What
has come before: A hostile alien force has conquered The Earth. Earth’s heroes
are fighting a losing battle as a resistance to the Martian oppressors. Hope
comes in the shape of the heroes children, raised in secret in other
dimensional Asgard. Great warriors with the sole purpose of freeing their
Homeworld have trained these young heroes, in hopes that this secret army could
do what they could not.
By
Dave Evans
Legacy: War of the Worlds
“Deep Deep Down”
Previously: A
team of five Legacy heroes have returned from a time spanning adventure, much
to the relief of their friends and family. Meanwhile another team of heroes
lead by Franklin Richards remain missing in action. Little do the other mem bers of the Legacy know, but Franklin and
company have recently escaped the clutches of the mysterious Elder of the
Universe The Grandmaster only to find themselves transplanted in an alternate
reality where the Martian's never invaded.
Meanwhile, back Martian-occupied Earth...
20 Kilometers Beneath Earth's Surface
Status: Free of Martian Incursion
Three figures looked out over the vast
subterranean cavern before them, each of them humanoid yet clearly not human.
The cavern itself contained the site of the amassed armies of
Subterranean - warriors of the infamous Mole Men, the alien Deviants and
representatives of the other races of the kingdom bore their arms proudly and
fiercely. Some sat on the great “monsters” now trained as battle
beasts while others manoeuvred in formations both large and small.
“The armies sit ready for action,” the
Deviant princeling Ares said to his fellow subterranean royalty at his side.
“Are you sure we should not just launch the attack now?”
“No.” The powerful figure of Prince
Digery Harvey, son of the Mole Man, growled in answer. “We three will go
first. We must assess these invader’;s forces for ourselves, as well as
reclaim our missing countrymen. Then we attack. These cretins mustbe taught the
error of infringing upon our kingdom.”
“Well said,” Ares twin sister Princess
Divinity affirmed. “In truth we should have entered this war on the surface
world long ago.”
“Enough, sister! It is not for us to
question Father,” Ares chastised.
“Indeed. Warlord Kro is a great leader, and
worthy of listening to,” Digery added, the irony ofhis statement not completely
lost on his peers. Digery’s own stubbornness was nearly as legendary as
his father’s own power. Now, my allies, let us begin our campaign!”
<><><>
Transvaal Region,
Status:
The thick mist clung to the trees in the
cold, silent forest deep in the
"Good work, Illyanna," Hawkeye
smiled as his bionic eye adjusted to the gloom of the forest.
"I prefer 'Magik', sir. Especially whilst on my first mission,"
the young Illyanna Rasputin replied as she sheathed the massive silver sword.
"Sure thing, sweetheart.” Hawkeye couldn't help but grin at the young
girl's all-too-serious serious expression.
“Just remember that you're strictly transport on this one, got it?"
Hawkeye said. "We need you to pull our sorry butts out of there. Plus I don't want to have to explain so much
as a scratch on you to your aunt or her
dragon!"
“Same goes fer you, Dad,” Jenny Walters,
code-named Shulk, quietly growled to her step-father. Mayor Rhodes, not to mention her own mother,
had made it clear in no uncertain terms Barton was to let the youngsters to do
the fighting on this one. Jenny herself was there to reinforce the point.
The assembled young heroes looked to where
Hawkeye was pointing to see a large stone castle, built directly into the mountainside.
It looked every bit the clichéd castle of any good Hammer Horror movie.
"Welcome to the newly named Castle Zola."
"You're on time. Good." A deep yet quiet voice whispered
from the tree tops, followed by the muscular form of Killraven jumping to the
ground. "I have been watching the castle for several days now and have the
guard's rotations worked out."
"Johnny Raven" Hawkeye
grinned. “Still all business, huh?”
"I am keen to finish this and return
to Volcanna Ash. The baby is nearly
due,” Killraven replied.
"Congrats on that, by the way. Rhodey mentioning getting a squad to collect
her for transport to Little Midgard," Hawkeye added.
"Appreciated. To the matter at hand?" Killraven
smiled, or as close to a smile as the grim warrior ever got. “This is your unit?”
Hawkeye nodded. In addition to Magick and himself, the team
consisted of the Sentinel, agile Shattershot, armoured Iron Girl, and the
powerhouses Vanguard and Shulk. A
powerful team to be sure, and well suited to the task at hand.
"As you have no doubt been briefed,
this castle has been gifted to the geneticist Arim Zola, in recognition of his
work for Martians in creating mutate warriors," Killraven continued. Jenny gave an unconscious growl at the
mention of Zola's name, being the product of one of his 'special projects'
herself.
"So we go in and shut it down,
huh?" Shattershot, the young mutant warrioress from Mojo World added.
"Precisely," Killraven firmly
answered.
Hawkeye cleared his throat. "Okay, kiddies, training is officially
over. Zola is rumoured to be guarded by
Master Man and his brood. Killraven and
I will be there but you know the drill: you're all officially Avenger's
Resistance fighters now."
"Well except me," Vanguard said,
a wry smile creeping across his face.
"Oh, right, yeah, purely an
observer," Hawkeye winked. King
Thor had taken Barton aside right before they'd left and made it abundantly
clear young John Proudstar would be accompanying them; what ever happened outside
of Asgard was naturally in 'the hands of Those Who Sit Above in Shadow'.
"Okay, John what's our way in?"
<><><>
Castle Zola
"These things are disgusting,"
the tall and powerfully-built teenage girl grimaced as she looked down into the
pit of squirming monstrosities.
"Ja.
Herr Doktor definitely holds to the trial-and-error method," the
girl's wolf like brother answered, crouching down to get a better look.
"Greta, Hans!" a grim voice
called from across the other side of the "Failures" pit. "Get to your posts." Master Man
continued.
“Ja, father,” the two answered in unison.
“I do not see why we serve this crackpot
scientist,” Wolfen muttered to himself as he passed his father.
“Insolent child,” Master Man exploded, cuffing his offspring
non-too-gently on the head. “We serve as we have been ordered. See to your duties!” The two second
generation Nazi Ubersoldaten quickly left to take up their posts among
the castle's surviving turrets.
“I do not like his insolent streak,” Master
Man said turning to his wife, who had just entered.
“He is frustrated at serving when we should
be ruling,” Warrior Woman replied.
“We will, my dear, as soon as we find out
how to get these damned toxins out of our bodies.” Master Man gave her a grim smile. “That is where Zola comes in, and then the
Martians will pay.”
<><><>
Tessa Stark hovered over Castle Zola, her
incredible armour on full stealth mode.
Shrouded as she was from either visual or audio detection, the only way
she could possibly be detected was if someone were to actually sense her
movement in the air itself. As luck
would have it, Wolfen stepped into sight just as she drifted over the turret he
was manning. While he didn't call out to
either his sister, who stood upon the neighboring turret, or otherwise raise
the alarm, it was clear he knew she was there.
His eyes followed her progress across the sky, his fangs bared in a
silent snarl.
“Just great. They've got a damned watch dog,” Hawkeye
grumbled as he focused his bionic eye on the Castle battlements. “Pull back, Tessa.”
“Copy that,” Tessa sub-vocalized into her
comms, letting herself drift back towards where the rest of the team waited,
hoping all the while there were actual limits to the wolf-boy's senses.
<><><>
Deep within the castle, the stout, short
form of Doctor Arim Zola walked amongst his latest batch of test subjects.
Strapped to various pieces of equipment and dissection tables were examples of
most of the races of Subterrania. “Very
fluid genes these Moloids have,” Zola's computer-generated face mused aloud
from his chest.. “I might eventually be able to create a trooper to surpass
even the Skorpsmen using this...”
“He will come for us and you will hurt!” a
young Moloid spoke up.
“Interesting. I wasn’t aware your speech
centers was sufficiently developed to mimic our speech,” Zola said turning to
the Moloid, who was small even by his races standards.
“Not all.
Me special!” the Moloid replied.
“Still more fascinating, I must say. And who exactly will come to hurt me?” Zola
grinned menacingly brandishing a razor sharp scalpel. His expression faltered slightly when the
Moloid grinned back.
“Our champion!”
<><><>
10 Kilometers Underground, ascending
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?”
Ares asked as Digger led them through tunnel that sloped ever upwards.
“Do not question me, Deviant,” Digger spat
back with a glare. “I have forgotten
more of the tunnels of Subterrania than you will ever know.”
“Easy, Digger,” soothed Divinity. “My brother is just as anxious as you are to
free our captive peoples and end these hunts.
Plus we are only half Deviant, as are you if memory
recalls.”
Digger stopped at this, shoulders
tightening for a moment before he relaxed and turned back to face them
both. “My apologies, Lady Divinity,”
Digger said quietly and earnestly. “I
should speak with...more respect to you both as fellow royalty. You deserve that much, and it is as you say:
I am anxious to free those captives.”
“Understandable, my friend. Let us hurry, then,” Lady Divinity’s raven
haired brother Ares added. With that Digger unsheathed his huge claws and
flexed his powerful muscles and began the arduous task of tunnelling to the
surface.
The Lady Divinity could not help but watch
in awe as the sweat dripped down the back of the ruggedly handsome half
Deviant; of course this was by her Eternal standards of beauty not the Deviant
viewpoint. Ares saw his sister’s glances and frowned. The champion of the Moleoids was in his
estimation hardly a worthy consort for Deviant and Eternal royalty.
<><><>
Above ground
Once again,
the evening gloom was split by the point of a sword as it sliced a new
rend in the fabric of space and time, though this time the breach led into one
of the corridors within the castle itself. A purple arrow flew through the
tear, imbedding itself in the temple of the nearest Skorpsman. Then the tear
widened and Hawkeye and his squad leapt out and into the barely lit
hallway…directly into the sight of a hurried Wolfen and his sister.
“Intruders!” Wolfen howled, its echo
resounding all about them.
“Idioten!
You have no idea who you are dealing with!” Uber-Girl Screamed as she took
to the air then turned to rocket at the heroes.
“I’d say a dirty Nazi skank, but I don’t
really know you yet,” Magik smiled readying her soul sword, only to be pulled
away by Hawkeye.
“I toldja, girl, pull back and wait for our
signal! Now gitouttahere!” Hawkeye
yelled. Reluctantly Magik stepped back into the rift leading back to their
staging area in the forest, which sealed itself behind her.
“Don’t worry, skank,” Sentinel shouted, her
photonic shield colliding with the young woman’s well-sculpted face. “I’m still here and I’ve been looking forward
to this.”
“Impressive, fraulien,” Wolfen growled as
Shattershot vaulted out of the path of his claws. “However, I am still going to
eviscerate you.”
“Blah blah blah,” Shattershot grinned,
sticking one of her small daggers in Wolfen’s back.
“Less chat, Rikki,” Hawkeye reprimanded as
he unleashed another arrow into the throng of Skorpsmen troops in the courtyard
below him, while Killraven and Vanguard kept the troops on the battlements
occupied in their own unique ways.
“Team Two, go!” Killraven said into his
wrist communicator. Suddenly the air was split by the sonic boom caused by Iron
Girl rocketing from cloud cover. In her arms she carried the gamma beauty
Shulk. As Iron Girl passed over the castle she released Shulk, who plummeted
like a boulder towards the courtyard. As
she fell, Jenny Walters increased her body muscle, pumping up to three times
its normal already impressive size. This was an ability she had only just
discovered she had and it was still something of a mystery.
She hit the courtyard with a tremendous
crack, the shockwave of her landing shattering the stone beneath her feet and
sending Skorpsmen flying in nearly every direction. This allowed Iron Girl to
easily hit the disorientated guards with her repulsors.
Resistance by the guards was soon quickly
collapsing, with only Wolfen and Uber Girl still impeding Hawkeye’s team, when
were proving a problem that was of course until their parents turned up.
“Kill you all,” Master Man bellowed as he flew full tilt into Killraven,
tackling him with a (literal) bone-crushing bear-hug. Hawkeye turned to help
but found himself gasping for air as the electro whip of Warrior Woman wrapped
around his throat. This was all followed by a gods-awful howling as doorways in
the courtyard swung open and out poured the grotesque experiments of Arim Zola.
“Oh shit!” Shattershot gulped.
An instant later, the ground literally fell
away beneath their collective feet.
<><><>
Five
Kilometers Outside
Illyanna sulked as she saw the flashes of
battle from her hiding place in the forest. While she understood the need for
an escape route, she certainly didn’t have to like being sidelined like this.
She actually suspected she wasn’t completely trusted yet, and it was hard to really
blame them for that.
She’d been found floating in Limbo by Kurt
Wagner, having appeared from literally nowhere and with no real memory of her
past or even who she was beyond her name.
The Wagners had taken her in and brought her to Little Midgard, where
she quickly displayed more intuitive and refined control of magic and its
forces than even Raven Strange and Vincent Von Doom could pull. Her ‘niece’ Katya and ‘nephew’ Stel, both
literally just having returned from a mission on Earth, were kind enough yet
seemed strangely nervous around her; only Katya’s companion Lockheed seemed to
warm to her. The rest of the Legacy
Cohorts were just plain hesitant, and after learning of their recent trials and
losses, Illyanna couldn’t readily blame them.
She put these thoughts to the back of her
mind; at least they trusted her enough to include her on this little jaunt. Her
daydreaming was cut short an instant later as the sky erupted in a flash of
red; it was Sentinel’s flare and her cue to pull them out.
Illyanna drew the Soulsword and cut the
air, her senses keying in on her teammates. As the portal opened in the
castle’s lower levels, Illyanna found herself pushed backwards, tackled by
several somethings that barreled directly into her, the portal closing behind
them instantly. When Illyanna looked up she saw her attackers were Sentinel, a
battered and bloody Shattershot, and two figures she didn’t recognize.
“I take it things didn’t go too well?”
Illyanna said.
“Something like that,” Sentinel answered,
sounding both angry and a bit chagrined.
“It would have been a bloody massacre if
that crackpot midget scientist didn’t want to harvest us like fleshfruit,”
Shattershot panted.
“Erm, you want to introduce me?” Illyanna
interrupted, gesturing towards the two handsome strangers.
“Eh? Oh, right. These are Princes Digger and Ares of
Subterrania,” Sentinel began. “They and their sister were also attacking the
castle. Seems that Herr Doktor has been using their countrymen as test subjects.”
“Can we trust them?" Illyanna
whispered to the nearby Shattershot.
“For now, given our goals are one,” Digger
spoke up. At their mutually surprised
expressions, he added “I have very
good hearing.”
“Okay, fine,” Sentinel nodded grimly. “Zola’s forces are far stronger than we
expected and took us completely off guard.”
“So, back to Little Midgard for
reinforcements?” Illyanna asked.
Digger spoke before Sentinel could. “You do not have the time. The captives would be nothing but genetic
samples used to build Martian super soldiers by the time you return.”
“Agreed,” Sentinel nodded. “We’ve go straight back in, try and use the
element of surprise to free everyone.”
“These malicious upworlders will pay in
blood,” Digger snarled, flexing his mighty clawed hands.
“Quite,” was Ares’ more eloquent sentiment.
“Ok, plan?” Shattershot asked as she and
Illyanna turned to Sentinel.
<><><>
One
Kilometer Underground
The air was once again split by the
Soulsword, the team emerging this time in the tunnel Digger had dug beneath the
castle. “This passage leads directly
into the castles dungeons. We replaced
the bricks where we entered, so hopefully they still don’t know how we got in,”
Ares explained to his new team mates, flashing the ladies a wry smile. Illyanna
blushed despite herself.
“What if your sister has…” Shattershot
began.
“The Lady Divinity would NOT betray us!”
Digger growled, as Ares nodded sternly in agreement.
“Okay, okay. Had ta ask,” Shot grumbled to herself.
“Right, team! Let’s move fast and hot,”
Sentinel ordered, as she removed the first brick.
<><><>
Castle
Dungeon
Hawkeye opened his eyes to find himself
bound tightly and suspended vertically along the wall of a circular room. The others were similarly bound around the
room’s circumference. The last thing he remembered was Master Man’s rather
large fist flying towards his face. The others were blooded and bruised, but
otherwise reasonably okay; Killraven was the only exception, a large spike
being embedded in his right thigh.
Sentinel, ‘Shot, and the two Subterranian princes were nowhere to be
seen, though Hawkeye was unsure if this was a good or bad sign.
It appeared Killraven had been the first to
wake and was staring intently at Hawkeye. He didn’t know what Killraven had
planned but he knew enough to know he wanted a distraction. Higher up the room a balcony ran the entire
room’s length, stationed there were the pair of Uber Girl and Wolfen, as well
as a few more junior Nazis Hawkeye didn’t immediately recognize just yet. Well, if a distraction was needed, he'd give
them one.
As large breath as he could manage later,
then Hawkeye began screaming for all he was worth. This served a dual purpose of, first, drawing
all the guards’ attention towards him and, secondly, it woke everyone up. Embarrassment was a small price to pay for
those results. His girl Jenny quickly
joined in shouting like a banshee, as did several others. Needless to say, the guards found their
attention pulled in several different directions at once.
Killraven wasted no time in starting his
escape. The instant Hawkeye let rip, he
hoisted up his legs and plucked out the spike in his thigh with his teeth. He
then dropped the spike catching it between his feet, then raising his feet over
his head; arching his back to the limit he expertly used the spike to pick the
manacles binding his hands to the wall.
This all took barely a minute.
Before the guards noticed anything,
Killraven was fairly sprinting across the room spike in hand. He made it to the bound Shulk, slashing her
across the arm. Jenny's eyes went wide
first in shock and pain, then in anger.
With that anger came increased strength, heralded by the popping of her
shackles and a roar that reminded Clint of her long-lost uncle at his worst.
“Quickly, girl, free the others!” Killraven
yelled as he dodged the laser fire now raining down about them. Shulk’s jade
eyes immediately cleared in understanding, and she quickly moved to setting the
others free. Once Iron Girl was free she reactivated her armour, which had
retreated into the nanites that seeded her body when she’d been knocked out by
Zola’s sonic weapons. She then generated a force shield above them all for
cover, allowing Shulk to then “make” a doorway through the dungeon’s wall.
Alarms blared all across Castle Zola as the
Legacy made their escape. A short ways
off, Sentinel and the rest looked between themselves at the commotion. “Looks
like they’re doing just fine without us,” Shattershot smirked.
“Then let us make their efforts a little
easier,” Digger grinned in response as he looked at the room they had just
entered, via the hole in the wall Ares’ power staff had just created. The room
was packed with adamantium cages containing new Grimm clones ready for the Arena. As was their breed’s wont, the beasts all
reacted to this intrusion as they did to everything else: loudly, and
violently.
“These things could tear the castle apart,”
Illyanna gasped as the cages all began to rattle and rock.
“Precisely, a major distraction” Digger
smiled.
“But these things are deadly! We can’t just let them roam loose!” Sentinel
added.
“The end justifies the means,” Digger
growled and slashed the control unit with his claws. Before Sentinel could say
any more the cages slowly opened. The rock skinned creatures roared almost as
one at their first taste of freedom, before all charging out of their
individual cages and commencing a “clobberin’” to the laboratory and walls
worthy of their genetic forebear, Ben Grimm himself. Amazingly, the few that actually noticed Sentinel and the others amid the
mayhem and damage they did simply stopped and stared for a few beats, then
resumed their destructive course, albeit in a direction that led away from their nominal saviors.
Sentinel and the rest just stared for
several minutes before daring to pick their way forward. Even Digger seemed appalled at the sheer
amount of damage the Grimms were doing.
<><><>
“Now we’re talking” Hawkeye grinned as
Shulk burst through another wall, this one leading into the castle armoury.
Hawkeye quickly gathered arrows and a bow, as well as a laser rifle for good
measure. Killraven was also busy arming himself for the battle ahead. All the
while Iron Girl and Vanguard protected the rear while Shulk choose their next
exit point, making a bit of a show of putter her ear to various walls and
tapping the brick gently.
“We must hurry, friends! I can feel the
pain of my people held here,” the Lady Divinity cried, holding her temples.
“Don’t you worry, little lady” Hawkeye
answered. “No one gets left behind.”
“Erm, this one!” Shulk called, backing up a
pace then charging another wall, which of course collapsed before her.
“Doesn’t like doors much, does she?”
Vanguard smiled to Iron Girl.
“Holy crap!” Shulk exclaimed as she burst
into the new room. Examples of the various races that made up the
“You’re a sick man, Herr Doctor!” Shulk
yelled as she charged forward, allowing the others to regroup behind her. Her
path was blocked by a particularly large hairy mutate. Soon the lab and
surrounding rooms had erupted in a savage battle. Shulk did her best to take on
the larger mutates but numbers were once again against her. Hawkeye and
Killraven worked in conjunction using their practiced skills to take down as
many adversaries as they could as quickly as they could. Now Tessa’s armour was
once again fully operational she was able to hold off a large number of the
enemy, however the cramped conditions did limit her effectiveness.
Meanwhile Vanguard had taken it upon
himself to protect the Lady Divinity, who was trying hard to ignore the
empathic pain emanating from the labs prisoners.
“I believe this is the release,” Divinity
yelled to Vanguard across the noise of the battle.
“Well, my lady, I suggest you use it,”
Vanguard grimaced as a Skorpsman caught him in the ribs, receiving a psionic arrow
to the face for his trouble. The Deviant princess manipulated the controls and
the clicking sound of restraints and cage locks releasing was heard clanging
around the room. The Subterranian prisoners wasted no time once they were free,
despite their obvious injuries. Some ran from the battle, but others choose to
stay and fight to aid their saviours.
Within only a few minutes the tide had turned decisively against Zola
and his creations.
<><><>
“This way.
I can sense my sister,” Ares yelled over the chaos as the freed Grimms
they had unleashing swarmed onwards, demolishing wall after wall, ultimately
leading them all into the central laboratory.
They arrived just in time to see Zola himself vanishing with the aid of
a Martian teleportation unit, leaving his nominal guards and many creations to
fend for themselves.
“Noooo!” growled Digger as he saw the
geneticist disappear. “He must pay.”
“He will, my friend, but not at this time,”
the gentle voice of Divinity answered, soothing Digger’s boiling rage.
“My sister,” Ares smiled bear hugging his
twin. Sentinel, Shattershot and Magik had joined their team in corralling the
remaining Skorpsmen, mutates and other creatures loyal to Zola while also
trying to stop freed Subterranians hurting themselves in their frenzied,
rage-filled attacks on their former captors. The castle was now literally
crumbling around all their ears; it was most definitely time to leave.
“You have driven away our chance at
freedom! For that, you will all die!”
declared the booming voice of Master Man yelled as he and his family crashed
into the devastated lab. The forces of Zola quickly rallied round their
remaining leader.
“At last some vengeance,” Digger growled
and leapt at Master Man, only to be intercepted mid leap by the feral Wolfen.
“Wait,” cried Sentinel. “We have
scientists…perhaps they can help you with whatever your problem is…” But it was
too late. The battle raged once more. Digger and Wolfen fought savagely, claw
to claw, while Killraven deftly avoided the blows sent forth by the crazed
Master Man. Shulk was trading punishing blows with Warrior Woman, whose
strength nearly matched her own. Sentinel now saw it as kismet that she ended
up fighting Master Man’s daughter Uber Girl. Hawkeye lead the remaining heroes
against the now reinvigorated Skorpsmen and mutates.
“This was meant to be,” Uber Girl wickedly
grinned. “What our fathers could never finish, we shall end now to the death!”
she screamed, hitting Sentinel hard in the jaw. Sentinel landed in a crouch
after rolling with the impact. She instinctively raised her photonic shield.
“My father worked his entire life to rid
the world of psychos like you,” Sentinel responded, shifting her shield into an
energy staff and planting it into the middle of Uber Girl’s face. Blood spurted
from the shocked young Nazi’s nose. The battle was proving to be quite even and
not really going anywhere, much to Digger’s increasing fury.
Suddenly the battle froze, fists inches
from faces, energy sizzling in weapons as the combatant all looked up as
one…just as the castle collapsed in on itself, burying them all.
<><><>
Magik hacked and slashed with soulsword as
Shulk hurled boulder after boulder away from the pile of rubble that was once
Castle Zola. “I just couldn’t reach
them” Illyanna cried as she continued to chop away at the rock.
“Not your fault, sweetie,” Shulk replied,
forced cheer in her voice. “You would have if you coulda. I’m just grateful you reached me…hey! I see a glow…?”
The pair redoubled their removing the
debris, ultimately uncovering a large energy dome generated by Iron Girl’s
armour. No sooner had they uncovered
this than force shield sparked, fizzled, and died away; crouching there were
Hawkeye, Killraven and the other heroes, while the mutates and Skorpsmen
huddled to one side. Master Man and his brood were no where to be seen.
“Thank you for your aid in liberating my
people” Digger addressed the Legacy heroes. “I suggest you leave with me into
the tunnels of Subterrania as I can’t imagine these Martians will leave this
un-investigated for too long, and your aid in securing the prisoners would be
appreciated,” Digger continued gesturing towards the assembled Skorpsmen and
mutates.
“No argument from us,” Hawkeye answered for
them all. “’Sides, we need the time to discuss the future.”
“This way, masters,” gibbered a small
moloid, the same one who had braved Zola’s fury earlier that day. “Hurry, hurry!”
<><><>
Some hours later the heroes of the Legacy
were following the lords of Subterrania deep into the bowls of the Earth. They
ushered the captive Skorpsmen and mutates between them.
“Ah our transport has arrived” Ares
announced as the group entered a large cavern. The cavern held three gigantic
worm-like creatures ridden by Deviant pilots. Along the scaly backs of the
monster worms were a long row of saddles. One of the worm riders dismounted and
approached his master Ares.
“Sire, you are been followed by a number of
rock skinned creatures.”
“It must be the Grimms,” Divinity said.
“I suppose they could have followed us into
the tunnels. Certainly it is likely they
would have survived the castles collapse,” Ares added. The heroes automatically
gathered in a defensive posture at the mouth of the tunnel they had entered the
cavern by. The mob of rock-skinned
beasts was soon in sight, but made no move to advance further.
“Wait” Sentinel yelled, noticing how the
Grimms were not charging forward to meet them.
If anything, they appeared to be…waiting, their postures not the
slightest bit aggressive. Lady Divinity stepped forward to join Sentinel. “What do you think?”
“I sense…these creatures are…no, were simply lashing out at their
treatment. Now they are simply…lost.” She turned back to her brother and the
rest. “Perhaps compassion would prove
more worthwhile than violence.”
“That’s all well and good but how do we get
that across to them?” Shattershot said pointing down the tunnel towards the
trudging Grimms.
“Well, genetically they are based on
Colonel Grimm, so they must contain some semblance of intelligence” Sentinel
added. Hawkeye couldn’t help but snigger
at this, quieting at the glare his step-daughter fixed him with.
“I won’t tell Angel you’re dissing her dad,
dad,” the gammazon quietly threatened.
“Lay down your weapons” Sentinel ordered,
apparently forgetting that she wasn’t actually in charge. All present did so anyway and parted ways to
allow the Grimms to enter the cavern. The lumbering creatures entered the
space, seemingly bewildered at what to do; no one had ever allowed them passage
before and not tortured or forced them into conflict. Food and water were
offered to the creatures. Suddenly one of the Skorpsmen seized his opportunity
and lunged for one of the downed weapons. Before the Skorpsman could use the
power staff he had reached a large rocky fist raced out and crushed the weapon
along with the Skorpsman’s hand. He screamed in pain and passed out. The Grimm
then retrieved the mangled weapon and laid it at Digger’s feet.
“I think he likes you,” Shattershot
observed. Soon afterwards, further Moloid and Deviant forces arrived to secure
the prisoners, leaving Digger, Ares and Divinity time to discuss the future
with the Legacy.
“So we have a deal?” Hawkeye said,
stretching out his hand to Digger.
“Yes we do, Upworlder. We will hold off on our retaliation until the
time you and your allies are ready to assault the Martians directly,” Digger
acknowledged, taking the human’s hand in his huge claw and shaking it.
“Then these aliens will regret even
treading foot on Terra. This, I swear!”
“Whatever you say, pal” Hawkeye smiled,
wincing ever so slightly at Digger’s crushing grip.
Author’s
Notes:
Hello again thanks for sticking with us
here at Legacy. As you have read the Legacy now has a firm ally in the
Subterranians and this the first step to the coming great battle with the
Martians for the Earth. We are also nearing the end of Legacy year one (#25),
but before then you can expect a journey the Shi’ar Empire and the return of
some of our most notable absentees. As usual all comments are welcome and we
can be reached by the Pendragons mailing list or at daveevans78@hotmail.com
R11; cheerio
P.S. Thanks for all the issues you wrote
here at Pendragons Barry.
Next Issue: Is that the Starjammer I see
before me?
Glimpses
Greetings.
I am Ute, a Watcher. I have been apprenticed to the infamous Utau, once the
Watcher of this sector. My task given to me by my master is to observe the next
generation of the heroes of the planet earth, although why has yet to be
explained. Now my attention is drawn even out of the boundaries of this
universe to a place beyond time and space. What the creatures situated here
have to do with my appointed task remains to be seen…
The
“The ‘Stream is a mess,” Calvin Rankin,
once known as The Mimic, sighed as he looked over the multiple monitors in
front of him, each depicting a small scenes across the Multiverse. “I don’t
know if this DiVinci clown is an angel or the Devil himself!”
“He’s trying to do what he feels is right,
love,” the soothing voice of Mrs Clarice Rankin, once known as Blink, said as
she placed a reassuring hand on her husband’s shoulder. “And the Time War is
hardly his doing.”
“Granted,” Mimic conceded. “It’s just
the worse state the Timestream gets, the harder our damned job gets…and the
more chance we lose another one of our children.”
“Shoulda sent me with the kiddies if you’re
so worried,” a coarse voice was heard behind the couple.
“All in due time, Foxfire,” Blink answered
their new arrival, the powerful son of Wolverine and Jean Grey. “Heather had to
give the once over first.”
“Incoming message from Exiles squadron,
sir,” the computer’s polite voice echoed around the room.
“Patch it through, Ultron,” mimic answered.
The face of Mimic’s and Blink’s son Flux
appeared on the screen. “We found him, Dad, and you called it right. He
used Doom’s old time platform to try and alter the past and usurp rule of this
Earth from his father,” Flux was heard over the crackly intercom.
“Just be careful. If this Monarch
character is anywhere near as powerful as his father the Maestro, he needs to
be handled with extreme caution.” Mimic ordered.
“Chill, Dad. He’s already
down.” The boy’s grin could be heard in his voice.
“Really? How?” Mimic slightly stammered in
disbelief.
“Hey, I got’s me two lovely ladies who’re
swinging Moljinir. They just hit him in the temples and, plop, he’s out
cold.”
“Then get him back here before he comes to
so we can toss him back where he belongs!”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Flux
asked. “I mean, he’s no lightweight.”
“We’ll see if we can convince the TVA he’s
dangerous enough to be incarcerated with them,” Mimic replied. “Please,
just get back here, willya?”
Seconds later the arrival platform in the
“Well, I have to say I am impressed,” Mimic
beamed at his charges, as he looked at the bound Monarch.
“No rest for the wicked, I’m afraid,” he
quickly continued. “Ultron has picked up something odd. Seems
there’s some kind of tear near an Asgard variant,” Mimic continued. “The place
is called Little Midgard.”
“You mean…I’m going home?” gasped a member
of the team.
“Looks that way, kiddo,” Blink smiled.
To be
continued…soon.
And just in case any of you missed this on
the mailing list here is a little look into the early days of Little Midgard:
<><><>
“A Legacy of Christmas”
Little
Midgard
11
years ago
“Forget it, I’m not doing it. I’m goin’ home an’…” Howard the Duck whined
as he pulled at his costume.
“Oh, Howard, quit been such a grump. Heh, I think you look adorable,” Howard’s
long time partner Bev Swirlitzer replied, barely keeping her giggles under
control.
“Adorable? Adorable?! I’m…Howard the
freaking duck hero of the resistance, I do not do adorable, I do daring and
dashing” Howard growled.
“Oh right you’re those too of course. It’s
just that those curly shoes with the bells are soooo cute”
“Right! That’s it!” Howard grumbled,
tearing his fake elf ears and throwing them to the floor. “I’m not doin’ it!”
“Oh yes you are” Mary Jane Parker announced
in her ‘disappointed mother’ voice.
Howard continued to look rebellious, although he at least quit pulling
on his costume. “Now, get your feathered
butt on that sleigh…or I might have to tell Ghoul how Olaf’s Tavern is
undercutting his ale prices.”
“Wha! Okay okay. I’ll do it let’s…not
get…excited…geez!” Howard gasped and readjusted his Christmas elf costume,
making his way to the sleigh parked across the rooftop on which they stood.
“But let it be known I’m just doing this for the children.”
“Of course you are, Howie,”
Volstagg was already sat in the sleigh and
had been for some time, he deeply enjoyed playing the role of this Santa Claus
for the children, although he had to get a special dispensation to do so, after
all he was a god. Volstagg’s thick red beard was covered by an even thicker
false white beard and was complimented by the full red and white furred Santa
costume.
“I knew you would see the right in this
endeavour, Friend Duck” Volstagg boomed.
“I remember the same argument with the
Wundergorian ambassador at Easter time to play some egg givin’ bunny rabbit.”
At the front of the sleigh the former Hound
of Hell, Cerberus and the Inhuman canine, Lockjaw sat. Each sported a pair of
fake reindeer antlers ans Lockjaw also wore a bright red nose.
“It will be excellent my friend just to see
the children’s smiles” Volstagg grinned and shook the reigns attached to
Cerberus and Lockjaw, rousing them to their feet.
“One moment,” a sultry female voice announced
from across the rooftop. Suddenly the curvy form of Amora the Enchantress
appeared before the assembled citizens. “Worthy as your efforts have been, you
lack the air of believability,” and with a wave of her hand she transformed
Volstagg, Lockjaw and Cerberus into the very image of Santa Claus and his
helpers, save for Howard, who retained his most distinctive duckbill. “This
will last until you have performed your duties.”
“Thank you, Amora” Mary Jane said. “But
why?”
“I believe in what you are doing here Mrs.
Parker and let’s just say some of your children have…potential.” With that the Enchantress was gone.
<><><>
Inside
the Great Hall:
“Is he here yet?” Ben Parker almost
squealed as he hung from the roof of the Great Hall.
“Soon, Benjy. Now get down from there.” Alicia
Masters-Grimm smiled. She could hear the children all around the room, the
offspring of the great heroes of Earth, plucked from their homes to escape the
horrors of the war. The children’s faces were alight with anticipation Sister
Samson had told Alicia, but she suspected it was thinking about what toys they
were about to receive. Suddenly the hall’s doors burst open and a sleigh pulled
by two reindeer charged in. The white bearded Santa Claus exited with his sack
full of presents followed by his elf assistant.
Sister Samson cast a glance at Mary
Jane, who wore a much more feminine Santa outfit; she winked at Sister Samson
then hurried over to Alicia to whisper the story of Amora’s help to
Alicia. Alicia struggled, then started
to laugh out loud as the hordes of over-excited children dog-piled Santa.
And his duckbilled elf.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.