knew one thing for certain, he had the answers to Viktor's questions, who he was, where he came from, why he was born, why he was the only creature of his kind on this planet.
Cyrus and his answers where within reach, and just when Viktor thought he would finally find out what he was, his answers vanished leaving nothing but a burnt out city and a field of ashes, the story of his life. The absolute failure that Viktor felt was like nothing anyone on the face of the earth could understand, how could they? He had learned nothing and the pain from that was almost unbearable, if he was not confined to the mansion he would be blasting energy shots at whatever he could find, and take his infinite frustration out on any Metahuman supervillains he could find.
With all these thoughts going through his mind he didn't even notice that he had reached the bathroom until his left hand reached into the gap. He almost fell into the room if he hadn't grabbed the frame at the last second.
"Shit...God…Hahaha, bastard feet" Viktor chuckled as he regained his balance
"CAW!CAW!" Callus crowed, Viktor turned to see his faithful crow perched on the sink with his head cocked to the side
"I would like to see you try and keep your balance without feeling in your legs" Viktor retorted as he slowly and steadily stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
"I could do with a wash" Viktor murmured as he took a sniff of himself. Callus flew up and perched himself on top of the shower curtain as Viktor steadied himself on the sink. The red eyed Metahuman took off the medical robe he was wearing to reveal his scarred torso in the mirror above the sink.
Viktor looked at his torso in the mirror and the myriad of scars adorning his muscular figure. True he couldn't remember how he had gotten half of the scars on his chest, but some held special memories.
He traced one particular long scar on his abdomen where Zemo stabbed him during his first meeting with the Avengers, he remembered how he leapt In front of Jess without a moment's notice to block Zemo's reinforced sword blade.
It was the scar that made him an Avenger
The only scars on his left shoulder were two very similar shaped ones, he then remembered that these scars where given to him by Laura's genetic brother, Daken during the Master's attack on New York. When Daken tried to kill his sister, Viktor leapt to her rescue and fought both him and an enraged Kurse simultaneously.
It may not have been his proudest moment, having a Clawed Mutant slice and stab at him while a colossal Dark Elf kicked the shit out of him. But he kept Laura safe during that time, and that was enough for him.
"CAW!CAW" Callus squawked at Viktor
"I know…I…I shouldn't blame myself, but I still caused it, even if I didn't mean it" Viktor replied to his crow whom flew off of the top of the shower curtain and landed on his shoulder
"Caw, Caw" Callus crowed, quitter this time
"…You know, I wonder how the hell I would have gotten this far in life without you" Viktor chuckled in response to his crow. The Black feathered Crow ruffled his feathers with his beak before he flew back up onto the shower curtain and let a loud "CAW"
"Hey, come on, I don't smell THAT bad" Viktor replied before he took a sniff of himself, as soon as Viktor filled his nostrils he recoiled
"Caw!" Callus cawed at him
"…Be that as it may, you don't have to be a dick about it"
*Unknown Location
Two black clad men wearing protective Helmets and gear ran at the figure standing in the spotlight. The man standing in the middle of the room was bare chested and was holding two advanced looking Kendo swords (Japanese training swords), one in each hand. He wore metal boots and wrappings on his hands as his gleaming silver hair cascaded down his shoulders.
The two black clad men attacked with their Kendo sticks at both sides, but the Platinum blonde moved lightning fast and deflected their attacks, landing a devastating strike to the first man's head with his kendo sword, sending him spinning before crashing to the floor.
The second man two handed his Kendo sword and attacked with great speed and strength but the bare chested man blocked every single hit with little difficulty before locking Kendo swords with him.
"Nice moves…" Cyrus said, his red eyes glowing brightly
"…But NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" he bellowed before withdrawing his kendo swords and leaping up to roundhouse kick the man in the face, with such speed that he managed to kick him in the gut before he even hit the ground.
"More" Cyrus said as he flourished his kendo swords, another 3 men in black gear emerged, flourishing their Kendo swords, attacking Cyrus. The silver haired samurai dodged and ducked underneath their attacks, he swung his Kendo swords with such strength that when he hit the first man in the ribs he heard a harsh snapping sound.
Cyrus then proceeded to swing his Kendo swords making the second man fall to the floor as Cyrus whacked his legs from under him, kicking him in the face, knocking him unconscious before turning to the third man who swung his kendo stick only for Cyrus to block it with his left Kendo stick so he could swing his other kendo sword in an upwards arc sending the man to the floor in a backflip like motion with a crash.
"More!" Cyrus said, louder and more aggressive this time in his tone.
Around 6 men emerged this time, and just like before Cyrus had no trouble manoeuvring his way around their attacks and sending them to the floor with his sword skills. The Silver haired Samurai's movements were too quick and concentrated for the men to follow as he quickly put them on their arses with his expert swordsmanship.
"More!" He shouted this time, his eyes glowing a deeper shade of red
8 men this time, and Cyrus put them down like they were nothing
"More!" he shouted even louder, his voice echoing in the room as his grip on his Kendo Swords tightened
10 men didn't even manage to slow him down as only one man managed to hit him with a Kendo stick, only to get hurdled into the nearest wall with an armoured boot plunged into his gut.
"MORE!" Cyrus bellowed at the top of his lungs as he threw his left Kendo stick at the first of the next group of 13 men to try and fight him, the black clad man got the Kendo stick full force in the face, knocking him unconscious.
Cyrus was now twice as dangerous as he concentrated his strength into using one sword, two handing it like he would his Katana. The black clad men fell twice as fast as Cyrus beat them senseless with his sword skills.
Cyrus was able to fight to some extent as unlike Viktor he didn't have painkilling drugs making him immobile, the downside of this was that the pain running through his body would be unbearable to many of the strongest Meta-humans, but Cyrus had experienced pain worse than anything physical could bring.
"GODDAMMIT MORE!" Cyrus roared, his voice distorting the slightest bit as he threw his sword away and switched to close quarters combat. He blocked the sword attacks with his forearms and really went at the men attacking him, beating them down with his bare fists with skill and strength.
But Cyrus was not thinking about beating up the men in front of him, which was pure muscle instinct from the many centuries of combat he had experienced, we was thinking of the reasons why he hated the Avenger known as Viktor, or whatever the hell he was calling himself these days.
He was channelling all of his rage and aggression into his attacks as he broke open the protective gear of the men fighting him, it was no longer a fight, it was simply Cyrus letting off some steam as he beat the men attacking him into unconsciousness.
"MORE!" Cyrus screamed in a distorted voice as he right hooked a man so hard that it completely shattered his protective helmet into pieces. One the man hit the ground, it was clear that he had least got a concussion or a broken jaw, especially when blood was leaking from his broken helm. Luckily Cyrus' race was much more durable to such injury than humans were. Sweat ran down Cyrus's brow as the droplets glistened against his scar ridden torso, the scars being proof of his presence on many a battlefield.
*clap, clap, clap
"Bravo, Bravo, I see that the injuries you sustained haven't slowed you down a bit" a very well-spoken synthetic sounding voice said from the shadows.
A familiar figure then came into the light and approached Cyrus, a man about Cyrus' height, wearing a black variant of Cyrus' armour with his helmet covering his face, hence the synthetic sound of his voice, he also had a black cloak cascading down his back.
By his sides where two other men whom were shorter, the man to his right was about 6'5 with no cape and much more lightweight armour, he also had is helmet down, a red glowing visor and a Sword with an unusually long handle sheathed on his back.
The other man was at the very most 6 foot, like the other man he wore a lightweight armoured suit with no cloak and the helm down with glowing red visor. Unlike the other however he had two very strange looking armguards that had five long claw-like blades sheathed on them.
"I wouldn't call beating the shit out of the majority of our men a reason for a Bravo" the shorter man said with a gruff voice
"Perhaps if you trained them better, I could actually work up a sweat" Cyrus replied, wiping the sweat from his brow
"They aren't abominations like you Cyrus; they weren't born from a fucking test tube" the short man growled
"At least I wasn't born in a cave like you" Cyrus retorted making the shorter man growl in anger.
"You want your entrails all over the walls boy? Because I can make that happen" he growled at Cyrus. The Silver haired Samurai only walked closer and got within an inch of the shorter man's face and said "I would like to see you try"
"Easy, you two" the cloak wearing man said with authority in his voice. The shorter man huffed before backing off, but Cyrus backed off at his own pace.
"He does have a point though Cyrus, we need every man we have right now, and having you kick seven shades out of them isn't helping. You know how hard it is getting more men here" the cloaked man said
"I understand, but you know I am worth a thousand of these guys, you need me more than anyone else" Cyrus replied, he noticed the shorter man had tensed up a bit, he certainly didn't like Cyrus acting superior in front of him.
"I will admit you are important Cyrus, but you will not be needed for the next stage of the plan. Your mission now is to recover and think of what you will do to…'Viktor' when you meet him again" the cloaked man said, his voice smooth as silk and tone as slippery as a serpent.
He was certainly a confident speaker
"I have been thinking about that for centuries Gregor, don't you worry about that" Cyrus replied
"Oh and by the way, your armour will need some time to be repaired, yet another reason for you to stay put" the man known as Gregor replied as he was about to turn and leave. But before he even began to make progress he suddenly turned again and said "Oh I almost forgot to ask…"
"What do you think about the new suits?" the cloaked man asked as he pointed to a glass cabinet on the wall. Cyrus walked closer and inspected the suit of armour inside the cabinet.
"It's very nice Gregor, not my taste though" Cyrus said
"I thought not, though the colour is defiantly you" Gregor replied with a smirk behind his helmet as he walked off into the shadows, leaving Cyrus looking at the suit of armour. A red suit of combat armour with a logo imprinted on the shoulder plate.
The logo of a red gauntlet…engulfed in flames
Hope everyone enjoyed that, I sure as hell was stumped for the longest figuring out how to write this chapter and MAN do I hope it turned out well.
Oh and before anyone asks me this, YES I have heard about the changes Marvel are doing to Thor and Captain America ETC, and NO this will NOT affect my story in any way, I do not change the direction of my story because of something Marvel are doing that don't particularly agree with.
Now like always leave what you thought in the form of a Review or PM
And taking a change from the usual type of question I ask, I will ask this one out of respect for the Late Great Robin Williams:
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ROBIN WILLIAMS MOVIE/STAND-UP ROUTINE?
Now as always dudes and dudettes, this is Dakkaman777 saying Thanks for reading!