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"Death stands above me, whispering low
I know not what into my ear;
Of his strange language all I know
Is, there is not a word of fear."
- Walter Savage Landor, Death stands above me
The team were powerless as the Skorpsmen attacked, their abilities having being stripped from them by an unknown force, but even though they were without their natural talents, they had other means with which to defend themselves. They fired the weapons of the motorcycles they had rode in on, but these Skorpsmen were not as fazed by the attack as their earlier comrades had been. It slowed them down certainly but it was not stopping them.
"Screw this," said Dragon, knowing this was futile and was going to get them killed. "Everyone, get the hell out of here. We'll find each other." No words were said, but seeing as they were overmatched it was a good idea and they all headed out, going in different directions and scattering, the others being fixed on with the homing sensors that were fitted to the bikes. Dragon hit the thrusters and away he went, the speed of the vehicle almost too much for him, but he managed to keep hold and get used to the handling at a much faster speed. The radar was still on infra-red and there were multiple traces of Skorpsmen about. The plan had been to use the IR scanner to locate any heat traces of either Sunfire or Firestar, but if they had lost their powers like the rest of them then that plan was out of the window.
"I really hate Genosha," he muttered as he turned and spun 180 degrees to see his pursuers were just on the edge of the horizon. It was good to know he was faster than they were but it wasn't by much. He checked the weaponry stats on the display in front of him. There were no rockets left, but there was 60% left on the power cells for the laser and he had a good amount of bullets too. Going forward wasn't going to work, judging by the scans, but what about going back? Surely he was going to be able to take three of them. "Let's find out," he said and he revved up and let loose, heading towards the Martians that had been pursuing him. Now the quarry was the hunter and the Martians paused to see him head towards them and he used that moment to fire the guns, discharging bullet after bullet after bullet. He wondered quite where they were all stored, but it wasn't an issue until he ran out and he gunned down his enemy, the combined effect of bullets and lasers tearing them to shreds. As he approached their ravaged bodies, he hit the compressed air button and gave the bike a slight lift and he leapt over them as if it had gone up a ramp and he couldn't help himself.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HA!"
The bike landed with a jolt and he knew that had he'd enjoyed that immensely and that one of these days they'd need to test the thing properly. It was a shame there was an invasion on, it was really going to get in the way of having fun. His first priority though was to find the others and regroup. The thing with the powers bothered him, but more to do with the idea that if they could neutralised powers then that was it - the battle was pretty much over, and what better place to test in the Genosha. It made sense to him that the Arena that Forge's people suspected was in the area wasn't an Arena at all - it was a testing facility for the power inhibitor, and he wondered what the odds were that some disgruntled Genoshans had helped the aliens in building it. He really despised the idea of Martian collaborators, but he knew that people would do what they could to survive. He hit the comm and connected to X back at the Arsenal, thinking they needed a better name for it than that. He was more a Chelsea fan than an Arsenal one.
"X, can you give me a fix on the others?" he asked.
"Certainly, Commander," X answered. "Their locations are on your HUD, marked with the initial of their surname for your ease of finding."
"Thanks, X. Dragon out." He looked down at the heads up display. D, H, I and M were indeed lit up and he smiled. X was bloody good at what it did. Elena was closest and he headed in her direction, once again engaging the thrusters rockets and he was pushed forward at an incredible rate. Hurtling through the countryside he could see her in combat with the enemy. One was dead, and was she was holding her own against another, which left a third which was wounded, but it was getting ready to take her out. Dragon stood up as he got closer, wobbling slightly as he fought to keep his balance and then he leapt from the cycle, tackling the alien and slamming it down to the floor, repeatedly smashing his fist in to what resembled it's face. The alien then slumped to the floor as Pen stood up and shook his raw fist. That had hurt quite a bit and he noticed the alien was still stirring so he grabbed it's head and twisted, snapping it's neck and it didn't move again. He looked at Elena, seeing her moves. They were graceful, yet savage. Powerful, yet precise. The Martian didn't have a chance and it soon fell dead.
"That was impressive," he said, picking up his bike.
"I was hunting Sabretooth a long time," she replied. "When I found him, he almost killed me, but I learnt much of his moves and his style. I worked hard to ensure that in a rematch, it would be much closer."
"Don't doubt it," he said. "Let's find the others, there are more aliens out there and we're going to be over-run." She nodded and they set off to find the other three members of the team, both hoping they had fared as well as the two of them had. Nomad was with Sam, which was probably a good idea as, out of all of them, he was the one that was most likely to have some kind of offensive capability thanks to the Scourge suit, and Dragon reckoned that Sam would have the least experience in combat situations, despite her advanced age. He shook himself as he though back to the world he had come from, where the Samantha Hasard was colder and darker, with a heart far blacker than this one. He also remembered how she'd made a play for him long ago and he'd turned her down. There weren't many limits to what he'd been prepared to do for Black Air, but that was one he didn't want to cross.
This version of her was different, lighter and much more appealing than the one he'd known. He'd never been in to the dominatrix types. He could also hear a voice inside his head warning him not to go down that route, that he couldn't have a relationship like that while he was here, because there were no guarantees he'd be staying that long. The Black Mass Barrier could remain up indefinitely, or it could fall tomorrow. Nobody knew the truth, and when it fell he would be yanked back in to Limbo, as he and this reality's version of Pete Wisdom could not exist in the same timeline with out damaging a reality that was still very fragile. He didn't quite get the specifics, but he was well aware that it would be very bad if he stayed, so he knew he couldn't get too attached to this world, and there was always the chance Kate and Widget could find him a way home, or at least a home for him to go to. Damn it, you pillock, he suddenly chided himself as he realised how close they now were Jesscia. Focus on the sodding mission at hand.
Jess was in trouble, as they Martians were certainly going after her and she was a target due to her powers. They'd have read up on her, her moves, her powers and with the amount of things and people that had been captured it was pretty certain they'd be able to get what they needed. There were six Martians out of the nine attacking her, and she was keeping them at bay, but they were wearing her down. She'd been separated from her bike, so it was down to her natural abilities and whatever weapons she had. There was a way, of course, though it was risky and it had the potential of hurting Jess in the process
"Elena, you have any rockets left?" he asked.
"One. Who do you think I should shoot?"
"Not who, what." This was going to work, he knew it. "Blow up Jessica's bike." Elena looked at him. "Trust me," he implored and she shrugged. As she hit the switch and fired the last of the rockets towards the vehicle, Dragon hit the thrusters again and burst forward, as if he were trying to outrace the rocket. The Martians and Jess seemed to see it and for a fraction of a second the fight stopped as panic set in as they realised they had to move or die, but they were too close and Dragon hoped this worked as the bike reached top speed and he leapt from the bike, grabbing Jess by the waste, using the combined momentum of the bike and his leap to get them clear as the explosion flared, sending shards of twisted metal all over the place.
"This is getting to be a habit," said Jessica as she realised what had happened.
"I know," muttered Pen. "I'm going to black and blue for a week from all this leaping from moving motorcycles."
"I meant saving me," she said and she looked at him. "That's two I owe you."
"Let's just say I'm paying off an old debt," he said, cryptically and Jessica made a note to ask him exactly what had happened between him and her counterpart on his world. It was obviously a weight on him and as they got up, two aliens did as well. "Two left? I was hoping for better than that." Then Elena came through, running her bike over one of them with a sickening crunch as it snapped bones and mashed organs as she travelled over it.
"Better odds?" she said.
"Oh yes," muttered Dragon and the three of them took the invader, kicking and punching him. It didn't have a chance and soon it was out cold.
"Let's kill it," said Jessica, flicking the PPG and taking a gun from the ring which grew in her hand to normal size.
"Not yet," said Dragon. "I've a better idea. Let's use it to get in to the Martian base."
"Are you mad?" said Elena. "You want to go in to the Martian stronghold?"
Dragon sighed. "They have technology to neutralise powers," he said. "That tech would be invaluable to their cause and it would end this war very quickly. Genosha would be over-run, quickly followed by the rest of the world. I don't intend to let them do that."
"It's suicide," said Jessica. "What if that's the same thing the others decided on, what if that's what got them caught?"
"It's possible," said Dragon, "but I don't see we have a choice. We either stop them or die trying." Then he smiled. "Besides, I have a plan."
Elena and Jess looked at each other. "We already know you enough to know we don't like that smile," Jess said as Dragon retrieved his bike, but his face fell as he realised it was in less than working order. Weapons were out, the HUD was cracked and he didn't like the look of the suspension.
"Oops," he muttered, hoping Forge would be able to fix it later, but for now it would serve as a method of transport. Hell, for what he had in mind it might even further the illusion. The other cycles pulled up, with Jack and Sam both appearing to be unharmed. "You made it."
"X said you could use a hand," said Jack. "We didn't have too much in the way of interference."
"We got lucky too," said Sam. "A certain distance away, I felt my powers come back."
"Limited sphere of influence," said Jess. "That's useful to know."
"Jack," Dragon beckoned him over, "the jet in the garage. What's the specs?"
"Why?"
"It's all part of my plan," he answered. "Here's what I'm thinking we should do…"
"This isn't going to work," Jack muttered as they walked toward the Martian base, having made a reasonable estimate of it's location using the boundary of the nullification field and the known land mass of Genosha. The injured and unconscious Skorpsmen was being carried by the others as Monroe marched them on, using the suit to disguise himself as a Martian. He'd also been given a coating of alien blood in case he had to through any other scanners. It had been distasteful but every little helped."Only needs to get us in," Pen said. "Elena can pull the information you need to answer any questions asked, even if she can't give you their full language skills. Now shut up, or you'll get us killed." The plan was simple enough in theory, they used the aliens to give the illusion the team had been captured and get them inside, where they destroyed the nullifier, freed the prisoners and got out and back to Genosha. Simple in theory, but the practice would be a little more difficult and none of them were in any doubt as to the risk involved. They'd even left Jessica on the sidelines yet with a vital role, for one of them had to and her presence would have ruined the illusion, seeing as she was one of the most wanted and feared metahumans the Martians knew of. Pen has his own suspicions about that, but that would be a mystery for another time. He knew he really ought to check and see if Wundagore was under the Black Mass Barrier, because that would be where the answers would be found. If it was, there was nothing he could do. If not, then maybe the key to defeating the Martians was held there, but for now he had to work with what he had, and for the first time since the meeting in Hammer Bay he let his mind wander toward Lydia Del Ruiz.
In the universe where he came from they had been lovers, friends, former colleagues. He'd fallen in love with her, and she with him and he knew it was almost impossible that he would ever see her again. Losing people like that was easier when he'd been able to convince himself he didn't care, that the death of his mother had allowed him to carry out acts of sadistic barbarism with gleeful abandon. That had changed when he realised what he had been doing and he had withdrawn, and only the love of Kitty Pryde had allowed him to become… human again. The downside was evident, and now here he was on a mission to rescue a version of the one person he really wished he could see again. He considered it, wondering if whoever was running the universe was giving him the chance to put all this behind him. Or it could be that the universe had just shafted him yet again.
They moved towards a checkpoint before going in to the main complex and he held his breath as the Skorpsmen stopped them and he listened as the Martian spoke and Monroe answered, and he wondered if he should have had Elena give them all some of the Martian dialect so he had an idea of what was going on. However it was too late now and the Martians took their wounded colleague and Jack and another of them prodded them with weapons and moved them on. Sam and Elena moved on and he decided to play it a little and refused to move, and Monroe slammed his fist in to the his gut. Dragon doubled to the floor and Monroe roughly pulled him up as the other Skorpsman laughed.
"They bought it," he whispered and Dragon glowered at him.
"I'll kill you, your friends, and the friends of you friends for this," he snarled.
"Move, terran," said the other Skorpsmen in English and struck Dragon across the face.
Starting with you, Dragon thought with murder in mind. He caught up with the women and gave a slight nod to say everything was fine. They marched on, through the doors of the complex and down corridors, Dragon looking to see if there was anything he could identify. There were certain things that he could tell what they were, but the majority he couldn't. It didn't matter - all they needed was to buy time, and with the open comm channel to Jessica she knew when to do her part of the plan.
They entered the main chamber, where Dragon could see the captives had been suspended from the walls of the complex, their arms spread wide and they were hanging down, as if they were being crucified in some strange Martian manner. It was a slow tortuous death, for if the shock from the constant pain and discomfort from being suspended in that manner did not kill them, starvation would. He could also see there was a device that allowed for the arms to be raised up above their heads, so to incur a rapid asphyxiation. The fact they were alive meant that the Martians used it to weaken their captives, and Dragon felt the anger rising in him. Lydia was there, as was Roberto DaCosta, SHIELD Agent Daryl Allen and Anjelica Jones, the former Avenger known as Firestar. They were weak, he could see that but it would soon be over. There were a number of Skorpsmen within the complex, some as warriors and some as technicians, as well as some humans who were helping them with technical things and in the middle of the room stood a much larger alien, obviously in charge of the project.
"What have you brought me?" he said, in English.
"More Terran servitors, Overseer," said the Skorpsman who had brought them in. "Including this one!" He struck at Monroe, sending him to his knees. "A clever ruse, but we saw through your disguise."
"Told you it wouldn't work," said Monroe, looking at Dragon through the pain. The Martian warriors were laughing.
"Who said it hadn't?" said Dragon. They'd learnt a good lesson - the aliens had an arrogance to them that made them overconfident and he could work with that. "We're still good." That was the codeword that Jessica was listening for. It was going to go down soon enough.
"Foolish humans," said the Martian. "Your paltry powers are match for the might of our armies. They allow you to resist our domination of your species, but that is done now. You will serve in the Arenas for our entertainment."
"I don't think so," said Dragon, flicking his PPG ring, releasing his guns, as did the others. The rapid growing of the weapons took the enemy by surprise and they fired their weapons, taking down as many of the guards as they could. "Now you have to admit that is fucking cool."
"You will never escape!" the Overseer bellowed. "We are many and your weapons are limited."
"True," said Dragon, as they four of them stood back to back, making sure that they were all covered. "But then again I've always believed in evening the odds…"
"Overseer!" came a call from one of the technicians, in Martian. "We have incoming! It just appeared on the screens."
"Impossible!" said the Overseer
"Jack?" asked Dragon.
"You were right and I was wrong," Nomad said. "Here we go." The complex was shook by a massive explosion as the fighter jet that had been in the garage slammed in to the roof.
"Overseer!" shouted Dragon as the Martian was giving orders. The invader turned and his eyes went wide in horror as he saw hot knives forming around Dragon. "Time to die!"
