Marvel Iron Age: Lady Deathstrike # 16
Author Note: Some thanks goes tofor some of the dialogue. Anyway Lady Deathstrike vs. Ares! Enjoy!
The streets of Doomstadt:
It was the middle of the night when she snuck out of the apartment. Carol’s guards had just gone into rotation and didn’t notice her absence. Kylie and Kikone were asleep and they would never have heard her slip out. She dressed in her combat uniform and had her sword tied to her back with a gun holstered on her side.
After the Wide Awake and the Thanos attack, Doomstadt had hundreds of opportunistic criminals wandering about the dark; the prefect hunting ground for Ngumi. She couldn’t take it anymore. Dark thoughts permeated in her mind at every waking moment. The promise of battle and blood were too sweet to ignore.
“Hey Ron, look at that!”
She watched a group of thugs following these two girls around a particularly shady part of the city. “Dumb kids.” Ngumi thought as a group of five was pushing them into a dark alley. “I see it Don! Chicken legs! Slice n’ dice!”
Ngumi crept up behind them. She unsheathed her sword swiftly and jabbed it through the back of the boy at the center of the group’s formation. She spun around and landed a round house kick to the jaw of the boy next to her, knocking him to the ground. There was one more boy in front of her, leaving just three of the thugs in the fight. She spun around the one in front of her while one more charged her from behind with a knife. She allowed the charging thug to ram into his friend; lodging his own knife in his chest.
The boy doubled forward in pain. Leaving Ngumi and opening to land a left hook on the knife wielding boy. He stumbled back; Ngumi tossed the limp body of her human shield aside and went after the thug, she ducked low, she nailed him with a hard upper cut, and continued with a knee to his midsection which bent him over her knee. She then brought her hands down to both sides of his head and with a quick twist his neck snapped with a violent Crack!
This only left two. “Oh god!” The boy said cowering against the brick wall. Ngumi smiled, taking notice on the wet spot spreading on the boys pants.
She grabbed her sword and pulled it out of the corpse it was currently residing. The body next to it writhed in pain. “Argh! I fink ou broh…mmm…m’aw!” He cried.
Ngumi said nothing as she bent down and slid the length of her blade across the boy’s throat. “You pegged, Don! Don’t kill me!”
A harsh shriek came from the end of the alley where the two girls were. They stood there petrified unable to speak. “Great now I just traumatized them. Ngumi muttered as she raised her sword to the other thug. “I just killed all your friends in less than thirty seconds, Mr. Peebody.”
“But you are going to stay scared aren’t you boy?” Ngumi questioned. She wanted to keep him alive as a message to whatever gang he hailed from. She smiled when the tip of her blade meet his throat, her heart raced when blood trickled down his neck. She gasped when her blade dug into his throat and hit the brick wall behind him. She really didn’t care about messages at this point.
“That felt good.” Ngumi whispered darkly as she whipped the gore off her sword with a flick of her wrist. She looked at the two girls who were still in the alley as she sheathed her sword. “Never be prey to little bastards like these again.” She ordered as she left the alley like nothing happened.
Ngumi’s Apartment:
“Ngumi you look amazing this morning!” Janis Snow, Ngumi’s appointed psychiatrist exclaimed in a low whisper. “You are glowing!”
Ngumi was stretched out on the couch and smiled as she remembered last night’s conquest. “Aunty Gumi’s been real happy lately!” Kiki said as Kylie followed close behind from their room in the back to the kitchen.
Janis got down on her knees in front of Ngumi and leaned in close to her face. “I know you’ve been violating your house arrest every night since last week when we talked.” Janis winked. “Is it a guy?”
Ngumi smiled and the girls giggled in the kitchen. “Aunty Gumi doesn’t like boys!” Kylie said before getting what must have been an elbow to her arm from Kiki.”Ouch!”
Kiki yelled. “Shut up!”
“Oh she doesn’t?” Janis said with a new piqued interest. “She hasn’t been sneaking off to see me, soooo… who is the lucky gal?”
Ngumi sat up. She thought about all the ways she could answer and decided it was best not to answer. “Alright. But Queen Carol is gonna be really pissed if you keep doing it and I don’t find out why.”
“Then she can ask me herself if she’d like to know.” Ngumi answered.
“Uh huh.” Janis said. “Well today I’d like it if the girls and I had a private session, so you have to get lost.”
“What?” Ngumi had a flicker of rage ignite in her. Carol had her locked up in this house at all times and now is pulling her away. For what?
“Not my decision. Besides the Queen ordered it and I am but a humble servant.” Janis said as she handed Ngumi a data pad with a note from Carol Danvers attached.
We need to talk about these nightly escapades of yours. I will see you at the throne room. Snow will hold your children in a private session while we have our discussion. Thank you, Agent Takada.
Queen Danvers
Throne Room of
Queen Carol Danvers:
Ngumi walked into the throne room with sword in hand. A soldier had ordered her to leave it, but Janis had ordered him to allow her to carry it. Ngumi remembered to ask her why she had so much authority as her psychiatrist later. She marched down the long hall to the throne. Carol wasn’t there but a large mountain of a man was there. “As Minister of War in the New Latverian court I demand you drop that weapon where you stand girl.”
“Ares I’m having a good day. Do not make it an even better one by seeing if you really are immortal.” Ngumi said with a bit of distaste at the thought of an everlasting life when she takes so much pleasure at ending it. She had seen his face on reports of his little revolt on the U.S.'s east coast. She also remembered him being captured, but before that he was getting thrown around by Distain. “Where is Carol? She wanted to see me?”
“She is running late. I wanted to see this myself.” The war god said gruffly. "I was expecting someone more impressive," he replied "Not some rake like girl with a butter knife."
“And I thought Carol would have picked someone other than an old Greek whose only reputation in this century is leading a poorly planned and failed revolt!” Ngumi snapped. Something about Ares just got under her skin. She decided it must be his immortality or his condescension
Ares’ seethed at the reminder. The War God grabbed the war axe strapped to his back. Seeing his growing agitation she went on and with a chuckle in her voice she said, “I can’t rip you in half like Sentry did but if you want a fight,” Ngumi unsheathed her blade and stood her ground away from the throne. “I can accommodate.”
That last reminder of defeat put Ares over the deep end and he bounded after Ngumi from his place beside the throne. War axe in hand and the gap between the two warriors closed fast, Ngumi rolled to the side. The axe smashed down just in front of her. Ngumi while on her back pushed herself as hard as she could off the floor slide and shot her legs up to kick Ares in the face. “Argh!” Ares grunted as he recoiled from the connection.
Ngumi pressed her attack. She kneed him in the groin and gouged one of his eyes with the butt of her sword. She danced around him as she went to thrust her sword forward into Ares’s back. “Shii—“Faster than she could stop herself Ares twisted around and smacked the flat end of her blade and put her in a head lock as momentum carried her forward into his massive arms.
“Wench!” He hissed as he flung her away with ease into a nearby marble pillar with her sword crashing down next to her.
Ngumi had the wind knocked out of her. She stayed calm and picked herself off the floor. Ares yanked his axe from the ground and charged after Ngumi like her previous attacks did nothing. Ngumi let him get close, close enough for the axe to wiz passed her head as she dodged an incoming blow that lodged the axe into the pillar.
Ngumi was behind the angry War God. She didn’t make a sound when she rolled low and slashed the god’s Achilles tendons open, making him fall to his knees. Ares screamed in pain as he lost his balance and fell grasping at pillar.
“ENOUGH!”
Ares turned his head enough to see the tip of Ngumi’s sword inches from his head and the queen herself pulling Ngumi’s arm with one hand and holding the blade in place with the other. “This fight is over!” Carol ordered glaring at both Ares and Ngumi. “Ares leave us.”
Ngumi pulled her sword back and sheathed it. Ares stood up, his injuries had already started to heal. “You play a dangerous game girl.”Ares growled at Ngumi as he hobbled off, leaving his axe behind.
Ngumi let out a hefty sigh and rubbed her back. “You wanted to see me your majesty?” Ngumi said while trying not to sound snide, but failing.
"Snow's report on you doesn't look promising." Carol said trying to keep from lashing out at the swords-woman. “She says your opening up to her. But you remain… elusive.”
“Ask me if I give a f#!% !” Ngumi swore.
Carol stood in front of Ngumi and was shocked. She had almost forgotten some people knew how to swear properly. “Ngumi let me help you.”
“Don’t need it.”Ngumi said getting in Carols face with a sharp glare that was instantly returned. “I’ve never wanted it.”
Carol crossed her arms and squeezed tight to avoid strangling the former shield agent. “Ngumi I have a country to rule on the verge of collapse, one of Essex’s big f&$# up monsters can apparently be killed only by Thor and then I have to deal with you playing Punisher in the streets at night!”
“Are you going to tell me to stop?” Ngumi questioned daring to get even closer to Carol. Both women were worked up and in each other’s faces now.
Carol closed her eyes and held her arms tight. “Ngumi…” She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “I want you to keep doing what you’re doing. Hell I’m even going to allow you to wander the city with your kids during the day and at night as long as you conceal your identity you can go around cutting these street gangs in half. Just do not make this my problem.” Carol ordered. Carol walked to her throne and sat in it. Ngumi said nothing as she turned to take her leave as well.
To be continued
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