Magda Square
Genosha
One Month Earlier

Shinobi Shaw stumbled into the hotel room as he followed the young woman inside. The clothes she wore left little to the imagination—a skirt that would reveal everything if she bent over in the slightest and a top secured by nothing more than a strap around her neck.

He clumsily wrapped his hands around her waist and began kissing her neck. The woman made no effort to disguise the disgust on her face. She pulled away and the smile reappeared.

“Hold on, baby—I've got a surprise for you,” she said.

“A surprise, huh?” asked Shaw. “I like surprises.”

“Then you'll love this one,” she said with a grin. She gently ran a finger up his chest and under his chin as she backed away. “Don't go anywhere, I'll be back in a flash.”

“Don't take too long, baby,” said Shaw. The girl winked at him and Shinobi smiled. A massive hand suddenly wrapped around his mouth and he was pulled back forcefully, his head striking the broad chest of a man who was almost twice his size. Shinobi could feel hot breath on his neck and he glanced down, noticing the razor-sharp claws on the hairy fingertips of his captor.

“Do you want me, baby?” asked Victor Creed in a low growl.

Shinobi activated his mutant power, phasing through Sabretooth's hand and he turned around to face the vicious killer. “You really think that will work on me, Sabretooth?”

“No, but this might,” said a voice in his head. Shinobi lost control of his body and his limbs froze, his body solidifying.

The woman circled back around, her skin changing to an indigo tone, her blond hair becoming crimson and her eyes were bright yellow. “Mystique... what the hell are you doing?” asked Shaw.

“I'm the one asking the questions here,” said Mystique. “Right now, there are two people sharing your body. One, I'm sad to say, is you. The other is Prudence Leighton. She has the ability to jump between bodies and take over them. That's why your powers won't work—she's not allowing them.”

“Can I start playin' doctor?” asked Sabretooth.

“Down, Victor,” said Mystique. “I get to go first.”

“What is this, good cop, bad cop?” asked Shaw.

“Not quite,” said Mystique. “This is terrorist and sociopath. One will torture and kill you, the other will torture, maim, and possibly eat you.”

Sabretooth leaned closer to Mystique and whispered in her ear. “Hey, can you lay off the whole Hannibal Lecter thing? I ain't like that anymore. Human meat... it don't taste that good.”

Mystique shot Creed a glare. “Will you shut up? Intimidation doesn't work so well if we don't present a united front.”

“Just sayin'... I'll torture him an' I'll do it for hours—days if you like,” said Sabretooth. “But cannibalism? That's crossing a line.”

“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I liked you better when you were insane,” said Mystique. She stepped closer to Shinobi. “Okay Shaw, here's the deal—you're going to tell us everything you know about the tech you've been moving on the black market. And in return, we won't tell Magneto about your extracurricular activities.”

If Shinobi Shaw could control his facial muscles, a look of abject surprise would be all over his visage. “What are you talking about, Darkholme?”

“The Sentinel technology you've been moving on the black market,” said Mystique.

“You're insane, Shaw Industries isn't involved in that anymore,” said Shinobi.

“Yeah right, an' I'm Britney Spears,” said Creed.

“A skirt would definitely enhance some of your features,” said Shaw.

Creed advanced on him, grabbing Shinobi by the collar of his shirt and pulling him close. “You really wanna test me, rich boy?”

“I'm telling you the truth!” said Shaw. “I have no idea what you're talking about! I've never sold any Sentinel tech! One of the first things I did after my father died was discontinue Sentinel production!”

“What about the stockpiles?” asked Mystique.

“Locked up in a warehouse, I don't know,” said Shaw.

“Then maybe you can tell us why Tessa, Astra and HFC guards were moving it through Port Victoria?”

“Tessa?” asked Shaw. He started to laugh. “Tessa's dead, Raven.”

“Not anymore.”

“...no, you're wrong,” said Shaw. “Look, if Tessa somehow survived Cable's rampage, I haven't heard anything about it. But I'm telling you, I have nothing to do with any of this.”

“Prudence, what do you think?” asked Mystique.

Shinobi spoke again, but this time Prudence was controlling what he said. “He's telling the truth, Mystique. He really doesn't know anything about this.”

“Then we've got bigger problems,” said Mystique. “Come on, we have to get moving.”

Marvel 2000 Proudly Presents

ASK DNA
Part Five

By Dino Pollard

SHIELD Office of Internal Affairs
New York City

A message box appeared on Agent Abigail Brand's computer monitor. The return path was encrypted, so she ran it through the usual filters and scans and they determined the message was safe.

Brand opened the message and there was a file labeled INTERPOL. The image was of a Thai man and the status read as undercover. “What the hell is this?” asked Brand.

Another file was attached to the message. This was a video recording. Suran was tied up as a man dressed from head-to-toe in black leather beat down on him. The scene changed until it was just Suran and one man who wore a white dress shirt and black slacks. “Image recognition, identify all subjects in this file,” she said.

The computer responded to her vocal command. Within a few moments, five SHIELD files appeared on her screen.

[IDENT: David North. KNOWN ALIASES: Maverick, Christoph Nord. STATUS: Agent. UPDATES: Currently inactive, whereabouts unknown.]

[IDENT: Sean Watanabe. KNOWN ALIASES: Brass. STATUS: Agent. UPDATES: Currently inactive, whereabouts unknown.]

[IDENT: Sooraya Qadar. KNOWN ALIASES: Dust. STATUS: Fugitive. UPDATES: Incarcerated.]

[IDENT: Brandon (NO KNOWN LAST NAME). KNOWN ALIASES: Weapon X. STATUS: Civilian, vigilante. UPDATES: Last seen with Mutant Underground Support Engine, whereabouts unknown.]

[IDENT: Peter Wisdom. KNOWN ALIASES: See attached file. STATUS: Agent. UPDATES: Currently on bereavement leave, whereabouts unknown.]

“X-Force is gone, huh Fury?” asked Brand. She picked up her phone. “This is Agent Brand. Get me Interpol immediately.”

As she waited for the connection, she checked the return path again and tried to decrypt it. The computer returned no results. “High-level encryption...” she muttered. “Well, whoever you are, you've got access to some heavy tech.”

Siberia, Russia

{We in place?}

“Just about,” said Maverick into his ear piece.

{Good, let's bring on the noise,} said Wisdom.

Maverick hefted the rocket launcher, catching the gulag in his sights. Dust watched him curiously.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

“I've got an old friend who lives in the area, he let me borrow it,” said Maverick. “Actually, I assume I can keep it. He still owes me for a poker game.”

North pulled the trigger and the rocket fired, shooting towards the side of the gulag. It blew a hole in the building and he readied himself for another shot.

“Get moving,” he said.

Dust changed her form into sand and blew towards the flames as Maverick fired another rocket. With no more left, he threw the launcher to the ground and drew a pair of Glocks, making his way down to what would be a battle as well.

{You're up, Brass.}

“Roger that,” said Brass. He looked at Weapon X, who sat beside him in the jeep. “You ready?”

His teammate simply nodded and Brass turned his attention back to the road. “Good, then let's get this over with.”

Brass stepped on the gas pedal, the car accelerating faster. Both he and Weapon X removed their seatbelts and wrapped their fingers around the door handles. As they approached closer and closer, they began to get anxious.

“Wait for it...” said Brass.

Guards started to emerge from the hole Maverick created and Brass and Weapon X leaped from the vehicle just as the jeep collided with them. The two men both tucked and rolled on the ground and sprung up. Brass reached behind his back, drawing a katana blade. His other hand drew an uzi and he went to work, firing and slashing at the guards as they approached. He activated his psionic abilities, masking his presence from the guards, effectively making him invisible as he moved through them.

Although he was able to do the same, the masked assassin chose a more direct route. Weapon X's forcefield instantly surrounded his body. It extended as a lance, spearing three guards caught in its wake, then flattened to a large ax he could swing.

Sand swirled around and worked its way on the guards as well, burrowing into their uniforms, cutting their skin. Dust's own contribution to the fight.

Maverick came into the battle behind the others, unloading with both Glocks on the guards.

{You got the distraction handled?}

“I think they're sending most of their firepower after us, you should be golden,” said Maverick.

“Good,” said Wisdom as he moved through the air ducts. “Weapon X, get me the info I need.”

The response came as Weapon X downloaded the layout of the gulag from the various guards and them uploaded that information to Wisdom's brain. “Good work,” he said.

Wisdom moved carefully through, now knowing the entire layout as if he had spent the past several years walking it himself. However, walking through the corridors and crawling through the air ducts were two different things, so it still proved somewhat challenging.

Wisdom turned at several junctions before he found himself above a laboratory. Seated in a wheelchair before a monitor was his target, a man with reptilian skin and glowing, yellow eyes. Wisdom's index finger grew longer, forming a point with the tip burning hotly. He used his finger as a cutting torch to open the vent and he dropped down behind his prey.

“Niles Roman, I presume,” said Wisdom.

“You must be Peter Wisdom,” said Roman, turning to face the mutant spy. “I've heard a lot about you. And you've been causing me some difficulty lately.”

“It's what I do best, mate,” said Wisdom. “We're shutting you down.”

“Isn't that nice,” said Roman. He turned his chair and faced the monitor again. Wisdom was taken aback by Roman's nonchalance.

“Hey... weren't you listening?” asked Wisdom. “I said I'm shutting you down.”

“I know, I heard you,” said Roman. “Now let's see... if I can get this out in time... tell me, what do you know about bribing customs officers in Japan? More or less expensive than America?”

Wisdom came closer, a hot knife resting by the side of Roman's neck. “Usually, this is the point where the bad guy starts to piss himself. But you're not doing that, which is really throwing me off my game.”

“I'm not doing that because I don't care to fight you, Mr. Wisdom,” said Roman. “And your idle threats mean nothing to me. You've already signed your own death warrant.”

“Just what the hell are you talking about?” asked Wisdom.

“The organ harvesting, the Sentinel technology... it's all connected, you see,” said Roman. “But you didn't see those threads, did you? Nor could you see the puppet master controlling it all.”

“The bloody hell are you talking about?”

“Go ahead and kill me if it makes you feel like a big hero, but it won't stop my research,” said Roman. “I'm just a cog in the machine, and the gears have been turning for years now. And with our new benefactor, we've been able to move the project into high gear.”

Roman looked over shoulder, offering a sly grin. “Did you really think you caught us by surprise, Wisdom? We've been onto you since Myanmar. We knew X-Force was back in operation and we know all about your little deal with Fury. It's one that you will both live to regret.

“You see, you had it all wrong. You thought we were Cold War relics, moving into the black market. But the truth is that we're not. Not anymore. We're larger than you, Wisdom. Even if you tried to bring the full might of SHIELD down on us, it wouldn't work—we're far too well-connected. The demise of the Byron Agency has left the field of weapons development wide open, including the development of advanced infantry.”

“Advanced infantry?” asked Wisdom.

“Utilizing Sentinel technology, mutant organ harvesting, they're all for the express purpose of creating advanced super soldiers, far greater than Erksine could ever dreamed,” said Roman. “We find mutants in countries where the laws are lax, harvest them and use them as research subjects.”

“You've just come back into the cold, Mr. Wisdom,” said Roman. “And here we don't take lightly to trespassers.”

{Pete... I know you said we need radio silence, but we've got a problem.}

“Not now, Mav,” said Wisdom.

{No, now—}

Maverick's message was scrambled and Wisdom heard white noise. “Maverick? Mav? What's going on out there?”

A different voice responded, a feminine voice that Wisdom had never heard before today.

{Peter Wisdom, this is Agent Abigail Brand of SHIELD Internal Affairs. We have the compound surrounded. You and your operatives are under arrest for a laundry list of offenses.}

“Welcome to the future, Pete,” said Roman.

NEXT: Cold War