Play Testers Wanted Pt. 06

"What's inside?" MJ whispered.

"No clue, but it must be worth all of this." I replied.

"I agree." Nightcrawler backed me up. "We will have to wait and find out." She added softly.

The ride into the city went without a hitch. Doomstadt was a city under siege. Doombots were everywhere I had to clamp a sturdy hand on Katja's shoulder when we saw the remnants of the black bird and its cargo in the city square next to the statue of Viktor. It was easily twenty feet tall and matched his ego perfectly. The quality of the craftsmanship was of the highest order.

"It is as they claim. There is only food, medicine, and fresh water." One of the soldiers called out to his superior.

"Search it again and find something this time." The man with the scar and eyepatch demanded.

"Yes sir." The soldier replied unhappily.

The caravan came to a halt and the truck was unlocked and the back opened. I half hoped the X-Men were inside so we could perform a crazy off the cuff rescue mission. There were people inside, but they weren't the X-Men. The cargo was young beautiful women. None of them were less than an eight on the holy shit scale of beauty. The youngest looked to be in her late teens and the oldest mid-twenties at best. At least he keeps his women in the legal range. I grabbed Nightcrawler and MJ and directed a series of teleportation jumps following the women from the truck. We ended up in the lower portion of Doom's palace. We snuck behind the guards to a communal shower for a scene that will go in my memoirs. There were eighteen of them and I savored every second of the group shower.

"Will he choose me?" One of the girls asked another. Her long raven locks cascading down her back to an ass that would haunt my dreams.

"If you are lucky." The other replied. She was a gorgeous blend of Slavic and Grecian blood lines. "I hear those he doesn't choose are sold off to slavers."

"No!" Another girl began to weep hugging her arms around the finest breasts I had ever seen. "I don't want that. What about my family?!"

"Think about yourself first." One of the older gals suggested.

I felt like shit now. While I still lusted after every one of them, I felt I should try to help them.

We had two groups to rescue. The girls dried off, donned revealing costumes, and were one at a time taken into the presence of Von Doom. I knew it was a bad idea to split up, but I needed to know what Doom was up to and someone needed to free the X-Men.

"Find them, but don't free them without me." I whispered in Nightcrawler's ear. "Don't take them on alone. Promise me."

"I promise." She agreed reluctantly.

We split up. They went deeper into the dungeons and I followed the parade of beauties. The throne room reminded me something out of Arthurian mythology with the singular seat for Viktor while his minions stood on either side at his beck and call. Mystique was at his right-hand side and on the left the other two members of M3, the archer and the swordswoman. I mentally cursed that their identities were still hidden behind ornate masks. A thousand or so of Doom's elite troops were at attention as the women walked in one at a time. I teleported to the top of one of the ten stone columns that held up the massive arched room. I was close enough to hear Viktor speak but not in a direct line of sight.

"Yes. A fine selection today." Viktor commented as the buxom brunette sashayed up to the tyrant. "Who wants to tell me about this one?"

"I will Milord," Mystique chimed in. "I chose her not just for her looks but her stunning intellect. With the proper education and training she will make a formidable addition to Project Regress."

"That is high praise indeed!" Doom replied in his dull metallic voice. "Impress me girl!"

Mystique nodded and the dark-haired beauty bent forward, grabbed her ankle, and stood up straight bringing her left leg upward into a standing split with no sign of discomfort at all. Damn! That impressed the hell out of me and apparently Viktor as well. He had a better vantage of her than I did.

"She's a keeper. Send her to my harem." Doom ordered. "Next!"

Six of the girls were brought before Doom and he only chose one of them, the first girl. The seventh girl was on her way up when pandemonium took hold of the throne room. The first blast of plasma struck Doom's captain of the guards in the side of the head killing him instantly. Two more identical blasts struck other key individuals including the swordswoman. She only survived because she had used Iaijutsu and quick drawn her Vibranium sword and absorbed the blast into the exposed blade. Panic and hell fire ensued after that.

"How dare you!" Doom roared as I teleported behind Doom's throne so I could see where the other players were firing from. "Kill them... kill them all!"

They never revealed themselves as the butchering began. Cloaked deep in shadow I clung high up on the wall and watched the carnage unfold. Doombots flooded the room as soldiers tried to flee the killing ground. The Archer drew her bow and fired in one elegant motion. I knew she was a villain but still it was a thing of beauty watching her at work and not being the target for once. The unlucky recipient learned far too late not to use energy weapons against a vibranium arrow. The missile absorbed the plasma and discharged it inside the corpse as it fell towards the stone floor. It never hit the floor. I wasn't going to let Doom get ahold of any of these guys if I could help it. I teleported the body to Snow's tower.

"Who?!" Doom raged as he brought up his fist and aimed at one of the two remaining assassins. "Who stole my prize?"

"I don't know." Mystique said as she looked over her shoulder and right at me. She winked and then fell to the ground as Doom shoved her out of the way of a lethal bolt of energy.

"Keep your head in the battle woman!" Doom chastised her.

Mystique's rage was something to behold. Her hands traced mystical runes and a sorcerous dome formed around the throne that allowed attacks outward but repelled incoming attacks. The two assassins fled the field and so did I. I sought out MJ and teleported to her side. Now was the time to free the X-men. Confusion was at a maximum and Doom would be focused on the assassins and not his prisoners.

"Thank goodness!" MJ squealed in delight. "We found them and there are only five guards on watch."

"What's the plan?" Nightcrawler asked.

"This!" I said as purple energy collected at my fingertips. I lashed out with Force lightning and stunned the five guards and dropped them like flies. "Time to go!"

Nightcrawler teleported us into the cell holding the X-Men. I opened a portal to the site of where we found the first backpack of supplies. I felt bad about the women but right now we had more important things to work through. Once outside the confines of the city we huddled close and I covered us with a dome of invisibility. While they might have been prisoners, they hadn't been idle. Kitty Pride, whose ability allowed her to pass through physical barriers, had scoped out the palace and even managed to place an interface in one of Doom's main security hubs. Our momentary retreat was the beginning of a much larger assault on Latveria. I learned that Doom had successfully stolen enough Vibranium to cause mischief for decades if he chose to do so.

"Thanks for the rescue." Professor X exclaimed. "I need you, Scott, and Logan to take on a most difficult task. These assassins, as Doom calls them, need to be identified and captured if possible."

"I don't think that is going to be possible." I said and I told them about the assault on Doom's throne room. "Just three of them killed or injured dozens of heavily armed men and doombots. They don't take prisoners sir."

"Ghost is right," Logan stated backing me up. "Charles, I know you don't want to hear this, but we don't have a choice. I'll go alone if I have to."

"No! I think our skills make for a formidable team." I offered.

"Scott?" Logan asked. "I'll understand, we'll all understand if you sit this one out. There is no shame in not wanting to take a life."

I nearly dropped the protective shield when something plopped onto my head. I heard a strange purring sound near my ear and that is when someone called out to the group.

"Has anyone seen Lockheed?" Kitty Pride asked and she giggled when I felt the small flying reptile rub its head against my cheek. "Naughty dragon," She lightly scolded her pet. "He doesn't like most people. He just ignores them, but for some reason he has really taken a shine to you."

"I guess I just have animal magnetism." I said as a brief flashback of my time at the bar with Loki jumped into my head.

"I'm staying back." Scott Summers AKA Cyclops decided. "I'll help protect the team."

Logan produced a digital map of the places where the assassins had struck, and we headed for a small town Viktorsburg where they seem to cluster around. I wrapped us in shadows as we jogged through the undergrowth. I wasn't a killer by nature, but someone needed to stop these things. I could have teleported us to Snow's tower to examine the corpse of the one killed by the Archer but somehow that felt like cheating.

If the X-Men were just one strike team near or inside of Latveria something bigger than just murders and Vibranium thefts were in play. When the time came, I'd ask Logan if he knew what was going on. First, we had to track down and take out the last two assassins. Logan launched into a brief narrative at this point, a very informative one.

"I fought in Vietnam; did you know that?" He began. "The heat was worse than this during the summers. I always suspected it was the conflict that drew them there, that and the blistering heat."

A light fog settled into the area. We both stopped in our tracks and I mouthed the name Storm. Logan shrugged as the thin streams of fog quickly thickened forming clouds and swiftly filling the immediate area.

"Logan?" I whispered and the fog seemed to dampen my voice. "Where are you?"

"Ghost?" He called out but it sounded like it was from a great distance.

I moved towards the last spot he was standing. He wasn't there. I fought down the panic. It felt like the Negative Zone but in reverse. In the Zone the unending view had been disturbing. Now I was faced with complete obfuscation and a dull gray environment. I tried to tie into the shadows but there weren't any. The fog obstructed my power. I suited up and activated the stealth features. I had to hand it to Shuri the light bending qualities of the suit adjusted to the fog. While I was invisible my movement wasn't. Whenever I moved the fog rolled around me. I was trapped. I knelt to create a less obvious target and looked at my options. This strange fog wasn't Storm's doing. This had to be the assassins at work. I thought about Logan and his story. He had been a soldier. Maybe that might help me. I got onto my belly and crawled hopefully disturbing the fog less that an upright figure would.

"I need to find a way of using this to my advantage." I whispered. "Hell, even the fog is hot!"

I heard a twig snap and froze. There was movement in the fog off to my left. The muted call of a woodpecker sounded from that same direction. It was bulky and bipedal whatever the hell it was. Its own camouflage keeping it invisible, but the fog rolled off it was giving the impression of a linebacker. Where are you off to big boy? I waited until I was behind it before moving. A little way later a large tree blocked my path. I made sure the tree was between me and the cloaked figure. Well, it was best guess at this point. I climbed the tree slowly. I forced myself to maintain a snail's pace so that I didn't give away my position. My heart was pounding in my ears as I reached the upper limit of limbs that could support my weight.

I scanned the fog below me. There was little wind to disturb it so that any swirling was either Wolverine or one of the assassins. How the hell could I know the difference? I reached out again and this time I could finally tap into the shadows, but they were all tree top level. The fog was no man's land. A roar of rage that was human filtered out of the fog. This was followed up with a bright flash of an energy weapon. I reached out and found a tree near the spot where the light had manifested. I risked the teleportation. The tree creaked a little, but no lethal energy leaped out of the darkness or fog to strike me down. I climbed down slowly smelled spilt blood. I fought down the hunger as I found where Logan had been wounded. I picked up the broken tree limb and touched several blood drops and licked my fingers clean. The rush of Logan's healing factor hit my bloodstream like triple expresso.

"What the hell is that?" I asked in a hushed voice.

I crept over to the faint blue-green illumination. It looked as if someone had broken a glowstick, but the scent was blood. It was the assassin's blood. The hunger overrode my squeamish side. I took the leaf stain with the blood and licked it. A kaleidoscope of colors, images, and sounds hit my optic nerve and brain. Whoa! Not human and not a mutant, this guy was an alien. I had his blood and now I had his scent. I sniffed the air and followed the wounded being into the fog. They had injured each other, and I knew Logan would heal over time would the alien? As I tracked the assassin I went through the extensive list of aliens in the Marvel and Star Wars universe. Sadly, I couldn't remember that many of them. Did Skrull blood glow? They were gifted shapeshifters and that might account for their ability to move unseen.

The droplets were lessening as the blood clotted. I halted when a several of the drops pooled on a large stone protruding from the grass. I froze in place when a sudden memory came to the fore. The drops were round. I remembered from one of the forensic shows I watched that round drops form when someone is hurt, and they are standing still. I slowly tilted my head up, but the damn fog obscured my vision. He or she was right above me. I tended to think of villains as he. The battle with the trio of female dark elves had cured me of that. There had to be a tree nearby and my foe was perched on one of its limbs. If I had gotten a copy of Logan's map, I would be far better off. I resumed crawling until I reached the tree. The ancient oak had to be a hundred years old or more. I climbed the back side of the trunk looking for more of the bioluminescent blood.

The sudden roar of pain took me off guard. I nearly fell off I was so startled. I was close and peeked to the other side of the tree. I spied its silhouette and took out my dagger. I was ready to throw when Logan's voice cut through the silence.

"Hey ugly, yeah you! You are fucking weak!" He shouted in challenge. "Come on down and let's dance! You know how to dance don't you?"

The assassin growled and leapt from the limb. Damn! I crawled to the spot where the assassin had sat and found what looked like a first aid kit. I took it for later examination. The clash of metal on metal got my undivided attention. The Wolverine's claws clashed with those of the assassin's blades. They were strong enough to resist adamantium and appeared to be mounted on the forearms of his foe. My brain hurt as I tried to go through the humanoid aliens and came up empty. There was another assassin out there but he or she appeared to be waiting on the outcome of the battle. I reached out through the shadows and found him. He was squatting and leaning forward. He must have been the bulky figure I saw earlier moving through the fog. He was at least a head taller than the one fighting Logan.

I had to take my chances. I drew out the dark elf sword and took that in my left hand and settled the dagger into my right. I took aim, held my breath, and let fly. The dagger hit him like a truck. It struck the right side of his chest and crushed ribs and burst internal organs. I plucked the dagger back and it quietly teleported back to my hand. The dark elf dagger's blade was covered in shimmering blood. I licked the blade clean and felt the ever-present hunger die away. I teleported to the corpse and looted it with glee. Only then did I see what race I was dealing with.

"Holy fucking shit!" I cursed as I saw the gnarly face of the Yautja warrior.

The air lit up below as the plasma blast lifted Logan off his feet and seared his chest cavity. The shoulder cannon fired a second time once the mutant hit the ground. It all made sense now. The heat. The conflict. The way they moved unseen in a country like Latveria. I sent my dagger flying downward and struck the Predator's cannon disabling it. It roared and ripped the damaged weapon from his shoulder. I teleported back to the other tree and waited. It was gone. What do they say about a wounded animal? What about a wounded Predator?

All the clues that had been laid out by Mystique and the press blasted back to the front of my mind and I cursed silently. Of course, it had to be them, and I felt like an idiot. That said, I got lucky and now the last of the three was free to hunt me. I had to tend to Logan first though and that put me at a disadvantage. I reached out with telepathy to see if I could detect a living mind out there. Nothing. Either they were immune to telepathy or he was out of range. If I was him, I'd lick my wounds and come back harder than ever.

"Logan?" I whispered as I examined him. He was alive if barely. "Takes more than two point-blank plasma blasts to kill you. Let's see if this will jump start your healing factor." I said as I cut my wrist and bathed his wounds with my blood. "Sorry, I need you on your feet."

The wounds closed and Logan took a deep breath before his eyes snapped open. Logan snarled and leapt to his feet. His eyes locked on me and then he sprang away into the fog without a word. Damn it Logan! I couldn't lose him again. I raced off blindly behind him. I lost him as he raced ahead of me. I stopped since it was futile to continue like this. The rage that had accumulated reached a flashpoint. I brought my hands up and screamed.

"Fuck this god damn fog!" I howled and brought my hands down. I was at the epicenter as the wave of kinetic energy rushed out dispelling the fog. I smiled. "That's more like it! Come on out you ugly motherfucker! Face me!"

I selected the dark elven sword and gave it a few tentative swings. I armed the dagger in my right hand. I was about to call him out again when he stepped into the moon lit clearing. The double snick of him arming his wrist blades announced the beginning of our duel. We raced at each other and damn it felt good to fight a worthy adversary. I felt the smile curl my lips as our blades clashed. He was a wonderful duelist and tactician. We were decently matched, and I drug out the conflict. I didn't need to, but I wanted to savor this battle. This wasn't the one I had fought earlier. He had been far better than this guy.

"I am better than you!" I growled as I traced a wound across his chest. The Yautja roared knowing he was going to lose. "I am going to take your fucking head and mount it on 'my' wall!"

"Fuck you... motherfucker!" He snapped in his broken English. His tried to activate the device on his forearm when I ended him. The sword blade pierced his heart and dropped him in his tracks.

"Yes!" I said and I looted his body as well. "Shuri is going to lose her shit when I show up with this stuff!"

Irk!!

I cried out when my back slammed against the nearest tree. The sharp metal webbing had me incased and was tightening by the second. I stared helpless as my dagger lay on the ground. I still had the sword though. I managed to bring the cutting edge against the netting. I grit my teeth and tried to push. I was shocked when the scene froze, and a small window showed up.