Chapter 32: This Is Where The Fun Begins
[The Helicarrier]
[Nick Fury]:
Nick Fury was shuffling with the bloody cards left behind by Coulson when he received the news.
"Sir? You should see this," Agent Hill's voice sounded, bringing the director from his thoughts.
"Hill," Fury looked up, wondering what else could have happened.
Not only had Loki escaped, but the whole initiative was under threat. The helicarrier was barely aloft and communication was still very limited.
Nick had a feeling his frustration and irritation would soon increase.
Hill brought a tablet to him, showcasing the news, with a reporter broadcasting an incident in Manhattan, the news title reading: "Breaking News: The Fall of A Hero? The Death of Redline!"
Agent Hill swiped at the screen, showcasing various sources telling the same story, including a scene of his fall, the site of it and the missing body believed to have been atomized in the fall.
"Every channel seems to be covering it, sir," Agent Hill said, brow furrowed. "It's showing up everywhere and dominating online forums. It's only occurred less than thirty minutes ago — During our own attacked situation."
"This is... troubling," Fury narrowed his one good eye. "With this, we may have lost a heavy hitter..."
Then Fury saw the clip of the building being atomized — Minutes after the killing blow.
'A delayed effect of death, perhaps?' Fury frowned, replaying the clip over and over and watching the numbers of the clock speed. 'Or last-ditch effort left in the vain of loss...?' Director Fury's eye narrowed more, before an idea caused his eye to widen. 'Or an emotionally charged response to losing... The Redline is alive... But he hasn't resurfaced. Is he plotting vengeance?'
Director Fury pondered this in his head, clearly dissecting the occurrence from all angles. He knew Apocalypse was classified as an Omega level mutant and an Extinction level threat in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. His data requires a Level 10 Security Clearance to even get to, and, as the Director, Fury was well-versed in whatever they had on that mutant.
'He's been a thorn in humanity's side for long enough,' Fury thought at last, returning to shuffling the cards in his hands. 'Perhaps this new mutant may just be the blade humanity requires for the extremist.'
"Sir?" Agent Hill, noting Fury's silence, decided he must've seen all he needed to, handing the tablet to someone else as they passed. "You don't think he's dead?"
A long silence sounded before Nick Fury answered with words of his own.
"I think the strongest weapons are forged, not naturally occurring," the director answered. "And I think Apocalypse has just forged the weapon that would end him."
A beat of silence.
Then Agent Hill noticed the bloody cards in the Director's hands. She furrowed her brows again.
"Those cards..." she begun. "They were in Coulson's locker, not his jacket."
Nick looked down at the cards. The first showed classic Captain America saluting to the camera. He heaved a heavy sigh.
"They needed the push," Nick stated.
Hill side-eyed Fury as she realized, but, before she could say anything on the matter, a voice on the PA spoke.
["We have an unauthorized departure from Bay 6."]
"They've found him," Fury stated, as the quinjet, trailing a suit of flying armor, streaked before the bow. "Get our communications back up, whatever you have to do. I want eyes on everything."
"Yes, sir," Agent Hill rushed to get that done.
[Chris Martin]:
In an unknown hideout somewhere on the other side of the globe, the Huntsmaster stood in a room bathed in blood, surrounded by the dead bodies of 2,000 Hydra members and 3,000 H.I.V.E scientists.
His eyes sparked with crimson, anti-temporal lightning and kinetic energy, his suit, dark and grey, and specked with blood. Lightning as red as blood wreathed his form and an axe dripping wet with blood was held in hand.
[The Huntsmaster Suit Reference Image I]:
[The Huntsmaster Suit Reference Image II]:
This was the 29th HIVE base the Huntsmaster has hit in the last 2 weeks alone. And it was amongst the final main bases the organization had command of — Yet the Huntsmaster was relentless.
He would not rest until that organization ceased to be — Whether or not blood is even left from their ashes was irrelevant.
The ruined base was left in ruins. Roofless pillars lined the place, and bodies were everywhere. All were dead — And a quick check down the subterranean corridors told Chris that his team was already finishing up their own objectives.
"Magik is handling herself well enough, but, considering she's the current queen of Limbo, I'd have expected nothing less," Huntsmaster smiled as he heard his girlfriend battle what remained of the HIVE's enhanced fighters on her own. Chris tilted his head, listening on. "Yelena is also doing well as the Crimson Widow. I'm genuinely glad I recruited her."
With a slight tilt of his head, Huntsmaster picked up on Kraven's location, as well as Vanguard's and Sunspot's.
"Those two are doing well, too, if a bit abrasive and excessive—"
Huntsmaster abruptly paused as the earth quaked beneath his feet. Sunspot's heated blasts were making the very foundations tremble, and Vanguard's vibrational concussive blasts certainly wasn't helping matters. "Yeah… definitely excessive." Huntsmaster sighed, already turning in their direction. "I should probably stop them before they bring the whole damn place down on top of themselves…."
Huntsmaster sent a mental message to them to hurry up and be careful — Just in time for his phone to ring.
'I wonder who's—' but Chris then saw Lucas' number/name on the screen and answered immediately. "You're back from the dead, I see. Felt your death in the network. Glad she couldn't keep you forever. What's up?"
"Redline is dead, and I'm heading out of town for awhile,"Lucas said. "I can't leave my territory unprotected and you're the solution."
Chris narrowed his eyes. "I'm listening."
[New York, Manhattan]:
[Lucas Blake]:
"You can finish up your vengeance — Just be here when you're done," Lucas agreed. "And hurry up, stop holding back. You're going to kill the organizations anyway. Just speedrun and blitz them and be done, Christopher."
"Alright," Chris said, sounding like he just got scolded.
"Yeah," Lucas continued. "Also, dig the fit."
"Really?" Chris grinned.
"Anyway, I've got things to do, bastards to kill," Lucas nodded, eyes gleaming with a deadly, almost blade-like intent at the things he wanted to do to Apocalypse. He wanted that motherfucker to suffer, and he had no intentions of giving him a quick death. He had to take a breath to calm the rage bubbling in his mind at the thought of that guy. "Later."
"Peace, brother," Chris nodded, before Lucas hung up.
He had just landed in his warehouse near the edge of the city. He had bent the light with his telekinesis to cover his trail and make himself practically invisible, using a telekinetic forcefield to keep out air interference while he called and keep his voice from being heard outside his telekinetic bubble.
He wore what was basically rags, remnants of his suit and a painful but necessary reminder of his loss as the Redline.
He was no longer Redline. That hero was dead. He was something else — A man of vengeance.
The Revenger.
He made his way to the elevator's destination. The sub-level floors.
He had a few projects there that were perfect for his plan — He needed more power. He had the plan to achieve that power — He just needed the tools — And he has them. He just needed to get to them.
'Hopefully, unnoticed,' Lucas thought, internally, as the elevator travelled downward at high speed levels. 'I shouldn't have been spotted after the building collapsed, and I'm certain no one followed me. I'm pretty sure I'm here by myself.'
As the elevator doors dinged and opened to the lowest levels of the sub-floors, Lucas stepped out — And was greeted by two faces he hadn't expected to see down here.
"Fel? Buck?" Lucas was startled at his two lovers. "What the hell are two doing here? How are you here? This warehouse is guarded by state of the art battle drones and an advanced AI. You shouldn't have been able to just waltz right in."
"Luke," Felicia rushed forward to hug Lucas. "I thought you were dead."
Lucas hugged back reflexively, breathing in her calming scent. His mind supplied him an observation: They hadn't yet answered his question.
"I did die," Lucas said, when pulled back, making the other two frown. "Met Death. She wasn't the worst person ever ironically. My soul wasn't on her menu, though."
This caused Felicia to gasp. "Death is a girl? Seriously?"
"Yeah," Lucas said, non-chalantly, then glanced at Bucky. "You didn't answer my question."
"OMNIS let us through," Bucky said bluntly. "Said you needed help when we thought you were dead. We didn't ask for the details when it said you'd be here. We just…came, I guess."
Lucas was oddly touched by that fact. Honestly, if he were emotionally expressive, he'd show it, too. Unfortunately, he didn't do emotions… especially when he was on a spree of vengeance.
He couldn't stop imagining Apocalpyse, bloodied and beaten and tortured and brutally maimed by his own hands. It only sent a thrill of excitement through Lucas, but he was able to school his expressions… That was, before he realized what Bucky had just said. "OMNIS let you through?"
'Betrayed by my own AI.'
Lucas glowered at the thought.
[...]
'Of course you're quiet, bastard,' Lucas narrowed.
[....]
'Fuck you.
[Organic lifeforms can't mate with digital computers.]
'You know what I mean!' Lucas thought back.
[....]
[Your desire for violence can be an early sign of psychosis. Would you like me to make an appointment at your local psychiatric ward?]
Lucas' brow twitched at that response.Lucas almost seethed, but blanked his expression at the last moment. He was not going to be arguing with a computer.
"We had a feeling that you were about to do something stupid," Felicia stated, gesturing behind her. "I assume that has something to do with the stupid you intend to do?"
Behind her was a large ship — A spaceship of gold, black and silver. And, across from it, was a new suit — Both were things Lucas had been working on for the longest.
[New Ship "Vengeance" Reference Images]:
[New Suit Reference Images]:
Admittedly, they were made in the plans of Earth's defense. Now, they've become instruments of revenge. Lucas had no problem with them being both, honestly, so long as the vengeance comes first.
'Lewis will be more than enough to protect the Earth,' Lucas nodded to himself. 'Apocalypse is a loose end. I can't let him live. He'll become a hindrance in the future. I cannot allow that.'
"I intend to find the source of my power and absorb it into me," Lucas said, surprising his crew with his honesty. "A comet that shone above me the day I was born — And a second one in a place far, far away — They are my current targets. Do you intend to slow me down? Stop me in any way? I should let you know, I have no intentions of changing my course of action."
"Stop you? Stand in your way?" Felicia shook her head. "No, no, no. We're here to help you."
"You intend to get vengeance on Apocalypse after you power up, right?" the White Wolf nodded at Lucas' silent words. "We're coming with."
Lucas smiled.
"As much as I like that idea," Lucas tutted, remembering that Civil War had to happen regardless. 'The Stamford Incident will happen regardless of Bucky's involvement,' Lucas realized. 'Which means I can do this without altering much on my part.'
The two of them looked cautiously at Lucas, clearly curious on what he would say next.
"I can't, in good faith, take either of you to space without a proper upgrade."
One was labelled Bucky. Another Spider-Man. Another was labelled Captain America. Black Panther and Slade Wilson even had one.
In the end, Lucas picked two prototype vials that were a combination of all of them — A highly concentrated, highly evolving super-soldier serum that was 20x greater than Steve Roger's own serum.
'I started practicing my Vibe powers when I learned Luke was plotting against Elder Brother. I ended up getting various samples of blood during my successful attempts,' Lucas thought, as he grabbed the serums. 'Travelling to the DC Universe was way too physically demanding and I had only managed to get blood from Slade, but those vials of blood were all I needed to stabilize the concoctions I had made.'
"Now, who's going to go first?" Lucas asked. "Just kidding. You'll both be injected at once. It'll be faster that way... Before we begin, though, tell me if you have any doubts. I won't force this on you."
Bucky and Felicia shared a look, and a shrug, before shaking their heads.
"Okay, then," Lucas led the way to the ship. "Let's get to the tubes aboard, lift off and chase my murderer through the stars. I don't know about you, but I'm famished for vengeance."
No one said it, but they all knew.
Redline was truly dead.
And something darker has taken his place — Something that would stop at nothing to get the blood that it was owed.
Meanwhile, across the city, a man in iron was facing a trickster god narcissist who was destined for a "glorious purpose" — And, just beyond the stars, Lewis Blake smirked.
'This is where the fun begins,' he grinned.