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The cool night air
softly blew against Sarah Bane’s face as she ran across a spot of open
ground.
The slight breeze began to get some momentum behind it and she soon felt water droplets slap against her face. Stealing a quick look to the dark sky, she could see that a big storm was brewing…
“Bugger,” she whispered to herself. “Have to step it up before I’m all soaked. Not that Pete would mind.”
She readjusted the rucksack hanging over her one shoulder and picked up her pace. Inside of her backpack she had various equipment that a thief should never be without, as well as enough C4 to completely level several of the surrounding buildings.
Briskly jogging toward her next goal, a low hum slowly became audible as she reached the end of the open expanse of ground. Her ears perked up as she focused on the noise. Her acute senses weren’t lying to her; there was definitely some type of electrical static emanating from a complex about a hundred meters east of her current position.
Must have a backup generator, Sarah thought. Or maybe they’re restoring power by rerouting it through that building. No matter. Either way it’s about to go boom.
Heading toward the noise, she could begin to make out more sounds along with the humming. It sounded like metal was brushing against metal, and the sound of static quickly built up into larger electrical zaps.
Her senses told her no one was near the complex so she took the most direct route inside: through the front door. One well placed kick later she was standing inside a room almost as big as a football field. At the center of the room sat the source of all the noise she had been homing in on.
“Holy shit,” was the first thing that could pass her lips.
A large platform, raised several meters off the floor, supported two giant metal spheres rotating around two large metal rings that were attached to the platform at the base. Electricity in its rawest form scurried along the metal rings, occasionally leaping out to connect with the circling floating spheres. It almost looked unreal, like it had popped out of a bad science fiction movie.
Sarah Bane dropped her pack in shock as her jaw nearly hit the floor. Reaching behind her back, she grabbed one of the communicators that Maverick had found on Brian Braddock’s jet. The others needed to know about this.
“Someone respond,” she said into the mouthpiece. “Pete! Come in. We’ve got a situation.”
Static crackled across the communicator’s speaker, possibly caused by the electrical interference of the large machine before her. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, a voice broke through the static.
{{ - here, Sarah. What’s going on? }} It was Peter Wisdom.
“Pete, thank God,” she said. “I’m in a complex on the southeast part of the island. You’ll never believe what I found in here. Get here as soon as you can, you need to see this to believe it.”
{{ We’re – zzz – route. What the devil are you going on about? }}
“I don’t know what the bloody hell your girl Moira is thinking, but it’s – KAA --”
Sarah’s voice stalled as an involuntary gagging reaction forced itself on her. Her chest was burning and she couldn’t pull oxygen into her lungs anymore. Shifting her focus down, she could see three silver prongs poking through her own body, stained with her own blood.
The communicator fell from her hands as her strength left her, Wisdom’s voice chirping as it dropped. She couldn’t make out his words. Her senses, which had once been the sharpest of just about anyone she had ever met, were now deadened as her life slipped away.
Pain overtook her again as three more prongs poked through her abdominal muscles as more blood dribbled out of her mouth.
Someone behind her pushed her forward and she fell to the cold ground in a bloody heap. Her vision faded and her mouth felt dry. The crimson color of her blood was barely visible against the dark red of her uniform, but there was no mistaking the large amount of it that had spilled.
Sarah Bane, the
greatest thief in the
“Weapon Chi!”
The assassin
turned at the sound of her name to see General Meyer walking over with
several
“I see the dampener I equipped you with to get around Bane’s hyper-senses worked like a charm,” he quipped as he stood beside Weapon Chi, also known as Elektra. “Now go after the rest and kill ‘em all.”
Without even a verbal acknowledgment, Elektra turned and broke into a run, disappearing into the shadows.
Sarah limply rolled onto her side, desperate not to choke on the blood she was coughing up. One lung had been punctured for sure, and her other was probably damaged also. It was a struggle just to breathe.
“There’s a storm brewing,” Meyer commented casually. “But with your keen sense of whatever, I’m sure you knew that, right?” He chuckled softly as he leaned down close to Sarah.
“You…stupid git…” she managed to mutter.
“So I’m the stupid one?” Meyer rhetorically asked, standing up. “You and your friends are the ones who decided it would be fun to take on the Byrons. SHIELD practically abandons you, you’ve been marked as terrorists, every agency worth a damn has your photos taped to their walls, and I’m the stupid one? You walked right into us.”
Sarah wanted to respond but she could only cough up more blood. Meyer shook his head as he pulled out his personal handgun from inside his large coat and pointed it at Sarah’s head.
“Don’t let anyone ever say I wasn’t humane,” Meyer said before squeezing the trigger.
The momentum of the bullet burrowing into her head caused Sarah to hit the ground hard, dead. Meyer turned to the small contingent of soldiers, slipping his weapon back into its holster.
“Fortify the area and put the rest of the troops on alert. We can’t let X-Force know of the existence of Project: Deeper Mountain.” THE TIES THAT BIND Written
by
David Golightly (script)
Peter Wisdom,
former agent of SHIELD, dove behind the limited cover of a stack of
metal crates. He knew swearing wouldn’t really help anything, but it
sure felt good.
“Sarah! Sarah,
come in!” he continued to yell into his communicator. Small
explosions and small weapons fire blanketed the surrounding terrain,
but he could hear the speaker on his communicator clearly. There was
no response.
The crates
shifted slightly as someone else dove behind them. Ready to deliver
a killing stroke, he turned, hot knives flaring to life in one hand,
and found himself face to face with his teammate, Marcus Raven. The
older man saw the energy knives out of the corner of his eye, but
didn’t react.
“Whoa there,
Pete,” Raven said. “It’s just me, here to back you up.”
Three quick
shots from the assault pistol that Raven had liberated from a Byron
agent tore through the air and plugged two of X-Force’s enemies. The
Byron lackeys went limp, making it that much easier for Raven to
give them a telekinetic shove, sending their bodies flying into
three more agents.
“Now then,”
Raven said in his rough voice, turning to face Wisdom. “What the
hell is going on? Was that Sarah I heard over the squawk-box? Ah
can’t hear her thoughts. And what’s wrong with
Lydia del Ruiz
lay next to Wisdom, curled up in the fetal position, rubbing her
temples and moaning in pain. She was breathing and appeared
physically unharmed. Metaphysically, however, was another story.
“I’m not sure,”
Wisdom replied. “She said something about a vision and that one of
us was going to die. Her head’s been pounding too much for her to be
of any use and now I can’t get Sarah on the blasted walkie!”
“One of those
days, eh?”
“Keep your
cynicism to yourself this time, Marcus,” Wisdom shot back. “We’re in
deep shit. Byrons are crawling all over, two of our own are down,
and Moira has a lot to answer for.”
Wisdom caught
sight of another Byron soldier making his way to the crates. He
fired five hot knives with deadly precision at the enemy, all of
them landing on their mark. One energy blade dug into each appendage
and the fifth cut deep into the center of the man’s chest.
“I already told
you she’s playing both sides,” said Raven.
“Still, we can’t
stay on the offensive like this. We need to regroup,” Wisdom
replied, then looked around and asked, “Where’s Maverick and Terry?”
“Maverick
charged head-on into a pile o’ Byrons over yonder,” Raven answered
as he nodded his head in the appropriate direction. “Last Ah saw
Terry she was--”
A piercing
scream engulfed the area, forcing the group of soldiers that the
attack was aimed at to drop their weapons and fall to their knees.
Terry Rourke, also known as the mutant Siryn, swung low through the
air and landed about thirty meters from
“Group chat
session,” Wisdom said as he readied another hot knife in one hand
and cupped
“Come again?”
Raven asked, raising a brow.
“Link us all up
in a psi-web, dammit!” Wisdom barked. “We need to coordinate better
or we’ll never get out from behind these bloody crates!”
Marcus Raven,
more nonchalant in a combat situation than some, picked off his
brimmed hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Replacing the hat,
Wisdom could see the concentration in his eyes as he forced the
mental connection between the four members of X-Force left standing.
There was no audible click as the connection was made, but it felt
like there was a passage opened inside each of their minds.
All right, good
Check
They each
recognized the psychic voice that they “heard” in their heads as
Maverick. The well-trained and well-experienced soldier had a voice
that was unmistakable. It was a powerful and forceful voice that
betrayed his age.
Okay. Sorry
about that,
Everyone, listen
up
Sure thing
No problem
En route to your
position
What makes you
think they’re detaining her?
Well
Let’s hope
you’re right,
Raven lifted the
psi-web just as Maverick burst through a large tent about two
hundred meters north of the rest of the team. Several troops went
flying from his explosive entrance and Maverick kept running, not
losing any momentum.
Maverick’s
entrance into the main fight distracted the rest of the soldiers
pinning the team down enough for Siryn to take to the sky once
again, her vocal folds vibrating at a superhuman rate. Sonic waves
poured over the soldiers, knocking them off balance as their
equilibrium was thrown off.
Marcus took
Pete, with one
last look down at the woman he hoped to marry, stood and ran to meet
the pace of Maverick, who was already headed toward where Sarah
Bane’s locator was telling them her body was.
“Tighten up your
formation,” hollered General Meyer across the room. “Weapon Chi’s
highly trained, but it’s still possible that one of those freaks might
slip past her. The experiment going on here is more important than any
mission that any of you have ever been apart of! No one gets in or out
of this building without my authorization!”
The armored
soldiers Meyer had been directing his comments to nodded in
acknowledgment. Several of them moved into standard defensive
positions facing the entry points of the facility, a few of them close
to Moira MacTaggert, who had just entered herself.
“Meyer, we need to
talk,” she said in her thick, Scottish accent. “Your goons escorting
me here is unnecessary.”
“For your safety,
doctor.”
“I’m more than
safe from X-Force. You’re the ones they’re after.”
“For my piece of
mind then,” Meyer said, motioning to the two soldiers walking on both
sides of Moira. “Take her over behind the--”
“Oh my lord!”
Moira called out suddenly, cutting Meyer off. She was close enough to
the blood trail to now make out what it was and follow it to the body
it was emanating from. “Is…is that Sarah Bane?”
“Yes, that was
Sarah Bane,” Meyer answered. “I assure you, she felt no pain.”
“But… ye… she
didn’t deserve to die!” Moira stammered. “You monster! You out number
them all by the dozens! You could have just detained her!”
“I admit her death
may seem a bit needless,” Meyer responded, “but if Weapon Chi fails in
her mission we must guarantee that X-Force doesn’t learn of
“You son of a
bitch,” Moira said, surprising herself in the anguish she felt. “Don’t
you realize what’s going to happen? Marcus Raven, X-Force’s telepath,
will find out she’s dead. That’s if he hasn’t already. Once he scans
for her mind and discovers she’s dead, he’ll tell Wisdom and Wisdom
won’t rest until your head is on his mantle!”
“He’s welcome to
give it a try.”
“Unbelievable,”
Moira said as she turned to leave. The tears beginning to form in her
eyes stopped her from noticing the arm of her escort halting her
progress and she bumped into it, surprised yet again.
“We need you here,
doctor.”
“You daft?” she
said. “Let me pass. This is my island.”
“The
“What do you need
me here for? This project wasn’t my work,” Moira insisted. “I barely
know how the equipment works, at that! Why am I needed here?”
General Meyer
didn’t answer her with words, but rather with a devious smile.
Wisps of smoke
wafted through the air and bits of rubble rained down to the ground.
Wisdom and Maverick stood in the newly made hole on the west side of
“Lovely
entrance,” Wisdom said.
“I love me some
explosives,” Maverick deadpanned.
“Sarah’s locator
says she’s in the area somewhere,” Wisdom stated. “Spread out and
move. Hold forma…oops, just a sec.”
Wisdom fired off
two hot knives that quickly imbedded themselves into the exposed
throat of a Byron soldier. Blood curdled in the agent’s esophagus
before spilling out of his mouth. Shots rang out from behind the
dead soldier as more troops piled into the large room that the
X-Force members had just blown into.
“Screw the
formation,” said Maverick, cocking his weapon. “Let’s kick some
ass.”
Ammunition
poured out of Maverick’s gun, blasting through crates, body armor,
and flesh. He ran forward and leapt onto a table full of computer
equipment. It didn’t matter to him how expensive any of it cost as
he kicked the equipment off the table, launching a piece of it into
the face of a Byron soldier. That same soldier quickly received
something else in his face: a bullet from Maverick’s gun.
“Or we could do
that,” Wisdom said, sheepishly.
Maverick
squatted on the table and sprung up into the air, catapulting him
over the heads of three more soldiers. His weapons tore them apart
easily as he volleyed over them and landed on his feet, steady as a
rock.
Wisdom picked up
a stray handgun that had scattered across the floor to his feet.
Bullets began to ricochet all around him as the soldiers decided to
take him down before he could act. Wisdom’s SHIELD training kicked
in and he began moving on pure instinct. Running low to the ground,
he aimed his weapon with precision at the forehead of one of the
soldiers trying to gun him down. One shot was all it took to
splatter brains on the wall.
The rogue
operative found a small amount of cover behind a support pillar as
the opposition strafed their fire just behind his heels. Chunks of
the pillar started to crumble away as the bullets chipped away at
it. Checking his supply of ammunition, Wisdom guessed he had just
enough to take the snipers out, but it would be close.
The bullets
paused briefly, as the soldiers tried to quickly reload. Wisdom
seized the opportunity and swung out from behind the pillar,
charging at the soldiers with everything he had. He fired shots as
he ran toward them, some slamming into their body armor, others
piercing their skulls. He took down three out of the four he was
targeting by the time he got within ten meters of their position. He
aimed and squeezed the trigger at the last Byron agent, but nothing
happened. He was empty.
“Heh,” the agent
chuckled as he leveled his reloaded weapon at Wisdom. “What a time
to run dry.”
“I’m never dry,”
shot back Wisdom. His other hand seemingly slapped the air in front
of him and the soldier’s eyes went white. He went limp and slouched
down, a hot knife beginning to cool off in his throat.
“Working on your
one-liners?” asked Maverick.
Wisdom whipped
around to see his teammate standing in front of a pile of either
unconscious or dead soldiers, he couldn’t tell which at this
distance. He estimated at least seven of them.
“You can give me
pointers when this is all over,” Wisdom replied.
Maverick smirked
and let go of a soldier he had been holding onto, who then fell on
top of the pile. Wisdom raised his communicator to his face and
motioned for Maverick to come over. The dark concrete reverberated
the noise of Maverick’s boots as he lumbered over.
“Siryn! We’ve
got things covered in here so far. What’s it like outside?”
{{ We’ve taken
out and driven off just about all of them bastards, Petey, }}
Siryn’s voice said over the electronic connection. {{ Raven’s still
with
“Thanks, Terry,”
said Wisdom. “Raven? You there?”
{{ Yep, }} said
Marcus Raven. {{ Only took a few minutes to snap Lydiaout of her
trance. She’s fine, albeit a bit woozy. We’ll be right on top of you
soon. }}
“He pick up
anything else on Sarah?” Maverick asked, the concern in his voice
showing.
“Any word on
Sarah, Marcus?” Wisdom regurgitated.
{{ Hold on, I’ll
scan. }}
“Well?” Wisdom
asked impatiently after a few moments of waiting.
{{ She is… well,
this can’t be right. }}
“What is it?”
{{ Her mind… Ah
can feel it, but it’s different. Like it’s not on this plane of
existence anymore. She’s around here somewhere, but not in the
physical sense. It’s like she’s dead, but she’s not dead. I can feel
her lingering – OW! Oh, goddammit!}}
Wisdom and
Maverick shared a brief second of eye contact, confusion and worry
spread across both of their faces.
“Raven? Marcus!
Are you still there?”
{{ …yeah. Ah’m
here. Shit, that was not fun. }}
“What the hell
just happened? Are you okay?”
{{ I got a quick
uppercut to my psyche, that’s what happened, }} Marcus retorted. {{
Ah think it was Moira. She’s in a ton of pain; more than she’s ever
felt before. She’s no telepath, so her thoughts are getting
amplified somehow. Jesus, that hurt. }}
“Where is she?”
{{ Not far from
you. Other side of the building, I’m guessing. }}
“Fine,” Wisdom
spat out, anger building up inside him. “Mav and I are moving out.
Head for Moira. We’re going to nail these bastards to the wall.”
Wisdom
reattached the communicator to his belt and signaled for Maverick to
follow him. The two turned and started to run deeper into the
complex, but searing pain quickly seized Wisdom’s right leg, causing
him to falter in his stride and collapse to the ground.
Maverick shifted
his weight so he turned right back around and could see what was
happening. Wisdom was down on one knee, a gash in his leg. The cut
looked deep. The highly trained soldier who had been through several
wars, both public and secret ones, did not like what he saw. It put
more than a slight fear in his soul. Resting at Wisdom’s feet was
the cause of his wound: a long, metal sai.
The leader of
X-Force summoned two hot knives to fire at his assailant, but
another sai sliced into his arm, now imbedded in his flesh. The
white hot energy died suddenly and Wisdom cried out in pain.
Maverick ran
back and jumped in front of his partner, using himself as a human
shield. He leveled his gun at the attacker, Weapon Chi. Maverick
squeezed off a couple shots, but missed. Elektra dodged the attack
easily, moving like water in a series of fluid, yet complex,
motions. In mere seconds the assassin was in front of Maverick.
Jesus, she’s
fast,
thought Maverick. Have to kick it up a notch here. She keeps
moving like that and it won’t matter how much of an impact I can
absorb.
Maverick tried
to use the butt of his weapon like a club, but Elektra was too quick
for him. She backhanded his fist away and followed through the
motion, using the momentum to land a kick to his head.
Both X-Force
members were down on their knees and Weapon Chi was just getting
started. Her eyes were emotionless and in that moment the two knew
that there would be no reasoning with her...
Whelp, that’s X-Force #7, the first issue in the final stretch for this book. There’s quite a bit of history that’s gone into this issue coming out, most of which is public knowledge. It’s hard for a writer to leave a book behind, especially a book like X-Force. David Wheatley made the decision he felt he had to and as a result, left behind a pack of characters he obviously felt close to. Cory and I have put a lot of work into wrapping Wheatley’s run on X-Force and we’ve also become fond of these characters. Hopefully, someone will see fit to rescue them from Limbo once we finish up X-Force. Anyways, I’ve been having a great time scripting Cory’s plots. I’m American, so I’m trying not to make everyone sound like me. The English characters talk the way real English people do, and Terry and Moira sort of have a dialect thing going, too… at least that’s what I intended. Who knows? It may not have come across like I had hoped, but it sure was fun trying. Am I rambling? Hah, anyway… Hope you enjoyed the issue. I loved writing it.
-D. Golightly
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