Winds of Change

 Chapter 4:

Scorched Earth

 

© Jake H

 

 

“I know that I haven’t stayed the full time allotted Bruce, but Luthor is bound to be positioning his forces in our absence.” The Lord of the S.U.S.A. shook the Batman’s hand as he, his wife, Solitare, Artemis, Syren, Paradox, and Frostfire had all opted to go ahead and return a few days early.

 

“I’m sorry to see you go Pete, but it’s something that I can respect. We are in the middle of a war after all.”

 

Peter Parker wasn’t the type to worry, but this had been playing again and again in his mind and he contemplated if Bruce had the same premonition.” Is it just me of does the past two weeks feel like the calm before the storm?”

 

Bruce Wayne had no choice but to concur. “Yes. My forces alone were being pushed back day after day until Lex called his ceasefire. Now the lines are held firm. Hell, with Thor and Arthur pushing Apocalypse out of their respective areas, he must be getting desperate or been waiting for us to drop our guard.”

 

“It certainly feels like it.” Shaking his hand one more time before departing, Peter had a few final words for his fellow world leader. “Also, when Sherri gets back, I’ll send word if she can’t come herself.”

 

Bruce perked up at his lover’s name. “Which reminds me…” motioning to the dark cloaked man standing behind him. “I’m sure you have seen him around the castle. This is Samaritan, my most trusted companion.”

 

Samaritan bowed deeply, but did not speak.

 

“I would like him to go with you. He has the task of protecting Sherri when she returns. He doesn’t say much, though.”

 

Peter and Amanda exchanged an understanding expression before returning their attention to the Lord of Europe. “Sure, Bruce. I can see why you would want her protected.”

 

“Thank You.” Bruce gestured to the three that had decided to spend a few more days in Latveria. “When do you expect them to join you?”

 

Kitty stepped up and fielded the answer. “Well, I would like to have a few hours with Wanda myself, but as for Legion and Exodus, I cant say why they are staying. But we’ll be along and a couple days, Pete.”

 

“Okay Katherine. Just be prepared to return in a hurry, in case Luthor pulls some stunt.”

 

 

 

 

Castle Doom, 2 days later…

 

Kitty rose from her bed alone for the third day in a row. She had spent many wonderful days and nights in here with her new husband, but he had yet to return from helping Kara and Rogue in their part of what they called the ‘Continuum War’.

 

A passing thought worried her for a split second that he might not make it back or come back. But he had survived a lot more than whatever they went to face and she believed he truly loved her; otherwise she would have never married him.

 

She packed the few things that she and Zal had brought with them and the gifts that had been given to them as wedding presents. Donning her uniform, she picked up the bag and headed for the door. Her hand reached out to grasp the knob when a blaring klaxon sounded throughout the castle, startling her.

 

In a moment she had flown downstairs and into the War Room where Bruce was giving hurried commands to everyone present. He was dressed in his bat-suit, and Legion was already inside, trying to relay what information he could back to New Independence.

 

“Bruce? What’s going on?”

 

“Katherine! The shield is down. We have incoming drop pods all over the place, and with all the troops on the fronts, we don’t have enough to defend ourselves here.” Despite the panic present in the room, Bruce kept a calm demeanor about him.

 

“Where’s Exodus?”

 

“He is with Frank Castle at his Command Center in Doomstad. He was taking an early tour this morning when the power converters for the shield exploded.”

 

A tech on the other side of the room cried out. “Sir! Enemy troops have landed on all sides of the castle!” A moment later they all could hear the few Doombots upstairs trying to stem the tide of soldiers pouring inside.

 

Bruce didn’t want to face the facts, but at this point he had little choice. “Get to your bolt-holes, everybody! Go!” He watched his technicians as they rose and left the room, grabbing a weapon and a survival pack as they left. Soon only he, Kitty and Legion were left.

 

“C’mon. We have to get out of here.” He raced to the communications console and touched a hidden stud on the back of it. It slid to the side revealing a hidden door leading down into darkness. Legion scanned the passageway down the stone stairs.

 

Just then the doors to the War Room burst open and like a black tide, enemy Marines poured in, weapons blazing. Batman instantly grabbed Kitty and dove down the stairs.

 

“Legion! Let’s go!” he called back over his shoulder.

 

Dwayne looked at the forces that had obviously been sent to capture or kill the Lord of Europe as their bolts forced him back, step by step. He knew if he turned now, they would easily overcome the two trying to escape. Putting his back to the now revealed doorway, he called back down.

 

“Go! Save yourselves! You’re both more important than me! I’ll make sure they don’t follow!” Legion opened up with both scatter lasers, returning fire to the Marines.

 

“Dwayne, No!” Kitty screamed. She saw as bolts were now passing through the armor in places, having chipped away at his defenses in a matter of seconds. The firepower up there must be tremendous.

 

“Ariel! This is what heroes do! Now Go!” Inside the suit, Dwayne flipped a switch that he thought would be unnecessary when he and his brother had installed it. When the indicator went red, he knew the power core would soon detonate. Kitty sensed what he was doing and grabbed Batman by the wrist.

 

“C’mon! We have to get out of here!”

 

Not needing to argue, he followed Katherine down the stairs and down the corridor that led to the outskirts of town. Hopefully they would not have to battle their way further, but the chances of that happening were slim.

 

“10…” Legions internal computer voice began the countdown.

 

“9…”

 

Seeing that his receiver had already been knocked out, he depressed the voice activation on his headset.

 

“8…”

 

“Elizabeth, if you can hear me, know that I love you and will watch over you. You may not understand why I’m doing this, but I hope you will eventually.”

 

“7…”

 

Dwayne felt a round pass through his leg and cried out in pain. Another grazed his shoulder but he maintained his grip in the triggers, while activating as many weapon systems as he could.

 

“6…”

 

Bodies now lay heaped around the room, their armor blasted into sizzling piles of scrap metal by the arsenal that Legion had deployed.

 

“5…”

 

Dwayne’s receiver crackled to life. It was Elizabeth. “…love…always…” the voice was desperate, crying.

 

“4…”

 

“…don’t….there…be another…please…”

 

“3…”

 

“You know there isn’t another way!” Legion backhanded a Marine. Despite the losses they had incurred just in this room, they had still closed the distance into melee range.

 

“2…”

 

At the last moment, Dwayne launched a salvo of concussion missiles down the stairwell, detonating them after just 30 feet, attempting to seal the tunnel even further than he was expecting.

 

“1…”

 

“For Freedom!” Dwayne shouted as the internal temperatures of the suit reached a boiling point.

 

Outside the castle, the people of Doomstad who could actually see what was happening, watched as a full quarter of the castle crumbled after the force of an underground explosion had throw everybody in the city, including the invading Marines, to the ground.

 

 

 

 

Excalibur flashed as it bit into the armored carapace of one of Apocalypse’s marines. The black ichor of its blood oozed down to the hilt before being withdrawn and thrust into another. The sword’s wielder swung again, this time to cleanly slice through a leg before wedging itself into the metal of its helmet.

 

Arthur looked around for another enemy to fight…and found none. Everywhere the bodies of the marines lay one the ground along with those that they slew. But many more citizens of Briton stood triumphantly over their enemies. His Knights also stood victorious over those that had dared to face them.

 

“My Lord, that is the last of them!” Lancelot cried. “Our people have done it! Together we have wiped their taint from our soil!

 

“And with my spell preventing them from coming back, then we have only rebuilding to accomplish,” Guinevere added.

 

Arthur shook his head. “No.” With the uncertain glances of his Knights being exchanged between each other, Arthur jumped onto the bed of a truck and raised Excalibur high.

 

“Citizens of Briton…hear me!”

 

The milling about of troops and civilians ended abruptly as they turned to see their King. Methodically, they and the Knights gathered around the truck, until thousands had given their attention to him.

 

“Victory is ours!”

 

The deafening roar of celebratory cheers swept the area.

 

“But who among you does not care for his fellow man?”

 

Now the silence could be cut with a dull butter-knife.

 

 “We have rid our land of the oppressors, the tyrants, the taint of evil! But there are many more that could use our help. Across the Channel, the mainland of Europe is also under attack. Our allies in America are under attack. Shall we now stop, or shall we all live to the codes that our forefathers laid down? Who will join me in driving the taint of corruption away from the world once and for all?”

 

“Hail to the King!” one voice echoed through the crowd. It didn’t take long for everyone else to join in. “Long live the King! Long live the King!”

 

Sheathing the Sword of Power, Arthur hopped down to face his Knights. They stood with pride, until one after one, all knelt to one knee before their King.

 

“Rise my friends. We do not have much time.”

 

“What is your plan, my Lord?”

 

“Gather all the forces you can at the port of old London. There ships await to carry our forces across the Channel, where we take the fight to Apocalypse.”

 

“Arthur, that may take weeks.”

 

“Guinevere, if I know this Batman, he will be able to hold off their aggressors for that length of time. But we must not dally.”

 

“We only await your word to begin, my King”

 

“Gawaine…the word is given.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Get out of the way!” Exodus pushed the Supreme Commander forward as the intended blow landed against his chest. The blast threw Brian across the room and through a pair of walls that had separated the offices of Frank Castle’s administrators.

 

Frank turned once his balance was regained and with a skillful pistol shot, killed the offending marine. But that wasn’t the only problem they had. Reports had gotten in just as the shield went down about a flock of metas that had taken a rally point close by…a point that Frank and his people had to go to.

“Brian! Are you alright?”

 

“Yeah. I didn’t have time to brace myself. Didn’t hurt at all.”

 

“Good. Grab what gear you can and follow me. We are getting out of the city.”

 

“The hell we are! We need to get to the castle and find Kitty and Legion, not to mention your boss.”

 

“They are on their own, boy. We have more important matters to deal with. We have to launch a counterstrike before these bastards get dug in using our defenses.”

 

Brian didn’t want to hear it. “No! We have to go get them!”

 

“Listen here, boy! I was doing black ops in Vietnam before you were an itch in your daddy’s pants! I think I know tactics and sacrifice better than you do!” Frank was obviously peeved and the personnel stopped to watch this confrontation.

 

“Now I don’t give a shit what you think we should do, because it’s not your call! As long as you are here you WILL obey my commands. Now grab some gear and get moving before I shove my boot up your ass!”

 

Brian didn’t intimidate easily. But despite what this person knew about his abilities, he wasn’t backing down. “You had better know what you are doing, or God help me…”

 

“I do.” Frank knew he had won. “Now move!”

 

Several hours later, Frank and Exodus stood before the makeshift command center in Volograd. They had unsuccessfully tried to contact anyone in the castle or the safe centers that personnel were supposed to run to. But on Brian’s insistence had established a connection with New Independence.

 

“Frank Castle? You’re Bruce’s general, aren’t you?” Peter Parker asked.

 

“That is correct, Lord Parker. I have some bad news.”

 

Peter glanced to his side. Sara Pezzini was the oldest of Alpha Flight here in America with Sherri gone and their leader still in Europe. She was worried, but controlled herself well. “Go ahead.”

 

“Latveria has fallen to Apocalypses forces.”

 

“Damn! What happened?” Sara cried out. She had seen the defenses there and was impressed.

 

“We believe sabotage, but are unable to investigate.” Frank pondered the wisdom to reveal this information, but ultimately knew he must. “Bruce Wayne is missing, as is Ariel and Legion. Exodus is with me.”

 

“Do you know what happened to them?”

 

Exodus leaned over to the microphone. “Peter, it’s Brian. I was hoping you could tell us that. Legion was in the castle when it fell so we’re hoping that he is with Kitty and Bruce and you ask Elizabeth what their status is.”

 

“Brilliant.” Peter exclaimed. “Stay available. When we have some news, we’ll get back to you.”

 

“Will do. We’ll try back in 4 hours. Until then, watch yourselves.”

 

 

 

 

“Elizabeth?” Peter knocked on the door to the room that the three original members of Legion had set up their control systems into. But there was no answer at the door.

 

Sara came up beside him and knocked on the door herself. “Elizabeth? It’s Sara. Are you there?”

 

Still no answer.

 

“I smell burnt circuitry,” Sara relayed as she tried to open the door, finding it locked. With a quick blast from the Witchblade, the lock melted away and the door swung free.

 

Elizabeth lay on the ground in the center of what was left of the room. It appeared to the meta and the King of the SUSA that a bomb had gone off in here. They rushed up to her and cringed. Most of her left side of her body had been melted, the flesh and bones fused in a grotesque mass, and she just barely clung to life.

 

“Elizabeth…what happened?” Sara whispered as she held the young woman. Peter instantly drew forth his communicator and called for the rest of Alpha Flight.

 

“Dwayne…” she whispered.

 

Sara nodded. “Yes...Dwayne. Where is he?”

 

She choked; blood and bile spewing down her chin. “Sacrificed…himself.”

 

Peter closed his eyes in horror. He had respected the man who had to bury his own brother for wearing that suit, and now both of them had died in the line of duty.

 

“What happened here, Elizabeth?”

 

“Fe…feedback.” Her remaining fist clenched as she coughed again, bits of flesh coming with the blood this time. “Equipment…exploded. Her voice cracked and a slight sob of despair escaped her lips.

 

“Lie still. Artemis is on the way. She will help you. Just hold on a bit more, Elizabeth.” Sara could tell the young woman was in a great deal of pain. Her heart cried out for the ability to stave off the agony she was under.

 

“N…no. Don’t…want…”

 

Sara shook her head, not believing her ears. “No. You hang in there. We still need you! You are still a hero and…”

 

Elizabeth Spakes tried her best to shake her head, but wasn’t able to call the strength to do so. “Please…let…let me go.

 

“I can’t girl! Don’t give up! Stay with us!” Tears had welled up in Sara’s eyes as the weight of the situation hit her.

 

“I want to…be with them…”

 

That instant Matt, Hope, and Marcus rushed into the room. Immediately, Frostfire bit his lip and turned, unable to handle the sight. Matt went to Peter’s side, his abilities useless in this situation.

 

Artemis on the other hand rushed to the women’s’ side, the glow of her healing powers already charging. She was just about to begin when Sara’s hand reached out and stopped her.

 

Hope looked at her teammate and the blood on her hands.

 

“Don’t,” Syren whispered.

 

Elizabeth shuddered and wheezed. “Ple…please. Don’t…let me…” her voice fell off until it was almost inaudible.

 

Sara bent down and listened to the remainder of her words. “Okay. I promise.” She turned to her King and teammates. Her hand raised and four semi-sentient tendrils snaked out of the Witchblade, looking for targets. They simultaneously turned and hovered over Elizabeth.

 

The four of them caught on to what was just asked of Sara and turned to leave. They all exited to the hall outside leaving the two women alone. They could hear Sara crying as she hesitated and then the final words of the trio that made up Legion.

 

“Th…thank you, Sara…”

 

 

 

 

The tunnel was dark and wet, but the two heroes continued going. They had not detected anyone behind them, but that had not meant that someone hadn’t gotten past Legion. They turned a corner and saw daylight for the first time in an hour.

 

“There. That’s the way out.” Batman said and he picked up speed.

 

Katherine El kept up with the Lord of Europe. “Bruce, what do we do when we get to Munich?”

 

“We gather some men…and then we go get back my castle.”

 

She was impressed. The stories Zal-El had told her about his experiences with this man was seeming more and more real with every passing moment. He would do anything it takes to get the job done.

 

They slowed at the entrance and took a quick peek outside. The Slavic woods seemed to be empty and the trees quiet. Kitty took a tentative step outside, a moment later followed by Bruce.

 

“With the shield down, we wont have a problem getting out of the area, but we also don’t need to be seen any more than…” With a flick of his wrist, Batman threw a batarang, embedding it into the armor of a hidden marine.

 

“Katherine! Watch out!”

 

Kitty took to the air as shots began to trace themselves to their position. She banked and found herself the target of the other nine marines of the squad. Their weapons belched death with every passing second, and she was glad to give Bruce the opportunity to escape.

 

But escape isn’t what he did. She saw as he dove into battle, seemingly to facilitate her escape. “Dammit, Bruce!” She rushed in, fists swinging.

 

Two of the marines swung their weapons like great clubs at her as she moved through them. Ducking the first one, Ariel caught the second and brought her back into his chest. Now controlling the weapon, she pulled the trigger and directed the shots to impact some of their attackers. Four of them fell before the marine that she held had enough sense to eject the clip, rendering the weapon useless.

 

Taking it in stride, Kitty brought her foot straight up, the tip of her boot smashing into his helmet, sending him sprawling. The first marine that had attacked her had gotten back in position and began to fire again.

 

Her first kick ripped the rifle out of his hands. As she followed up with a roundhouse, he tried to back out of the way but she was simply too fast for him. The kick sent him spiraling into the air, but before he could land, grabbed his head and twisted, the black ichor gushing from the joint around his neck.

 

By the time she had turned, Bruce had already dispatched the others and stood waiting on her. As she brushed her hands off, she calmly walked back to him and started along the path to their destination.

 

“Impressive, Katherine.” Bruce clapped his hands together softly as they made their way to the west. “Although I am not too familiar with the style, that was Koh-Re, was it not?”

 

“Yeah. Superman had been teaching me slowly. It seems to fit him quite well and my powers seemed to go hand in hand with the style, so…”

 

Batman rarely gave praise, but for a girl whom he had heard about as she grew up at Alpha Flight, he was genuinely proud of her. “You’ve come a long way since you joined Team Three, Kitty.”

 

“Some don’t think so…”

 

He knew she was referring to the abuse at the hands of Simon Williams and her defeat, however unfair it was, against Captain America.” If Wonderman is right and that isn’t Steve Rogers, then he is defeatable.”

 

“Bruce, I’m not worried about Cap. My husband will be more than able to handle him when that time comes.”

 

“What if he pulls the same stunt on him as he did you?”

 

Katherine pondered that a moment. “You know what? I’ve seen Zal take on more than his share of opponents in the past. Some he had defeated using his strength, some his speed, and others his mind. Captain America is the one person whom he may not be able to defeat using the first two. But he will still fall.”

 

“So what do you worry about?”

 

“When I was growing up, Wonderman was the most powerful person on the planet, bar none.” Kitty began to access memories that had lay dormant for many years now.

 

“That is true. His strength and invulnerability were greater than even Kal-El’s. I should have surmised that he survived Albany based on that knowledge.” Bruce was silent for a moment as he chose his words. “You are worried about what Simon said about Zal-El.”

 

“Yes,” Kitty whispered. “I have never seen the extent of what Zal can do…and when he finds out what Simon did to me, then he is going to go ape-shit.”

The pair continued in silence for long moments as they cleared the edge of the woods. They were much more careful this time, but no ambush lay in wait for them. Batman activated his rocket pack and flew low to the ground, Ariel right beside him.

 

“Kitty, I think you are weak.”

 

The comment halted her in her tracks. When Bruce saw this he banked around and landed next to her.

 

“Just what in the hell do you mean by that comment, Bruce?!”

 

Even though she seemed a bit threatening, he did not back down. “This is what I mean. You are now his husband. After talking with him, Kara, and Rogue…that is pretty prestigious.”

 

She waited for him to continue.

 

“But you are the one who leads Alpha Flight. Not him. You are a leader, plain and simple. It was you who recreated a vision that James Hudson started, and you who continue it. And if you let him fight your battles for you, then you will regret it, Kitty.”

 

The power and wisdom behind his words disarmed her hostility in a fraction of a second.

 

“I know what type of person you are. I make it my business to know. You must stick up for yourself even in the face of adversity such as Simon.”

 

“So you’re saying I’m the one who needs to go and punch his lights out?”

 

“It may or may not come to that.”

 

“It will. Zal is VERY protective of his family. Whether that be me, Carrie, Karen, Rogue, Kara…even you.”

 

Bruce was surprised at the last part, but didn’t let her see that. “Me?”

 

“Despite that it wasn’t you personally, he was still raised by Bruce Wayne for a long time. He told me once that he was scared of you, and that feeling was exhilarating for him.”

 

The pair took to the air again, their exchange of words still clinging heavily to the air. Today they had learned a lot about each other and themselves, and both would come out stronger in the end.

 

 

 

 

“We’re under attack! Get to your positions!” Colonel Tom Mason rushed for his weapon as the rockets and mortars began to rain all around them. The troops under his command rushed for their bunkers or heavy weapons turrets. To his side a buck sergeant toted the portable radio so that they could keep in contact with General Raynor at headquarters and the other Colonels in the field.

 

“Sir! We need to get you to a safer area!” the sergeant cried out. Just to his flank, a mortar detonated, sending them to the ground while another pair of riflemen were killed by the blast.

 

Tom Mason scrambled to his feet and grabbed the sergeant by the arm. “Get on the horn with artillery and have them fire back as soon as their positions are locked in.” He looked up into the sky just in time to see not only an aerial battle happening, but also a squad of metas circling overhead. “And tell Jim to call Alpha Flight. We need them here!”

 

As the sergeant began to follow orders, he and the Colonel began to pick their way through the makeshift base outside of Nashville. The cracks and pops of M-16’s and AK-47’s could be heard over the sounds of their tank battalions gearing up for battle.

 

It was when he heard the high-pitch whine of an unfamiliar thrust did he stick his head out of cover to see. Off in the distance he could make out Paradox as he battled on and on. Somewhere close by would be the rest of the team, nullifying the metahuman strike teams that Luthor was recently specializing in.

 

But that was not what had caught his attention. In a very tight fitting suits were a group of twenty, no thirty different soldiers. The high pitch whine he heard was their boots that were propelling them through the air. They seemed to ignore him as they passed, looking for something or someone in particular.

 

They were all identical. Their muscle tone suggested that all were at the peak physical shape. They carried no weapons, but to Tom seemed to be more dangerous without them.

 

He watched as three of them swooped down and caught several men, scooping them off of the ground. They laughed as one of them emptied an entire belt of 7.62mm rounds into them, until one took the weapon and with his hands, twisted the forged steel like it was Georgia clay. They soon ripped the soldiers limb from limb and tossed the pieces away.

 

“Sergeant, report everything you just saw to the General.”

 

“Yes, sir. I…look out!”

 

The bullet scraped against Tom’s ribs, cracking one as it went through. He spun and dove back into cover, drawing his pistol. “Crap! That stings!”

 

“Sir, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, just grazed me. But they are coming. Get ready.”

 

In the following minutes, the sergeant killed six opposing soldiers with rifle fire and threw a grenade back into them that had rolled into their bunker. Tom continued firing away with his pistol as one hand held his wounded side. But there were simply too many. After a short but intense gunfight, the sergeant lay dead at his feet and troops came rushing inside. Tom Mason killed two more before they surrounded him.

 

“Go to hell, you sons-of-bitches!” he spat.

 

A single well-placed shot later and the troops moved on, leaving the commander of this brigade forgotten on the battlefield.

 

Colonel Steven Price waited with his nest of snipers as they chose their targets carefully. They were highly trained and with the guided shells that Batman had given them, were able to take tanks out by hitting them in the magazine, detonating the shells and gasoline.

 

He too had seen the newcomers as they tore around the battlefield causing as much havoc as they could. He saw that they were talented fighters, but not metahumans. Luthor had obviously been working on this unit for some time. He tapped a sniper on the shoulder.

 

“Hey, Corporal, I want you to place a shot on one of them. Target the neck and lets see if we can take those bastards down.”

 

“Aye sir.” The soldier adjusted his scope and loaded a round. He whispered a short mantra before squeezing the trigger, sending the lethal bolt of depleted uranium towards its target. Considering it was so far away, he watched the bullet for a couple seconds before it impacted right where he thought it would.

 

But the suit that he wore simply bounced the round right off.

 

“No good, sir. That thing their wearing protects them.”

 

“Fine. Resume targets of opportunity.” The Corporal watched as his commanding officer stood and took off his jacket. Strapping on a heavy coat of body armor, Steven Price slipped the harness over his head and walked to his jeep.

 

Reaching into the back, he picked up a bulky looking weapon and attached it to the hip harness. He opened the top and fed the first 40mm round into the chamber, leaving the belt dangling.

 

“Driver, come here.”

 

The soldier rose from his defensive position and hunched at the back of the jeep. He looked at the Mark-19 and grinned. Without being ordered, he charged the weapon and grabbed two more boxes of linked canister rounds as the Colonel began getting into position.

 

Price had seen the units beginning to advance on his sniper nests and this was their best chance at staving them off. Although they were some of the most accurate the SUSA had, they still fired one shot at a time and that did nothing against mass troops.

 

The two climbed onto the top of the bunker and rested the heavy weapon on the edge, positioning the mount on the edge for a stable firing platform. His driver began to link the belts together until three boxes of canister rounds sat to one side, ready to be fired.

 

It was only then that Steven Price noticed the red dot firmly planted on the armor plate of his body armor. He moved slightly and saw that the dot wavered some, but still held its position. A targeting laser had painted him.

 

“GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!” he yelled down to his troops. Most scrambled to their feet and started but it was too late.

 

The deep penetrating missile hit the top of the bunker and exploded sending the pieces of the inhabitants and defenders flying through the air. When the smoke cleared, all that could be seen was a crater and a smear of burnt blood everywhere.

 

 

 

 

Paradox lashed out with the Power Cosmic again, this time encasing a poor metahuman in a glob of acidic ooze, he skin dissolving away in moments, followed by his muscles and internal organs, leaving only the bleached white skeleton behind. His companions didn’t seem to care though, and continued to press the attack.

 

Alpha Flight had arrived as soon as they had gotten word of the surprise attack and were just as quickly engaged by superior numbers with a variety of abilities. Some were psychic, others energy blasters, hand-to-hand fighters, indirect attackers and more were tag-teaming whom they could.

 

Sara Pezzini has personally dropped four of her attackers, but more and more were putting her defenses to the test and she was quickly wearing down. Thrust, slash, backhand, blast another, roll out of the way. There were simply too many for them to handle without Sherri, Kitty, Exodus and Legion.

 

Artemis had a bit of an easier time, as none could get close enough to her right now. She had allowed herself to be the center of a nova burst of heat and that had kept her attackers at bay. One had been able to get close enough and managed to tackle her before she detonated a light grenade right in his face sending him away, squalling like a hurt child.

 

She charged another and threw it into the crowd were it detonated, forcing most to cover their eyes. She pressed the attack and blasted one after another as they frantically tried to find a way around her, to find a way to get close enough to hurt her.

 

It was then that a lithe woman stepped forward. She wore the suit of Luthor’s strike metas, the one that were powerful, but sane enough to understand teamwork and been trained for years, Her hair was pulled back and an intense look of concentration held Artemis’ attention.

 

“You turn? Do not make me hurt you, girl.” Artemis spoke clearly as she readied a light grenade.

 

“Ha! Young fool,” the woman answered. “You have been in the public eye for over a year and do not think we haven’t analyzed all of you? Found your shortcomings and prepared to make use of them”

 

“Knowing what we are susceptible to and being able to connect such attacks are two different things.”

 

Artemis’ opponent motioned for the others to back off, which they rapidly did, leaving the two to a personal showdown. They circled one another until Hope burst forth in a nova attack, singing everything around her. The woman simply leapt backwards out of her range and blasted back, but didn’t target Artemis.

 

The blast cut into the ground at her feet, sending Hope tumbling down into a limestone cavern, her opponent just a few meters behind. She bounced along the slope and finally came to rest near an underground stream. She still shed light as her powers illuminated the cavern completely.

 

Artemis saw that she had tumbled quite a way away from the hole, but was terrified when it was closed up behind the meta who now was getting to her feet to keep up the offensive. Being sealed inside this cave would cut her off from her power source, the sun. She would only have what energy she had already absorbed.

 

Healing herself quickly from the minor abrasions she picked up from the fall, Artemis began to close the distance to the meta. “Nice shot. Now are you ready to continue?”

 

“Absolutely. Let me introduce myself. I am called Siphon!” She thrust her hands forward and focused on Hope.

 

Artemis could feel her energy reserves melting away. Like Frostfire, this meta had the ability to draw energy away from a person; only how she was targeting just her solar energy was unknown. But she knew she was in trouble. Launching herself towards Siphon, she knocked her off balance enough to stop the drain, but there was that much more gone.

 

Siphon struck back, landing a punch to Hope’s jaw but had the second blocked and a hard right cross land on hers. The women fought for a long moments until both were winded and panting. Neither were highly skilled in personal combat, but neither ever had to rely upon anything other than their granted powers.

 

But without any source of sunlight, Artemis was wearing down quickly, and her opponent knew it. Making a last ditch effort, Siphon pushed hard against Hope, lengthening the distance between them. Reaching out with her powers, she again began to drain the energy off of the member of Alpha Flight.

 

Hope was in serious trouble. She could feel that she was weakening and there was little she could do. Taking most everything she had left, Artemis charged a light grenade and hurled it, striking her enemy true. The blast stopped the drain, but it was simply not enough. Hope slid to her knees as the radiance she exuded dimmed until there was no light at all. She scooted backwards until she felt her back against a stalagmite, where she decided to rest and try and conserve her energy.

 

She could hear footsteps as they approached. “I told you we studied you, Ms. Davis. But your feeble mind just couldn’t comprehend that, could it? Now look at you. Don’t even have the strength to crawl away.”

 

“That’s Mrs. Powell, bitch. I’m married.”

 

“I’m impressed. We didn’t know that. But it makes no difference. That just makes him a widower.”

 

Hope felt the cable looped around her arms and draw her back against the smooth stone behind her. She tried to escape but was unable to gather the strength necessary to do so. It wrapped around her several more times before her hands and feet were bound.

 

“Have fun dear. If I’m not mistaken, this is the only way to get rid of you. Complete deprivation from sunlight and you fade away. Strange are the gifts that the Artifact gave, aren’t they?”

 

Hope heard as the static of a communicator came to life. “Hey Warp…get me outta here. She is finished.” A moment later, Hope could only hear the sound of her own heartbeat.

 

“Someone please help me…” she whispered as she sat alone in the dark

 

 

 

 

Samaritan was bored. The opposing metas kept trying to get close enough to attack, but kept getting thrust away by his telekinesis or torn in two by the energy blade that swirled around him in a deadly shield. One especially tough meta thought that he might be able to take a hit and tear this black-cloaked man apart, but found that his invulnerability did nothing against a magical blade designed to bypass it. Samaritan was also a highly skilled martial artist and when he did allow someone inside his shield, it was only so he could land a kick to a vital area.

 

Rachel Chapman, aka Solitare was not having a very good day. The metas had learned not to let her touch them, as she was ready to shut down their powers at a moments notice.

 

A meta came flying in, but she simply leapt and kicked, pushing herself off of him, and found satisfaction as he plowed into the ground. Landing back on her feet, she was instantly met by a set of twins dressed in the familiar costumes of Lex’s strike teams.

 

The simultaneously transformed into large, hulking beasts that looked half-man and half-wolf. Rachel remembered a story that Superman had told Alpha Flight about these things. Lupines they were called and one had the power to rip a Daxamite, namely Lar Gand, open with just a swipe from one massive paw.

 

She backpedaled as quick as she could as the sunlight glinted off of their teeth as they approached. She tried to keep them in front of her but as they began to look for an opening in her defenses, the space between them opened further. Rachel was just barely able to duck out of the way of one as they lunged.

 

The other had caught her across the leg, opening her up despite the Kryptonian linen that she wore as a suit. Rivulets of blood oozed down her leg and she bit back the cry of pain as she tested her weight on the damaged leg. She looked up as the one that had hit her was licking her blood from its claws.

 

“Tasty!” it growled as the crimson liquid congealed on its fur.

 

“You had better like it, because you wont get another chance, Skin Dancer.” Rachel used the fey’s terminology for them, as Ian had told them long ago.

 

“You over estimate your chances, little one,” the other hissed.

 

In a flash of power, Rachel cried out both physically and psychically in an attempt to stop these two. “SLEEP!”

 

Instantly the two Lupines fell to the ground, reverting back to their human forms. If she had the equipment, she would have ended their lives, preventing them from being sent against Alpha Flight again, but there was little she could do to permanently damage them.

 

Just as Rachel turned to evaluate her surroundings and locate her teammates, a burning pain lanced through her right shoulder. Looking down she saw as the blade was withdrawn. She did not begin to bleed right away, so she looked up into the eyes of the meta who stood ready to attack again.

 

Without mincing words, Solitare let her training take over and the two metas locked in combat.

 

 

 

 

Frostfire stood in the center of a circle of crisp-fried bodies, the victims of his mystical fire as these idiots threw themselves at him. He blasted yet another and drew the body heat from a close combatant as he tried to approach. The effect forced the meta back to a safer distance so he could try and recover from the devastating blow.

 

Suddenly, the battle seemed to stop and the metas cleared away and fell back allowing a robed man to approach. Marcus Cole twisted around to face this adversary; unsure of why this slight of a man would dare face him alone.

 

The meta stepped over the bodies of his companions until he stood just a few feet away from Frostfire. His eyes were cloudy as if he was unable to see, but his force of presence made Marcus’ stomach turn.

 

Frostfire closed the distance and grabbed the meta. “I don’t know who you are, pal, but this wasn’t a wise choice.”

 

The metahuman made no move to escape the grapple of the young man from Alpha Flight. “I would have to disagree, child. I am Warp.”

 

“You could be Lex’s lover for all I could care!”

 

A thin bean of light shot from Warp’s eyes and caught Marcus. “No, my young idiot. Since you are the plaything of the Wizard Argent, I send you to be with him. There you will go…NEVER TO RETURN!”

 

And with a flash of light, Frostfire was gone.

 

 

 

 

Rachel looked down at herself as the battle between this highly skilled metahuman and her came to a pause. He leg had been torn open and was bleeding now, her shoulder the same. But this man she had underestimated. He had sliced her across her arm and had nearly opened her throat, but she had deflected his arm enough so that it only traced along her cheek.

 

She allowed herself to look around her. She saw Paradox as he battle about eight of Lex’s Strike Force in the air. She couldn’t however see either Frostfire or Artemis and none of the Metas that they had been fighting. Syren was also being forced back with every blow from the team that had targeted her out.

 

It seemed to Solitare that this was planned especially to take Alpha Flight out of the picture and she wondered if he had anything to do with what happened to Legion. Katherine was still missing and Exodus should be on his way back if he could.

 

Her attention was again drawn to her assailant who stood ready with his blade in hand. She had yet to even land a blow against this man despite the fact of her background in Shorin-Ryu.

 

“Are you ready for your defeat scumbag?” Solitare prompted, trying to throw him off guard or off balance…or both.

 

He didn’t even acknowledge her words as he slowly approached her ready for her next move. He dodged her sweep and follow-up blow, and moved in like a striking scorpion. His blade flashed out and neatly severed her hamstring.

 

Solitare cried out and stumbled back from the cut. She could hear Matt’s voice as he began to panic, looking around for his teammates as he continued to battle himself. The sound of Samaritan’s blade as it crackled and tore through the air at tremendous speeds also hung heavy in her ears as she tried to fend off her attacker.

 

She swung again as he approached, but again, she was too badly hurt and he was not. He caught her wrist and twisted, bringing her back towards him. The vulnerability she felt was terrifying as the blade was plunged between her ribs and into her lung.

 

He released Solitare and tossed her to the side. He began to walk away until she rose again to her feet to face him yet again. Blood poured from her mouth and she limped closer, the determination that drove her still alive and well.

 

“You haven’t beaten me yet!” she cried out, her voice a hoarse roar.

 

For the first time he spoke. “Legion is dead. Ariel is dead. Artemis is dying and Frostfire will never be seen again. You Rebels have lost yet you still fight. Pathetic!”

 

“It’s what heroes do…”

 

“You are not a hero!” he spat in disgust. “Heroes succeed…you have not.”

 

Solitare stopped within striking distance of the Meta. “No…Heroes fight because it’s the right thing to do.” She swung again, backhanding him.

 

He straightened back up and looked into her eyes. Defiance. His blade slashed and she went down to her knees. He knew she would not survive that blow. Just as he turned to leave he was faced with the one opponent that Lex had not anticipated…Samaritan.

 

His energy blade slashed through the air twice in rapid succession at the Meta, then rushed to Solitare’s side as her opponent fell into pieces, his head rolling along the dirt until stopping against the side of a tree.

 

Samaritan held up Rachel’s head as he examined what could be done for her. That last blow had disemboweled her, spilling her intestines along the ground where she fell. He pulled back his hood and felt sorrow for this defender of mankind.

 

His alien features were striking, the long, angled lines defining his features as he held her in comfort. “Solitare…I am sorry.”

 

Tears broke out in her eyes, and one rolled down her cheek as she lay there in his arms. “I don’t want to die…” she said between sobs. “I don’t want to die…” Realization came over her as she looked into his eyes. “Artemis is…”

 

Even though his own emotions were held in check due to years of training, Samaritan could not help but feel her pain. “ She will be fine. Paradox is getting her back to New Independence. The rest of your army is retreating as well. You fought valiantly. You should be proud.”

 

“I…want to go home.” Rachel coughed, and a part of her lung spewed out and splattered against her alabaster skin. She saw Sara approach and kneel beside her, her own eyes filled with tears. “Sara…”

 

“Rachel! Ohmygod…no.” Syren began to attempt to help her but was stopped by Samaritan. He shook his head sadly.

 

When Solitare saw this she began to weep softly, knowing that twilight was upon her. She would not see another sunrise. She would never again be able to fight along side those whom she had grown to respect, grown to love. She would never see the world a better place and would never know that her efforts made any difference.

 

She drew a shallow, shaking breath. “At least this is the death I wanted…fighting in the cause of…of…” and finally lay still. Samaritan bowed his head as Sara broke into silent tears for the loss of her friend.

 

“Of what you believed in,” Sara finished her sentence and reached up, giving her body a final hug goodbye..