CHAPTER 1
Mazes and Monsters.
Part 2
"You don't look like Morlock".
"That’s because I'm not one of them, sweet cheeks, I just came to live here because it was too hot to stay on the surface. For your information, our Fearless Leader isn't Morlock too," Dave Landers sighed in exhaustion, but his weary eyes were glinting in anticipation. "Is this it? No more tin cans?"
A rmor-clad woman shrugged her shoulders, "All the others were beyond repair".
"Thank God! My arms are killing me! I haven't been working out so much since the crash landing in Savage Land! "
Fourteen Prowlers and five Trackers, when she needed three times more for the plan, but that’s all she could do for now.
Whatever reason Morlocks had to keep the remains of the destroyed Sentinels, they were reasonable enough sense and never tried to activate them. You can’t switch on the killer robots without reprogramming them first, and Morlocks weren’t hackers. Yelena wasn't much of a hacker too, but her suit provided her all the software she needed... well, in theory.
They spent too much of precious time repairing the Sentinels. She didn't want to report to Nightblade that he can forget about her part of a plan because she wasn't able to pass through the firewalls.
Crimson Dynamo looked down the closest Prowler. Smaller robot can be easier to deal with in case something goes wrong.
INITIATING NANOTECH PROBE.
Landers wiped the forehead, "Are you sure that it's safe?"
"You can leave if you want".
"I'm staying, Lena – may I call you Lena? I want to be here if we'll have to put this thing down," Dave answered stoically, his eyes fixed on Sentinel as he upholstered his guns.
Whatever floats your boat, Casanova.
ALTERNATE POWER SOURCE ACTIVATED. SYSTEM EFFICIENCY: 13% AND CLIMBING.
"Landers, were you just checking me out?"
"I can’t help it. Why is it that the women in power armor are always so good-looking?"
Yelena rolled her eyes, "Me and who else?"
"Justine Hammer, the Iron Maiden, black sheep in her family. Or rather a white sheep, considering what kind of man her Daddy was".
FULL RECHARGE IN 7 MINUTES.
"Dave?"
"Yes, Lena?"
"What does BT logo stand for?"
"BT means BannerTech. Banner," the name sounded like a curse, all the thoughts about flirting clearly left Dave's head at the sound of it. "Who do you think started the war?"
"You tell me. I'm kinda new in your world".
"Sorry, I keep forgetting this".
SCANNING THE SYSTEM... PLEASE, WAIT...
Yelena was keeping an eye on the progress, while listening to Landers' tall tale. According to him, the alternative Bruce Banner wasn't an eternal fugitive, but a cross between Bill Gates, Kalashnikov and Van Helsing. When Major Glenn Talbot was caught in explosion and turned into the ugly Thing, he went on rampage, killing Bruce's bride Elisabeth Ross in process. Banner allied with his father-in-law General "Thunderbolt" Ross and spent ten years chasing after Talbot through the world and creating weapons capable of killing The Thing. When the monster was dead and buried, Bruce Banner was one the world's greatest experts on advanced weapons, and he earned a fortune on military contracts.
BANNERTECH SOFTWARE DETECTED. STATUS – INACTIVE.
But man’s hatred was insatiable. Banner wrote ‘Poisonous Source’, the book that became a bestseller, and led to a new wave of anti-mutant hysteria. Politics, one by one, jumped on Let’s Get Rid of Supers Bandwagon. Mutant Registration Act had passed by Congress, soon followed by Superhuman Registration Act. Avengers fought against the Act, so did X-Men, but they were outnumbered. Gray Company were the last who stand and took the fight.
ERAZE BANNERTECH SOFTWARE (Y / N)?
"Gray Company?"
"You don't have Gray Company in your world?"
Yelena shook her head.
"It’s your loss. Cliff notes version - Old Nick Fury started feeling nostalgic about the times when he led Howling Commandos. So he created a Foreign Legion for the weirdoes and freaks of nature, subordinated personally to him. Mutants, cyborgs, enhanced humans, super-soldiers, aliens, you name it. Holy Mother of God, we even had a half-vampire and a rogue Skrull who claimed that he was a prince".
"Wait, you served in Gray Company? But you…"
"Don't let my charming personality fool you, pumpkin. Hitler attacked Poland when I was twelve. I wish it was a diet and fitness keeping me in shape, but the ugly truth is that I have the aging-suppression factor circling in my veins. If it fails, I'll start aging ten years a day, like Kassandra in Warlock movie, with predicable results".
ERAZING BANNERTECH SOFTWARE IN PROGRESS.
"Ah, Gray Company, the best thirty years in my life! Fury wanted us to be the first line of defense against all kinds of 'super' threats. Atlanteans sinking out submarines? Call Gray Company. Kree want to turn the Earth into a military base? Call Gray Company. Not to mention huge paychecks and the best weapons and Uncle Sam could afford".
ERAZING BANNERTECH SOFTWARE COMPLETED.
"What about the Avengers? I thought they were gathered to deal with that kind of stuff?"
"Avengers? Are you kidding me? Avengers were a publicity stunt started by Frank Roosevelt. Hitler was bragging about 'supermen', can you think of better answer to his propaganda?"
"Show him the real-life 'supermen'?"
"Exactly".
UPLOAD STANETECH SOFTWARE (Y / N)?
"First generation of Avengers knew exactly what they are, but kept silence. It’s those who came later who started deluding themselves into believing that they are saving the world, one supervillain at a time. But there’s no way they were equipped to deal with the real threats".
UPLOADING STANETECH SOFTWARE COMPLETED. ACTIVATE PROWLER UNIT #020721 (Y / N)?
Prowler came to life, rising up on spidery mechanical legs. Dave Landers tensed, but Yelena's smiled and patted Sentinel's ugly head.
"He is not biting, Dave," she shot him a triumphant look. "So, what do you think? Not bad for a blonde?"
"Well, now I see that you could handle it alone. Sorry for underestimating you. But..."
"Better safe than sorry," she finished for him. "And let me give you some good advice. If you want to stay at my good graces, never ask me to surrender".
"I'll do my best to keep it in mind".
* * * A few hours earlier * * *
"I’m Jason Howlett, but you can call me Nightblade. Surrender!"
Yelena Belova felt anger boiling within.
Surrender? If this blue Chewbacca thinks he can order her around...
"Jason Howlett?" the teenage witch piped in. "As in..."
Crimson Dynamo elbowed her and mouthed, "Not now!"
Blue furry Morlock repeated, "I'm waiting. You have twenty seconds to surrender, or we'll start shooting".
Yelena raised her hand, pulse cannon in full-automatic mode.
"I have a counter-offer for you, comrade. You have twenty seconds to lower the guns, or I'll bring the ceiling down on your ugly mugs. My armor is composed of carbonadium alloy, so I can withstand a cave-in. I can say the same about my fellow supers, but I bet that falling rocks are bad for the health of Morlocks. Are you ready to lose half of your army to get rid of us?"
She was keeping an eye on Howlett, ready to fire if he tried something. He didn't look like a kamikaze, but who knows? These people aren't called Morlocks for nothing.
"Ten seconds. Lower the guns and let's talk. Seven seconds, six, five, four..."
"Sssstop!"
Tall grey-skinned Morlock with no hair and yellow eyes stepped forward, his skeletal hand pointed out at Darwin.
"Thissss one issss a mutant".
* * *
"And you came here to save Callisto? Forgive my lack of faith, but it sounds too good to be true".
A system of large caverns served as a settlement of Morlock community. Raza Longknife decided to consider that they were allowed in as a sign of trust.
Leaving the explanations to Darwin, former Starjammer figured out that it's an appropriate time to evaluate his new companions.
Crimson Dynamo was talented in aerial combat, and the incident with Morlocks proved that she can think on her feet. But what does the suit of the armor mean for this woman - a weapon, an instrument or a crutch? And what can happen if she loses the suit?
Looking at Darwin he remembered the mutant he met when X-Men and Starjammers tried to save Majestrix Lilandra from Death Commandos. That Darwin was brave and honorable, he sometimes acted as a voice of reason for his powerful, but unstable friend Vulcan. Raza wondered what kind of life could turn Darwin into a sworn enemy of X-Men and give him a title of murderer.
Rockman was, as Christopher Summers could say, a colossus on feet of clay. Raza, knowing by his own experience what it's like to lose everything, wished the underground warrior to find his Ch'od and Hepzibah and to fill the void in his soul.
The young magic user was a mystery. Earthlings were a strange race, but their practitioners of magic made even the mutants look simple.
And the weakest link in the chain was Captain Spider. Arrogant, self-centered, immature – how did he ended up wearing the mask and suit in the first place? Was it purely because of thirst for fame or was there something else?
Raza couldn't call Exiles his team; neither could he trust them to cover his back in the battle. Trust must be earned, and the word " team " means the spirit of fellowship, the connection he only felt when he was a part of Starjammer crew.
"We've been told that we must save Callisto. That's all. No more clues".
Nightblade wanted to see something sharp, but instead he said, "You want to know what happened to Callisto? What the Hell, why not? If you were spies, you’d think of better story; not that there’s something worth spying on down there. She was kidnapped by Mole Man".
Raza saw the signs of recognition in the eyes of young sorceress. If she dealt with the alternate Mole Man, it can be useful.
"Our patrols started to disappear. No blood, no signs of struggle, they simply vanished, one by one".
Exiles waited, nobody asked questions seeing the deadly serious face of Jason Howlett. Even Flash kept silence.
"It was Mole Man’s doing. He created brainwashing drug and turned Morlocks he kidnapped into his personal army, as if Moloids weren’t enough. He wants to rule the Subterrania, that’s why he kidnapped Callisto and wants to execute her", Nightblade growled, "He sent me an invitation - a lock of hair and one of her knives as a proof. He wants me to come to rescue. It’s a trap, and he knows that I know it," Nightblade growled again, "You want to save Callisto? Find a way to do it without being trapped or forced to kill our own people".
Nico Minoru responded, "Miracles aren't my in my spell book, but I'm sure we'll think of something together".
* * *
Callisto sat in a corner of a cell, hugging her knees. She was never claustrophobic, not like that weakling Ororo Monroe, but the cell was uncomfortable even for the leader of Morlocks.
She missed them so much! Caliban and Melek, Lorelei and Shatter, Cybelle and Scaleface. And Jason. Especially Jason.
What a shallow woman his mother was! She fought for mutant supremacy, and yet she favored Graydon over Jason, because Graydon could pass for a human. Why couldn’t she see how much Jason was worth ? Why it took an old cynical officer/spy to see it?
Oh, Jason, don’t do anything stupid. Without you everything is hopeless.
Callisto hated the defeatist attitude, but couldn’t see how the remaining Morlocks could save her. Mole Man thought about everything. Not bad for a midget with delusions of grandeur.
If Jason comes after her, he'd be killed. Or worse, captured and turned into Mole Man's mindless puppet. What a horrible fate for a warrior and a son of a warrior!
"Please, let me die," she prayed.
To be continued...
CHAPTER 3
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