Pools of blood were everywhere. Crimson life fluid soaked into the knees of the uniform as a figured crumbled to their knees, eyes fluttering to hold back the tears. Hands gripped the prone body and pulled it forward. It felt so light…deceptively light for the body of a once living being. Eyes once so full of fire and life were empty and staring endlessly at nothing.
In a moment one life had been taken, another shattered. Everything that had once been the kneeling figure was gone inside. Carved out and tossed aside. Nothing but a deep and aching rage remained. The entire soul rocked with the rage, pulsing to release it any moment. Only the blood of the perpetrator of the crime would satisfy the deep ache. Blood was spilt that night and, if the figure had their way, more would be. With but a word they prepared for revenge, uttering only one word. “Carnage…”
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ANNUAL #1
JAN 11 |
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“Wolves in the Fold”
Island X
One Hour Ago
Nothing was more boring than monitor duty. Unlike the comics with some comfortable seat and just one monitor with a hero sitting and watching, real life monitoring was a game of multi-tasking. Multiple screens were full of news from all over, as well as feeds from various local and worldwide hot spots. Monitoring meant keeping track of it all and alerting the others should something happen. Scott or Shiro excelled at such things, befitting their rigid personalities. Bobby didn’t fare quite as well.
Temperatures dropped near the consoles as small crystals of ice began to form. Each one connected to the other as a larger shape of ice began to form. Soon enough it took a more recognizable shape of a human like figure. Another split from the first to create another figure, both beginning to take on the aspects of a particular gender. Shifting the ice amounts and position led to figures seemingly dancing across the surface. Feet were propped upon the table as a hand hung lazily over the armrest idly moving to guide the ice figures and their eerily quiet dance.
“I really need a date.” Muttering, Bobby bounced his head off the seat back. Eyes stared at the ceiling before closing, the figures all but forgotten.
“I agree.” Eyes shot open as the voice came and brought the face of Jamie Madrox into focus. “Give your right hand a rest for the night, Bobby boy.”
Light creaks sounded as the chair shifted for the occupant sitting forward quickly. With a turn, the two would-be teammates came face to face. None had known when to really expect Jamie’s arrival as there had been conflicting messages and reports. “Hey, man, we weren’t sure if you were going to make it.”
“Oh, I just had some things to handle, some friends to see. In fact, I brought some friends with me tonight. They’re dying to meet you.”
Shivers actually shot through the body of the man who manipulated cold temperatures with ease, the last words bringing to mind every movie where they were used in such an ominous manner. Before words could be formed, a shadow appeared around the icy mutant. Large teeth framed the mouth the came down around his body. Struggles ensued but it was in vain as, moments later, the last of Bobby could be seen sliding into the closing mouth of a rat with a bulging body.
As Jamie watched with a sinister smile the body of the rat began to grow and change until a perfect replica of Bobby Drake stood before him. The only difference was that on the uniform under the ice was a red smiley face, trademark of Dirtnap. However, it wasn’t fully out of place with Bobby being known as the jokester so that he wouldn’t be above adding such an out of place item to his uniform.
“I normally don’t prefer my food so cold.”
“Quiet, rodent.” A figure slid from the shadows, eyes covered by a decorative wrapping. A sword was sheathed and hanging from the hips as arms crossed over the chest. “We have work to be done. You know your assignments.” Gorgon slid through the shadows and out the door, leaving the two alone.
Jamie and the faux Iceman reached the controls and began to shut down the alarms and warning systems. With the last flick of a switch, Island X was open to any attack. Twinkling columns of light appeared as the teleporter tech brought in the last two members of the assault team. Briquette flexed large red arms, muscles bulging with a grim yet somewhat excited look upon her face.
Beside the large woman stood a figure that still sent chills down Dirtnap’s usually rodent spine. Everyone knew the story about Carnage. Cletus Cassidy was already a very disturbed man before the offspring of the Venom symbiote changed his life. With the power of the Carnage symbiote came the power to cause death on massive levels…this was terribly perfect for one as unhinged as Cassidy. How Cassandra Nova ever got the man and creature under control was beyond Dirtnap’s pay grade and desire to know. As long as the guy was kept under control he’d just avoid him as much as possible, especially when Cletus felt it necessary to begin story time of his exploits. Some made a Saw movie seem tame.
“You know what to do.” With that, Jamie led the way out the door with Briquette in tow.
Dirtnap frowned, trying to figure out how he’d ever been paired with the psychotic killer. Carnage cackled and leapt through the door into the main hallway. “Come out, come out, little mutants! Uncle Carnage wants to play!” As the door closed behind them, Dirtnap felt a chill run down his spine. There would be blood, it was guaranteed and, if Carnage was the one causing it, there would be a lot. Someone was going to die.
Papers were strewn across the large conference table with not a single one pertaining to the X-Men as a whole. Instead, most were actually duplicates of a master copy and all were part of the wedding planning occurring within the large room. After the ordeals with the Red Hulk and Mojo, Angelica was more adamant than ever that they finally get their long delayed wedding on track. Vance was in agreement for the most part, until he found out just how much work was going to have to go into it. One would give anything for a rewind button.
“The seating chart just isn’t working. Trying to fit in all our superhero friends that can come as their secret identities works for the most part, but then we have to factor in other friends and family and then try to find a way to get in those heroes that don’t have secret identities or can’t reveal them. Like how do we invite Iron Man or Spider-Man? I think Tony Stark at our wedding would raise questions, right? And how do you even get an invite to Spider-Man?”
As Angelica frenzied over the details, Vance gave a half hearted grunt in answer to the questions. His mind wandered as memories of their time on the Avengers and current times with the X-Men began to meld some. All those years ago in the New Warriors as Marvel Boy there had never been a thought that one day there would be celebrity surrounding any of them. Rich was off in space somewhere doing the big hero thing. Robbie was in Genosha. Dwayne was....well, one never knew what Dwayne was up to. Last he’d heard Nita was in the West Coast Avengers branch, same with Elvin. No one had heard from Micky in awhile, as she had decided to fall back into civilian life. The New Warriors were all grown up now and, soon, Vance would take the biggest adult plunge there was.
“Am I really ready...” The words tumbled out as a murmur, Vance not even realizing.
Pencil came to a stop as Angelica’s piercing green eyes rose. Her mind might have been fully on wedding aspects but it didn’t mean her hearing had gone anywhere. “What do you mean ‘are you really’ ready? That better not mean what I think it means, Vance Astrovik!”
Vance shot back to reality as the realization of an angry redhead came crashing in. “I…umm...no, not what I meant. I’m more than ready for the wedding. I swear! I was just thinking about heroics and such.”
“Vance, I’m not a fool. I know what you really meant. You’re a really shitty liar, by the way. Your eyes give you away; that and the fact that your voice cracks more than a teenage boy hitting puberty.”
“Oh, well, that’s good to know, I suppose. Puberty is finally kicking in.” The look from the woman killed any more joking. “Okay, so…no joking yet. Noted.”
“Damn it, Vance, it’s not time to joke.” Exasperation was evident in the voice and body as the pencil was tossed to the table. “I know this is a lot of work. I know you’d rather be doing something else, but I thought after everything we’ve been through lately you realized it’s time for us to shit or get off the pot.”
“It is, you’re right.” Hands slid across the table to envelop her smaller ones. “I love you more than anything, Angelica. I swear it. I’m ready for this. It’s just a lot for the mind to process at the same time as us actually being here with the X-Men and everything. I promise it’s just short term mind jitters. Come the wedding day I’ll be more than one hundred percent sure that taking you as my bride is the right thing to do.”
A small smile came with a shake of the head. “You’re a smooth talker and I still can’t stay mad at that boyish face.”
“How sweet…I think I’m going to be sick!” A figure leapt through the door way, landing upon the table and sending papers scattering in all directions.
Vance instinctively threw up his hands along with a telekinetic shield, which came in handy as, moments later, red tendrils slammed into the shields. Angelica’s chair slammed back as she leapt up, powers brimming as holes were eaten through her civilian clothes to reveal the main part of her uniform beneath.
Carnage cackled and formed a large axe, slamming into the table and causing Vance to tumble back out of his seat. His shield shifted just in time to catch an attack by the axe before it found a home within his head. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the bombardment of the shield commenced. At the same time a large blast of ice slammed into Angelica and sent her sailing before an attack could commence upon Carnage.
Eyes blinked as the red head came to a stop against the far wall. A figure came into sight and a light gasp rose. “Bobby...what are you...” Ice struck her again before the sentence could be finished.
Once quiet halls echoed with screams as figures dashed through looking for any respite from the onslaught. Blood splattered the walls as a sword slashed through simple flesh. Crashes of stone upon metallic floors followed, pieces of faces etched in horror amongst the rubble. One by one the people were dying and there was no one to help them. There were not a lot of them, but enough. They were the staff, mutant and human alike, hired to help keep Island X in working order. A long night of overhauling systems was to be for naught.
Tomi Shishido, known by Gorgon to all but those aware of his birth, of which there were none left alive, was no ordinary mutant. By the age of two weeks old the youth had spoken his first words. Walking at three months and reading and writing by his first birthday were the next accomplishments marked from the list of life. The family was left aghast as, by his fourth birthday, he was one of the five best painters in modern Japan. By the sixth he had composed his first opera and attempted suicide for the second time.
At thirteen Tomi had devised a mathematical formula that, without question, proved the existence of God and discovered at last that he was a mutant. With but a glance Tomi could turn anyone into stone. Quickly the moniker of Gorgon was slapped upon him by the media and it stuck. For four years Gorgon had run a mutant death-cult called the Dawn of the White Light and subjected Japan to a relentless series of terrorist attacks. At the age of eighteen Gorgon slew his entire family and his only friend to prove that he was worthy and ruthless enough for the Hand. Seeking out a Master, he slew all the guards before bowing before the Master and, when his dedication was questioned, Gorgon stabbed himself upon his own sword and told the Master to resurrect him. Impressed with his actions, the Hand master did just that.
Ever since that moment Gorgon served the hand, eventually taking over his own branch of the ancient group while still waging terrorist attacks with the Dawn of the White Light. That was where Cassandra Nova eventually found him. Tomi was more than intrigued by the offer brought by the woman. While at the top of the heap Tomi would never serve another. However, Nova’s Weapon X provided a new distraction and challenge. There was no inkling of loyalty to other mutants that would stop him from helping hurt them or hunt them down. All that mattered was his own being and his own destiny.
Through all that, at last, Gorgon stalked through the halls intent upon his prey and slaughtering any that got in the way. Nova had given orders to hit the X-Men and to hit them hard. It was a message that even the celebrity-focused mutants would understand. Blood and death had a way of doing that. Screams were silenced quickly as eyes landed upon running figures, silencing them forever in a thick coating of stone. With a swift move a sharp katanna struck the stone figures, sending them crashing to the ground with loud crashes. Each soul was trapped forever in an eternal death. A slight tug of the lips could be seen before fading away. Gorgon was all business.
A ruby red light struck the man’s arm and sent his sword tumbling to the ground. Cyclops emerged from the shadows, hand upon the controls of his ruby quartz visor. “Whoever you are, you just made the biggest mistake ever.”
Gorgon let his lips part to bring a sinister smile to his face. At last…a challenge! Light could be seen behind Cyclops as Phoenix levitated into the room. A red-headed older man emerged from the other shadows beside her. The blindfold normally worn by the man when his powers were not to be used was pulled down tightly. The grin hadn’t faded. “We begin.”
Before the X-Men could react the man was leaping across the room, another sword pulled out and quickly slashing. Sean let out a sharp sound as a slash appeared upon his chest and blood dripped from the wound around his uniform. The Irish mutant stumbled back and avoided another blow that would have connected with his head. Vocal cords flexed as a sonic cry emerged from the mouth and struck Gorgon in the chest. Cyclops and Phoenix covered their ears as the man went tumbling back into the shadows.
“Shut him down, Phoenix!” Scott’s words brought a glance from the woman, noticing his use of her codename over her true name as in times past. Scott was all business.
Jean’s brows furrowed as she reached out, trying to find the intruder. There was nothing in the surrounding area outside of her teammates and the last psychic echoes from the dead and dying around them. The stranger seeming wasn’t there. “His thoughts are masked. Some sort psychic dampening technology.”
“Swell. We do this the old fashioned way then.” Cyclops surged forward through the shadows. A swish in the air alerted him to the descending bladed weapon. With a slight twist, the X-Men leader was out of the way and tight against the wall.
Gorgon swung a foot out and connected with Cyclops ribs, a light cracking sound accompanying the breaking of at least one of them. Scott winced and moved to the side, but not before getting off a blast that sent the other man twisting out of the way. Jean stood in place, telekenetic forces surging out to slam Gorgon against the wall. The man seemed to chuckle, his arm rising to face her as something slammed into the woman’s neck. Jean gasped at the sharp pain;as the dart’s contents pumped into her body, Jean crumpled backwards onto the floor with a thud.
Banshee, having gotten back on his feet, moved toward his fallen teammate just as a booted foot slammed into his face. The same foot connected a few more times, not letting the man even catch a breath or release his trademark sonic scream. Within moments the Irish mutant was as down as his teammate.
Gorgon was momentarily pushed from his feet as Cyclops leapt at him from behind. The two men tumbled forward, Gorgon using the momentum to send Scott forward at the wall while regaining his own footing again. With a flash the sword was at the side of the fallen leader’s throat. “Now we finish.”
Three sharp knives found themselves embedded into the wall as Briquette managed to move her arm just in time. A frown grew upon Longshot’s face; his luck powers had never failed before. It wasn’t usual for Longshot to not be in a jovial mood but when it came to a failure of power while trying to protect one’s friends jovial tended to go out the door.
“Little freak is angry.” Barking words seemed to shoot from the woman’s mouth followed by a howl and harsh laughter.
“He ain’t alone!” Briquette let out a roar as a bright set of flashes hit the eyes courtesy of Jubilee’s powers. The younger X-Man dodged the flailing arms to send more of the bursts at the woman’s face and body. “This is how you do it, Longshot, so watch the master at work.”
“Jubilee! Watch your left!”
Shadowcat’s words came too late as a foot slammed into Jubilee’s side and sent her reeling. Followed up with a punch, she fell to the ground gasping. Jamie stood over the young woman with a sinister grin upon his face as two more Jamie’s came forward and began kicking at the downed mutant. Shadowcat leapt forward only to be repelled back by a laser blast to the abs. As she fell, her powers kicked in quickly enough to send her through the floor. The Jamie with the gun glanced around trying to find his victim. Lithe fingers slid from the floor and yanked the dupe to the ground by the ankle. Two more sprung out of him but the one with the weapon was out cold.
“We’re like a Hydra. Cut one head off two more take its place!”
“I wanna break some heads!”
Two Jamie’s of differing personalities were born and ready to join the large fight. The only way out was to find the progenitor dupe, Jamie Prime, which was not the one that was to come to the Astonishing team. Instead a dupe was to be assigned to each team. Clearly someone had gotten to the Chicago team’s duplicate first.
Feet were upon solid ground again as Shadowcat came up from the floor. “This is getting out of hand quickly.” A dupe’s punch was dodged, a kick to the face sending the dupe flying. Another leapt forward to grab hold and would have if not for the wonderful power to phase. “Shiro, see if you can clear the hallway! Quickly!”
“I do not take orders from you, girl.” Flames shot forward and filled the other part of the hallway, seriously burning or worse to the slew of duplicates moving their way. The Japanese mutant hovered in the air, almost uncaring of the situation at hand.
Angelica’s body temperature dropped as the ice began to pile up around her. Eyes fluttered as her brain could not comprehend the attack upon her body. Bobby was a teammate and friend, yet there she was taking the brunt of his attack. It didn’t seem to make sense. Part of the brain screamed that it didn’t have to make sense; all that mattered was surviving the attack and reciprocating without hurting a friend. At long last that part of the brain won out. Microwave energy grew within her body before emitting at high levels, melting through the ice. Ice shattered and sent chunks flying as the woman blasted from within. A gasp and deep breathes came.
“Vance!” As her eyes readjusted from the cold, Angelica spotted her fiancé under the attack of the blood thirsty symbiote-enhanced killer. One hand rose and shot a blast of microwaves in Iceman’s direction while the other did the same at Carnage.
The creature hissed as the symbiote rippled from her attack, Carnage leaping to the side and gripping onto a wall before dropping down behind the table out of sight. Vance fell back and let his shield drop at last. “Nice save.”
“Don’t mention it. Just make it up to me by helping pick out napkins later.”
“Yeah, you got it. Napkins, dress, whatever I’m there.”
Angelica gave a light chuckle as she patted his cheek, kneeling by his side. “No dress, dear. That is the bride’s prerogative. Now how about we get up and figure out just what the hell is going on here.”
Vance met Angelica’s eyes and smiled, taking in everything about her. The look upon her face changed suddenly as a red spike shot through her chest, crimson blood splattering across the floor and Vance’s face. The spike retracted and Angelica’s body tumbled to the ground. Vance shot to his feet, catching sight of her attacker sliding around the corner with a cackle that echoed down the hall.
Pools of blood were everywhere. Crimson life fluid soaked into the knees of Vance’s uniform as he crumbled to his knees, eyes fluttering to hold back the tears. Hands gripped the prone body and pulled it forward. It felt so light…deceptively light for the body of a once-living being. Eyes once so full of fire and life were empty and staring endlessly at nothing.
In a moment one life had been taken, another shattered. Everything that had once been Vance Astrovik was gone inside, carved out and tossed aside. Nothing but a deep and aching rage remained. His entire soul rocked with the rage, pulsing to release it at any moment. Only the blood of the perpetrator of the crime would satisfy the deep ache. Blood was spilt that night and, if Vance had his way, more would be. With but a word he prepared for revenge, uttering only one word. “Carnage…”
Gorgon’s sword hovered over the throat for a moment, ready to plunge down. As the blade sliced down it struck something seemingly solid before stopping. There was no blood. His head shot to the side, the image of Jean lying upon the floor with her hand raised could be slightly seen from under the bottom of his blindfold. The woman struggled to resist the dart’s contents while protecting the man she loved. “Bothersome.”
The blade pulled back as the man prepared to deal with the woman once and for all. Noise erupted in the tight space as Banshee’s sonic scream slammed into Gorgon’s back, sending the man flying across the room. At the same time an optic blast mixed with the sonic forces to help propel the mutant right through the furthest wall.
“Jean, lass, are ye okay?” Sean held his bruised and bloodied mouth as he knelt by the woman’s side.
“Fighting…fighting the…drugs.” Sean yanked the dart out, Jean’s face contorting in momentary pain. Concentration was etched upon her face as she focused within herself. As Sean watched, a liquid began to dribble from the dart wound and onto the floor. Moments later the stream of liquid seemed to stop and just a few drops plopped out. Jean sighed and managed to stagger to a sitting position. “I managed to push the drug out…mostly.”
“Good,” Scott said as he walked past the two right for where Gorgon had been knocked. There was nothing within the next room but the rubble from the wall. “He’s gone. Regroup with the others. Find out what the hell happened here.”
Flames swirled around the hall catching dupe after dupe in their burning fury. Shadowcat covered her eyes as she watched the dupes reduced to charred remains and ashes. A frown grew upon her face. True, they were essentially clones of the original Jamie Madrox, but it still didn’t sit well with the young woman that Sunfire callously killed so many of them.
A sharp yelp brought her attention back to the battle as Jubilee was trying to pull away from Briquette’s firm grip. The young woman yanked back just as Briquette yanked forward and twisted. The sharp crack of the bone breaking could be heard by all and Jubilee let out a scream, shooting blasts right in the other woman’s eyes as a last ditch effort at getting free. The hulking woman fell back blind for the moment and Longshot managed to catch Jubilee before she hit the ground. “I’ve got you.”
“You’ve got me…who’s got…you?” In her delirium from the pain, Jubilee giggled for a second before falling unconscious in Longshot’s arms.
Shadowcat leapt forward and connected with Briquette with a kick to the chest and the woman stumbling back into a wall. Rolling with the momentum, Kitty came back to her feet and stood over the fallen woman who was still rubbing at her eyes and growling.
On the other side of the room the dupes all vanished as one dupe was burning and screaming; in seconds he was just a charred husk upon the ground. It seemed that Sunfire had found the progenitor. Shiro settled upon the ground while a superior smug grew upon his face. “They did not warrant my full effort.”
“I’m sure. Now can you get off your high horse long enough to help your teammates?”
With a crackle the ear piece within Briquettes ear came to life. Regroup. Mission accomplished. Regroup for transport.
Kitty’s head tilted to the side for a moment as the voice sounded all too familiar. “Was that…Bobby?”
Bare feet slapped against the metallic floors as Dirtnap raced through the halls. The mission had been to attack the X-Men or something; paying attention in briefings should have been a higher priority. All the rodent mutant knew was that they had attacked and damage had been done and it was time to get the hell out of dodge…especially since Carnage had killed one of the X-Men. Justice hadn’t been happy when the two had fled. Carnage was almost skipping with joy further ahead in the hall way.
“CARNAGE!” The words reverberated through the hallway as the walls began to buckle and ripple with immense telekenetic forces. Pieces of metal and other materials began to shoot out of the walls. Dirtnap yelped and ducked the projectiles, forgetting for a moment that he wasn’t a small rodent, only to be slammed in the head with a large chunk of a wall.
Justice hovered over the body with a glare. “Traitor…I should kill you right here…Angelica was your friend!”
“Guy…you got me confused….nobody is worth this.” Dirtnap’s body began to heave as the mouth began to open wide. Saliva pooled out as, slowly, Bobby’s unconscious body was almost spat from the gaping orifice. Soon as the body was out there was just a rat with a smiley face upon its back trying to scurry away.
Vance frowned and used his forces to slam the rodent into the nearest wall and Dirtnap slumped to the ground. Bobby groaned and moved slightly on the floor, consciousness was starting to return. Vance didn’t wait to see if Bobby was okay. Carnage had to be captured. Rounding the corner brought the ex-New Warrior face-to-face with a large red axe that slammed into the wall just as he moved. Telekenetic shields grew again and caught the next blow. “Oooh…blood on your knees. Whatever will mother say? I bet it tastes as sweet as your fiancé.”
Vance roared and the shields expanded to catch Carnage in the chest. Flailing, the man and symbiote combination slammed into a wall. Red tendrils shot out and stabbed Vance’s leg, causing him to gasp and lose control of the shields. Carnage dropped to the ground and retracted the tendrils. The nearest doorway was crashed open and, with a cackle, the villain was within the space.
Hobbling on an injured leg, Vance entered the space to see it was an elevator shaft. Far above was the elevator with a gaping hole in its bottom. With little effort Vance was sailing through the air towards the lift far above. Just as he got close it began to descend. Hands shot above his head as, bit by bit, he began to slow it down. Sweat dripped from the brow as last the lift came to a stop. Pulling himself within brought Vance the sight of the open door and the night sky outside of it…Carnage was gone, a cackle barely heard on the wind.
Anguished cries slipped from the lips as Vance fell forward to pound the ground. Angelica was dead and her killer was gone.
“So, you’re telling me that we were attacked on our own soil, lost one of our team, others injured, and we didn’t get a single one of the attackers?!”
Kitty gave a slight nod to Scott’s words. “Shiro seems to have killed the Jamie Madrox dupe that was supposed to be on our team. He helped lead the attack. Dirtnap got away after Justice went after Carnage. Briquette was down but managed to slip away when our backs were turned. Things could have been worse.”
Scott grunted and pulled himself from the medical bed, gauze tight around his chest for the healing rib. Jean came into the room, Sean behind her. Both looked about as bad as they felt. Jean’s system had cleansed the rest of the poison within the dart but she wasn’t fully back to normal. Sean’s mouth was tender and bruised and most of his face was covered in dark bruises. “She’s right, Scott. We lost Angelica, a loss that we can never get over but we got off light…too light. I don’t think they were here to kill us, really. It was to make a point. Our other installations and teams are reporting similar attacks. The XSE is coordinating efforts in the aftermath of the attacks. The whole organization was hit hard and bad.”
“Yeah, well, clearly this team wasn’t as ready as I figured. I knew the celebrity angle would dull our edge.”
Jean blinked, anger starting to creep into her features. Sean and Kitty stayed back out of the brewing conflict. “You made the decision to come to this team, Scott, not me. I followed you because I love you…something that doesn’t seem to reciprocate lately.”
“Not the Hulk stuff again, please. It was bad enough the first time.”
“What happened to us, Scott? Where did it all go wrong?”
“My eyes were opened. There is no playing house in the world we live in. Get over it.”
A tear welled up in her right eye, yet Jean willed them away before they began to flow. She would not give him the satisfaction. “So, then, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying this was a mistake. I’m headed back to New York for awhile. Then I’m headed to Snow Valley. This team is finished.” With that he pushed past the others and was out the door.
“No, Scott…this team is just started.” Even though the man was gone she still uttered the words, catching Kitty and Sean’s eyes. The two nodded at her as they headed for the door. A new day was coming and it was time to embrace the changes.
Glazed eyes stared at the ceiling. all feeling having gone out of the body long ago. Vance didn’t want to feel anymore…except for the white hot rage that boiled within. Angelica’s body was in the morgue of the island, waiting for a proper burial. They would have a funeral soon, her father already on his way. Others from her past teams and such were on the way as well. A public memorial had been set up for New York after a cover story had been cooked up. It was hard for her father to lie about how she died but Angelica being a hero couldn’t get out. A skiing accident would be the cause of death as far as the rest were told, and the body would be buried in New York. Once her father arrived they would go with him to take the body home, and a second private memorial and burial would be attended by her closest friends in the hero community and her father. It was only right they paid their respects as well.
Carnage had gotten away with no sign of the killer anywhere yet. He was still in Chicago though, that much Vance was sure about. The psychotic killer wasn’t done with the death upon his claws. More blood would be spilt. Vance was going to make sure that Angelica’s was some of the last blood Cletus Cassidy ever spilt.
“Your mine, Carnage…I swear it.” A fist struck the wall as he rolled over. Such a vow couldn’t come while still part of the team or even at the moment. No…Vance had to do this on his own. After the memorial he would be leaving them. He had to have time on his own. Then it would be time to find Carnage and have vengeance for Angelica. Then at last she could rest in peace, even if Vance never could.
Unknown Location
Once again three figures entered the room they had met within multiple times. They hadn’t met in some time, yet now was the perfect time for such a meeting. Each took their seats as an aerial image of Island X was placed upon a large screen before the table.
“Our inside reports indicate that Firestar is dead, Jubilee and Iceman are injured, and Cyclops has apparently left. They are falling apart. The time is right for our plans to evolve.”
“Indeed. It does seem the time is finally right for everything to move forward.”
Leaning out of the shadows, the alien known as Lucifer grunted. “Attacking a weakened opponent is child’s play.”
Shinobi Shaw waved a hand as he brought it back together with the other, sitting back with both upon his chest. “Not weakened—changed. The X-Men excel at emerging greater out of adversity. Make no mistake they will rebound and that is when we will strike.”
The lone female within the trio, one Emma Steed, crossed her legs, pulling her skirt down slightly as a predatory smile spread across ruby red lips. “Gentleman, gentleman…I think we are all agreed then. The time is right for our plans to move forward.”
Lucifer nodded. “Agreed.”
“Agreed.” Shaw smiled lightly.
“Very well, then. At last the world will once again know of the might of Factor Three!”
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Next: In Astonishing X-Men #7: More Things Change…
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