ImpurestCheese

I'll just take the bus to where I parked my car and drive home. I have no business fighting them and the goal is to survive, which in all honesty no one in the world can do against the forces mentioned here even with powers, weapons ect. Just have to hope the M23 is clear...

@waezi2: It says he, she, it or they in the contest description. I'll let you decide what that means

The Lake

It was cold in the lake, cold and dark even so close to the surface, not that the lady lurking there ever came to the surface these days, save on the night of the solstice and only then when the light of the full moon was fully visible. If anyone was lucky enough to see her come to the surface, they would not see the fabled maiden in a flowing gown of silver water with flowing red locks running down to the small of her back, but rather a rotting corpse dressed in a lorica of overlapping rusty plates and a tattered skirt stained with silt. And actually thei luck was actually there misfortune, the lady was a predator, and while her powers were limited, they were still formidable.

It had not always been so, two millennium ago she had not been locked in this lake, nor had she been the fetid figure that she was now. There had been two kind of stories about her; the ones featuring the benevolent matriarch who had presented the High King his magical blade, and the ones mentioning the she-demon that walked in the pale moonlight and drained the life of all her dwelled there. It was these stories that had caused one equal in power to her to the shore of the lake and dare to camp there under the full moon.

Merlin! The name provided both hope and hatred to the lady as she lay like a serpent on the pebbles of the lake bed. Merlin had been the one who had sent a pauper made king to her shores on the night after the new moon to ask for a sword. He had chosen the time when she was at her most remorseful for her moonlight actions, and she had given him what Merlin had asked for. That sword had been used against her years later to hurt her, send her running back to the lake, and Merlin had pursued her in an attempt to bind her.

“With the power of the King and the Otherworld I bind sentence thee to become part of this lake!” A voice from the ages boomed through the water.

“Please mercy!” A female voice that sounded like flowing water running down a stream bed. “The king is in danger, his flesh and blood conspires against him on two fronts. I can bring him the token that will make his just rein absolute.”

“I need no token from you demoness.” Merlin replied, as something gold gleamed in the depths of the lake.

“Are you sure?” The lady asked, as the golden gleam glowed ever brighter to reveal the dim outline of a great two handled cup.

“No, I will not risk the grail in the hearts of a mortal man.” Merlin stammered as the gleam of the cup began to fade. “Even Arthur would misuse its power. You may have mercy if you keep this token from him and that you never raise again.”

The lady pushed herself into a standing position and looked up at the orb of the moon. Merlin had come again, looking for salvation for his beloved King, asked for the grail despite his earlier misgivings. The lady had refused to give it to him, now being in the position of power. Eventually she had gave him the whisper of a name to plant in the King’s ear, and in return when it was in Merlin’s hands she would be free to rise from the lake as she had done years before. Both deals with the wizard had been calculated to let her survive, to allow her to rise up as fierce and as beautiful as the summer storm and flood the surrounding villages to claim the lives she had been denied.

Merlin had never returned, trapped by one who loved him. The lady had never known love, just duty and hunger, both of which were interlocked for her. Merlin had not been the first to seek her out, and in the days before iron was smelt and huts built, she had handed out favours with no cost, but such things had drained her, forced her to feed to survive, and allow the people of Albion to thrive. Merlin had been around then too, much like he had been at the time of the High King, only this time disguised as a raven that whispered into the ears of the strong, rather than an old man with the uncanny eyes that whispered words of greatness into the ears of kings and knights.

Something stirred above, and out of curiosity the lady rose, her head breaching the surface for the first time in years. There standing on the moonlight banks was a young woman dressed in a purple waistcoat and tartan skirt, fish net stockings running down to a pair of heavy boots. In her fingerless gloved hands was the cup she had offered so long ago. The sight was enough to cause desperation to awaken in the heart of the Lady of the Lake, one she hadn’t felt since Merlin and his star-flecked eyes had descended into her domain. She would swamp the shore where the youth stood and wash her life and the cup back into the water.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” The youth stated, a devilish smile on her face, her short black hair framing a pair of eyes, each with a star shining in the magenta iris.

“Merlin!” The Lady spat. “You returned, honour your word and free me.”

“I will in time, but first you must know that this world is not like the one you menaced, magic has ebbed replaced by physics and chemistry and electronics.” Merlin explained as she walked into the water towards the Lady. It was true, his power was less in some senses, but more in others, and those were terrifying enough to cause the lady to flinch backwards. “You would not survive doing what you did back in the days of Albion.”

“Then I will bring the magic back, suck dry all who oppose me until they fell under my heel.” The lady hissed, but her words were softened as she mentally probed the clothes, the voice and the cup itself for clues on how the world worked now.

“You would try, but you would not succeed.” Merlin sighed, his tone weaving a story of thirty years ago when he had been released from the stone he had been sucked into. A story of fear, of flashing lights and wailing sirens, of the old man’s death after a decade of running and his return as something of this era of science. “The time of Kings is over, but we needn’t perish with that bygone era, in fact we can be truer to ourselves than ever before. No hunger for you, no suspicion for me. You can be free if only you ask.

“The cost, what is the cost.” The lady asked, her eyes once again fixed on the grail.

“The cost is unknown, I have yet to pay for joining this age, maybe some evil will come of it, perhaps from this ‘Millennium Bug’ I have heard about, the humans seem to fear it.” Merlin replied, as he scooped some of the lake water up into the grail and offered it to the Lady. “In any instance I will honour the last of my promises.” With shaking hands the lady took it and sipped from the cup, the bitter taste of her banishment replaced by the sweet taste of freedom. Dropping the cup she surged forward, sweeping Merlin onto the shore in one savage movement, her weight pinning him down as her skin repaired itself, and her locks of auburn flowed once more down from her beautiful face.

“I should kill you,” She purred, as she lowered her head towards Merlin, a quick flash of shark like teeth visible from her smile, “but instead I’ll show you my thanks.” She finished as she delivered a courtly kiss to the reborn wizard’s cheek. “Now tell me more of this world, where is my place?”

**

The phone rang and rang as the woman sitting at the desk looked at it with a murderous glare. Eventually she picked it up. “Lakeside Consulting, how may we help you?” She sighed in a voice that was barely covered up the annoyance and hatred she felt. She hated everything about her new position, the blue polo shirt and black trousers of her uniform, the poor payment, how she was among the humans rather than above them. Still she thought, as she bitterly listened to the complaints of her customer, it was always better to survive.

@cbishop, @wildvine, @batkevin74, @tommythehitman, @avenging_x_bolt, @guardiandevil83, @ms-lola and @sonic_yute

The end of the current arc...

Brooklyn, New York

Matt crouched on the roof-top of the condo, his senses attuned to the stressful pacing of the man inside. This was the address that Slither had gave him, but it didn’t look like the home of a crime boss who could hire a pair of super human mercenaries. Silently he dropped down through the open window and heard the man spin round and the safety removing of a handgun.

“Who…who are you?” The man stammered as Matt walked out of the shadows. “Please, please I don’t have anything to take.”

“Not what I heard from you wiping boy Slither.” Matt replied, as he focused on the man’s shaking hands. “Mr Fraley.”

“Are you one of Slither’s Serpent Society goons?” The man gulped.

“Aren’t you?” Matt asked. “He said you were Gordon Fraley AKA Puff Adder, a known mutant and hitman for the Society.”

“That’s what Purcell thought as well, I’m not a killer, I just share my name with one. I paid Purcell what he wanted, but when he came back I couldn’t pay anymore.” Fraley replied as he sat down and cradled his head in his hands, the gun known on the kitchen table. Quick as a flash Matt reached out and removed the magazine. “That’s when he sent Scourge to bomb my family, I lost the love of my life and my son. And when I learnt that the Scourge who threatened me was a fake, I couldn’t believe how bad my life sucked.”

“I don’t see how falling to Purcell’s con-game leads to hiring a pair of mercenaries, a pair of mercenaries that are responsible for the deaths of at least three people whilst in your employ?” Matt asked as Fraley shook his head in disgust.

“I never ordered Slither to kill, as for the woman he brought with him, she was working on her own project. I don’t even think Slither knew why she was here.” Fraley explained. “I don’t condone any of their actions while working for me.”

“None of this explains why you tried to blackmail two lawyers for the prosecution into throwing the Purcell case, especially considering what he did to you.” Matt stated, as he studied Fraley.

“Money, Purcell’s money was never found, but I was sure that with a little persuasion that I could convince him to tell me where he hid it.” Fraley explained as he shot Matt a look. “I’m willing to cut you in for any assistance.”

“Three families lost people because of your actions.” Matt hissed as he walked towards the window he had entered through. “Slither is in custody, if I were you I would go to the local precinct and turn yourselves in, get your side of the story out before your mercenaries sell you out.”

**

North Investigations, Midtown, New York

“And in super-human news the super criminal known as Slither was assassinated at Police Plaza by an individual police are calling the Midtown Sniper’.” Trish Tilbry announced, as she stood just outside Police Plaza and the crime tape cordoning off the front of the building. “Many eyewitnesses mention the lack of the sound of a gunshot, which leads many to theorize that advanced technology may have been used in this attack. In what some are considering a related attack, local businessman Gordon Fraley was found dead in his home. Fraley left a signed confession on his desk stating that he and Slither had been trying to free ex CIA agent Dwight Purcell, whose court case is ongoing.”

Muting off the TV, Dakota North tapped her fingers on the desk for a few seconds as Matt Murdock sat down in one of the chairs in her office. “Busy day for the police huh, a suicide and another murder related to the Purcell case.” She mused before pulling out a file marked with the Interpol seal. “Speaking of busy I had to promise a lot of favours to get Lydia van Klien’s Interpol file unsealed.”

“She’s known to them?” Matt asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“She worked for them.” Dakota replied as she flipped the file open. “On something called operation Conflict. It involved tracking down diamond smugglers bringing weapons grade Type IIb diamonds from the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Amsterdam, London and Brussels and onto New York. It was suspected that AIM was behind it, but nothing was proven due to one Matthew Gilden AKA Goldbug.”

“Goldbug was covering up for AIM?” Matt asked, his surprise resurfacing.

“Unknown, Klein simply stated that the contact responsible for buying the diamonds simply disappeared, apparently because the operation was risking exposure thanks to super-human interruption.” Dakota replied before folding the file over to reveal a medical check-up. “Personally I think Klein tipped them off, and this is why.” She added as she ran her hands over the file. “She was suffering from terminal throat cancer two years before Operation Conflict began, her check-up after Goldbug’s robbery revealed that the cancer was in remission. There was something else as well, Klein had extensive amounts of MGH in her bloodstream, something AIM was working on at that time.”

“So AIM dosed Lydia with Mutant Growth Hormone in return for what sabotaging Operation Conflict?” Matt asked, “Is there any proof for that?”

“None whatsoever, but I did a check on Ms Caroline Lynch’s financial background and it looks as if she has a lot of money for a supposed clerk at a jewellery store, even a high end one.” Dakota explained. “The accounts it comes in from are for shell companies, as are the accounts that supply them with money. The chain goes back too far, it’ll take time to work out where the money is coming from.”

“That’s fine, I’m sure Lynch or Kiein can wait.” Matt stated with a sigh. “Wherever she is, we’ll catch up to her eventually.”

**

Undisclosed Location

Silencer walked down the steps into the basement, a guitar case slung over her back. She was wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with the SHIELD logo crossed out with a big red X and a pair of jeans torn at the knees. All in all she looked like anyone else, albeit somebody with shocking cyan hair, although even that wasn’t too unusual. Getting to a door, she knocked three times, before stepping back and watching it swing open to reveal a wide-screen computer monitor and a row of seats in-front of it, with a number of desks behind them. While there was enough room to sit an entire cinema audience, only two were occupied at the moment.

“You’re back.” A sadistic voice sneered, as silencer walked over to one of the desks, unzipped her bag and placed the sniper rifle inside on the desk, before disassembling it expertly. “Any reason why we shouldn’t kill you?”

“None.” Silencer replied, as she watched one of the figures get to his feet, a packet of chocolate coated peanuts in his hands. “Or none save the reason why he doesn’t kill you.” She added, as she jabbed a finger at the seated figure.

“Our employer then, I really wish he’d just let us go at ole horn-head. All this waiting makes me feel…” He stopped as he removed a peanut from the bag and flicked it through his fingers. “…bored.”

“And here I thought you were going to say ‘psychotic’.” The seated man stated before letting out a short snort of laughter. “Not that’s any different from usual.”

“One day spark-plug, one day.” The standing man hissed, as the screen flickered before revealing the image of a cartoon Scops Owl perched on a tombstone.

“Gentlemen, lady, I assume the first step in our operations against Daredevil has been successful?” The voice being transmitted with the image of the owl asked. “The Van Klein bait has been planted successfully.”

“Yeah, his lawyer friend Murdock fell for it.” The seated man announced. “Got one of my lady friends to tell the sob story whilst I gave her a jolt every time she had to lie. Not that I believe all that human lie detector bull-shit people sprout about him.”

“And this girl, where is she?” The voice asked, as the seated man stood up to reveal a star shaped halo of energy crackling around his head.

“In the morgue, let’s just say it’ll look like natural causes for the coroner.” The star headed man buzzed.

“I will continue to lead Miss North along the garden path, and with her Murdock, Nelson and the Devil himself.” The voice stated before turning to Silencer. “And what did you learn Silencer, where can we effectively engage him?”

“Hell’s Kitchen is a no go just like we thought.” Silencer replied as she stepped towards the screen. “Outside that though he struggles, he relies on his hearing more than his eyesight.”

“Very good, and the killing of Slither, you made it look authentic?”

“It was good enough, although I’m a bit of a snob when it comes down to longshots.” The first man stated, as he twiddled three peanuts around the fingers on his left hand. “It’s realistic to believe that it’s my handiwork.”

“Then Mr. Poindexter, the next move is yours.” The voice ordered. “Go pay New York’s Finest a visit.” He added. “Mr Dillon, Miss Bell, shadow him and be ready. In a few short weeks I will have my revenge, and you will have yours.” It added before the screen faded back to black. Turning to the side, Poindexter flicked the peanuts at a poster on the wall, each nut hitting the person displayed there in the head.

“I can’t wait.” Poindexter hissed in a voice that caused Silencer and Dillon to shudder slightly, as he stepped out into the half-light produced by the computer monitor, a ring of white concentric circles on the forehead of his black mask. “Sleep well Daredevil, because your days are numbered.”

@godemperor123: The Crossbow and Longbow would be the main ranged weapons in warfare, and the pike and sabre would be viable combat weapons due to cavalry not becoming outdates, at least until the discovery and widespread use of cordite and nitro-glycerine. European Colonial Expansion would likely be less then what it was, although still widespread. America would likely not be an independent nation until later, since firearms gave the 'rebels' an almost equal footing with the British Army.

War itself would continue, and would likely be more of a meat grinder than it actually is at current.

@ms-lola: Cool thanks for the comment :-)

@anna_karenina: Yeah, I love convergent evolution because it confirms my theory that mother nature reuses her designs whenever possible

@quinnofthestoneage: It is, it's odd to think we'd miss something that none of us were alive to see, but I guess that's one of the good things about humanity, that we can look back at history and try and prevent it from occurring again

@sineyaprime: Early Europeans thought it could crush bones like a hyena so your not too far off the original thinking.

@ostyo: Yeah because they were pushed towards a cliff edge.

@ms-lola: I wouldn’t give up on the human race just yet, yes we suck, but there are many people who put their heart and soul into helping others, conservation etc.

@amazing_webhead: Tis sad indeed

@jaycool2: No problem, Numbats are the only marsupials without pouches

@solid_snake97: It really does open your eyes to humanities destructive tendencies