//------------------------------// // Introductions // Story: Equestria's Dark Heroes // by CMNiall //------------------------------// November 29th, 2012, Blackpool, England The day was rather dreary, pouring rain as the English weather seemed to enjoy doing so much. Mike, a 6’5” clean shaven man with chestnut coloured short hair, Icy blue eyes, and a fairly muscular body, wearing black jeans, a dark blue shirt with a yellow X located on the upper right corner, and a brown aviator’s jacket, who also happened to be a mutant with powers similar to Magneto (though admittedly weaker) found himself looking out the window of a hotel room with a bored expression on his face. He was supposed to meet his contact here an hour ago but still no one had shown up. “Well this is just lovely. Dragged all the way from home to an English city with weather more depressing than a kicked puppy.” The Canadian said then thought for a moment. “Okay maybe not quite that depressing.” He sighed. “I’m going to have to kick Deadpool’s ass when I get back. I hate when he gives me false contacts for laughs. He must be busting a gut right now. Wait, that gives me a great idea!” he said as he smiled evilly. “Now, now, there’s no need for such violence.” Mike turned to this new voice. In the doorway stood a woman of average height with long blond hair and wearing a blood red leather suit. How had he not heard her open the door? “At least, not towards your friends.” She continued as she walked into the room. “So, I’m getting contracted to kill someone by a T-2000. That’s slightly ironic.” Mike said with an amused smile but the woman just stared at him blankly. “What? You’ve never watched Terminator 3?” he said trying to be humorous but the woman only gave him an annoyed glare. “I thought I was hiring a killer, not a comedian.” She said coldly. Mike couldn’t place a finger on it but something about this woman bothered him. Something just seemed…out of whack. But stranger still was this particular feeling of out-of-whackness was familiar. He’d felt it before but he couldn’t for the life of him place when, where, or from whom. “It keeps the whole thing from becoming more macabre than necessary.” He said with a shrug. “Anyways, my attitude hasn’t lessened the quality of my results. I’m still only second to Wolverine.” “Which is fairly concerning since your powers specifically counter him.” The woman snapped. “You know about my powers, huh? Then you must belong to some big bad crime syndicate.” Said a slightly irritated Mike. It wasn’t his fault Wolverine had superior training, at least a hundred more years of experience, and unbreakable bones. “Oh no, we are not a crime syndicate, my…. organization simply wishes for you to fulfill this contract in Africa.” Said the still unnamed woman but the pause in her speech had not gone unnoticed. Mike started to get the feeling that this job would take a very unpredictable turn of events as he began to speak. “Africa? What could you possibly want me to do there? Capture a diamond mine? Listen lady, I don’t know what you’ve been told but I don’t kill children.” The mercenary said sternly but the woman only chuckled. “No, no, you are simply going to a shanty town in the savannah to kill a target who escaped us and retrieve a briefcase. “ “And you need me because?” Mike said. He was no stranger to set ups, and this seemed like quite the set up. It all seemed just too easy. His services weren’t cheap and so were usually reserved for near suicidal missions that few other mercenaries could complete. Business had boomed for him ever since Deadpool joined the X-Men and left the mercenary game. “Because it could potentially turn into a warzone and we need someone who could retrieve our package should that happen.” The strange woman said with an emotionless face. ‘Well this is just peachy’ Mike thought to himself as he stared her down. Then she held out a folder. “Contained within this is all the information you’ll need on your target and his location.” Mike nodded as he took the folder then was also handed a plane ticket then the woman continued on “Your plane to Africa leaves in a few hours, you should move along.” Mike opened his mouth to say something witty in retort but found himself speechless, which was a very rare occurrence. It was also strange, he thought while walking down the hall towards the elevator, that she left him speechless as she had done nothing that would have rendered him as such. The one thing he knew for sure was that she was not ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. Mike just sighed as he rode the elevator down to the lobby from the 6th floor. It was then that a revelation had hit him. “Room 66…on floor 6.” He said aloud. 666, the number of the devil. He’d dealt with enough of these types of people to know that it was not a coincidence. “So, it seems old Lucifer wants my help.” He laughed lightly to himself. When the elevator doors opened once again Mike swiftly walked through the lobby of the hotel and noticed as he walked that the rain had stopped leaving the city quite muggy. “Gotta love that English weather.” He said as he walked down the street. After 2 blocks he heard screams and yelling coming from a dark alley. “How cliché.” Was all Mike said before he took off down the alleyway. After a five second sprint he found the source of the commotion, a woman with brown hair was held against the wall of the alley by three men while two others kept watch, one armed with a crowbar and the other seemingly unarmed but Mike assumed he probably had a knife hidden in his pocket. One of the men hiked up her skirt and pulled down her panties. “Oh Christ, this won’t end well…for them.” Mike said under his breath and smiled wickedly. As much as he tried to play the hero in such situations he couldn’t help but enjoy the violence that ensued. “Stop! Please, someone help me!” the woman screamed as the men continued their unwanted advances. “Shut the hell up!” The man keeping watch with a crowbar yelled at her with a cockney accent. “Someone gag her! We don’t want the bobbies hearing us.” The other watchman said with the same accent. “You know, I thought even savage cretins would understood the word ‘no’.” Mike said as he walked into their view. “Eh? Who the fuck are you?” the unarmed looking watchman said. “Doesn’t matter who ‘e is. If you want to live you’ll just walk back the way you came.” The one armed with a crowbar said. The other three men were paying no attention to Mike, they were much more interested in the woman they were forcefully undressing. “Oi blighters, you three better stop that before I make your deaths more painful than they were going to be!” Mike shouted to the men busy with the woman while imitating the watchmen’s cockney accents. “Ben, take care of him.” One of the three men said to the thug armed with a crowbar apparently named Ben. “With pleasure.” Ben said smiling cruelly. He brought his right arm holding the crowbar back ready to swing it with what would probably be bone-breaking results. Ben swung with all his might but his attack was stopped, the crowbar hovering a few inches from Mike’s head. Ben pulled on the crowbar with all the strength he could muster but it remained in place. Mike looked at the crowbar then flicked his eyes towards the thug holding it and suddenly it shot towards him, pierced his right eye and forced its way out of the back of Ben’s head. He collapsed, dead before he even hit the ground. “Jack, what the hell just happened?!” The three men who had been busying themselves with the woman shouted in unison. The other watchman shook himself out of the shock of what he just witnessed. “The fucker’s a mutant!” Shouted the watchman whom Mike now knew was Jack. The man who had given Ben his order spoke. “A mutant like our little tart here?” The man who had told Ben to kill Mike said and patted the woman’s now bear ass. “What should I do, Shaun?” Jack yelled back. “Put that knife you’re so proud of to use and stab him.” The man now identified as Shaun said. But before he could take out his switchblade Jack was grabbed by Mike who then lifted the man over his head and threw him to the ground headfirst. Jack’s neck snapped on impact and he lay dead on the ground with blood slowly streaming out of his mouth. Mike bent down and took Jack’s knife from his pocket then turned to the three remaining men and began speaking. “So, how do you want to die? Sorta painful or very painful? It’s your choice.” He said with a hint of anger. “George, hold her down. We’ll take care of this freak.” Shaun said to one man while he motioned the other to follow him. But before they could attempt anything Mike threw the knife towards the two approaching him and it impaled the unnamed man’s throat then flew back to Mike as he held out his hand for it who then threw it into Shaun’s knee, sending him to the ground. Mike quickly followed up by taking the knife and stabbing Shaun’s chest. Mike left the man named Shaun screaming in pain and approached the woman while George looked like he was about to make a run for it. George took a step and tried to run but Mike caught him by the wrist and spun him into a headlock. “Now, now, we’ll be having none of that.” Mike said as he held the struggling man. “Shh, shh, shh, it’s alright now. Don’t worry, don’t worry.” Mike said just before breaking George’s neck then turned his back to the woman and said “Put your cloths back on. We can’t have you catching a cold in this dreary weather.” The woman complied and once she was fully dressed walked up to her savior, wary of the bodies around them. “Thank you. So, can I know my savior’s name?” The woman said with a cute English accent. Mike turned around to introduce himself. “Mike Winters, pleased to meet you miss…” Mike said as he held out his hand. “Victoria Miles.” The woman said pleasantly as she took Mike’s hand. “A pretty name for a pretty lady.” Mike said with a mischievous smile then continued talking. “So, you’re a mutant? Why didn’t you use your powers to fight back or run?” He said with genuine curiosity. Mike just couldn’t understand it. “My powers don’t have much use for fighting or running.” Victoria said avoiding eye contact with Mike. “Not unless there’s a robot nearby.” That last part earned her a confused look from Mike which made her laugh. Mike wasn’t sure if she was laughing at him or the face he made but quite frankly he didn’t care, she was getting over the traumatic event that had just happened and that was good enough for him. “I’m a Technopath.” She said to try and clarify for the confused mercenary. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea what that means.” Mike said as the two continued walking. Through all his travels, which were many, he had never heard of Technopathy. “A Technopath is a person who can sense and control technology with their mind.” Victoria said then pointed to Mike’s left wrist. “Like that cloaking device you have.” “Very impressive.” Mike said then stopped her. “Do you know any other mutants around here?” He continued but almost regretted asking when he could see the hurt in her eyes. “No, I just moved here after people found out I was a mutant. My family…” Victoria said but started crying. Mike took her into a hug and started speaking softly. “There, there, it’s okay. Don’t cry.” He said as he stroked her hair. Now Mike really did regret asking despite his rather noble intentions. “Listen, I only asked because I have a solution for you.” Victoria looked up at him with teary eyes then broke away and wiped away her tears embarrassed that she had broken down in front of him like that. Once had recomposed herself she looked back to him. “A solution?” Victoria had heard that word plenty of times from anti-mutant speakers like Senator Kelly and she didn’t like it despite Mike being a mutant too. “Oh don’t give me that look, I don’t mean some toxin made by a sociopathic doctor who thinks they’re working for the greater good of man. I meant I can send you to Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a safe haven for mutants and home of the X-Men.” Mike said and at this Victoria’s eyes lit up. “You can really get me in there?” She said with renewed hope. Finally a safe place to call home, though she had never heard of the institute she had definitely heard of the X-Men. “Well sure, it’s not all that hard really. Just show up, say you’re a mutant and in you go. I’ll just pay for your plane ticket.” Mike said rubbing the back of his neck. “Passage to America ain’t cheap. Normally I’d take you back myself but I have an important job that I can’t put off so instead I’ll buy your ticket and write down the address. Oh and give you my cell number in case you need me for some reason.” He finished. Mike would love to go with her back to the institute but like he said he had a job to do. They continued talking as they walked out of the alley and hailed a cab to the airport regaling each other with funny stories until they finally arrived at the airport and got on to their respective planes, after Mike had bought Victoria her ticket and given her more than enough money to get to the Xavier Institute when she landed in America. Meanwhile Mike settled in for a peaceful ride and ended up sleeping for the majority of the way, awaking minutes before reaching his destination. Leaving the plane he looked around to try to find a car rental as the shanty town was an hour’s drive and Mike immediately decided we was NOT walking. Mike ended up criss-crossing the entirety of the city before finding a place that had off-road vehicles to rent . Why it had been so difficult to find he had no idea but Mike rented a Jeep and went on his way. The drive itself was fairly uneventful, Mike saw a herd of Zebras here and there, gazelles, and even a stampede of elephants but nothing worthy of note actually happened to him. He arrived in the shanty town slightly ahead of schedule but wasn’t greeted by what he thought he’d see. He thought he’d see a ghetto with hobos and vagrants but what he saw was a warzone. Mike exited the jeep to inspect the bodies. ‘Odd’ he thought ‘There are no bullet holes. All of the bodies are cut up.’ Then Mike saw something that would have made his stomach churn had he not been hardened. Small bodies…children, cut clean in half. “It wasn’t a war, it was a massacre.” He said to himself in near horror. Mike slowly walked towards one when he heard something, faint thuds. They sounded like footsteps but whatever was making them was far larger than any human and getting fairly close. As he turned to look of the source of the sound he saw a man and woman running but he was shocked by what happened next. A 12 foot tall humanoid thing with a giant machete in place of its right forearm came barreling after them and in one swing from its machete cut both the man and woman in half. The monster then noticed mike and started walking towards him. “I’ll cleave your skull in two” it bellowed in an inhuman voice. “Well shit.” Mike said before assuming a combat stance and readying himself for the battle. The beast rushed forwards and swung its cleaver downwards in an arc of death. Mike tried to stop it but his magnetic powers had no effect. He rolled to his left just in time to dodge the attack then dash forwards and slid under the thing’s legs. He quickly looked around for any metal objects he could use but was forced to dash back to dodge another attack. As the beast charged forward Mike ran into the nearest building to look for a weapon and found a large assortment of a dozen knives lying in a box. Mike smiled ‘perfect’ he thought and grabbed them before running back out to meet the creature. He threw up the box and raised a hand before the knives could fall. They hung in the air silently, slowly turning so all twelve blades were aimed at the monster who stared at them mystified, then, without warning Mike brought down his hand and the knives flew towards the beast and impaled it. As its body fell Mike gave a sigh of relief and rolled his shoulders, loosening them in case he ran into more trouble. On instinct he turned to face a figure who began clapping slowly as it approached him. The figure was an elderly man with white hair dressed in a black three piece suit over a crimson dress shirt with a black tie. “Well done.” The old man said showing little enthusiasm. “And you are?” Mike asked even though he had a good idea. “Oh, I think you know who I am.” The man said with an amused, devilish smile on his face. Mike moved to punch him but just as he took his first step the old man snapped his fingers and the world faded into darkness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mike woke up on a bench with his jacket beside him in a metropolitan city with no idea how he got there. After a short look around he was able to discern he was in Japan based on the signs (written in Japanese, obviously), that it was well into the evening and that it was cold enough to see his breath. Mike decided his next move would be to find out what city he’s in and so he stood up, put on his jacket and walked off down the street with no idea where he was aside from it being a Japanese city. After several minutes of walking he came across what he assumed to be high school students. At least Mike hoped they were high school students otherwise he was looking at some seriously overly matured 12-year-olds. They seemed to be gathered around something hunched on the ground and shouting things at it. As he got closer Mike realized the thing on the ground was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair dressed in tattered blue jeans and a faded black shirt with a Pink heart and said “Friendship is magic” on the front sitting against a wall with her legs pulled against her chest and her head resting on her knees and the crowd was shouting unflattering obscenities at her. Mike was only a few feet from them now and decided he’d step in. “It’s a school night boys and girls, shouldn’t you be home studying?” Mike said with slight overconfidence and shortly realized he didn’t actually know what day it was and his epic line would sound incredibly stupid if there were no school for them. But to his relief their answer sounded as though they did indeed have school the next day. “Yeah, what’s it to…” a boy looking to be about fifteen started to say until he turned to see Mike. Now, to clarify, the average height of an adult Japanese man is 5’7” so the 6’5” well-built Mike would be fairly intimidating to a teenager despite his usually rather laid back disposition. Once the whole group saw Mike they scattered and left the poor girl they had been berating at his mercy. She didn’t look up, speak, or acknowledge Mike in any way so he did the most human thing possible. He walked over and sat beside her. “You know, I’m kinda new to this whole hero thing but I’m pretty sure this is the part where the distressed damsel thanks the knight in shining armour.” Mike said trying to elicit a response from the girl. “In case you’re offended that was just a joke.” He continued but still she remained silent. “I’m just gonna keep rambling until you talk to me.” Mike still persisted but two details about the girl caught his eye and silenced him. First; he noticed she had what looked like white ears poking out of her hair. Second and more importantly; he noticed that she was only wearing a t-shirt in such cold weather. Without giving the white ‘ears’ a second thought he took off his jacket and placed it around the girl’s shoulders which finally earned him a response. She slowly raised her head and looked at the jacket then at Mike and he saw her pink eyes. “Why?” was the only word she said as she continued to stare curiously at him. “Well, because you looked cold.” Mike said with a smile, elated that he had finally gotten her to talk and completely forgetting his initial goal to learn of his current location. “No, I mean why aren’t you running? Don’t you know what I am?” The girl said with confusion, curiosity and a sadness clinging to every word. “Why would I run?” Mike asked without his smile faltering. “And I know exactly what you are.” After that last sentence the girl looked at him dumbstruck. Everyone who knew what she was either avoided or abused her, they never helped her. “You’re a lonely girl in need of a friend and I’m more than happy to oblige.” He continued and the light in her eyes faded away, he didn’t know what she really was. Seeing this Mike quickly added “I know you’re different in some way, possibly you have inhuman powers.” That made the girl feel a little better. Even if he didn’t know exactly what she was he knew she was different and still intended to help her. Or at least it seemed that way, the girl had been tricked by ‘friends’ before and was cautious to accept the large stranger as friendly, even though he’d just helped her. “How do I know I can trust you?” the girl asked, still unsure of Mike. “Well, I just helped you. And I’m like you to some degree.” Mike said with a sort of kindness he was sure the girl had never been given before. “If I show you my power will you give me a chance?” He asked and received a slight nod from the girl. With that Mike took out a coin from his pocket then held his hand out and the girl watched intently with curious eyes as the coin began levitating and moving between his fingers gracefully. “I can manipulate magnetic fields to control all manner of metal objects.” Mike said with a smile as he returned the coin to his pocket and locked eyes with the girl. “See? We’re not so different, you and me. How about introductions?” He said as he began to stand up and the girl followed. At her full height the girl was about 4’ 3”, a full two feet smaller than him. “Mike Winters, at your service.” Mike said and took a bow. “I’m Megumi Miharu, pleased to meet you.” The pink haired girl said then also bowed. “Likewise. Now then, we can’t have you walking around in this kind of temperature with just a t-shirt.” Mike said as he brought his hands together then looked around. “I don’t suppose you know your way around.” “Well sure but where are you going?” Megumi asked curious of Mike’s intentions. “We are going to find a store to buy you your own jacket.” He replied and as Megumi was about to speak he put a finger over her lips and added “Before you ask, I’m buying you a jacket because you need one and because you’re a friend and I take care of my friends.” He finished and removed his finger. Megumi looked at Mike for a moment then grinned. “Right, follow me! I know where we should go!” She said with cheer Mike had yet to see from her and began walking down the street with Mike in tow. As they walked Mike and Megumi got to know each other, talking about their likes and interests. Through all of it Megumi talked about a show about colourful ponies and the supposed power of friendship. Mike didn’t really understand this show she was talking about but it gave Mike an idea where she might take them. If this show was as popular as Megumi said then surely it would have a store somewhere or a store that sells its merchandise at least. 10 minutes later Mike found he was right and they walked into a store with all sorts of pony based merchandise. “Okay, go find yourself a sweater, a jacket, and a tuke.” Mike said as he glanced around the store for anything he might find interesting. “A tuke?” “Sorry, Canadian terminology. I mean a winter hat.” Mike said rubbing the back of his head. With that Megumi took off with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. Within roughly 20 minutes she had picked out a black wool hat with the words “Friendship Is Magic” stitched on in pink, a cyan hoodie with a rainbow hood and rainbow lettering on the back that read “20% Cooler” and a white winter coat that had 6 pictures on the back (to save on time and needless explanation they’re the cutie marks of the mane 6). They approached the counter and an elderly clerk eyed them up then gave a distain filled look. “We don’t serve freaks. Bad for business.” He said crossing his arms as if that would make his point clearer. Mike hid his loathing and responded with false enthusiasm. “Hey, come closer so I can tell ya something.” The clerk complied and leaned over the counter only to be grabbed by the back of his head. Mike slammed to clerk’s skull off the counter and he slumped onto the floor unconscious. Mike then proceeded to ring up with clothes and tossed the appropriate amount of money of the unconscious old man before motioning for Megumi to follow. “I think it’s about time to head in for the night. I saw a motel a little ways back.” He said as they exited the store. So they walked back, checked into the hotel and upon opening the door to their room (which contained two beds) Mike jumped onto one of the beds and assumed what he thought to be a sexy pose and said “Paint me like one your French girls.” They barely suppressed a smile before they both burst out laughing. When they finally regained their breath Megumi turned to Mike with a somewhat solemn look on her face. “Can I show you something?” she asked somewhat shyly but before Mike could answer he was cut off by a loud, feminine voice “We have the building surrounded. Come out now or we will open fire!” It shouted with authority. Mike shrugged and walked out the door. He was greeted by what appeared to be 20 well armed Spec-Ops soldiers in black combat outfits. In front of them was a tallish, black haired, well-built woman. On seeing Megumi she gave a cruel smile. “I see you’ve found a new toy Megumi. Come with us and he won’t be killed.” The woman growled angrily. Mike figured they had a very turbulent history together. Megumi looked fearfully between Mike and the woman. She didn’t want to go with them but she didn’t want Mike to be hurt after the kindness he’d shown her. Mike saw this and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. They won’t be able to lay a hand on us.” he said and gave her an encouraging smile then turned to the woman and her armed entourage. “And you all can just sod off.” This seemed to anger the woman and she backed out of the line of fire. “You don’t know what she is, do you? She’s a freak! Why are you helping her?!” The woman shouted trying to get him to step away but Mike just shrugged. “Freak is a relative term.” he responded coolly. “She’s a Dyclonius. Do you even know what that is, you fool?” The woman shouted still full of anger and gritted her teeth. “Not really. Why should I care?” Mike retorted still unmoved in his resolve to stand by Megumi. “Dyclonius are monsters! They-” she was cut off as Mike raised a hand and blasted her back with a magnetic pulse but she quickly stood up with wild fury in her eyes. “Kill them!” she bellowed with seething hatred. The soldiers opened fire and Megumi closed her eyes waiting for death. But strangely it didn’t come. She opened her eyes to see Mike standing with his arm outstretched. Then she looked towards the men trying to kill them and couldn’t believe her eyes. The bullets they continued to fire all stopped mid-flight and just hung there. She hadn’t realized just how powerful Mike was. The woman and her subordinates stood there with their mouths agape, unable to believe it either. Mike flicked his hand and all the bullets shot back towards the soldiers with enough force to kill or gravely injure. The soldiers all collapsed in pain and agony leaving only the woman to fight Mike and Megumi but strangely she didn’t seem frightened by this fact. “Do it.” She said as she spoke into a walkie-talkie. A moment later there was a loud CRACK of a gunshot and before Mike or Megumi had time to react to the shot they heard the sound of a bullet deflecting off steel. They all turned to see a white-haired man clad in a red trench coat standing behind Megumi with a large sword drawn in a defensive position. Once again they heard a loud gunshot but this time Mike, Megumi and the woman actually saw the figure block the bullet with its sword. Mike was able to find the lone gunman located high atop a skyscraper based on the trail smoke his bullet left behind and using his magnetic powers Mike pulled the gun off the building which was followed by the rather surprised gunman still holding it. He plummeted off the building and out of sight screaming all the way. The woman’s anger and hatred was now replaced with fear and she shakily took out a pistol aimed for the group of oddities that was Mike, Megumi, and the new man but it did her no good as Mike used his powers to knock the gun away with a flick of his wrist. Megumi approached her with hatred growing then; much to Mike and the sword toting stranger’s surprise, the woman was suddenly cut into a dozen or so pieces by an unseen force. The man looked at Mike accusingly who in turn held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me. I can’t do that sort of shit.” Mike said defensively with his hands still raised. “It was me. I killed her.” Megumi said in a small voice but defiant voice which earned her a look from both Mike and the still unnamed man that seemed to say ‘how?’ Megumi sighed before answering “Dyclonius have what scientists call vectors. Vectors are sort of invisible arms and hands that can have varying degrees of strength and length and can vibrate at high frequencies to allow them to cut through pretty much anything. Mine are 1.5 meters long and can lift 200 pounds each.” Megumi winced as she finished and waited for the two before her to start laughing but instead she felt a muscular arm around her shoulders. She looked up at Mike who smiled warmly. “This may surprise you but that’s not the craziest thing I’ve heard. Hell, that’s not even the craziest thing I’ve seen.” He said trying to comfort her but a look of realization crossed his face as he looked back to where the white haired man stood. “So who are you and how the hell’d you get here?” “You know, it’s rude to ask someone’s name without giving yours first.” The red-clad man said with a smirk. “Right, well I’m Mike and this is Megumi. Uh, thanks for saving her.” Mike said placing a hand on the back of his neck. “I’m Dante.” The stranger said holding out his hand for a handshake. Then for the second time today Mike heard a slow clapping come from behind him. They all turned to see an elderly man, the same elderly man that had appeared before Mike earlier. “It seems an unexpected player has joined the game.” He said glancing towards Dante before continuing “No matter. You three will be off to meet your final…friend.” and with that the old man snapped his fingers. Just like before Mike’s vision faded into darkness but this time Megumi’s and Dante’s did as well and they all collapsed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dante was the first to regain consciousness and upon waking took in his surroundings, a barren, dimly lit concrete room. First he noticed Mike and Megumi laying not five feet from him, next he noticed four corpses strewn around the concrete room that appeared to be dressed as somewhat futuristic soldiers. Then he promptly took to waking his new associates. Despite his best efforts Megumi only rolled over and asked for five more minutes but fortunately while Dante attempted to wake her Mike roused himself. “Where are we now?” he asked trying to shake himself back into full consciousness. “Dunno. Maybe the soldier boys over there can give us a clue.” Dante responded, pointing to the corpses. The two walked over to inspect them and Mike took notice of what appeared to be a gun lying on the ground. He picked up and delicately looked it over before accidentally discharging a round. It fired a solid red laser that destroyed the head of one of the corpses. “Heh heh, whoops.” Mike said slightly embarrassed. Dante only shook his head then continued inspecting the body he was crouched beside. “These wounds were made by very crude weapons. I wonder if demons were involved” Dante said standing up from the body. “So this world has weird spacemen and demons? Great, just great.” Mike said giving an exasperated sigh. They heard slight groans from behind them and turned to see Megumi finally coming to. She sat up and rested her head in her hand before looking up to the two men she had just “traveled” with. “Mike? What’s going on?” she asked feeling as though she’d suffered a slight concussion. Mike offered her a hand and helped her on to her feet before answering. “Well, we’re in a different world that apparently contains space men and according to Dante here possibly ax wielding demons.” Mike said in his usual comical way. “Seriously?” Megumi asked with an unusually serious tone. With all that just happened she wasn’t really in the mood for jokes. “More or less.” Dante responded whimsically. “I guess we should get moving.” Mike said discarding the laser gun he’d accidentally shot off. “But we don’t have any idea where we are.” Megumi argued. “Then we’ll call it exploring.” Dante gave her a smirk then walked out the door. Mike and Megumi looked at each other then followed after him. They exited into a hallway with one of the two corridors caved in. “Looks like we only have one way to go.” Megumi said then looked down the open passage. The trio walked slowly, trying to work out what happened as they moved forward but with no luck. All they learned was what they already knew but Megumi suddenly looked at Dante as she remembered something. “Hey Dante” “Yeah?” Dante asked turning to face her. “You never told us how you ended up in Japan.” “Honestly I don’t know.” he responded. “One moment I was in hell the next I woke up in that motel you guys were outside of.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone” Mike cut in “Why were you were in hell?” “It’s…uh…it’s a long story.” Dante replied as the turned a corner. As soon as the turned the corner they all noticed a light, an exit, roughly 50 yards away. Dante, Mike, and Megumi all looked at each other then ran towards it. As they got closer to the exit they heard voices shouting and the sound of battle. They exited the corridor to find a somewhat peculiar sight. Five large, armoured figures embroiled in a four on one brawl. These figures all stood well over seven feet tall and were all a great deal wider than normal humans. The armour of the four were black with one red pauldron adorned with horns, spikes, skins and other miscellaneous horrors while the armour of the one was mainly ultramarine blue with gold details. Here’s a picture. Two of the black armoured figures were armed with large two-handed mace’s while the other two and the blue one were armed with swords that seemed to be emitting blue energy from the blades. When our intrepid trio exited the corridor the black armoured figures stopped attacking and noticed them followed by the blue who had turned to see what his enemies were distracted by. Upon seeing them he yelled out. “Run! You fools, run!” but much to his chagrin two of them, Mike and Dante to be precise, charged the group. Dante pulled away the attention of one wielding a sword while Mike caught the interest of one toting a two-handed mace. Megumi, realizing she was late on the draw ran forward and took the final enemy wielding one of the two handed maces, leaving the blue-armoured man to fight sword on sword with one opponent. “These Chaos Marines are not to be trifled with! Leave at once!” he once more yelled at Mike, Dante, and Megumi but they paid him no heed. Mike waited for the Chaos Marine to swing and once he did Mike used his magnetic powers to control the mace. It wrenched itself out of the Chaos Marine’s hands and into Mike’s who continued with the momentum of the swing, guiding it gracelessly into his legs, tripping him. As the Chaos Marine fell on his back Mike quickly spun around to face him, raised the mace over his head and swung down with all the force he could using his magnetic powers to control the mace. With one fatal strike the Chaos Marine’s armour and chest were caved in. Mike left the mace stuck in the fresh body and turned to see how his comrades were fairing. Megumi was continually forced back by the swings of the Chaos Marine, using her vectors to deflect the strikes of his mace, though just barely. In between his strikes she attempted cutting him apart with her vectors but much to her surprise they had little effect. Suddenly Megumi’s eyes lit up as she had an idea. She stopped retreating and waited for the next strike. As it came she jumped back just out of the mace’s reach then used all her strength to push it and force the Chaos Marine to continue his swing, knocking him off balance. Megumi took this opportunity and grabbed his head with two of her vectors while her other two were placed on his shoulders. In one swift move she used the combined strength of her four vectors to rip the Chaos Marine’s head clean of his shoulders and the headless body tumbled down into the dirt. Dante launched himself into the air as his opponent swung, drawing Ebony and Ivory as he sailed through the air in an arc. Landing behind the Chaos Marine Dante shot him several dozen times but it did little to stop the seven and a half foot living tank. He merely shrugged it off and charged Dante once more, exclaiming something about avenging some Nemeroth guy. Dante responded by launching himself forwards and thrusting Rebellion into his adversary’s chest but his sword did little more than scratch the Chaos Marine's armour. He then quickly jumped back to avoid getting cut in half by his enemy’s blade. “What? Too chicken to show your face?” Dante yelled to his already enraged opponent. In a fit of anger the Chaos Marine took off his helmet and tossed to the ground. “There ya go, ugly” Dante said under his breath as he drew Ebony and Ivory and fired half a dozen bullets into the unprotected Chaos Marine’s head, destroying it. As the headless body crumpled to the ground he smirked and holstered his twin pistols before turning to see his comrades had dealt with their adversaries as well. The stranger who had told them to flee had just impaled his foe with his sword then brought it skywards, cutting the Chaos marine in half from his stomach up. The nearly halved body fell and the blue armoured figure signalled for the three to come to him as he sheathed his sword. When they did he turned to them and removed his helmet revealing himself. He had short black hair, a full beard and eyes the same colour as his armour. “My thanks strangers, I might have met my end had you not arrived. I am Mathias Grek, Space Marine sergeant of the Ultramarines Chapter, second company.” The Space Marine said giving a slight bow then drew a large pistol and aimed it at Mike’s head. “Now then, how have you come into possession of such powers? Have you been tainted by the warp?” Mike held his hands up to show he wasn’t hostile. “No, I was just born with them.” He responded, still holding up his hands. “It’s true.” They all heard a voice say from the corridor Mike, Megumi, and Dante had exited. They turned to see the same elderly man from before, still clothed in his three piece suit. “His powers didn’t come from the warp. He’s not even from this word, neither are his friends. Now then, off with you.” Before any of them could react all four fell to the ground and lost consciousness.