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#7
MAY 11 |
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“Planetary Strike” Part Seven
Wiccan stood his ground in the face of scrutiny. "I think investigating alien magic is a perfectly feasible proposition and you shouldn’t so lightly cast it to the wind.”
The comment was directed at Lady Ororo of Earth-9940. She was a mage of great power on her world and Wiccan had a healthy respect for her, but on this matter they were in disagreement. It was a disagreement both of them needed to cure the dullness of being stuck in The Pantheon. “Alien magic could, at its very core, be dangerous for other life forms to practice. Look how dangerous Earth-based magicks are for humans. I can only imagine what an Axi-Tun or Kree based magic could do to us.”
“The greatest discoveries come through taking great risks. Besides, the higher the risk the higher the reward,” Wiccan said.
Lady Ororo could not bring herself to agree with such a sentiment. “And are you prepared to handle those risk? Imagine what a Kree version of Mephisto may look like? Could you handle the darker side of such foreign magic?”
Billy was more than sure that he could not only handle it, but also master it. He was determined to learn and manipulate all the magic that was out there in the wide Multiverse...and even beyond. It was his life’s work and he could hardly believe that Lady Ororo was being so short-sighed about it. The myriad rituals of the myriads peoples of the Multiverse should be seen as a grand opportunity of exploration and not something to be a Puritan prude about.
“Every adventure carries its dark side, Lady Ororo,” Wiccan said and quickly changed the subject. “I’m sure that at least one of us will be thrust at this world’s Selene. I hear she has consumed entire demonic realms into her person to increase her magical prowess.”
Ororo was shocked, but not with Selene’s deed. She was shocked that Billy sounded almost excited with what Selene had done and not revolted. “Such a thing is beyond horrifying. To corrupt oneself to such a degree is unimaginable.”
“But the mechanics of it have my curiosity piqued. I would love to have seen the steps she took to make it all happen.”
Ororo put her hands on her hips and stared intently at Wiccan. “Be carefully, Billy, that your thirst for knowledge does not take you down a path you cannot walk back from.”
Before Billy could respond, Captain Britain had walked onto the deck with Vulcan and Alise Parker. He had moved close to Gaia and Portal so Wiccan figured it was only natural he get his front row seats too. “We’ll catch up some more later, Lady Ororo. I want to hear what my Director has to say.”
Ororo watched Wiccan leave with worry etched into her ebony features. She sensed a great danger in Wiccan and she hoped those close to him could recognize it before he went too far.
Los Angeles
Domino District (Formerly Compton)
Exodus floated above the recently renovated housing district with his fellow Horsemen at his side. He was telekinetically holding all of them in the air except for Rogue. “Soon we shall face our enemies, and they will be found weak.”
“I do not know why we aide them, Death. They are the ones who imprisoned us,” War said. Moonstar (as she was once called) would have much preferred to cleave every soldier of Earth in half. Vengeance would be hers for Apocalypse and herself.
Death understood War’s complaint, but there was a great plan at play. “The Magus was no friend of Apocalypse. We will show him lacking and then deal with our captors. I have heard they have released the Heralds as well; I will have my day with the Iceman.”
A smile like a scythe crept up on Madrox’s face. Of all the Horsemen, Genocide was the most sadistic. He had been created by Holocaust as a gift for his father. His mutation had been twisted so that every dupe he created was some dark reflection of himself. “You seek a rematch?”
“It is mine to seek. We will crush all who stand in our way and return glory to the name of Apocalypse. Do you object to this, Genocide?” Death asked. Personal gain was not a trait that Apocalypse had cultivated in his Horsemen, but they were not complete robots.
Emplate spoke through razor teeth, his breathing apparatus having been removed long ago. “We are Horsemen, Death, you do not need to question our loyalty. Genocide only wants to make sure our goals remain clear.”
Rogue laughed, her southern charm having long been replaced by a haggard voice and stone gray skin. “Pestilence, is the goal not clear? We kill the White Gods and we kill The Heralds and anyone else who stands in our way. Glory to Apocalpyse!”
War looked out into the Los Angeles skyline and imagined the battle that was to come. The Prime Sentinels would be adequate allies. “I concur with Famine. We will do what must be done and slash down any who stand in our way.”
Far below the Horsemen, Motormouth looked up at the congregation and said, “Those buggers give me the creeps. No telling what they’re talking about.”
“Oh, it’s quite clear what they’re talking about,” Mindbender laughed as he wiped off his red and green sunglasses. “How to stab us right in the back.”
“And these are the people we’re supposed to be working with and we’re surrounded by bloody Sentinels on top of it. What’s next? They going to ask the Red Skull to join in on the fun?”
Mindbender could watch Motormouth’s temper tantrums all day. “The Red Skull is plenty dead by now, and Sentinels aren’t all bad. My world managed to convert them into peacekeepers.”
“Yea, well, your world had Sarah bloody Palin as President so that shows just about how soddin much faith I have in your home.”
Mindbender winced as he picked up a Horsemen’s thought. “They just talked about sitting President Stark on a spike.”
Rolling her eyes, Motormouth said, “Yea, great bloody crowd.”
Cairo, Egypt
Nur Castle
The luxuries of the Nur family residence were many. Apocalypse’s grandson, Imani Nur, had built it after the devastation caused to the city by the Shadow Queen. He built up the grand castle in the center of the city and it was the crown jewel of the new Cairo. The castle was three hundred stories high and each floor was large enough to easily hold five hundred occupants. Every inch of the building floor was tiled with blue and gray marble, while deep royal blue curtains hung from every window.
A horde of butlers and maids kept the castle spotless, as it was the seat of the Continental Governorship and was host to a great many galas. But outside of those grand affairs, the castle itself remained relatively empty. Amiri Nur had not had any children and had himself been an only child. A few of his extended family members resided in the castle, but Amiri rarely ran into them due to the structure’s size. It was probably just as well, since Amiri cared nothing for his living family members. They were lazy and lacked conviction.
Amiri had much more reverence for his family of old. They had made the name of Nur a proud one and fought for the idea that the strong should lead the weak. It was the only idea that made sense in an insane world. Amiri believed in that idea with every drop of blood in his veins. He believed in that idea so much that he had lost the love of his life over it. Probably for the best, because Nurs were not meant for love. Their purpose was a much greater one, but the loss still tugged at his heart sometimes.
Like today.
When those feeling struck him, he retreated to the roof of his great castle. It put him away from everything while still keeping him in touch with everything. Four great crystal spires jutted from the roof of the castle and, for some reason, Amiri found them to be soothing. They had been gifts from Crystal of the Inhumans as a sign of peace. As a Nur, he found peace distasteful, but on these days he could stomach the idea. It was a weakness and he wished he could purge it all from him like the great Apocalypse, but he just wasn’t capable.
Alise Parker had stolen his heart and yet to return it.
“What a fool I am,” Amiri said to his ancestors as he walked to the railing that surrounded the roof. He looked down at the great city of Cairo below him and was glad that the war would not be waged in it. That did not stop him from wishing he could have joined the battle that was about to take place, but Africa needed its leader in one piece. The defense of the continent needed to be managed just in case Stark’s plan of attack failed and the Magus reached Earth. He hoped Alise would take care of herself and not rush into anything foolish as she usually had a tendency to do.
That was when an unnatural green lightning tore through the sky and thick, purple clouds began to roll in. Amiri looked up and a grimace crossed an already harsh face. More of the unnatural lightning cracked through the sky and he could begin to hear the frightened screams of his people below. The air smelled like rotten eggs more and more with each lightning strike to the point where it was nearly overwhelming, but not for a Nur. They were a pedigree of strength and warrior endurance.
Amiri threw back his billowing white cloak to reveal a torso littered with red and black tattoos. Jagged red stripes ran down the full length of his arms while a black crescent moon was tattooed across his back. Right above his collarbone was a tattoo of a black lion fighting a red dragon. He felt that today would be his day to be the warrior and the sensation tingled every muscle in his body. “It seems I may have been mistaken. Perhaps Cairo will see war.”
A deep, dark laugh rumbled from within the clouds and realization began to set in for the Continental Governor. His foes were far more powerful than he thought and they were appearing where they weren’t supposed to be. "The White Gods.”
Amiri watched as four, fast falling figures fell from the clouds and zoomed towards the Earth. The people below were already screaming and scattering from the black silhouettes. He knew that their simple arrival would cause destruction so it would only be a matter of time before members of his elite guard, the Clan Akabba, arrived. For now he would have to handle them. “Apocalypse, watch over me and make me strong.”
Walking backwards to get a running start, Amiri leaped over the rails and went into freefall. He tucked his arms to his sides and let the wind rush past him. The White Gods may have thought they found easy prey in their sneak attack, but not today. He would never allow Africa to be the victim again.
The Pantheon
“We’re going to be looking at what’s left of the Kree fleet and the Magus’ entire fleet dead in the eyes,” Captain Britain said to all the A.R.M.O.R. soldiers standing around him in one large, disfigured circle. “I won’t lie and pretend that it’s going to be easy because it’s not. This is going to be a firefight that we may win by the skin of our teeth...but we can win. That goal is not yet lost in the fog of war.”
Brian feared that his words were inadequate. “Our attack and defense is a multi-layered one. The Earth and other crucial points throughout the solar system must be defended while we deliver a hard, powerful strike directly into the heart of the Magus’ forces. I don’t have time to verbally tell each of you what your part in this battle is going to be, so you will be receiving telepathic orders from a S.W.O.R.D. Agent letting you know your part in this coming battle.”
He looked out into the crowd of soldiers and saw the raised hand of Cannonball from Earth-9940. Brian smiled and said, “I know you’re immune to telepathy, Sam, so I’ll come to you directly. Everyone else be ready to move into position soon as you get your orders.”
The crowd around Brian dispersed and his shoulder was immeadiately gripped by Vulcan before he could go to Cannonball. “One of my men will tell him what he needs to know. We have a problem on our hands.”
Brian nodded. “How big are we talking here?”
10 Minutes Later
The Pantheon - Communications Room
They watched from the other side of the communications screen as President Stark buried his face in his hands and spoke right through them. “You can’t be serious, Vulcan.”
“Unfortunately sir, I am,” Vulcan said with Captain Britain, Alise Parker and Fleet Admiral Banner standing behind him. The room was small and tight, but that was necessary to keep the security up. If the room was too big it allowed too many opportunities to miss a spying device or prying eyes. “The White Gods have landed in Cairo and we have had zero communication with Governor Amiri or any of his staff.”
“So it would seem we got played,” the President said and followed it up with a long groan. “I should have known that information was to juicy to be true.”
Vulcan nodded and wished he had voiced his doubts about the information when he had the chance, but there wasn’t tiem for regrets. “Our problem is compounded by the fact that as soon as rhe White Gods appeared, a large force field appeared over the entire continent. We can’t send in teleporters, intangibles or energy manipulators. The field appears to be highly sophisticated and the main power sources are coming from four points across the continent.”
The President slammed a fist on his desk. “Someone set this up. Someone wants Africa to get hit. But why there? There are other more prime targets.”
“Unless it was something against Governor Nur,” Brian said.
Stark agreed. “But who would want Amiri to get hit with this? Can we narrow that down?”
“Unfortunately sir, the Nur family has made too many enemies to try and do that,” Vulcan said as he held out his hand and created a holographic image of Africa. “Our best hope lies in disabling the power sources of this field. A simple computer virus may be able to disable them and allow our L.A. forces to move into Africa immediately.”
Stark nodded. He knew how thorough Vulcan was. “So I assume you already have someone on the job.”
“Yes, Mr. President. The Omega Sentinel is trying to decode the system now. She says it could take up to an hour before she makes a breakthrough. Whoever created this system obviously wanted to make sure that not even the most sophisticated machinery on Earth could get through quickly.”
T’Chaka thought for a moment and leaned back in his plush hoverchair. “Something that complicated could not have been just snuck in without Amiri knowing it. He would have had to allow those machines to come into the continent. Has anyone supllied any heavy machinery to Amiri in recent months that would generate that level of power?”
Alise smiled. Great minds think alike. “I already checked into that, Mr. President, and I think I may have figured out who our traitor is. Four large machines that were supposed to be energy converters were transported from Europe unde the eexpress orders of Governor Lensherr three months ago. It was supposed to be part of the reparations that Europe was still paying Africa.”
It all made sense to President Stark now and the rage on his face was evident. Clenching his fists, he leaned forward and said in almost a growl. “You all keep to your plans, I will handle him. Personally.”
Vulcan ceased his holographic projection. “Sir, are you sure that is wise? You have many sol--"
“I am a Wakandan soldier first and foremost, Vulcan. Betrayal of this kind does not go unanswered and I will not stand for it. I can take care of myself. Just worry about winning this war.”
The communication ended and Alise shrugged. "I think he’ll be fine.”
Vulcan did not look so convinced, but orders were orders. “I will tell the Fleet Admirals to begin moving our ships towards Uranus’ orbit.”
Brian couldn’t believe that things had turned south so fast. The battle hadn’t really started yet and things were already beginning to turn against their favor. He wasn’t so sure anymore if Battlestar had picked the right man to lead this expeditionary force. There were so many variables and so many personalities to deal with. He just wasn’t sure if he was cut out for it.
Earth-181203
Noh-Varr walked alongside Prelate Darkstar and asked, “Why me? Why would he want me for a Prelate? I’m not even a mutant.”
“He sees talent in you, comrade. It is not often Lord Onslaught goes to such lengths to bring an individual into his fold,” Darkstar said.
Onslaught watched the alien from afar. He would be the first piece in building his dimension-spanning empire. This would be just the first of many Earths to call him master.
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To Be Continued...
Next: In A.R.M.O.R. #8: Amiri faces the White Gods! Can he survive?
The Clan Akkaba
The Nubian
Obal
Hyena’s Laugh
Eshu
Kokola
Some of Earth-97701’s Timeline
November 2021- Catastrophic battle occurs between Hank Pym/allies and Songbird/allies. Pym unleashes the Sentry to demolish Songbird’s side and he traps the X-Men in the Negative Zone. Pym unleashes the Magus.
February 2022- After many confrontations, the Magus finally kills Tichondrius, but then sets his sights for the stars. The Crusaders try to lock him up again, but are all killed in the process.
March 2022- Selene and Skaar join with the Magus. Apocalypse frees the X-Men from their prison. He kills the ones who are useless to him and turns two of them (Rogue and Moonstar) into his Horsemen.
May 2022- Frostsword massacres the Hellfire Club as a test to prove herself worthy to join with the Magus. Selene kills an aging Magneto and steals his powers for herself. Skaar convinces his world to join with the Magus.
August 2022- Apocalypse sends out his Horsemen and Clan Akabba to attack Europe to purge them of weakness. Iceman and Dazzler of the Heralds try to stop them, but to no avail. Seeing an opportunity, Selene sets a wild Zatharos loose on the continent as well.
February 2023- The Magus and his allies attack Chandilar. It is the first battle of the Magus War. Amy Trask, along with Forge, create a new type of Sentinel called the Cerebro Unit to help stop the spree of the Horsemen.
March 2023- The heroes have a showdown with Apocalypse and his forces in a ravished Britain. During the course of the battle, the Magus arrives and gravely wounds Apocalypse. He also converts the Cerebro unit into his newest general. Apocalypse agrees to help the heroes combat the Magus.
October 2025- Apocalypse marries Lady Mastermind three months before their son, Marcus Nur, is due to be born. Conservative politicians take control across Europe and begin a new isolationist policy. Wakanda opens its borders and spreads its technology across Africa.
January 2026- The U.S. Government creates X-Force as a new branch of the military and allows the X-Men, under the direction of Amy Trask, to head it up. Wakanda lures Apocalypse and his Horsemen into a trap. They kill Apocalypse and trap the Horsemen in stasis. Ben Grimm moves with his wife and son, Reed, to Australia.
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