David Hardy's voice journal

Sam was gone when I got up this morning, apparently 7 gave him some money and he went off to see the world that he'd been away from for so long. 7 was tinkering with the spare parts he'd bought from Morty, some of the kids from the camp were hanging around to see what he was doing and I went to talk to some friends I hadn't seen for awhile, I was looking forward to telling Ben all about what had been going on but he was still in New York, maybe I'll head that way next. Around noon Madam Web called 7 and I over to the place she was staying in, a beat up old saloon in the middle of town that was once a tourist attraction apparently. When we got there she was sitting at a table in the middle of the main room with Ben's little sister Drew, her dad and a woman I'd never met before. She looked just a little older than me but Madam Web said they'd been friends for more than 20 years. She introduced herself as Molly Creed, 7 looked stunned by this. She was the daughter of Victor Creed, the template for 7 and all the other Creeds.

She told 7 he had his eyes and that if it weren't for the orange hair he'd be the spitting image of her father. I'd heard stories about Victor Creed, used to call himself Sabertooth, seeing this woman talking about this guy with love in her eyes seemed weird to me, but then again I've often heard it said that even the hardest of men have a soft spot for their daughters. Molly told us that Madam Web had asked her to come so she could show 7 something, the Madam didn't tell us why but she rarely does but 7 considered it important. It was a letter Molly's father had written her before he'd disappeared, 7 read it thoroughly and then handed it back to her and walked out. I saw him a few hours later but he seemed to want to be alone with his thoughts.

A letter from Victor Creed to his daughter

Molly

This ain't an apology, I ain't sorry for what I did. I'm a killer that's who I am, it's what I do. I know you never saw that side of me, it's better that way, least one person will remember me fondly. Them tin soldiers that died today in our house, they knew what they were getting into when they signed on so I don't feel bad for doing what I did to them, just sorry you had to see it. I probably ain't coming home so there are some things I need you to know. I'm an old man, older than even I know and in my time I've done terrible things to a lot of people so whether I die or get tossed in some lab I deserve what's coming to me, probably worse, I played around with being a good guy a few times but I always came back to this. I guess that runt was right about me, after all ain't nobody that knew me better than him. There was a time when killing him was the thing I wanted most in the world till you came along, I can't explain it, you weren't my first kid but you were the only one I felt something about.

I don't know how long it was gonna last but I want you know I wanted it to be forever. I ain't gonna say anything has made up for the things I've done, I'm sure my seat in hell was reserved a long time before you were born, I just wanted you to know that you were the only good thing I ever had part in. Now I gotta go be a monster again, the spider lady will take care of you, I ain't one for writing so I hope this made sense to you. I know you won't understand this now but I'm not one to run from a fight, that's why I gotta go cause in the end you gotta remember Creeds don't take nothing lying down. I'll miss ya girl

Dad

Creed 7, field journal

Victor Creed was a monster, that was all there was to him, that's what Sinister pounded into our heads. We were from him so we all were animals just like him, no heart, no soul, no emotion. How could this beast be a loving dad, even he admits he was a cold blooded killer. That woman in there, his daughter doesn't see the monster, how could she not? Every historical document about him shows the horrors he's done, and yet this letter, this short poorly written letter breaks holes through everything I've known since I came to be.

After I read it I took a long walk but eventually I came back to that saloon, Molly still sat there next to Madam Web. I sat down and looked at her for a long while, I could see the resemblance, she had the long blonde hair and blue eyes even teeth like him and so many of the Creeds. We talked for hours, I was awe struck as she told me how this monster I had descended from would play with her, and took her camping and tucked her in for the night. The only hint she'd ever had about his past were the stories he'd told her of his fights with the man called Wolverine. Her last memory wasn't of some terrible beast but her father fighting to save her. I knew he didn't die in combat, in fact he'd been alive up till 2 years ago locked in Sinister's lab being used to create my kind. I chose not to tell her that. Maybe Victor had changed for good, maybe he was done being a killer when those Iron soldiers showed up to take his daughter. He never got a chance to find out. So what am I supposed to do with this information? I asked Madam Web but all she would say was that it would help me find my way. Now I understood what David meant about her frustrating wisdom.

David Hardy's voice journal

7 made us change our route a bit to avoid the guy he knocked out in the wood yesterday so we ended up on the wrong side of the Grand Canyon somehow. Sam could fly across but he wasn't sure he could trust carrying us with him considering he hadn't actually done it on purpose in over a century. As we tried to figure out what the fastest way to get across was 7 started sniffing the air and whirled around as Lash showed up a few hundred feet from us and closing. How he got this close without 7 noticing was a mystery but we'd have to figure that out later. 7 started running toward him with his repulsers charging as Lash slung his whips toward him, 7 dodged and hit him in the chest with a few shots then Lash pulled his whips back and hit 7 hard across the back, he then hurled 7 back toward us and leaped intending to plant his feet into 7's skull but Sam blasted off and hit him full force knocking him to the ground then landed behind him. Lash got up and walked over to Sam ready to strike, but Sam's fist lit up with his energy field as he punched the big man, sending him flying over the edge of the Canyon. Sam looked shocked but there was no time to deal with that. Lash pulled himself up by using his whips as if he were Spider-man. I pulled out my gun and started firing but the regular ammo I still had loaded for practice did nothing but piss him off. He wrapped a whip around me and hurled me into the canyon, Sam dove after me as 7 slammed into Lash who flipped him into the canyon after us so after catching me Sam had no choice but to grab him as well.

Lash spiked his whips into the ground and used them to sling shot himself almost halfway across the canyon and then caught Sam's leg causing him to crash on the lip on the other side of the canyon. I hit the ground hard and that was all for me, I woke up a few hours later right outside the abandoned town of Tombstone, Sam and 7 looked like they'd been through hell.

Creed 7, field journal entry 10

Lash caught up with us at the Grand Canyon, the fight started almost as soon as I saw him but didn't really intensify until after we'd gotten across the canyon, Guthrie had caught David and I as we fell toward the bottom and attempted to get us across safely but Lash managed to catch us and caused a crashed that rendered David unconscious. As Lash pulled himself over the lip of the canyon he swung out his whip catching my leg, I tried to pull back but he sent an electric charge through me that brought me to my knees, I thought he was going to drag me back down but Sam charged his energy field up around his foot and stomped down causing the ground to shake and nearly sending Lash down. He finally pulled himself up and punched me hard in the face, and I blasted him in the gut with my repulser and activated my hard light blade while grabbing my adamantium knife in the other hand I slashed him across the chest and stabbed him through the ribs, he then head butted me and pushed me away. He pulled my knife out and threw it at me, it caught me in the gut and he charged his whips again.

Sam got between us and started punching him with charged fists, most likely a side effect of the enhancements Sinister made so the machine wouldn't kill him, one of the few occasions when I was glad for his tinkering. He sent Lash over the edge but Lash caught him by the throat and took him over as well. They went about half way down before Sam powered up and blasted him into the Canyon wall, then pulling him up slammed him into the other wall. Lash wrapped Sam in his coils and returned the favor until they had smashed their way back to the top. I leaped on Lash and blasted him in the head with my repulser but he managed to shake it off. Sam grabbed a hold of Lash's whips and shot up in the air as far as he could go and then yanked him back down at top speed landing hard on the lip of the canyon and released Lash to hurl to the canyon floor. We looked down to make sure he didn't get up then picked up David and walked toward Tombstone.

David woke up as we arrived and the spiders gave us a relatively warm welcome and took us to see Madam Web who said she'd been waiting for us.

David Hardy's voice journal

Morty was pretty pissed at 7 after the poker game but cheered right up when 7 spent most of his winnings at his truck, he bought Sam some cloths, since he was currently wandering around in nothing but a pair of torn up jeans that he'd apparently been wearing for the better part of 200 years, then he got some food and supplies and many items that looked useless to Sam and I at the time but 7 looked very pleased with himself then he bought what looked like several hundred rounds of ammo for the gun he'd won, telling me that I needed to learn to shoot strait but he didn't want to waist the carbonadium on practice. I'd discovered that we weren't too far from where Madam Web had been seen last and if we hurried we'd be caught up to her in a day or so.

We walked for a while but it was already dark when we'd left the bar, so we set up camp. Sam fell asleep right away I wasn't too far behind him, and I honestly don't even know if 7 does sleep at this point. We woke up the next day, 7 already had some breakfast cooking that I really hoped wasn't god damned squirrels again and he tossed me a pair of goggles that he'd made with some of the spare parts he picked up, he told me they were equipped with a targeting system, night vision and scan mode that detected super human abilities and weak points in everything, I decided to move a good distance from the tree I'd been sitting under after checking that last function. 7 told Sam and I to eat up since he already had, then he went to find some water for our canteens. About an hour later Sam asked me if I noticed the 3 men hiding in the bushes with what looked like gardening equipment.

They walked up to us, one had a rake, another a garden hoe and the largest of them was carrying a baseball bat. They demanded we hand over all our stuff, Sam did his level best to keep from laughing at them. I started to get up, then noticed 7 standing behind them. He cleared his throat and the 3 men looked back at him. The largest of them stared very intently at him, then back at us then to his companions, as if he was assessing who he'd have to fight. He then looked to his friends and said " Oh hell no", then turned and walked away. The other 2 turned and timidly raised their weapons and 7 swatted them out of their hands like they were children. They ran very quickly away as Sam and I burst out laughing. Then we noticed the look on 7's face, he looked pissed and there was some blood on his hands. He then sat down and explained what happened.

Creed 7, field journal entry 9

As David and Guthrie woke up I gave David the goggles I'd made for him, if they don't improve his aim nothing will, I grabbed up the canteens as they ate and headed toward a stream I could hear running from the camp, it was a good distance away but I figured it'd take me no time to get there. As I walked I suddenly realized I was being tracked. I turned just as the Thorn leaped at me from a tree limb towards me I swatted her away but she was just the distraction. An electrified whip wrapped around my neck and I was pulled to the ground, then a blade came down toward my throat. I managed to roll away and get free of the whip to see my attacker. His name was Lash, one of Sinister's custom made killers. His kind unlike the Stalkers were all one of a kind, this one was born from the DNA of a man called Omega Red and a woman named Noriko Ashida. His whips are a part of him and he possesses the ability to absorb and generate electricity. The Thorn tried to come at me again this time I slashed her throat open with my claws, I had no time to deal with her, Lash required all my attention, he is stronger than me and almost as fast.

He readied himself for a second attack as I charged my repulsers, I ran at him. He responded by catching me around the mid section with one of his whip and slammed me into a nearby tree, then swung me in the air and brought me crashing down, I tried breaking it but the carbonadium the whip was laced with was just to strong for me. He then took his other whip and began beating me with it while using the one wrapped around me to electrocute me. I managed to shoot a repulser blast at him, he dodged it but the distraction caused him to loosen his grip enough for me to escape. I then blasted him in the the head, it would have killed most but was only enough to render Lash unconscious. I ran off, I did manage to get our water but I was angry that I'd had to run.

When I got back to the camp 3 buffoons were attempting to rob David and Sam, I was in no mood for it.

David Hardy's voice journal

This morning we were hungry, I was out of food and 7 couldn't find more than a few berries while hunting for breakfast so we decided to move on any way hoping to find something to eat on the way. After an hour or so 7 stopped and changed directions, at first I had no idea why then I heard the music. I knew the song, it was a very old rock song from the 1970s and there was only one place I knew that would be blasting it that loud and as we entered the clearing I saw it. A big tent surrounded old beat up vehicles and tied up horses, the generator on the side was loud but mostly drowned out by the music. 7 looked confused so I explained, this is the Bar with No Name. A place for all of us "disreputable" people to gather, it's always on the move. The Iron army didn't like the place, which was understandable but just made me love it more.

Th proprietor was a big Latverian man named Sergei, he was the guy to ask for any info outside the cities. He serves rebels and criminals and any other wanderer who happens by, 7 was more hesitant than me about entering the place. I walked strait up to the bar and ordered up the 2 biggest breakfasts I could afford, we sat down to eat as 7 scanned the room. He noticed 3 men at a corner table with the goblin insignia on their cloths, staring hard at us. One got up and came over to us pulling a gun but before we could get up we could hear the clicks of at least 80 other guns being pulled by the rest of the bar and aimed strait at the goblin. The bar has rules, and one of them is no one gets taken out inside regardless of the reason. The goblin really wanted me dead but thought better of doing it here and walked away followed by his buddies.

As we finished up, Morty walked in and a few guys cleared off a table and pulled out some cards. They asked us if we wanted in, 7 didn't have any money so I bought him in. Turned out he was great at this, in no time he was up on all of us, hell of a poker face on him. The game was still going on as Sergei and his helpers started setting up for the night crowd. Luckily the place filled up with spiders so we could ask around to aim us in the right direction so I got dealt out to go talk to people. I sat down at the bar and looked at the guy next to me and realized it was the guy 7 had set loose from the lab asking Sergei for some food or water if he could spare it but Sergei didn't do hand outs so I offered to buy his meal. I could tell it'd been awhile since he'd eaten. He thanked me and told me his name, Sam Guthrie.

Creed 7, field journal entry 8

Today David introduced me to the Bar with No Name, I was nervous about it at first, it was loud and goblin thugs were hanging around in there but I got a good meal out of it and after a while I began to enjoy the atmosphere of the place. The man from the Deals on Wheels truck came in and started up a game of cards. I had learned all about this game from one of Sinister's lab techs and have been told my poker face is perfect. David bought me into the game but I was quickly doing fine on my own. The crowd in the bar grew as the night went on and people entered and left the game, the only constant was Morty and I. When he finally got low on money I started to get up but Morty tossed something on the table.

It was a few gun clips filled with carbonadium bullets and he said he had a gun to go with them if I won the next hand, he put them up against my other adamantium blade, I sat and took up my cards, I was dealt pure crap but I was unfazed. Morty was nervous, his face didn't show it but his heart sped up, his heart sank when I raised him. He threw down his cards and went to settle up with Sergei as I picked up my winnings. I went to up to the bar and saw David talking with Guthrie, I handed David the gun and the bullets and he handed me a beer.

The Old Man

There was a time when he wanted to rule the world. With his ten rings he ruthlessly grabbed at power, and at his every turn his hated rival Tony Stark was there to stand in his way. He lived his whole life filled with hate right to the point when Tony died. He had helped a man come to power, a dangerous man whom he underestimated. He told him everything he needed to know to break Stark and Twist him to his will, the smile on his face when his enemy died was the brightest it had ever been. He thought it was wonderful, his path to domination was clear but the Chairman of Ferrum Tech had other plans. The Iron soldiers attacked with ferocity while he was unprepared. He barely escaped with his life and went into hiding, a full year passed before anyone found him. Dr. Strange had discovered his part in this and his whereabouts, the Doctor though powerful couldn't get to the Chairman so in his rage he needed to make someone pay. He cast a spell that sent his rings to various locations around the world and then turned his attention to the Mandarin. He said that he would live until all ten of his rings were gathered but until that day he would feel every bit of pain the Iron army caused. He was given a choice to live for ever powerless and in pain or quest for his own death.

Last Man Standing

Crusher Creel and his wife Titania had been running for months, the Iron soldiers chased them down like dogs. They left them with no place to turn, no place to hide, they had been camped out the night before thinking they'd finally escaped and they had their first good night's sleep they'd had in months. All there hope was shattered in the morning as the armored men arrived. They were barely awake when they started firing on them, repulser beams and missiles were coming in from every angle. They tried to run but a cliff side blocked their escape, just as they went to climb Creel heard his wife grunt in pain. He turned and saw the gaping wound in her chest, blood pouring out. He caught her as she fell and knelt down with her, she was a strong woman the strongest he's ever known. She was everything to him, and now he held her as she faded out and the Iron men surrounded. All that was human in him died in that moment, there was a roar of primal rage as he grabbed his weapon, his body became hard as steel as he smashed into the soldiers. He crushed their skulls and broke there bones as he ran through them but he wasn't trying to escape, he would not stop until every last one was dead. They began firing wildly hoping to stop him but did more damage to each other in their panic. It was chaos until finally he stood above the last of them. The soldiers armor was shattered along with his legs, he tried to crawl away as Creel walked toward him slowly swinging his weapon, the man cried and begged him to let him live but Creel ignored it all he saw was his beloved wife dying in his arms as he looked at him. He lifted his foot and brought it down hard, ending the man's pathetic pleas. Creel disappeared after that never to be seen again. Many soldiers came back to this site to search for their lost comrades but none ever returned, to this day they fear this mountain.

Doom's Chosen

Victor Von Doom had grown old, he had come to an age where he could barely walk and feared his end was coming. A young man, just barely 18 entered his throne room an knelt down. He told Doom the preparations had been, his machine had been built to his exact specifications and his subjects waited for his decision. He stood slowly and walked to the elevator to take him to a chamber that was seen as a near holy sight to his servants, these men were not slaves but they worked for no pay. They looked to Doom as if he was a god hoping to be his chosen one. When he arrived 12 men stood at attention as he looked them over inspecting them as if they were horses and he pointed when he made his choice the man was over joyed thanking Doom profusely as he was hooked into the machine. Doom removed his armor and was helped into the machine and hooked into it as well. Another servant turned it on and stood back as it came to life. Moments later Doom stood up, his new body was young and strong. He looked to his old one and ordered it to be buried in a place of high honor, any trace of the man he'd chosen had been erased. Doom had made certain there would always be a king of Latveria and it would always be him.

The Master

Stryfe sat watching several view screens surrounded by 20 of his Iron soldiers, he was delighted by his progress. He now held most of the world in his grasp and he decided today would be the day he'd finally be rid of those who think he owes them. He had worked long and hard looking for it but he'd finally found a way to kill Sinister and he could barely wait to try it. Sinister stepped in and sat in a chair across from Stryfe and asked him why he'd been called. The soldiers all turned their weapons on Sinister who for a second looked terrified but then an evil smile spread across his face as he looked toward the soldiers and said, "Kill yourselves". The soldiers in their armors screamed in horror as their own weapons turned on them. They all fell, then Stryfe hit the floor screaming as Sinister began speaking in a calm voice, " You really thought this was going to work didn't you? Ahh you arrogant little boy, I'm insulted, really. Stark's nanotech is really remarkable you know, you see when I gave you your little upgrade I injected you with a few nanites that rewrote your DNA, every single chromosome in you was altered for one purpose. You can't hurt me you can't even try, or else your body will rip itself apart which will set off all those nasty things you put in your soldiers to prevent mutiny so you can't even be avenged." He stood up, his voice taking a darker tone, "Now let me tell you how this works, you can rule this filthy rock so long as you choose so long as you remember one thing, I am your god now."

Stryfe's pain stopped and he started to get up, he stared at Sinister as he left the room, rage filled his entire being. The building shook from the energy flowing out of the Chairman, He bellowed into his intercom, "Get someone in here to clean this up immediately, and bring me my reports, if there's so much as a typo I'll kill everyone in this damn building!".

Frank's last day

He's an old man now, how he lasted this long is a mystery. He's been running from these men in Iron suits for a few weeks now. He's tired, hungry and low on ammo. He's been the scourge of the under world for years, they called him the Punisher now he's being treated the same as the super powered lunatics. He knows it's the end, the soldiers are close by only a matter of time before they stumble upon him. He thinks back on his life, his time at war, his job as a cop and that horrible day when he lost everything. He's down to 2 guns, glocks half a clip each probably won't do much, he thinks maybe he could catch one in the eye or something. He knows whats about to happen, he's not scared, he thinks maybe he'll get to see his family again but suspects he'll be going somewhere else. He pulls out a picture of Maria and the kids, a single tear rolls down his cheek as he says a prayer to a god he's sure won't be listening and stands up, "What you waiting for boys?"

Crushed Skull

Johann Schmidt is being beat to death, The Iron soldier doing the punching made sure he saw that Star of David necklace he wore outside his armor just for this occasion, there's blood everywhere. As Schmidt feels himself slipping all he can think is, this isn't fair, I should've stood over Rogers' corpse before this, I should be dying in my bed not beaten like a dog in the street. All his minions lay slaughtered around him, his daughter's charred remains lay not 5 feet from him. His last thought though is the irony of his situation, him of all people being hunted down and killed because he didn't fit into this regime's acceptable image. He who'd at one point over seen a concentration camp and stood at Hitler's side as he ordered millions of deaths of those he deemed unacceptable and done it happily. Before he died he looked up and told the soldier with a bit of a chuckle " It seems the saying is true, what goes around really does come around". With that he dropped to his knees and the soldier put his Iron boot to his head.

Rest in pieces Emil

Blonsky wasn't sure where he was, He remembered the goons in the Hulk buster armor, they must have chased him for days. They finally caught up to him in Seattle. The battle was fierce, it raged all over the city. He brought down the famous space needle with on soldier but 5 more replaced him. They fired everything they had. Emil went down fighting and now he's laid out on a slab. He has no idea what the shackles are made of but he can't break them, he hears screams from outside the room he's in. Suddenly the door swings open, Emil couldn't see who it was at first but the man walked over to him, He hadn't had much to do with him before but he recognized Mr. Sinister when he saw him pulling up his tray of instruments. As Sinister lifted the power saw Emil thought, 'well I least I took a whole city with me'. Sinister then looked to him and said "This may sting a bit" then turned on the saw.

Graviton's last stand

Hundreds of Iron soldiers had died chasing him, along with thousands before today. Today he faces 30 Iron soldiers in armor built specifically to withstand as much weight as his gravity control could put on them. He hadn't slept or eaten in days, they hunted him tirelessly for over a month. The path of destruction this chase had caused would some day be the stuff of legends. The Appalachian mountains had been leveled, cities had crumbled and the floor of the Pacific ocean was now littered with the broken bodies and crushed armor and now this Iron army wanted pay back. He now floated above the island nation of New Zealand, gathering his strength as the soldiers readied their weapon. They looked up in awe as the massive island rose into the sky, at this point they were too angry to care about the well being of the inhabitants of the island, they wanted him dead. They fired their cannon he couldn't stop the missile all his power was all focused on the island. When it hit him a blast of residual energy went out for several miles and launched all but one of the soldiers into the air. They kept going strait off the planet and were never heard from again, the lone survivor was shocked to see that the island didn't fall. It just hung in the sky, in the weeks that followed scientists around the world tried and failed to figure out what was going on but in the end they gave up. It still floats there to this day.

Reporting live from the New Latverian boarder

" The Supreme Commander of the Iron army, has issued a challenge to Ultron, I don't know what exactly is going on here but Ultron has flown up to meet the commander. They don't seem to be doing anythin.......Oh my god the side of a mountain just hit Ultron. Every loose object in the vicinity just flew off and is now crashing into the machine.....................We seem to have lost our live feed.

Excerpt from the Book of Doom

The Chairman certainly knows how to put on an Impressive show, when he volunteered to be our distraction I was a bit surprised, but it makes sense now. If we succeeded he would be hailed as a conquering hero and solidify his rule. If not for his behavior during this incident I would firmly believe he'd planned the whole thing. As I oversaw the configuring of my new weapon, he flew off sending idle threats and bravado through loud speakers until the hateful machine came to shut him up. Without hesitation the Chairman attacked with several hundred tons of mountain side and everything else that happened to be around. As we prepared to fire Ultron fought back by attempting to blast him out of the air but he managed deflect the energy beam, then the battalion of Iron soldiers in armor designed to fight the hulk and engaged him in combat. Ultron destroyed the first with ease but the rest attacked all at once firing everything they had and then the Chairman caught him in his telekinetic grasp and slammed it repeatedly into the ground until it managed to shake him, The machine then resorted to a physical attack knocking him to the ground and pommeling him then we fired. I had hoped I'd get the Chairman with the shot as well but he managed to avoid it, but fortunately Ultron took the full force of the blast and then Ferrum turned on their machine.

Excerpt from the memoirs of Lord Stryfe

We had worked out every detail, I goaded him into conflict and used my power to it's fullest extent. I threw everything I could at him before he attacked, I deflected the attack and it distracted him enough for my Hulkbuster battalion to come in behind him unnoticed. They gave him everything they had some dying in the process but it bought my time to get a grip on him and brought him crashing down. I pressed on for several minutes before he countered, attacking with his fists. He brought me down and ripped my helmet off and was about to deliver the killing blow Doom finally fired his weapon ripping a large hole in his chest and I suspect Doom meant to kill me as well but I dodged it just in time. Then they turned on my machine. It opened a gateway to the negative zone, I threw a few punches, though I must admit it was more for show, then I hurled him in.

Doom and I declared a temporary truce afterward and signed an agreement to cease all research into the negative zone and put severe limits on what was allowed in the fields of robotics and A.I., I returned home a conquering hero and ordered the President to go on national television and name the Iron Army and myself the protector of the United states and all it's allies and now the public is in my power as well as their leaders. This couldn't have worked out better If I had planned it.

March 3 2197

Stalker Raven 34, field journal entry 43

I was never meant to be here, I was considered defective by the doctor. Unlike the rest of the Ravens I was incapable of shape shifting my abilities were limited to camouflaging myself to match my surroundings. The other Ravens got together and convinced him that I could still be useful. And now I'm the last of my kind. The doctor decided my kind wasn't reliable or something along those lines and sent the Creeds out to hunt us down and slaughter us all. I only survived because my mentor Raven 8, sacrificed herself to keep me alive. I'm alone and I have nowhere to go, what am I supposed to do now?

4 years later

Raven's field journal entry 87

I was had just left my contact after collecting my fee for liberating some Ferrum tech for him, when I noticed a familiar face being dragged off by goblin's heading toward the Grind. It was David Hardy, the guy traveling with the rebellious Creed. I owed him one so I headed in the direction he was coming from to see if his friend would help get him back. When I found 7 he seemed unaware of David's predicament but he didn't hesitate to come with me. I told him all about the Grind, it's the closest thing those lunatics have to a city. Pretty much nightmare fuel for all the people outside the cities, the goblins take people there to "fight" for the their amusement. Mostly they force random people to get killed by what ever mutated monstrosity they've managed to catch.

Creed 7, field journal entry 7

I was sitting at our camp site finishing up my modifications on my repulser gloves when the woman calling herself Summer ran up to me, she informed me that David had been dragged off by members of the band of thugs known as the goblins to a place called the Grind. We ran off following the trail left behind. This woman is obviously not quite human given the fact that she had no trouble keeping up with me as I ran. We stopped a few hundred yards from the ramshackle structures that made up the grind, multiple poorly built shanties built around a large dilapidated arena that had to be at least 150 years old by the looks of it. Summer told me that this had once been a city and the Grind had been the home of a professional sports team. There were hundreds of goblins who started to flee like rats as we noticed the place begin to rumble. Summer and I prepared for a fight but they ran right past us without notice.

As the arena collapsed we saw David sitting outside the rubble sweating and breathing heavily. Just as we were about to ask him what had happened a large bloodied mutate burst from the rubble headed for David so I shot it with a full power repulser blast as David jumped to his feet. He said he's explain everything once we got away from this place.

David Hardy's voice journal

After we'd eaten some breakfast 7 started tinkering with his gloves so I headed toward a stream to refill our canteens. I'd been there a few minutes when I heard them pull up. Goblins on their old beat up motorcycles. They jumped me and dragged me off. After about 20 minutes or so they tossed me in a truck with several other people, and we headed toward the Grind. Every spider has heard the stories about people getting snatched up and taken to be dropped into a pit with some monster while a crowd cheered so I had a good idea what I was in store for. I was really hoping for 7 to show up and save my ass again but so far it wasn't looking to be the case.

The roar of the crowd was deafening when the announcer told them I was a spider and who my opponent was. It's name was Ike, I got nervous when I heard the chains rattling then it stomped out. It looked like it could've been a bastard child of the Hulk and a Grizzly bear, it had to be 8 feet tall and furry with huge claws on it's hands, I quickly tried to remember everything the old man had taught me about fighting larger opponents and tried my very best not to panic or scream like a little girl or do any of the terrified actions that were racing through my brain at the time, then they let it off the chain and it charged.

I dodged the first shot which shook the whole place as it's fists slammed into the ground, the second one was easier to dodge and I realized that though it was huge and could most likely kill me with one hit, it was very slow and none too bright. So I came up with a plan. With it's next attack I rolled away from it and grabbed a fist full of rocks off the ground and started chucking them into its eyes, this made him furious and he started swing wildly at one point hitting a wall causing the a large crack in the wall and halting the cheers of the crowd. The next time he slammed down I jumped on it's back and jammed a particularly sharp rock into his eye and held on tight as it thrashed like an angry bull. He started running backward trying to slam me into a wall but I jumped off just in time to see him go right through a primary support wall. Suddenly the crowd started jumping out of their seats as Ike came back through the wall now hell bent on crushing me. I took off as fast as I could to get away from it as he charged. Then he jumped at me with all the power his legs could muster and I jumped out of the way just in time to see him finish the building off as I ran out of the collapsing structure. I dropped to the ground just outside the place where 7 was running up along with Summer.

Just as I was starting to relax Ike burst out of the rubble but 7 blew his head clean off without hesitation, I got up and said hello to Summer who said " I should hang out with you guys more, you're fun" momentarily ignoring her strange definition of fun I suggested we leave before the goblins come back pissed off.

Reporting live from the New Latverian border

" I don't know what to say here, the devastation here is unspeakable. People cheered when hundreds of Iron soldiers arrived armed to the teeth to fight Ultron but within an hour of their arrival it was literally raining blood as the hostile machine tore through them. I can't get the image of all those body parts falling slamming into the ground like meteorites out of my head. We believed heroes would save us but I no longer see any reason to hope in that. So much blood, I can't do this, I'm sorry......."

Excerpt from the memoirs of Lord Stryfe

I believe we now have a solution, Doom has perfected some kind of weapon that he believes will stop Ultron long enough for us to complete our part. We have acquired a method of removing Ultron. I will need to be there personally to distract Ultron long enough for Doom to make preparations.

Excerpt from the Book of Doom

I've been working non stop with Ferrum's pathetic excuses for Scientists for almost a week now and I believe I've found a way to at least slow down this monstrosity that is currently tormenting my home land, it is a matter disruptor, the likes of which has never been seen. If it doesn't destroy it out right, it will definitely put it out of commission for a few moments while it's nanotech repairs the damage it will do. This will give the commander of the Iron army a small window to complete their part of the mission.

Reporting live from the New Latverian boarder

" My colleague has been given the rest of the day off, so I'm filling in here. It's been quiet here for the last hour but in the last few minutes several trucks pulled up and started unloading equipment, It appears Dr. Doom himself is here the Supreme Commander of the Iron army showed up afterwards in his customized armor said to be one of the most powerful weapons Ferrum Tech has ever built. I'm not sure what they're planning but it looks to be something big.

to be continued

David Hardy's voice journal

I've managed to get myself into a situation I don't know if I'm fully prepared for, 7 and I had been walking toward Madam Web's last known location, we had several fairly long conversations about who and what he was, I found it interesting that despite Sinister being funded by Ferrum he had his own secret army that the company knew nothing about. I can't figure out this Sinister guy, the Iron army is easy, they want to stay in power, but what does this guy want? 7 explained at length that he was something of an oddity among his kind, they weren't supposed to think or want things for themselves. Serving the doctor is supposed to be enough for them but it never had been for him he just couldn't express it until recently. Sleeping is probably never coming easy to me again knowing that there's a slave race of genetically engineered killing machines with a vested interest in my whereabouts but I have to put that out of my head for now.

About 4 days after our encounter with Omega and Abomination, we ran into a woman searching for the spider resistance. She said her name was Summer Frost, 7 and I both knew this was a lie but we decided to hear her out anyway. She told us that she'd stumbled upon a secret Ferrum lab a few miles from here and she needed help breaking in to it. 7 asked for the exact coordinates and seemed to know the place she was talking about and immediately offered his assistance and I decided to see where this ride was going to take me and said I'd come along.

Apparently 7 has no love loss for Iron soldiers, we started going over a hill and noticed 2 of them, one was a low rank but the other was a captain which usually says instant death to me so Summer and I ducked down but 7 walked strait toward them all I heard was "Freee......." I looked up and saw that 7 had thrown his adamantium knife into the captain's face and was on the other soldier before he had time to react. 7 grabbed him by the face with his repulser gloved hand and fired 2 shots, at that range it pretty much turned the soldiers head to mush. When we came up 7 was taking one of the captains repulser gloves because I guess he wanted a pair. As we walked on he adjusted it to fit his hand, removing the fingers as he'd done with the other one so his claws would fit.

When we arrived Summer told us that the place had many prisoners and she wanted to free them, She reached into her boot and pulled out a key card she'd stolen but before she was upright 7 was no where to be seen. We heard the sound of crunching metal and when we'd gotten a little closer we saw several smashed security drones. He was already in somehow so we didn't need a key since he'd been nice enough leave the door a few yards away from the door way for us. Summer walked into the first room she saw and there was a guard on his break in there. She jumped into the air planted both her feet into his face and tossed me his pulse rifle while saying "thanks for the distraction". She then seemed to disappear against the wall as I heard more guards running my way. I'm not much good with guns so I just fired as much as possible and hoped for the best.

I managed to get past the guards and into the cell blocks I looked around and found a release for the cell doors and let the prisoners loose, they turned out to be all mutants, very pissed off mutants that were more than happy to keep the guards occupied while I found 7. He was near the center of the facility and found what was powering the whole place. It was a mutant locked in a machine that used his natural energy for fuel. As soon as 7 released him he shot out of the place like a bullet but I doubt it was voluntary. I asked 7 what we were supposed to do now and all he said was, "burn it down".

Creed 7, field journal: entry 6

David and I met a woman who gave us an obviously fake name, she told us that she'd stumbled upon one of Sinister's labs. It was a lie of course, one does not stumble upon anything of his and live to talk about it. But I headed there any way, I had an insatiable desire to destroy it simply because it was his. I had to dispatch some Iron soldiers on the way, but I got a new repulser glove so it wasn't a bad deal. Getting in to this place usually would have been difficult but my anger seemed to give me great focus. I shredded the drones I found with ease and used my repulser gloves to weaken the door enough for me to tear it off. This place was powered by a man named Samuel Guthrie, I knew if the Chairman learned that Sinister had allowed him to live it would cause him to start looking into Sinister's activities and it would cause some instability in the power structure of the world.

I tore through the guards like a man possessed. I lost track of how many I'd killed by the time I found the chamber where Guthrie was kept. David showed up as I was releasing him and told me he'd freed all the prisoners and asked me what we were going to do, I just wanted to burn the place to the ground. David evacuated everyone as I rigged the place to blow. I carved my number in a place Sinister would be sure to look, I wanted him to know it was me that did this.

As I exited the woman calling herself Summer ran past me carrying a bag, I don't know what was in it but it seemed important to her. She smiled and thanked me then went to David and kissed him on the cheek then she was gone. The explosion would most certainly call the attention of any Iron soldiers in the area so I suggested we move on quickly.