Marvel Mayhem: American Tyrant #6

Marvel Mayhem: American Tyrant #6

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Mini HelicarrierThe Juliet, Airspace over Stamford, Connecticut - 15:55PM

“Hill you there?” Nick asked as the pilots of The Juliet increased the engine output by 30%, the vessel cutting through the clouds like an icebreaker through ice.

”I hear you Nick, what do you want? I have enough problems today without you adding to them.” Maria Hill snapped on the other end of the line.

“You heard about Boston then?” Nick asked as the Mini-Carrier swung a hard left, it’s course adjusted on the behalf of it’s captain.

”Only in the last few minutes, CNN, Fox, Aljazeera even the effing BBC all knew it about before we did. I’m already heading there at full throttle in The Executor as we speak.” Hill told him as Fury looked down at his tablets and flicked them off screen.

“I just sent you the names I got from my source.” Fury told her. “And for the record I don't like who you plan to use to fix it, but I have other places to be.”

“Other places? Spill Nick, as your superior I demand to know what you are planning.” Maria asked, her voice dripping with malice and distorted by long range radio traffic.

“These guys are mercenaries, there’s a pay master and I know where he is.” Nick answered. “And where he is isn't something you should be concerned with right about now.” He added as he turned off the communications relay and turned to face his team of Secret Warriors.

No Caption Provided

”What is the reason for us running from glorious battle Fury?!” Ares roared as he took a step forward.

“Simple how do you end a war fast?” Nick asked as he got up from his chair.

“You slice the head of their generals, their backers and their politicians.” Ares snarled through gritted teeth. “But this is the work of spies and assassins not warriors such as us.”

“If it’s the guy who owns the bank account then we will have a fight on our hands.” Mockingbird told Ares as she put a comforting hand on his arm.

“Unlikely, five people have access to the account and I know where they all are. The patriarch Sergei Kravinoff is dead, well dead enough and in US custody. His wife Sasha is in a Russian Gulag after she was found supporting rebels in Chechnya kill and mutilate civilians and soldiers in the area.” Nick told the others as the locations of the Kravinoff family appeared on a holographic map. “The children Vladimir, Alyosha and Anna are all accounted for which leaves one obvious suspect.”

“And that is?” Telemetry asked.

”The Half Brother.” Nick whispered. “And I know just where he’s sitting.”

**

Hell’s Kitchen, New York - 16:08PM

Vienna smiled as she brought out a pair of passports and matching documents into the main waiting room of her establishment. Sitting their waiting for her were Blood Tide and Gauntlet, the pair of them looking very angry because she had forced them to wait for their details. They would be a lot angrier when they realised the corner she had cut to get them their new identities. Cautiously she put the passports down and backed up as far as she could as the pair took in their new names, details and faces.

”This doesn't look anything like me!!” Bloodtide screeched as the water cooler leaning against the back wall exploded. “And Janice McKenzie! Is this some kind of joke, naming me after the insipid piece of slime who dares to be the king of Atlantis!!”

“It gets worse.” Gauntlet stated with a shallow chuckle. “I’m Harold McKenzie.” He told her, looks like we’re a couple.

No Caption Provided

“You what?!” Blood Tide hissed as the water cooler exploded open, the liquid inside wrapping around Vienna’s chest, the weight of the water crushing her rib cage and causing her to pant as she tried to talk.

”You wanted quickly, I did quickly.” Vienna gasped as she tried to squirm free. “As for the faces…my contact will…be here…shortly with the ID masks. They…”

“Let her go ‘Janice’.” Gauntlet ordered as he removed a grenade from her belt. “Don’t make me use this and burn the place down.” He added softly as Blood Tide looked from Vienna, then to Gauntlet and then the grenade before releasing the former from her watery grasp. As she did there was a knock on the door, one that caused all three to look over with wide worried eyes.

“My contact, give me five minutes to trade the Benjamin’s and then you can walk out of here.” Vienna told them before handing an envelope. “I hear Tahiti is a good honeymoon spot this time of year” She added as she walked over to the door and slid back the latch, her eyes meeting those on the other side of the door. “Do you have the items?” She hissed as the woman on the others side of the door stood aside to reveals the two figured behind her.

“Hurry up, I can’t stand this place any longer!” Blood Tide screamed behind Vienna. “Seriously I’m just considering leaving right now and taking my chances.” She added before walking to the door and throwing Vienna aside. “Wait who is that?” She asked seconds before the entire door was ripped from its hinges.

“Set up I knew it!” Gauntlet grunted as he removed his pistols and opened fire at the imposing woman who was striding through the ruined door. “Vienna you’ll pay for sending the Avengers after us!!”

”Avengers?” The man dressed in armour asked as he returned fire, the energy blast from his rifle shorting out the high-tech firing pins of Gauntlet’s pistols. “We’re the Heroes for Hire, please get it right.” He sighed as the three mercenary heroes entered the building, totally unaware of the mysterious slithering figure moving in their wake.

**

Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington DC - 16:14PM

The sun was setting as the Secret Warriors shuttle landed on the National Mall, the slim yet still oh so conspicuous aircraft startling the dog walkers and joggers in the area. Not even waiting for the shuttle to land Nick Fury had leapt off the boarding ramp and was running towards the monument. Seconds later his Secret Warriors were hot on his heels, with Verity bringing up the rear carrying a hamster ball that contained the still shrunk Gold Bug.

“We need to get inside.” Nick told the others as he started feeling around the base.

“Fury if you need this phallic tower cut down to size I will gladly do it!” Ares cackled with glee as he un-shouldered the axe slung across his back.

”Hush.” Mockingbird hissed as she looked up and down the tower before shaking her head with disgust. “It’s a national landmark you can’t just simply cut it down.” She lectured as Nick snarled something under his breath and reversed direction as he continued looking for something.

“Anyone else think that this look kind of like that tower from the comics?” Warhawk asked as the others all shifted their gaze onto him. “What it was the 70s? I’m not ashamed.”

“Hold this.” Verity ordered as she handed him Goldbug before walking over to where Nick Fury was feeling up the Washington Monument“Nick you hired me for a reason, let me do my job.” She added as Nick stepped away and let Verity take over the search. “Okay there is defiantly a cloaking field over the tower but luckily it comes under the category of ‘illusions’ so I can see through it.” She added before pointing to a spot about four feet off the ground. Walking over Nick pressed it and stood back as a hatch at the base of the tower swung open to reveal a staircase down.

“What’s down there?” Mockingbird asked as Nick led the group down the first flight of stairs. “I have never seen this facility on any of the SHIELD US-Network Maps.”

“That’s because there are only three people who know that this place exists.” Nick answered her as the team filed down a second and third flight of stairs. “And I’m one of them. There were nine of us, the original founders of the Modern incarnation of SHIELD, this is where we sent everything from the war years which nobody needed or should know about. Over the years our numbers dwindled until only me, Timothy Dugan and a German agent Helmut Gruler”

“Ah 1938 to 1945 good years.” Ares sighed as Nick came to a stop and flattened himself against a wall. Cautiously he bent down and ran his finger along the floor, the line he traced in the dust revealing a door seal.

“He’s on the other side isn’t he?” Verity asked as Nick motioned for Warhawk and Mockingbird to stack up on the door. “The man behind this.”

No Caption Provided

“Let’s find out.” Nick answered as Mockingbird aimed a snap kick at the door, the hinges splintering as Warhawk threw a whole set of flashbang grenades into the room. In the commotion the Secret Warriors charged in, Ares in the lead as inside someone grunted in pain. Shaking off the effects of the grenades the team looked at the man they had caught, his dark wrinkled skin covered in a polo shirt and chinos.

“Verity is it him?” Mockingbird asked as Ares held the man up by the scruff of the neck.

“No that’s his real face.” Verity answered, her words causing Ares to drop the man hard onto the floor. “I don’t know who that is?”

“I have an idea.” Telemetry stated as she formed hard light chains around the old man’s arms. “While researching the Kravinoff Family I found reference to a man call ‘Teacher’ or Gregory, the man who trained Kraven’s children in combat in his absence. This man looks a lot like the photos although he hasn’t aged well at all.”

“Gregor huh. Tell me where is Mr Nikolayevich and who he looks like before I let Ares get all violent with ya.” Nick threatened as behind him Ares cracked his knuckles to reinforce the message.

“I don’t work for that traitorous reptile, I work for the true master and he is reborn better then ever.” Gregor grunted as he strained to free himself from the chains. “He is the one true leader of my family.”

“Wrong Answer.” Nick answered as the chains dissipated and Ares slammed Gregor against the wall.

“Where is this true leader?” Ares asked, “If he is indeed mighty as you profess then I look forward to crossing blades with him.” Gregor shot Ares a smile before tapping on the wall behind him, the stone retracting to reveal a window into a massive courtyard, every inch of space filed with relics of the Two World Wars, many of them far to wondrous to describe. The one that caught Nick’s eye though was the man standing on the roof of an old box-car clad in the costume of the original Kraven the Hunter, his eyes glowing a vivid scarlet in the twilight of the room.

“Isn’t he meant to be in custody?” Warhawk asked as Kraven cocked his head at the sight of the Secret Warriors.

”He’s also meant to be dead, or undead depending on which way you look at it.” Telemetry added. “And he’s not meant to be virtually haemorrhaging microwave energy like that.” She added as twin beams of scarlet energy lanced out form Kraven’s eyes into the room where the Warriors were standing, the assembled people scattering out of its path.

No Caption Provided

“Let me guess he shouldn't be able to do that either?” Warhawk moaned as Gregor groaned slightly in the corner.

“Lock him down, I don’t know who that is but he’s not leaving this facility!!” Nick bellowed as Ares charged through the glass and into the chamber. “Go, I’ll stay with Gregor and get him to talk.” He added as the rest of the Secret Warriors scrambled out through the exit Kraven had created. Looking down at the man slumped before him Nick crouched down next to him. “My team is dealing with your Master so I can talk to you. Now do you have anything to say?” He asked before receiving a punch in the gut, one that sent him skidding into the far corner as Gregor got to his feet and shrugged off his coat to reveal an array of spikes filled with thick black liquid all flowing into his back.

“No Nicholas, anything I have to say will be unheard, masked by your screams as I teach you the ‘Way of the Hunter!” Gregor snarled as he flexed his muscles and let out a low growl as he advanced towards Fury, long black talons sprouting from the palms of his hands.

Ooh. Interesting. : D

Could it possibly be Gregor?

@impurestcheese: is the X-Raven the cloned thing that Mr Sinister built from Kraven and the X-Men gene samples? I do like Ares thinking that WW2 was a "good time".

@batkevin74: Xraven is indeed the clone that Mr Sinister Created. As for Ares it's a reference to the non-existent Invaders series that I almost wrote

Bumped