For more Marvel Mayhem make sure to Check out The Library
Missed Last Issue? Check it out HERE
St Croix Rock, Seattle Coastline
With a grunt Kona aimed a kick at the remains of the lighthouse doors, the metal collapsing inwards with a clang. Before the dust could settle a cloud of bats swarmed out through the hole into the sunset screeching about the indigence of being woken up before nightfall.
“He’s in here.” Kona hissed as she closed the electronic scanner and swung her pistol into the dark interior. “There aren't any real places for him to hide.”
“He may have been a coward back at the camp but a cornered rat is the most dangerous kind.” Chen told her as he stepped over the threshold and shivered before seeing a face with a gas mask and long black spines staring back at him. Almost automatically he raised his hands, glowing energy revolving around them.
“What is it?” Kona asked as Unicorn belched the sound echoing around the lighthouse.
“I saw Emplate. At least I think I did…” Chen stammered
“The scary man isn't there although his taste lingers.” Unicorn announced loudly before firing a beam of light straight up, the laser hitting something that came crashing down to the floor. With a feral snarl the dislodged creature got to his feet snarling and hissing before noticing Kona’s pistol resting on his forehead.
”Foxbat right?” Kona asked as Chen grabbed the inhuman monstrosity by the arms and marched him out of the lighthouse and onto the graveyard of wrecked ships surrounding St Croix rock. “Why were you kidnapping refugees from the Green Lake camp? Answer or I start breaking the knuckles in your fingers.” She threatened as she placed her free hand on his.
“You wouldn't Foxbat hissed.
“She would.” Chen told him. “If I were you I’d give her what she wants.”
“No the master would do worse to me if I talked.” Foxbat wheezed as Kona picked up a rock from the surrounding lighthouse and showed it to him.
“Do you think this could crack bone?” She asked him innocently before throwing it over her shoulder. “How about this one?” She asked as she brought up a larger rock.
“Spot doesn’t like the aquarium here; the human fish are reminders of the other place.” Unicorn moaned as he poked his head out the door. “He’s making horsemen and headsmen, bowman and shieldsmen maybe even X-Men for the end of days.” He added causing Kona to roll her eyes.
“Keep hold of him.” Kona ordered as she ducked back into the lighthouse. Turning Foxbat round to face him Chen’s eyes went wide as his captive’s features morphed into blue skin glowing under a layer of crystals, energy haemorrhaging out from between the diamond tinted teeth.
“What’s the matter Doctor Lu?” The Cobalt Man asked in an echoing tone. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
**
The Willow Basket Medical Centre, Living Fortress, Seattle
Shroud let the delicate tendril wind round his fingers, the fragrant blossom opening up into a pale pink flower that smelt of honey mixed with rose petals. As it crawled up his arm a tiny butterfly winged figure made of moss and grass emerged and sat on his shoulder before flying over to Gypsy Moth.
“Shroud, Gypsy I’m speaking to you through the Green.” Blackheath’s voice boomed from the tiny figure. “We have a prison breach down in the lower levels of the Fortress. I am on scene but will need assistance.” It added before collapsing to the floor and being reabsorbed by the fortress.
“We need to go.” Shroud stated as he struggled to get off the gurney he was lying on only to be pushed back gently by Gypsy Moth. “What?”
“You are too hurt to go.” Gypsy replied. “And you were right I owe them one last time to see if I can get it right.” She added before leaving, a train of silk threads flowing in her wake.
**
The Labyrinth, 1km under the Living Fortress
“Your choice Mr Smithers!” Whiplash asked. “Will let us go or will you die knowing that you failed to find out how to save the world.” She added before cracking her whip against the ground, sparks flying off the wooden floor, pain arching from the living fortress into Blackheath.
“I refuse.” Blackheath hissed before lunging forward, bark like talons slashing Whiplash in the face before turning to see Buzz-Saw power up his prosthetic saw hand. With a yell he plunged it into Blackheath’s back only to see vines sprout up his arm and wrap around the blade causing it to stall and smoke. Struggling to free himself the trapped villain distracted his captor long enough for a blast of flame to come rolling down the corridor, the heat from the fire causing Blackheath to wilt and incinerate Buzz-Saw’s remaining hand.
“I’m going to burn this place to the ground Plantman.” Firefly hissed as he set light to the walls until they collapsed into ash. “And you can listen as the plants and people trapped inside scream your name and mine like a curse before you finally succumb to the smoke.” He added before looking to his left as an avalanche of soil collapsed in on him, effectively separating Blackheath from the majority of the inmates.
“The Green despises you.” Blackheath snarled at the heap of soil and the man buried underneath before slinging Buzz-Saw into one of the fire damaged cells, new growth crawling up his arms and legs to encase him in a protective cocoon. “You won’t leave here Whiplash, you and yours will be punished for the desecration you performed today.”
**
St Croix Rock, Seattle Coastline
Unicorn stood open mouthed before the nutrient tubes, as the former refugees floated inside, cables feeding inflation into their brains and MGH straight into their blood stream. Tearing herself away Kona ran her hand over an antique PC modem and was surprised to see it boot up, a screensaver of Medusa of the Inhumans sprawled across a couch naked greeting her.
“Tasteful.” Kona stated as she clicked on the one available item labelled Sinister Tech, records and images of forced mutation popping up on the screen.
“Experiments, the ones performed by the Sweetie.” Unicorn coughed. “Oh how Spot hoped he hadn’t followed her here to Paradise.”
“Paradise?” Kona asked as she walked over to a dust covered printer and checked the connection before pressing the shortcut to print the various pages of data shown on the computer.
“Earth, this Earth is paradise compared to the End of Days.” Unicorn announced. “I looked in the hole and saw Spot dying on a lab table. I reached in and saved her, saved her like files on a computer and then uploaded them to the mainframe. Spot has administrator privileges on the mainframe.”
“You’re insane in the mainframe.” Kona snorted as the first sheet of data printed out. “Who is the Sweetie you keep talking about?”
“Sweets for my sweet.” Unicorn cried as he held his head in his hands “He’s the Sugar Man, he was the one who had Spot down the hole. He’s the one who leads the riders, the herald for the End of Days.”
“And that is?”
”The End of Days, it’s the coming of the Apocalypse.” Unicorn whispered before falling to his knees, the light on his battle ram blinking. “He is coming for us.”
**
The Labyrinth, 1km under the Living Fortress
Blackheath kept close to the wall of the fortress and watched as three of the escapees congregated at the bottom of the shaft that lead up into the fortress above. He knew them all; Sickle was a warrior, arrested for his part in the 1st Annual Seattle Bloodsport Tournament hosted by the local Mandriporean Crime Syndicate. Paralyzer had also been a participant but his motives were less well known, the mutant enigma had largely been under the radar since his brief stint with the Brotherhood of Mutants. The last figure was one of the inmates transferred from the Cube to a more secure location; the Host was a simple maniac, his mind bending to the will of the symbiotic swarm living inside him.
“I think it’s time to get out of here.” Sickle stated his head orientated upwards towards the kilometre climb out of the prison. “The other Thunderbolts will be down here soon.”
“You know what Whiplash would do to us right?” Paralyzer asked. “Better to find Blackheath and contain him then let her do what she did to Grindhouse to us.” He added before stalking away. Blackheath didn’t see the Host leave, but his absence a few seconds later suggested he was gone too leaving Sickle standing looking up alone. Silently he extended a vine tipped with a thorn loaded with tranquilizing venom that jabbed into Sickle’s neck. Seconds later the master martial artist fell to the floor, his body convulsing slightly from the effect of the venom.
“Time to close the entrance.” Blackheath murmured as he walked over to the sleeping villain and reached his hand out, thick briars and thorns forming over the exit hole that made the already tricky ascent even harder to navigate. Looking down Blackheath saw something scuttle up his leg accompanied by a sharp pain as whatever it was burrowed its way inside, the pain increasing as more contacts splintered off the infiltrator.
“A plant has no defence against such numbers.” A horse sounding voice announced as the Host stepped out of the shadows, a swarm of locusts circling his head before slamming into Blackheath, each insect burrowing inside and chewing at a rate that matched the Thunderbolt’s regeneration. Screaming Blackheath collapsed to the floor next to sickle before his body melted into a puddle of mulch, the occasional locust pulling itself free to return to their master. “First you.” The Host hissed as he looked up at the exit hole. “Then everyone else in this wretched hall of life.”
Log in to comment