Forge

G.W. Bridge

Armory

Union Jack

Darkstar

USAgent

Sabra

Hauptmann

Savitar

Hellios

Honey Lemon

The dust settled around the world as the reports of defeat came in. The Sons of Set had been beaten back, but they had generated a great deal of chaos and panic and that was what SHIELD was in the middle of dealing with.

New York had seen it's fair share of problems since September 11, and the citizens were used to it, but this had been different and there was a panic on hand as the people finally seemed to snap. Giant snakes attacking, raping, and trying to take the world for their own... it had been a step too far, and though things were starting to get back to normal, there was panic on the streets.

He looked about the city using the satellites that had been put in place and he knew that it was going to take some time to sort things out and inwardly he smiled, knowing that SHIELD could handle it. He knew they could handle it because he could see them all, he knew what was going on as he listened to their voices on the communications channels and then came the reports of the casualties. The heroes had fought hard and done what they could to defeat the Sons of Set but it had not been the easy victory that was imagined.

X-Force were on route to the Xavier Institute with the X-Men, having defeated a snake, but Jared Corbo was being slowly digested and his powers had not stopped the power of a demi-god. Siryn had been attacked and she had suffered enough trauma in the last few weeks and he wondered how close she was to snapping under the pressure. Hopefully they could do something to help her and Excalibur were in the Caribbean. They had succeeded, but they too had taken casualties aside from the one that was expected.

Union Jack and Sabra were still recovering from being struck by lightning, Hauptmann was almost dead from being drained by the snake and Honey Lemon was trapped in mid-transformation between being a snake and a normal woman. She was unable to talk but they could see the horror in her eyes, but Forge had made the ultimate sacrifice - he had given his soul to seal the portal between the dimensions, ensuring the barriers created by Kulan Gath were fortified. It was more than he would have been able to do alone and he had taken the soul of the serpent as well, and the two of them would be locked in eternal battle.

It was as he had assumed it would be, and the Maker had planned ahead. He had known since the death of Storm that his time was limited, because her loss had wounded him and though he had hidden it, he had no real reason to go on living, other than making the world a safer place and that had not been enough for Ororo Munroe. This was a better way and the artificial intelligence formerly known as Shrapnel had been altered. Shrapnel and Forge were gone, but the collaboration of the spirit of Forge and the presence of Shrapnel had been merged in to one.

He was a new entity, and as far as the world was concerned, he was the Director of SHIELD. He spoke with the voice of Forge, he had his face, memories and personality, but he had the calculatory powers of Shrapnel and access to every system that SHIELD had. He wasn't just the Director of SHIELD - he was SHIELD and finally the organisation had a director who could oversee everything that was going on. All he needed now was a name and he recalled a conversation with Bishop, when he had first met him.

"Genesis."

"Close. The name's Forge."

"For the moment."

The moment had come.

"Take care of them," Bridge said as the medics took them injured members of the team. The Caribbean wasn't as lush as it had been, thanks to Mjnari's draining of the energies of the planet. It wasn't that it had been destroyed, more that there was little in the way of life here. It felt dead and he had seen enough in his time to know what that felt like. He could see that USAgent felt the same way, and he watched as the rest of Excalibur were working to ensure that the islands were protected and the people safe. However there was one thing that concerned him more than all that.

There had been no serpent men in a very long time and now with the enforced pregnancies of many women at the hands of the Sons of Set, it seemed that a new race of serpent men would be born. Mankind feared and hated mutants, even those that looked similar to themselves, and he had got past his own distrust of mutants, but serpent men... would they, could they ever be accepted in to humanity or would it be as the legends said - the serpent men were the sworn enemies of mankind. If they returned to their primal baser instincts then a new war would begin.

"Maybe we can educate them," said Savitar as he looked at bridge who was staring at the confinement area for those who had been impregnated. The doctors were checking them to see if the had indeed become the mothers to a new race of creature on the Earth, but it seemed more than likely. When a god chose to procreate, who would stop them?

"Maybe," said Bridge. "Way I see it is we've a few years yet before they become a problem. Unless..."

"Unless they age quickly after being born," said Savitar. "Is the world ready for this?"

"I have no idea," said Bridge. "We've altered things so many times, diverted time from what it could have been, stopped one threat after another - maybe this is the universe saying it's still in charge."

"BOSS!" called USAgent, interrupting them.

"What?" Bridge called.

"It's the Snake," he shouted back. "They want to know what we're going to do with it."

"I don't know," said Bridge. "I guess we take it back with us."

"Then someone needs to take responsibility for getting it back to the US," said the Agent. "We've no idea what's going on. Forge..." He trailed off. SHIELD was without a leader right now, and the UN were in debate as to what was going on with their own organisation. The nearest thing they had to a Director was a former Director and Bridge sighed.

"I'm on it," he said as he wandered over. This was not what was supposed to be happening. Hopefully they would have HERMES back online soon enough and then they could all go home.

"Fer my money, we strike now." Fury looked at the council of Viper, Farouk and Logan. "The world's in chaos, SHIELD's spread out across the board, the heroes have fought hard and are still recovering from what's gone on. If we make out move now, then we'll have little to no resistance."

"He's right," said Wolverine as he lit a cigar of his own. "The Dawn's in place along with enough of our agents to make a consolidated attack. We strike now, we seize control."

"There's the X-Men to consider," said Viper. "They have not been as involved as the other main heroes and they have been a thorn in our side for a long time."

"Yes," said the Shadow King as he looked over his people, seeing himself cradled in the arms of Viper as she nursed baby Jacob. "However the X-Men are fragmented. The new team are children and will pose no threat. X-Corps are powerful but they are not focused enough. They have their squabbles. X-Force is weakened. There are no others, unless you count the so-called Exiles."

"Exodus?" said Logan.

"Nobody take's him seriously. He's only a player at the minute because he's screwin' Crystal of the Avengers."

"Exactly," said Farouk. "However the X-Men themselves... Cable's out of the way, and Jean Grey-Summers or whatever she calls herself these days is formidable. I think that once she learns of what has happened to Nathan she will not confront me directly but gather the others, the original students of Charles Xavier."

"The first X-Men?" said Viper. "Why?"

"Because Jean'll see it as a chance to reunite the X-Men, to bring everyone back to the same page," Logan answered. "The best way to do that, is to get the original five back, and the others will follow their lead, one way or another."

"And I've also been in her mind," said Farouk, thinking back to the conflict they'd had before he had gone after Viper and decided to end the X-Men once and for all. "I know how she thinks, how she sees herself. She will gather the originals, but that is something we are ready for."

"Yup," said Logan as he extended his claws. "The others are ready. Cable got lucky before, but I'll know better next time and none of the original X-Men are in his league."

"Exactly why I gathered my Shadow X-Men," Farouk answered. "You will face the original X-Men and ensure they are defeated. I will also send some of the Dawn and some Hydra agents to the Institute to ensure there is no outside interference from other interested parties."

"Elektra is mine," Viper said.

"Not necessarily," said the Shadow King. "Personal vendettas need to be put aside now."

"Isn't the decision to crush the X-Men a personal decision?" Viper said, momentarily forgetting whom she addressed and the fear at the reaction of the Shadow King was more than enough to sate him. He knew she knew who was in charge.

"Once it was," he answered her. "Now it is business. I cannot rule a world where there is dissent from the house of Xavier. Xavier is gone, and once the original X-Men are defeated, the house of Xavier will collapse and we will bring the children of the atom under Hydra."

"I'll send word," said Fury. "The time to strike is now."

Stephen Strange returned to his Sanctum Sanctorum and sat down in his chair, contemplating the events of the day. So much had happened, so much had changed, his understanding of magic had been broadened and his power had become more than it had been and now he truly was the Sorcerer Supreme. Doom had shown him so much, taught him something he had never considered and he was a better defender of this reality for it.

He focused on the planet and looked at what chaos had been wrought and wondered what he could do to resolve it. His new skills showed allowed him to reach out and focus on the sensations, listening more to the uncertainty that made up life and he could tell what had happened. There was a dimensional weakness between the Earth dimension and the dimension of Shuma Gorath. While the demon could not return to Earth he had the ability to influence things, but for now he was engaged in battle with one of the Sons of Set, sent there by the powers of the magicians it had taken.

It would be a battle that lasted a while and the Son of Set had been grievously wounded, but it would still last quite some time. Strange would have to monitor things from herein to ensure that Shuma Gorath did not cause more problems on Earth. Stopping him the last time had cost him his eye, but the demon would deal with the serpent. However the damage to Fiji would take some time to heal, but the Earth was resilient.

Elsewhere Strange could feel the resurgence of the Infinity Gauntlet, the power of the Gems coming together, but forever apart and their power could not be used in unison. The Son of Set that had tried had come close but he had been unable to command all but the slightest fraction of the power. What if games flitted through his mind and Strange wondered what would have happened had the Living Tribunal gotten involved. The Gems were in the hands of their protectors once more and Strange felt satisfied that they were safe. In the hands of someone less inclined...

Then Strange felt the greatest disturbance, where the life force of the planet itself had been drained and he knew that the lushness of the Caribbean had been tainted, but at the same time there was great magic there.

"No," Strange whispered as he ascertained what magic had been used and he was on his feet as he realised what had happened and he quickly fashioned a spell to get to the Caribbean. There was work for him to do, work that needed his attention and he was quickly on the island.

"Stephen!" said Darkstar as she saw him appear. "I wondered if either yourself or Doom would appear."

"Doom has returned to the world he came from," said Strange as he looked at her. He could tell she had been working hard, as had they all. "I am looking for Forge."

"He..." her voice trailed off and he put his hand on her shoulder. "He's in the medical facility." Strange nodded and headed over there and inside he could see the medical teams working to do what they could and his heart was drawn to helping. He had been a doctor before he became a magician but his skills healed things other than bodies and he hurried to where Forge was. Beside him was the Greek hero Hellios.

"I don't believe we've met," Strange said and Hellios looked up.

"You are Stephen Strange," said Hellios. "I know of you, but we have not met, no." They shook hands and Strange placed his hand on the forehead of Forge.

"Oh, Forge," said Strange as he looked down on him. He could sense that the body was empty, that the soul that had once inhabited it was gone and he closed the man's eyes.

"What is the problem?" Hellios asked.

"Forge used the soul spell," said Strange. "His soul is bound to something else, be it a person or a place." The Eye of Agamotto floated up and attached itself to his forehead and it began to open. "I will determine the fate of Forge." The light of the Eye shone forth and Strange could see another level of reality, and there was Forge's soul holding the soul of the Son of Set in place and using it's power to seal the dimensional pathways. Forge's soul was the anchor, keeping the other soul in place and such was the power of the spell that had been cast his soul was immovable.

"It's what I want, Stephen," he called out. "Destiny. It's what I was born to do."

"Goodbye, Forge," Strange said, knowing that in order to restore Forge's soul he would have to free the Son of Set and who knew which of the people on Earth it would possess, as well as opening up the dimensions to another invasion from the scions of Set. The Eye closed and Strange looked at Hellios. "I'm sorry," he said. "Forge is gone."

"Damn," said Hellios, who had suspected as much but now it was confirmed and he did not like it. "It shouldn't have happened."

"Perhaps not," said Strange, "but Forge feels he is doing what needs to be done. His sacrifice is not in vain. The draining of the life-force in this place has done considerable damage to the eco-system of the world. There will be a weakness to the very electo-magnetic stability as the planet adjusts."

"What does it mean?" Hellios asked.

"Things will change," said Bridge as he came in to the room. "Stephen."

"George," said Strange. "Forge..."

"Yeah," said Bridge. "I figured, but there's people you may be able to help." He pointed the way and Strange could see the altered form of Nyoko Anda on a bed next to Hauptman. "Anything you can do for them both will be appreciated."

"I will do what I can," said Strange and he looked at Hauptmann placing his hands above the man and focusing, listening to the man's presence in the world and he did not like what he felt. The man's life-force had been drained as the planet's had, but unlike the planet he had very limited resources to draw on the preserve himself. It was the mutant powers the man had that kept him alive as long as they had and Strange knew they too would fail. "Keep him comfortable," said the Sorcerer. "And contact any family he has. There is very little I can do to sustain him for anything longer than twenty four hours."

"I see," said Bridge. "What about her?"

"This may be easier. It is a spell of transformation and all I need is a counter spell, which I will have in my Sanctum Sanctorum." He focused and tried to transport her there. "Odd, her dual nature makes her resistant to certain spells. I cannot take her to my home, but perhaps..."

"I'll sort it," said Bridge. "I've heard that they're working to get our teleporter back on line, but there's still disruption to the planet."

"They'll just have to alter the operational frequency," said Union Jack, who had been listening. "If the planet's bio-sphere's been affected, the settings will be wrong."

"I'll let them know," said Bridge to the wounded British man, and he patched himself in to the Armory system.

"Now this is something I can resolve," said Strange. "You and Sabra both." He gestured and each of them was bathed in a light yellow glow as the effects of being struck by lightning were reversed and they were in a better shape by the time the aura had finished taking effect.

"Thanks," said Rock. "

"That's amazing," Sabra answered. "I can move freely. You fixed my spine as well." She kissed the Sorcerer on the cheek. "Thank you."

"I'm glad I was of some use after all," Strange said and looked around. "I shall help out here as well."

"I don't believe it," said Bridge.

"What?" asked Hellios.

"I just spoke with Forge," he said. "Or at least it sounded like him. He said everything was in hand and we're to do what we can and make our way back."

"Forge?" said Strange. "It can't be."

"He says it's a replica of Forge's mind, combined with an artificial intelligence," Bridge said, receiving information. "He says we can call him Genesis."

"Interesting," said Strange. "Perhaps he used a facet of the soul spell to attach his essence to this computer."

Rock looked at him. "But that means..."

"He knew how this would end," said Sabra. "He gave of himself."

"Wait..." said Bridge. "I'm getting reports of something else happening... Good God..."

"What?" asked Hellios, and by now others had gathered.

"Hydra just began a major assault," Bridge said. "Nick Fury's attacking Washington..."