One Final Aria - Crescendo - Marvel: Earth-USB Saga (Part 22)
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2025 9:34 am
One Final Aria
**************
Crescendo
**************
“Nice view.” Lynn commented.
She was admiring a Juggernaut-3, US Army’s latest toy. A brand new state-of-the-art tank, improved by Oscorp technology. Specifically designed to fire shells able to hurt super-resistant targets – and with a specific anti-magnetic field making it and its projectiles impervious to Magneto’s powers. The vehicles were also equipped with turrets holding IA-enhanced automatic machine guns for more mundane threats. These weapons could fire either normal rounds or special plastic bullets as lethal as metal ones.
Thanks to her, Jill’s, and Erin’s latest little venture, Orchis had been granted the authorization to command a few of them.
Erin snorted. “Looks like we’ve lost her.”
“Hey, I’m a simple girl! I like big engines!”
“At least you’re not Marilyn, who likes them in-between her legs!” Jill added.
“Oh, go fuck yourself!” the latter retorted.
Of course, it only made the three bullies laugh louder.
“I think I might. I mean, it’s not like I can ask you out. After your little bondage escapade with Ruth, we all know who you fancy.”
“You bitc-” Marilyn was however interrupted by Jill’s walkie talkie.
“Jill, Lynn, Erin. Come at the command center. I want to plan the assault. Agents Hand and Palamas are doing one last inspection tour. We move the second they’re done.” William Jefferson said.
“Got it, Mr Jefferson.” Jill cut the transmission, and glanced at Marilyn. “Well, duty calls. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Especially if it involves Ruth and duct tape.”
“Jill, I swear, one of these days I will end you!”
“Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming.”
**************
Victoria Hand and Kara Lynn Palamas were former SHIELD Agents, now working as operatives for the US Army. They weren't exactly part of the offical hierarchy, but they held as much power as a major.
Victoria was a light-skinned hazel-eyed woman. Her hair were black, slick, and midback-long. A streak was dyed red. She also had rectangle-shaped glasses.
Kara was a white-skinned slim woman with blond hair and blue eyes. Her haircut was a high ponytail. Her hair were waist-long. She also had black sunglasses.
The operatives were wearing the same outfit: black shoes, dark blue trousers, an equipment belt, a black t-shirt, and a dark blue uniform jacket. A holster with a gun was strapped around the right thigh.
Clipboards in hand, the two officers were checking the lined up tanks.
“I’m not really keen on the idea of giving Orchis so much fire power.” Victoria commented.
“It’s not our place to judge orders from above.” her partner answered, even though she was also feeling ill-at-ease.
They knew the importance of discipline. They were soldiers. Soldiers obeyed orders.
“The crews are nervous too.” Victoria added. “Everybody heard the rumors… about what Orchis did in Congo. I think they’re afraid of what Jefferson may ask of them.”
Some pilots were indeed pacing nervously next to their tanks. Others were taking smoke breaks away from the main group.
Passing near a specific Juggernaut, the two operatives heard rustles inside – probably the crew checking everything inside for the nth time.
Victoria and Kara didn’t pay it a second thought. They kept walking and talking.
“Jefferson can’t break the law. Not in the middle of US territory.” Kara commented.
“I’m not quite sure about that… He’s the kind of man who does what he wants, and buys himself out of trouble.”
However, the rustles inside this specific tank were not because the crew was nervous…
**************
The Juggernauts-3 were, by tank standards, extraordinarily big and spacious. But it was only by tank standards. To normal people, they still felt cramped and claustrophobic.
Especially when there were three women too many inside, and they were busy relieving the real pilots of their uniforms and helmets.
In-between a flying mutant, an other who could climb on walls and perform superhuman feats of acrobatics, a polymath, and two highly-trained martial artists who all had access to Peter's and Miles' inventions and NYPD uniforms, sneaking in the middle of a group of soldiers and discreetly entering a tank to knock out its crew was surprisingly a goal within reach.
Kate unstrapped the grey army helmet – with assorted goggles and earpiece – and took it off the head of the unconscious pilot. The soldier girl was a round-faced light-skinned brunette, with short hair tied into a small neck bun. Kate then unlaced the soldier’s army protective shoes and pulled them off the feet, unbuckled her equipment belt, and slid her grey army trousers down her legs. The removed garment revealed the girl’s plain grey socks, and white classic (but comfortable) briefs. Next, Kate pulled off the grey uniform shirt and the plain grey short-sleeved t-shirt underneath, leaving the brunette wearing a dark beige t-shirt bra.
The two other crew members were already stripped down to their undergarments: One was an auburn-haired woman with a short square cut, a light skin, and some freckles. She was wearing black socks, a navvy blue racerback bra with white edges, and light blue boyshorts with a black waistband strap. The other was olive-skinned, with an aquiline profile and coarse black hair tied into a neck bun. She was clad in khaki green boxer undershorts with a dark green waistband strap, and matching sports bra and socks. Both were deeply asleep and trussed up with cables from the tank's toolbox – hands bound behind the back, ankles tied together. Thick pieces of cloth and sturdy tape were gagging them. They were also blindfolded with pieces of cloth just to be safe.
Jeanne and Yuri were finishing to put on the tank crew uniforms, equipment belts, and army helmets.
“I can’t believe it’s come to this…” Yuri said with a sigh. “I, a police captain, am now assaulting my country’s own military…”
Kate dragged the underwear-clad brunette next to her comrades, and restrained, blindfolded, and gagged her in a similar fashion. “We can’t let Jefferson act freely anymore. We need him out of the picture if we want to catch Taylor’s team and rescue Gwen’s and Jeanne’s friends. And we also need to make sure he doesn’t deploy tanks in the city.”
“I know. I wish we could use Gwen’s webs.”
Kate slipped into the tank pilot uniform. “We can’t leave such an obvious proof behind us. The anti-mutant agenda would have a field day.”
“Damn politics... I hope Gwen and Angelica are doing fine too.”
**************
Kara and Victoria, clipboards still in hand, finished their inspection with the supply trucks.
Indeed, one didn’t bring a squadron of tanks, even in the middle of their own territory, without proper logistics and support. Outside of the tanks and their crews, there were also infantry soldiers equipped with special plastic weapons and metal-free equipment, and several trucks to carry supplies and troops.
"I think everything is in order." Kara checked her wristwatch. "Time to meet up with Jefferson."
Victoria grimaced. "We better make sure his strategy doesn't involve too much collateral destructions."
They were however suddenly interrupted by a young blond trooper, dressed in a standard grey army uniform: trousers, shirt, and field patrol cap. She also had black combat boots, and a weapon belt.
The soldier saluted. “Ma’ams. There seems to be a problem with one supply truck.”
“Sabotage?”
“I don’t think so. Crates of weapons. Those aren’t ours. I think it’s Orchis. They hid them in the truck to use them later.”
Kara muttered a curse. “That would be a serious breach of protocol. We need to get a closer look at those weapons.”
The blond soldier nodded, and led them to a supply truck parked next to the furthermost tank.
“I knew Orchis couldn’t be trusted.” Victoria commented. “If they tried to fool us, I’ll make sure this operation stops before it even begins...”
Victoria and Kara entered the back of the truck. The blond soldier followed them.
The vehicle’s frame muffled the sounds of the ensuing scuffle.
Victoria and Kara were trained in hand-to-hand combat, but they didn’t expect to be attacked from both the front and the back. Gwen and Angelica didn’t want to give them one chance to call for help. The two operatives barely had the time to make a peep before they were knocked out cold with a couple of swift chops. Their limp bodies were gently laid onto the floor, to make sure they wouldn’t hurt themselves or make too much noise.
Then, there only were the rustles of clothes being peeled off.
**************
“Really sorry about the whole situation.” Gwen said to the unconscious Kara as she was stripping the blonde off her shoes and trousers.
Next to her, Angelica (currently disguised as a field trooper) also removed Victoria’s shoes, then she shimmied the trousers down the woman’s legs.
“But be sure we’d have done things differently, had we found an an other way…” Gwen added, while pulling off Kara’s jacket and t-shirt. The blond operative was left clad in grey socks, white high-cut French panties, and a red full-cup bra with a hot pink little bow in-between the cups.
Angelica finished stripping Victoria by divesting her of her jacket and t-shirt. The black-haired operative was left clad in dark purple Brazilian panties with frilly lace on the waistband strap, a lace-adorned violet full-cup bra with a floral pattern, and white socks. “At least we’ll do what you wanted. Make sure the operation stops before it even begins.” she said to the unconscious woman.
In a corner of the trunk, two young soldiers were sitting side-by-side, leaning on each other. Both were unconscious, gagged with tape, blindfolded with a piece of cloth, bound with electric cables, and half-naked. One was a short blue-eyed blonde with a neck-long bob cut wearing black socks, a grey tank top, a white t-shirt bra, and dark blue boxer undershorts. The other was a dark-skinned brown-eyed brunette with a short ponytail clad in plain grey briefs, matching socks, and a full-cup beige bra.
Gwen and Angelica dragged the motionless Kara and Victoria and seated them next to the trussed up soldiers whose uniforms they had stolen.
Kate, Jeanne, and Yuri were waiting outside the truck, watching for any potential trouble.
Gwen and Angelica cable-tied Kara’s and Victoria’s wrists, then bound their ankles, blindfolded them with their two remaining scarves, and gagged them with a few strips of tape on the mouth. The two operatives were left seated leaning against each other in the corner.
Then the two heroines disguised themselves with Kara’s and Victoria’s outfits. Angelica also snatched Kara’s sunglasses.
Grabbing the discarded clipboards of the two operatives, they exited the truck.
Kate, Jeanne, and Yuri shared a nod with them.
“Next step of the plan.” Gwen announced.
Thanks to her polymath, Jeanne had only needed one look at the Juggernauts blueprints to understand their working. She was going to sabotage the tanks, while Kate and Yuri would make sure nobody would discover the trussed up women in the tank and truck.
Gwen and Angelica, for their part, were about to pay a visit to William Jefferson.
**************
In the tent he used as command center, William Jefferson was planning his move with Jill, Lynn, and Erin.
“I want a thorough bombing of the place. All tanks, from afar. Infantry will then pick up the scraps with the plastic guns.”
“What about the lab rat?” Jill asked.
“If we manage to retrieve her alive in the rumbles, then all the better. If not, it's no big deal. I prefer to make sure all proofs of what happened in that lab disappear. Leaked files are one thing, a live witness is an other.”
“Roger that.”
William checked his wristwatch. “I anticipate we have a few more hours before their informants catch on what we’re doing. We’ll make our move as soon as Agents Hand and Palamas have finished their inspection tour. I'm convinced the spider girl and her friends found out about the hidehout - only them could have stolen the files. I want to be there before they can come up with a plan to infiltrate Magneto's base.”
The flap of the tent was opened by two operatives clad in dark blue uniforms.
“Speak of the Devil! Finally! This inspection took forever! You better not be trying to stall us. If so, I hope you like scrubbing toilets because your general-”
He froze when he got a better look at Angelica’s face.
“You?!”
His jaw clenched. He was going to have them shot. Gwen could sense it with her spider-sense. She could even see it in his face.
So Gwen jumped first, before the words came out of his mouth.
“Kill them!”
I shouldn’t enjoy this… I really shouldn’t…
But she knew she would enjoy what was going to happen way more than she should. And a part of her didn’t care.
Erin, Jill, and Lynn were trained killers. They aimed their machine guns without any hesitation.
Gwen landed in-between the trio before they could fire their weapons, nullifying the advantage of the long-range firearms.
With one neck-chop, she dispatched Lynn.
It was disgustingly easy.
“Are you good at anything other than harming civilians and framing others for it?” Gwen commented with a harsh stare.
Jill and Erin moved together – they knew their only chance was to synchronize their attack.
Gwen nimbly dodged the butt of Jill’s machine gun, and Erin’s knife.
Then, a stomach punch knocked the wind out of Erin. Gwen hit her exposed neck with the edge of her hand to put her out of commission.
“Damn mutie…” Jill barked.
She dropped her machine gun, and drew her knife. She was looking defiant, but her hand was shaking slightly.
Gwen glared at her. “You bullies only thrive when you pick on people who can’t fight back. Against someone who does, you fold like paper tigers.”
In her back, William Jefferson discreetly grabbed a handgun.
Angelica took his wrist, and looked at him over her sunglasses.
“This is a woman’s business. You better not involve yourself in this, Will. Besides, she can sense your intent a mile away.”
The businessman grimaced. “Freak.”
With a fake saccharine smile, Angelica twisted his wrist to make him drop his weapon.
Jill lunged forward.
Gwen dodged the blade, kneed the mercenary in the stomach, and put her out of commission with a punch to her temple.
Jill groaned and fell next to her partners. Out cold.
Looking at the defeated trio of mercenaries, Gwen couldn’t hide her disgust. She turned to face William Jefferson. “Your little game ends here. We will deal with Taylor Woodward and her team. And we certainly won’t let you get your hands on Sarah again.”
Jefferson glared defiantly at her. “And you think I will let you get away with it?"
Gwen didn't back down. "Yes, you will." she threatened.
"You’re finished, spider girl! You think I’m bad? Wait until you meet my lawyers!”
“I don’t think so.” Angelica grabbed something in her pocket. “Hey, Will! Catch!”
She threw something at this feet.
Jefferson yelped in fear, thinking it was a grenade.
But then he saw it was a USB flashdrive.
“You’ll find the content of this very interesting. We found those files in your computer. And don’t worry, I have made copies for Professor Xavier. So if I were you, I’d be a nice boy, and forget this little incident. Let the big girls handle everything.”
“Filthy mutie, I will-”
With her enhanced speed, Gwen moved towards him, and sealed his lips with a strip of tape. “Please stop using that word.” Her voice was cold.
When Gwen and Angelica left the tent, Jefferson and his cronies were trussed up together with tape and zip-ties.
***************
Gwen, Angelica, and Jeanne regrouped with Kate and Yuri roughly at the same time.
“You good?” Kate asked them.
“Jefferson got our message. He and his cronies will be too tied up to stop us from leaving.” Angelica answered. “What about you?” she then asked Jeanne.
Finesse answered with a shrewd smile. “The tanks won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Then we leave to Taylor’s hideout now, before they can fix their engines.” Gwen instructed. “Yuri, what about the NYPD?”
“I’ve left them instructions. They’re ready to make their move the moment we rescued the hostages. With some luck, they may even have someone of the Avengers to help them.”
“Then let’s go. We only have a few hours before they realize their hideout is compromised.”
**************
Of course, William Jefferson was discovered after Gwen’s team had left – he wasn’t in a secluded area.
Marilyn and Ruth entered the tent.
“Mr Jefferson. The troops are waiting for your-”
The two mercenaries froze when they saw the scene inside.
“Oh... Shit.”
They didn’t waste time releasing their boss.
“What happened?”
“What do you THINK happened?!” He pushed them. “Out of my way!”
William Jefferson didn’t bother waiting for Jill, Erin, and Lynn to wake up. He didn’t even bother waiting for Marilyn and Ruth to escort him.
He rushed outside the tent to the lined up tanks, and grabbed the first officer he could find.
The collected if smarmy businessman was gone. Jefferson was showing his true hateful face. He had been humiliated! Even worst, those filthy muties had made it look easy! Months of planning, of slowly striking public fury, and these freaks had made it look easy!
“Give the tanks the order to move!” Jefferson ordered.
“Sir! We’ve found some tank operatives-”
“I don’t care!”
“And Officers Hand and Palamas were also mugged and-”
“I don’t CARE! Give the order! The tanks move now! We’ll destroy the hideout, and hopefully these bitches with it! I want these whores dead!”
His orders were relayed.
All the tanks save one began to move forward… for approximately three seconds. Then, their engines coughed, and failed. The vehicles all went to a halt.
“Sabotage.”
All that was missing was a sad trombone…
**************
Left alone in the tent with Jill, Erin, and Lynn, Ruth and Marilyn shared an awkward glance.
“Too bad these three didn’t lose their clothes…” Marilyn finally commented.
The trio were indeed trussed up with zip-ties, gagged with tape, but still fully-clothed
“So… Should we release them?” Ruth asked.
Marilyn smiled harshly to herself, kicked the unconscious Jill in the backside, and exited the tent.
“We didn’t receive the order. Let’s see how they like bondage jokes now.”
**************
When the door was opened, for one moment, Felicia wondered if it was someone to interrogate them.
However, she realized it was worst.
It was Charlotte.
In the other cells, Guillotine and Agent Senai groaned in annoyance. It looked like it wasn’t the first time Charlotte had come to pester them...
The chubby woman didn’t pay them any attention however. She began to rummage through a cupboard.
Suddenly, Charlotte smiled to herself. “Knew it! Knew she hid them somewhere!” She grabbed a pack of coke as if it was some holy grail. Charlotte chuckled giddily to herself. “Surely that will cheer Sarah up… We’re gonna get so sick…”
Felicia couldn’t resist a quip. “Taylor must be in dire need of manpower if she sends you of all people to watch us.”
Charlotte pretended to be hit in the heart by an arrow. “Ouch! Right in the pride! Then again, you ARE my nemesis.”
Mary-Jane couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop that! Stop that number! This isn’t a game! You even realize what happens if open warfare breaks out between Orchis and Magneto?!”
Charlotte frowned. Genuinely frowned. Clearly, she didn’t understand. “Why do you say that?”
Felicia had never thought she’d find Charlotte Beaulieu unnerving one day. “You don’t realize it?”
Charlotte blinked. “Oh, people are being a bit rambunctious right now. But when haven’t they?”
It was like talking to an overgrown child. Absolutely no sense of right and wrong. Just indulging in her immediate pleasures and wants. Just living her little fantasy adventures as a shape-shifting rapscallion. Like playing pretend, only with real people. Had she been anything else than an air-headed ditz, she’d have been a sociopathic murderer.
MJ massaged her forehead. “Listen, you must-”
“She won’t listen. She can’t.” a tired whisper-like voice intervened.
Sarah entered the room.
“I’ll handle this, Charlotte.”
Pack of coke in hand, Charlotte hesitated. “You sure? You said you wanted a drink.”
“I said I wanted to be alone.” Sarah rectified. She didn’t sound angry or annoyed. Simply tired. “Go get sick. Leave some cans to me, I’ll come later. I need to talk with them in private first.”
“Okay.”
Charlotte’s mind had already moved on to soda-related topics. She left the room with her precious sugar-filled treasure.
Felicia glanced at the blond mutant, at her unkempt hair, old beanie, pale skin, and the dark rings under her washed up eyes. Given how red those were, she also had cried recently.
“You look like a mess.” Felicia commented.
“I’ve been worst.”
It was hard to argue against that. MJ and Felicia remembered Jefferson’s files. They remembered the gaunt girl in a hospital blouse, dazed by the drugs, with her wrists bandaged after her suicide attempts.
“Did Taylor send you to probe us?”
“I came on my own.”
“Why?” Mary-Jane intervened.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m still thinking of what you said last time we met.”
There was a beat. Sarah briefly glanced at Agent Senai with something that looked like anger in her eyes, then her emotions died down and she turned back to Mary-Jane.
“You said you saw Jefferson’s files?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Apparently, her genuineness took Sarah by surprise. She blinked. “I remember the needles. I remember the drips, and the drugs. Day after day, they strapped me into their machines, and put wires into my brain… They said it was for the best… said it would help me…”
The blonde’s face contorted into a grimace. It was a strange sight, to see a person get angry so calmly. Sarah’s eyes were burning, but her voice barely raised above a whisper.
“They weren’t trying to help me. They were training me. Turning me into a weapon. For justice, they said. They got their weapon. I got cheated out of my life.”
“And just how many people are going to be cheated out of their lives by Magneto?” Mary-Jane retorted. Her voice was soft.
Sarah visibly recoiled. All her anger died down. “Some already were...” Her eyes reflected a deep sadness.
Felicia realized that, weirdly enough, Mary-Jane was actually the best person to reach to Sarah. With her empathy, the blonde could perceive any deception attempt – a thing Black Cat would have attempted. But Mary-Jane wore her emotions on her sleeve. She was a good infiltrator, but she was notoriously bad at concealing her personal feelings. She was being 100% sincere, and Sarah could sense that.
“This has to stop.” MJ insisted.
“It will never stop. Not as long as I’m alive.” Sarah looked at her wrists. “And even then, many people just won’t let me die…”
She didn’t add anything. She just sat on a chair, and fell silent.
**************
Magneto considered himself different than other masked supervillains. However, when it came to choosing his hideouts, he certainly was just like all the others.
An abandoned warehouse complex in a derelict industrial district of the outskirts. Shabby, discreet, and painfully average when it came to supervillainy.
If Gwen and her friends had any doubt they were infiltrating Magneto’s hideout, it was cleared the moment they spotted a telltale sign of super-villainous activity.
That is, a masked villainess in the flesh.
Plus, the woman was clearly a mutant – the fact she was floating ominously in the air was a clear giveway.
“Flying sentry.” Kate commented. “Quite clever. We can’t do anything while she’s here.”
Gwen got a good look at the villainess. “I recognize the mask and cloak. She’s Phantazia.”
Jeanne was observing the mutant’s flying pattern. “How dangerous is she?”
“Moderately. She’s in our league, provided she doesn’t spot us. Then, one little dose of sleeping drug, and she’ll be contained and out of our hair until proper people can come and apprehend her.”
“So how do we take her out?”
Gwen looked at Kate, and smiled. “From afar.”
**************
Eileen Harsaw, known publicly as Phantazia, was a mutant with control over the electromagnetic spectrum. Her power had plenty of uses – but levitation was her favorite. The woman liked to assume an air of mystery.
And for that, what better way than to float ominously in the air?
Her costume was also designed to look ominous: She was wearing a long high-collared purple cloak draped around her entire body. A white wig and a purple metal mask were concealing her head.
Using her levitation to have a vantage point, Phantazia was watching the area.
She wasn’t very happy about her current predicament.
I can’t believe I’m stuck here on guard duty. What is Magneto thinking? I should be on the first line, fighting against the X-Men! Not here, getting ordered around by Mystique and Sparks! Eileen complained to herself. Plus, this Taylor chick has no flare.
But Magneto didn’t exactly give her a choice. Taylor was a valuable – if uncertain – member of his army. Shapeshifters like Charlotte were always useful. And Sarah was a precious asset.
Still, he could’ve sent Toad, instead of me. I’m obviously superior! My talents are wasted here!
**************
Concealed in a blind spot of the warehouse complex, Kate observed the cloaked figure hovering near her hiding place. She nocked a blunt arrow. Good old-fashioned bows had one advantage over firearms. They were quiet.
Phantazia exposed her back.
Kate released her blunt arrow. The projectile hit a very specific spot of Phantazia’s neck, right below the mask.
The hovering mutant grunted, then collapsed onto the ground with the grace of an anvil.
Firestar left her own hiding spot in-between some crates, and wasted no time grabbing the criminal by the legs. She dragged her out of sight, where the rest of the team was waiting.
“This one is for you.” Gwen informed the redhead. “You’re the only one who can properly replicate her way to fly.”
“Got it.”
Firestar removed the mask and wig first, then the cloak. Underneath, Phantazia was wearing a plain black bodysuit and matching boots. The garments were designed to be easy to slip on and off, so peeling them off Phantazia’s unconscious body was easy.
Under the intimidating vampire-like cloak and metal mask, there was a perfectly normal-looking woman – albeit sexier than average. Eileen Harsaw was a slim blue-eyed blonde with a flawless white skin, and shapely legs. Her hair were tied up into a neck-long ponytail. Her underwear were a bright purple bandeau bra, and matching high-cut panties with a white waistband strap.
“A shame she hides her features…” Angelica commented.
Yuri pulled out a small box with syringes and sleeping drug, and injected Phantazia with the knock-out serum. The dose would make her sleep for three-to-four hours.
They used ropes made of a special metal fiber, designed to withstand super-strength, and bound Eileen’s ankles and wrists. They gagged her with a special brand of tape.
Firestar put on the Phantazia bodysuit, boots, cloak, wig, and mask.
They left the underwear-clad Phantazia stuffed inside a crate.
Then Angelica took flight, and took the place of the unlucky villainess with delusions of grandeur.
She would act as her team’s scout, warning them of patrols, and hopefully luring a bunch of mooks or other villains into a trap for her friends to also disguise themselves.
From afar, Kate, Jeanne, Yuri, and Gwen followed her, running from one hiding spot to the next.
Gwen took a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth. One mistake, and her friends were dead.
In the distance, she could see the main warehouse in which Felicia, Mary-Jane, and the other hostages were locked..
“Hold on… We’re coming...”
**************
Crescendo
**************
“Nice view.” Lynn commented.
She was admiring a Juggernaut-3, US Army’s latest toy. A brand new state-of-the-art tank, improved by Oscorp technology. Specifically designed to fire shells able to hurt super-resistant targets – and with a specific anti-magnetic field making it and its projectiles impervious to Magneto’s powers. The vehicles were also equipped with turrets holding IA-enhanced automatic machine guns for more mundane threats. These weapons could fire either normal rounds or special plastic bullets as lethal as metal ones.
Thanks to her, Jill’s, and Erin’s latest little venture, Orchis had been granted the authorization to command a few of them.
Erin snorted. “Looks like we’ve lost her.”
“Hey, I’m a simple girl! I like big engines!”
“At least you’re not Marilyn, who likes them in-between her legs!” Jill added.
“Oh, go fuck yourself!” the latter retorted.
Of course, it only made the three bullies laugh louder.
“I think I might. I mean, it’s not like I can ask you out. After your little bondage escapade with Ruth, we all know who you fancy.”
“You bitc-” Marilyn was however interrupted by Jill’s walkie talkie.
“Jill, Lynn, Erin. Come at the command center. I want to plan the assault. Agents Hand and Palamas are doing one last inspection tour. We move the second they’re done.” William Jefferson said.
“Got it, Mr Jefferson.” Jill cut the transmission, and glanced at Marilyn. “Well, duty calls. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Especially if it involves Ruth and duct tape.”
“Jill, I swear, one of these days I will end you!”
“Yeah, yeah, keep dreaming.”
**************
Victoria Hand and Kara Lynn Palamas were former SHIELD Agents, now working as operatives for the US Army. They weren't exactly part of the offical hierarchy, but they held as much power as a major.
Victoria was a light-skinned hazel-eyed woman. Her hair were black, slick, and midback-long. A streak was dyed red. She also had rectangle-shaped glasses.
Kara was a white-skinned slim woman with blond hair and blue eyes. Her haircut was a high ponytail. Her hair were waist-long. She also had black sunglasses.
The operatives were wearing the same outfit: black shoes, dark blue trousers, an equipment belt, a black t-shirt, and a dark blue uniform jacket. A holster with a gun was strapped around the right thigh.
Clipboards in hand, the two officers were checking the lined up tanks.
“I’m not really keen on the idea of giving Orchis so much fire power.” Victoria commented.
“It’s not our place to judge orders from above.” her partner answered, even though she was also feeling ill-at-ease.
They knew the importance of discipline. They were soldiers. Soldiers obeyed orders.
“The crews are nervous too.” Victoria added. “Everybody heard the rumors… about what Orchis did in Congo. I think they’re afraid of what Jefferson may ask of them.”
Some pilots were indeed pacing nervously next to their tanks. Others were taking smoke breaks away from the main group.
Passing near a specific Juggernaut, the two operatives heard rustles inside – probably the crew checking everything inside for the nth time.
Victoria and Kara didn’t pay it a second thought. They kept walking and talking.
“Jefferson can’t break the law. Not in the middle of US territory.” Kara commented.
“I’m not quite sure about that… He’s the kind of man who does what he wants, and buys himself out of trouble.”
However, the rustles inside this specific tank were not because the crew was nervous…
**************
The Juggernauts-3 were, by tank standards, extraordinarily big and spacious. But it was only by tank standards. To normal people, they still felt cramped and claustrophobic.
Especially when there were three women too many inside, and they were busy relieving the real pilots of their uniforms and helmets.
In-between a flying mutant, an other who could climb on walls and perform superhuman feats of acrobatics, a polymath, and two highly-trained martial artists who all had access to Peter's and Miles' inventions and NYPD uniforms, sneaking in the middle of a group of soldiers and discreetly entering a tank to knock out its crew was surprisingly a goal within reach.
Kate unstrapped the grey army helmet – with assorted goggles and earpiece – and took it off the head of the unconscious pilot. The soldier girl was a round-faced light-skinned brunette, with short hair tied into a small neck bun. Kate then unlaced the soldier’s army protective shoes and pulled them off the feet, unbuckled her equipment belt, and slid her grey army trousers down her legs. The removed garment revealed the girl’s plain grey socks, and white classic (but comfortable) briefs. Next, Kate pulled off the grey uniform shirt and the plain grey short-sleeved t-shirt underneath, leaving the brunette wearing a dark beige t-shirt bra.
The two other crew members were already stripped down to their undergarments: One was an auburn-haired woman with a short square cut, a light skin, and some freckles. She was wearing black socks, a navvy blue racerback bra with white edges, and light blue boyshorts with a black waistband strap. The other was olive-skinned, with an aquiline profile and coarse black hair tied into a neck bun. She was clad in khaki green boxer undershorts with a dark green waistband strap, and matching sports bra and socks. Both were deeply asleep and trussed up with cables from the tank's toolbox – hands bound behind the back, ankles tied together. Thick pieces of cloth and sturdy tape were gagging them. They were also blindfolded with pieces of cloth just to be safe.
Jeanne and Yuri were finishing to put on the tank crew uniforms, equipment belts, and army helmets.
“I can’t believe it’s come to this…” Yuri said with a sigh. “I, a police captain, am now assaulting my country’s own military…”
Kate dragged the underwear-clad brunette next to her comrades, and restrained, blindfolded, and gagged her in a similar fashion. “We can’t let Jefferson act freely anymore. We need him out of the picture if we want to catch Taylor’s team and rescue Gwen’s and Jeanne’s friends. And we also need to make sure he doesn’t deploy tanks in the city.”
“I know. I wish we could use Gwen’s webs.”
Kate slipped into the tank pilot uniform. “We can’t leave such an obvious proof behind us. The anti-mutant agenda would have a field day.”
“Damn politics... I hope Gwen and Angelica are doing fine too.”
**************
Kara and Victoria, clipboards still in hand, finished their inspection with the supply trucks.
Indeed, one didn’t bring a squadron of tanks, even in the middle of their own territory, without proper logistics and support. Outside of the tanks and their crews, there were also infantry soldiers equipped with special plastic weapons and metal-free equipment, and several trucks to carry supplies and troops.
"I think everything is in order." Kara checked her wristwatch. "Time to meet up with Jefferson."
Victoria grimaced. "We better make sure his strategy doesn't involve too much collateral destructions."
They were however suddenly interrupted by a young blond trooper, dressed in a standard grey army uniform: trousers, shirt, and field patrol cap. She also had black combat boots, and a weapon belt.
The soldier saluted. “Ma’ams. There seems to be a problem with one supply truck.”
“Sabotage?”
“I don’t think so. Crates of weapons. Those aren’t ours. I think it’s Orchis. They hid them in the truck to use them later.”
Kara muttered a curse. “That would be a serious breach of protocol. We need to get a closer look at those weapons.”
The blond soldier nodded, and led them to a supply truck parked next to the furthermost tank.
“I knew Orchis couldn’t be trusted.” Victoria commented. “If they tried to fool us, I’ll make sure this operation stops before it even begins...”
Victoria and Kara entered the back of the truck. The blond soldier followed them.
The vehicle’s frame muffled the sounds of the ensuing scuffle.
Victoria and Kara were trained in hand-to-hand combat, but they didn’t expect to be attacked from both the front and the back. Gwen and Angelica didn’t want to give them one chance to call for help. The two operatives barely had the time to make a peep before they were knocked out cold with a couple of swift chops. Their limp bodies were gently laid onto the floor, to make sure they wouldn’t hurt themselves or make too much noise.
Then, there only were the rustles of clothes being peeled off.
**************
“Really sorry about the whole situation.” Gwen said to the unconscious Kara as she was stripping the blonde off her shoes and trousers.
Next to her, Angelica (currently disguised as a field trooper) also removed Victoria’s shoes, then she shimmied the trousers down the woman’s legs.
“But be sure we’d have done things differently, had we found an an other way…” Gwen added, while pulling off Kara’s jacket and t-shirt. The blond operative was left clad in grey socks, white high-cut French panties, and a red full-cup bra with a hot pink little bow in-between the cups.
Angelica finished stripping Victoria by divesting her of her jacket and t-shirt. The black-haired operative was left clad in dark purple Brazilian panties with frilly lace on the waistband strap, a lace-adorned violet full-cup bra with a floral pattern, and white socks. “At least we’ll do what you wanted. Make sure the operation stops before it even begins.” she said to the unconscious woman.
In a corner of the trunk, two young soldiers were sitting side-by-side, leaning on each other. Both were unconscious, gagged with tape, blindfolded with a piece of cloth, bound with electric cables, and half-naked. One was a short blue-eyed blonde with a neck-long bob cut wearing black socks, a grey tank top, a white t-shirt bra, and dark blue boxer undershorts. The other was a dark-skinned brown-eyed brunette with a short ponytail clad in plain grey briefs, matching socks, and a full-cup beige bra.
Gwen and Angelica dragged the motionless Kara and Victoria and seated them next to the trussed up soldiers whose uniforms they had stolen.
Kate, Jeanne, and Yuri were waiting outside the truck, watching for any potential trouble.
Gwen and Angelica cable-tied Kara’s and Victoria’s wrists, then bound their ankles, blindfolded them with their two remaining scarves, and gagged them with a few strips of tape on the mouth. The two operatives were left seated leaning against each other in the corner.
Then the two heroines disguised themselves with Kara’s and Victoria’s outfits. Angelica also snatched Kara’s sunglasses.
Grabbing the discarded clipboards of the two operatives, they exited the truck.
Kate, Jeanne, and Yuri shared a nod with them.
“Next step of the plan.” Gwen announced.
Thanks to her polymath, Jeanne had only needed one look at the Juggernauts blueprints to understand their working. She was going to sabotage the tanks, while Kate and Yuri would make sure nobody would discover the trussed up women in the tank and truck.
Gwen and Angelica, for their part, were about to pay a visit to William Jefferson.
**************
In the tent he used as command center, William Jefferson was planning his move with Jill, Lynn, and Erin.
“I want a thorough bombing of the place. All tanks, from afar. Infantry will then pick up the scraps with the plastic guns.”
“What about the lab rat?” Jill asked.
“If we manage to retrieve her alive in the rumbles, then all the better. If not, it's no big deal. I prefer to make sure all proofs of what happened in that lab disappear. Leaked files are one thing, a live witness is an other.”
“Roger that.”
William checked his wristwatch. “I anticipate we have a few more hours before their informants catch on what we’re doing. We’ll make our move as soon as Agents Hand and Palamas have finished their inspection tour. I'm convinced the spider girl and her friends found out about the hidehout - only them could have stolen the files. I want to be there before they can come up with a plan to infiltrate Magneto's base.”
The flap of the tent was opened by two operatives clad in dark blue uniforms.
“Speak of the Devil! Finally! This inspection took forever! You better not be trying to stall us. If so, I hope you like scrubbing toilets because your general-”
He froze when he got a better look at Angelica’s face.
“You?!”
His jaw clenched. He was going to have them shot. Gwen could sense it with her spider-sense. She could even see it in his face.
So Gwen jumped first, before the words came out of his mouth.
“Kill them!”
I shouldn’t enjoy this… I really shouldn’t…
But she knew she would enjoy what was going to happen way more than she should. And a part of her didn’t care.
Erin, Jill, and Lynn were trained killers. They aimed their machine guns without any hesitation.
Gwen landed in-between the trio before they could fire their weapons, nullifying the advantage of the long-range firearms.
With one neck-chop, she dispatched Lynn.
It was disgustingly easy.
“Are you good at anything other than harming civilians and framing others for it?” Gwen commented with a harsh stare.
Jill and Erin moved together – they knew their only chance was to synchronize their attack.
Gwen nimbly dodged the butt of Jill’s machine gun, and Erin’s knife.
Then, a stomach punch knocked the wind out of Erin. Gwen hit her exposed neck with the edge of her hand to put her out of commission.
“Damn mutie…” Jill barked.
She dropped her machine gun, and drew her knife. She was looking defiant, but her hand was shaking slightly.
Gwen glared at her. “You bullies only thrive when you pick on people who can’t fight back. Against someone who does, you fold like paper tigers.”
In her back, William Jefferson discreetly grabbed a handgun.
Angelica took his wrist, and looked at him over her sunglasses.
“This is a woman’s business. You better not involve yourself in this, Will. Besides, she can sense your intent a mile away.”
The businessman grimaced. “Freak.”
With a fake saccharine smile, Angelica twisted his wrist to make him drop his weapon.
Jill lunged forward.
Gwen dodged the blade, kneed the mercenary in the stomach, and put her out of commission with a punch to her temple.
Jill groaned and fell next to her partners. Out cold.
Looking at the defeated trio of mercenaries, Gwen couldn’t hide her disgust. She turned to face William Jefferson. “Your little game ends here. We will deal with Taylor Woodward and her team. And we certainly won’t let you get your hands on Sarah again.”
Jefferson glared defiantly at her. “And you think I will let you get away with it?"
Gwen didn't back down. "Yes, you will." she threatened.
"You’re finished, spider girl! You think I’m bad? Wait until you meet my lawyers!”
“I don’t think so.” Angelica grabbed something in her pocket. “Hey, Will! Catch!”
She threw something at this feet.
Jefferson yelped in fear, thinking it was a grenade.
But then he saw it was a USB flashdrive.
“You’ll find the content of this very interesting. We found those files in your computer. And don’t worry, I have made copies for Professor Xavier. So if I were you, I’d be a nice boy, and forget this little incident. Let the big girls handle everything.”
“Filthy mutie, I will-”
With her enhanced speed, Gwen moved towards him, and sealed his lips with a strip of tape. “Please stop using that word.” Her voice was cold.
When Gwen and Angelica left the tent, Jefferson and his cronies were trussed up together with tape and zip-ties.
***************
Gwen, Angelica, and Jeanne regrouped with Kate and Yuri roughly at the same time.
“You good?” Kate asked them.
“Jefferson got our message. He and his cronies will be too tied up to stop us from leaving.” Angelica answered. “What about you?” she then asked Jeanne.
Finesse answered with a shrewd smile. “The tanks won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Then we leave to Taylor’s hideout now, before they can fix their engines.” Gwen instructed. “Yuri, what about the NYPD?”
“I’ve left them instructions. They’re ready to make their move the moment we rescued the hostages. With some luck, they may even have someone of the Avengers to help them.”
“Then let’s go. We only have a few hours before they realize their hideout is compromised.”
**************
Of course, William Jefferson was discovered after Gwen’s team had left – he wasn’t in a secluded area.
Marilyn and Ruth entered the tent.
“Mr Jefferson. The troops are waiting for your-”
The two mercenaries froze when they saw the scene inside.
“Oh... Shit.”
They didn’t waste time releasing their boss.
“What happened?”
“What do you THINK happened?!” He pushed them. “Out of my way!”
William Jefferson didn’t bother waiting for Jill, Erin, and Lynn to wake up. He didn’t even bother waiting for Marilyn and Ruth to escort him.
He rushed outside the tent to the lined up tanks, and grabbed the first officer he could find.
The collected if smarmy businessman was gone. Jefferson was showing his true hateful face. He had been humiliated! Even worst, those filthy muties had made it look easy! Months of planning, of slowly striking public fury, and these freaks had made it look easy!
“Give the tanks the order to move!” Jefferson ordered.
“Sir! We’ve found some tank operatives-”
“I don’t care!”
“And Officers Hand and Palamas were also mugged and-”
“I don’t CARE! Give the order! The tanks move now! We’ll destroy the hideout, and hopefully these bitches with it! I want these whores dead!”
His orders were relayed.
All the tanks save one began to move forward… for approximately three seconds. Then, their engines coughed, and failed. The vehicles all went to a halt.
“Sabotage.”
All that was missing was a sad trombone…
**************
Left alone in the tent with Jill, Erin, and Lynn, Ruth and Marilyn shared an awkward glance.
“Too bad these three didn’t lose their clothes…” Marilyn finally commented.
The trio were indeed trussed up with zip-ties, gagged with tape, but still fully-clothed
“So… Should we release them?” Ruth asked.
Marilyn smiled harshly to herself, kicked the unconscious Jill in the backside, and exited the tent.
“We didn’t receive the order. Let’s see how they like bondage jokes now.”
**************
When the door was opened, for one moment, Felicia wondered if it was someone to interrogate them.
However, she realized it was worst.
It was Charlotte.
In the other cells, Guillotine and Agent Senai groaned in annoyance. It looked like it wasn’t the first time Charlotte had come to pester them...
The chubby woman didn’t pay them any attention however. She began to rummage through a cupboard.
Suddenly, Charlotte smiled to herself. “Knew it! Knew she hid them somewhere!” She grabbed a pack of coke as if it was some holy grail. Charlotte chuckled giddily to herself. “Surely that will cheer Sarah up… We’re gonna get so sick…”
Felicia couldn’t resist a quip. “Taylor must be in dire need of manpower if she sends you of all people to watch us.”
Charlotte pretended to be hit in the heart by an arrow. “Ouch! Right in the pride! Then again, you ARE my nemesis.”
Mary-Jane couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop that! Stop that number! This isn’t a game! You even realize what happens if open warfare breaks out between Orchis and Magneto?!”
Charlotte frowned. Genuinely frowned. Clearly, she didn’t understand. “Why do you say that?”
Felicia had never thought she’d find Charlotte Beaulieu unnerving one day. “You don’t realize it?”
Charlotte blinked. “Oh, people are being a bit rambunctious right now. But when haven’t they?”
It was like talking to an overgrown child. Absolutely no sense of right and wrong. Just indulging in her immediate pleasures and wants. Just living her little fantasy adventures as a shape-shifting rapscallion. Like playing pretend, only with real people. Had she been anything else than an air-headed ditz, she’d have been a sociopathic murderer.
MJ massaged her forehead. “Listen, you must-”
“She won’t listen. She can’t.” a tired whisper-like voice intervened.
Sarah entered the room.
“I’ll handle this, Charlotte.”
Pack of coke in hand, Charlotte hesitated. “You sure? You said you wanted a drink.”
“I said I wanted to be alone.” Sarah rectified. She didn’t sound angry or annoyed. Simply tired. “Go get sick. Leave some cans to me, I’ll come later. I need to talk with them in private first.”
“Okay.”
Charlotte’s mind had already moved on to soda-related topics. She left the room with her precious sugar-filled treasure.
Felicia glanced at the blond mutant, at her unkempt hair, old beanie, pale skin, and the dark rings under her washed up eyes. Given how red those were, she also had cried recently.
“You look like a mess.” Felicia commented.
“I’ve been worst.”
It was hard to argue against that. MJ and Felicia remembered Jefferson’s files. They remembered the gaunt girl in a hospital blouse, dazed by the drugs, with her wrists bandaged after her suicide attempts.
“Did Taylor send you to probe us?”
“I came on my own.”
“Why?” Mary-Jane intervened.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m still thinking of what you said last time we met.”
There was a beat. Sarah briefly glanced at Agent Senai with something that looked like anger in her eyes, then her emotions died down and she turned back to Mary-Jane.
“You said you saw Jefferson’s files?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Apparently, her genuineness took Sarah by surprise. She blinked. “I remember the needles. I remember the drips, and the drugs. Day after day, they strapped me into their machines, and put wires into my brain… They said it was for the best… said it would help me…”
The blonde’s face contorted into a grimace. It was a strange sight, to see a person get angry so calmly. Sarah’s eyes were burning, but her voice barely raised above a whisper.
“They weren’t trying to help me. They were training me. Turning me into a weapon. For justice, they said. They got their weapon. I got cheated out of my life.”
“And just how many people are going to be cheated out of their lives by Magneto?” Mary-Jane retorted. Her voice was soft.
Sarah visibly recoiled. All her anger died down. “Some already were...” Her eyes reflected a deep sadness.
Felicia realized that, weirdly enough, Mary-Jane was actually the best person to reach to Sarah. With her empathy, the blonde could perceive any deception attempt – a thing Black Cat would have attempted. But Mary-Jane wore her emotions on her sleeve. She was a good infiltrator, but she was notoriously bad at concealing her personal feelings. She was being 100% sincere, and Sarah could sense that.
“This has to stop.” MJ insisted.
“It will never stop. Not as long as I’m alive.” Sarah looked at her wrists. “And even then, many people just won’t let me die…”
She didn’t add anything. She just sat on a chair, and fell silent.
**************
Magneto considered himself different than other masked supervillains. However, when it came to choosing his hideouts, he certainly was just like all the others.
An abandoned warehouse complex in a derelict industrial district of the outskirts. Shabby, discreet, and painfully average when it came to supervillainy.
If Gwen and her friends had any doubt they were infiltrating Magneto’s hideout, it was cleared the moment they spotted a telltale sign of super-villainous activity.
That is, a masked villainess in the flesh.
Plus, the woman was clearly a mutant – the fact she was floating ominously in the air was a clear giveway.
“Flying sentry.” Kate commented. “Quite clever. We can’t do anything while she’s here.”
Gwen got a good look at the villainess. “I recognize the mask and cloak. She’s Phantazia.”
Jeanne was observing the mutant’s flying pattern. “How dangerous is she?”
“Moderately. She’s in our league, provided she doesn’t spot us. Then, one little dose of sleeping drug, and she’ll be contained and out of our hair until proper people can come and apprehend her.”
“So how do we take her out?”
Gwen looked at Kate, and smiled. “From afar.”
**************
Eileen Harsaw, known publicly as Phantazia, was a mutant with control over the electromagnetic spectrum. Her power had plenty of uses – but levitation was her favorite. The woman liked to assume an air of mystery.
And for that, what better way than to float ominously in the air?
Her costume was also designed to look ominous: She was wearing a long high-collared purple cloak draped around her entire body. A white wig and a purple metal mask were concealing her head.
Using her levitation to have a vantage point, Phantazia was watching the area.
She wasn’t very happy about her current predicament.
I can’t believe I’m stuck here on guard duty. What is Magneto thinking? I should be on the first line, fighting against the X-Men! Not here, getting ordered around by Mystique and Sparks! Eileen complained to herself. Plus, this Taylor chick has no flare.
But Magneto didn’t exactly give her a choice. Taylor was a valuable – if uncertain – member of his army. Shapeshifters like Charlotte were always useful. And Sarah was a precious asset.
Still, he could’ve sent Toad, instead of me. I’m obviously superior! My talents are wasted here!
**************
Concealed in a blind spot of the warehouse complex, Kate observed the cloaked figure hovering near her hiding place. She nocked a blunt arrow. Good old-fashioned bows had one advantage over firearms. They were quiet.
Phantazia exposed her back.
Kate released her blunt arrow. The projectile hit a very specific spot of Phantazia’s neck, right below the mask.
The hovering mutant grunted, then collapsed onto the ground with the grace of an anvil.
Firestar left her own hiding spot in-between some crates, and wasted no time grabbing the criminal by the legs. She dragged her out of sight, where the rest of the team was waiting.
“This one is for you.” Gwen informed the redhead. “You’re the only one who can properly replicate her way to fly.”
“Got it.”
Firestar removed the mask and wig first, then the cloak. Underneath, Phantazia was wearing a plain black bodysuit and matching boots. The garments were designed to be easy to slip on and off, so peeling them off Phantazia’s unconscious body was easy.
Under the intimidating vampire-like cloak and metal mask, there was a perfectly normal-looking woman – albeit sexier than average. Eileen Harsaw was a slim blue-eyed blonde with a flawless white skin, and shapely legs. Her hair were tied up into a neck-long ponytail. Her underwear were a bright purple bandeau bra, and matching high-cut panties with a white waistband strap.
“A shame she hides her features…” Angelica commented.
Yuri pulled out a small box with syringes and sleeping drug, and injected Phantazia with the knock-out serum. The dose would make her sleep for three-to-four hours.
They used ropes made of a special metal fiber, designed to withstand super-strength, and bound Eileen’s ankles and wrists. They gagged her with a special brand of tape.
Firestar put on the Phantazia bodysuit, boots, cloak, wig, and mask.
They left the underwear-clad Phantazia stuffed inside a crate.
Then Angelica took flight, and took the place of the unlucky villainess with delusions of grandeur.
She would act as her team’s scout, warning them of patrols, and hopefully luring a bunch of mooks or other villains into a trap for her friends to also disguise themselves.
From afar, Kate, Jeanne, Yuri, and Gwen followed her, running from one hiding spot to the next.
Gwen took a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth. One mistake, and her friends were dead.
In the distance, she could see the main warehouse in which Felicia, Mary-Jane, and the other hostages were locked..
“Hold on… We’re coming...”
