HELLIONS v2

Written by Kostmeyer
Created by Pharoah

ISSUE 14
"Amphibious Assault"

This story features HELLIONS and related characters, which are characters of Pharoah.
The X-men, and the Hellfire Club are trademarks of Marvel comics. This is an unauthorized work and no profit is being made on this work.
This work is © Kostmeyer 2007. Please do not archive without permission of creator.

FOR NEW READERS...

Following the defeat of the Horde's demon invasion of Earth, the Hellions have returned to their former headquarters, the Massachusetts Academy, under the watchful eyes of Quill and the White Queen. The Hellions were instrumental in defeating the Horde, but the victory came at a high price - one of their team-mates - Shade - is missing in action.


Warren Worthington IV turned gracefully in the air as he reached the apex of his climbing arc, then he folded his psionic wings back and dived, puncturing the cloud cover - the ground racing up to meet him. At the last possible moment he spread his wings and levelled out, inches above the tree tops, simultaneously sending a barrage of telepathic flechettes streaking from his wingtips. Lamprey saw him coming and vaulted away, twisting between the deadly darts and hurling her net skywards to entangle the leader of Neo-X as he passed. A little way off in the distance, her team-mate Teryn was fighting two other members of Psihawk's team, on the edge of a forest clearing. Gillian DaCosta sent an avalanche of earth and boulders crashing towards Anodyne and Trump. Anodyne back-flipped away, while Trump took the offensive, leaping across the plummeting boulders and using them as stepping stones to get closer to the Hellion.

"Have to do better than that, cherie!" Trump smiled, landing beside the astonished Teryn.

"Smug, conceited, self-absorbed..." mercifully the rest of Gillian DaCosta's insult was lost, the sound of her voice drowned out by a deafening roar. Summoned by the Hellion a gigantic spur of granite exploded out of the earth beneath Trump, sending him sprawling. Shaken, Cody LeBeau looked up as the shadow of the toppling monolith fell across him.

Alloy burst out of the tree-line and shattered the rock with a thunderous right hook. Fragments of granite exploded across the clearing, forcing Gillian to throw herself flat to avoid them.

"It's OK Gill! I'm coming!" Scott Hensley, the Hellions' Minotaur, emerged from the other side of the clearing, lowered his horned head and charged at Alloy.

The doors to the Observation Deck hissed open and Krystil Frost, White Queen of the Hellfire Club entered. Quill, the Hellions instructor, looked up from the controls and indicated towards the holographic battlefield beneath them. The Hellions called this training facility 'The Killing Zone'; an environment in which they could test their abilities against robotic obstacles and computer generated holograms which could mimic the skills and powers of their future opponents - In this case, Neo-X, the current heirs to the estate of the late Professor Charles Xavier. Frost smiled with evident satisfaction.

"The new Killing Zone is very impressive." She said, leaning towards the viewing window to get a better look. "You'd almost believe that it's really Neo-X down there."

"Yes." Quill said, watching as Alloy shrugged off Minotaur's attack. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"What do you mean?"

"I chose this session for a reason." Quill said, panning the remote cameras around to get a better view of the battle. Lamprey had brought down Psihawk, stunning the ensnared mutant with a bio-electric shock, but before she delivered the killing blow a magical attack from Transit blasted her away from her intended prey. "I deliberately set them against Neo-X." Quill continued. "I was worried that something like this might be happening."

Quill manoeuvred the cameras again to make her point. Touch had joined the melee in the clearing and was using his tactile telekinesis to hurl debris towards Valence, who was able to render the missiles harmless by making them intangible.

"They're holding back." The White Queen observed.

"Exactly." Quill nodded. "It's an unconscious reaction for sure - but they're not fighting at their full potential - especially Scotty." Minotaur was again trying to match his strength against Alloy, and was coming off second best. Without aggression - without fury - he didn't measure up. Alloy swatted the Hellion aside with a backhand slap.

"They fought side by side with Neo at Wundagore. They saved the world with them. They're rivals still, but I don't think they consider each other as enemies any more."

"I see." Krystil said slowly. "Yes, I think we'll have to do something about that. Thank you Cassie." Frost leaned across the control consol and activated the microphone. "OK Hellions," she announced over the Killing Zone's loudspeakers. "Training is over for today. Shower and be in the Debriefing Room in thirty minutes - I have a mission for you."

"About time." Gillian DaCosta grinned as their holographic opponents disintegrated around them.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the Hellions filed into the circular briefing room and took up their places around the central table. The White Queen was already present, sitting on the opposite side of the table. Quill, now wearing her uniform, was standing at her shoulder.

"Listen carefully Hellions." Frost began. "During the invasion, my..." her voice dripped with sarcasm, "... loving husband, the Black King overplayed his hand somewhat and revealed the existence of a number of illegal Sentinel weapons systems in an attempt to blackmail President Wilson into stepping down in his favour."

Minotaur whistled noisily and exchanged glances with Touch and even Teryn appeared surprised. No-one could say that the Black King lacked ambition.

"Unfortunately," Frost continued, "the plan didn't quite work out and my dear 'Berto was forced to order the removal of the Sentinels and the destruction of the launch silos before the authorities could discover them. Any physical evidence which might implicate The Club had to be destroyed."

"So what's the problem?" Teryn asked. On cue, the room lights dimmed and the holo-projector built into the centre of the table hummed into life. The image of a dark haired woman in a white outfit materialised in the air between them.

"She is." Frost said. "This is Isabella Amari, an arms dealer who we have worked with on several occasions in the past."

"I know her." Teryn interrupted. "She's one of the crowd I used to hang with in Monte Carlo - has more money than Africa."

"Yes, well the Black King tasked her with destroying one of our launch silos that contained thirty of the smaller Paladin class Sentinel units," Frost continued, as the image of the humanoid robot replaced that of Amari, "However, our intel suggests that she only pretended to do so, and that she has arranged a meeting on her yacht tonight to sell the Sentinels to an as yet unidentified buyer. Your task, Hellions, is to ensure that these weapons are destroyed so that they can never fall into the hands of the U.S. government. And of course you have to bring Amari in for..."

"Retribution." Quill suggested.

"Retribution." Frost repeated with a smile.

"Shouldn't be a problem!" Minotaur said, cracking his knuckles.

"Don't be so sure." Quill said, wagging a finger in Scotty's direction. "Amari has a private army on that boat and it's strongly suspected that she's employed super-humans among them - possibly some of the old Diablo gang. Even if that isn't the case, none of you are bullet proof. We do this properly and don't make any mistakes - is that clear?"

"Yes Miss Morell!" Scotty grinned awkwardly.

"Quill will brief you further in the shuttle as to the specific plan of attack." Frost smiled, turning off the holo-projector. As the lights came up in the room, she noticed that there was hesitation in the faces of some of the team. "Is there a problem Hellions?" she said sternly. "You have a mission to complete."

"The only mission we're really interested in is finding Paris. He could be hurt. He needs us!" Damien said. Minotaur and Lamprey nodded in agreement.

"We all want to know what happened to Shade." Krystil said. "But you have to face facts - we have no way of reaching the Darkforce Dimension without him. Paris was the only mutant alive who could do it, and the only other way is through magic. After Wundagore, sorcerers are in short supply."

"So we do nothing?"

"Of course not. Trust me Scotty, I'm working on it. As soon as I learn anything, you'll be the first to know."

Quill walked out towards the shuttle hanger, followed by the Hellions - except one.

"Something the matter Gillian?" Frost said, raising an eyebrow.

"You could say that Frosty." Teryn said, deliberately using a name she knew the other woman hated. "I haven't said anything to the others yet but we both know that there's another reason why we haven't gone racing off to rescue Paris, isn't there."

Frost got up. "I take it you're referring to..."

"I'm referring to the fact that little Lleander Neramani, Charles Xavier's own son, told us that Paris has been holidaying at the X-Mansion. I'm referring to the fact that our friend Shade is really a Neo-X spy."

"And you'd know all about being a spy, wouldn't you Gillian." Frost said. "How many reports have you sent back to the Black King now? Is it seven or eight?"

"Nine." Teryn said. "I'll see you when we get back, Frosty."

* * *

An hour later, and the Hellions shuttlecraft gently descended onto a small island off the coast of Canada, a barren rocky outcrop that was unoccupied except for a colony of gulls. The birds had no desire to share their home, and wheeled overhead screeching with indignation as the rear hatch of the craft opened with a pneumatic hiss.

"We have about two hours until sunset Hellions!" Quill said, leading the way out of the craft. Beneath them, the North Atlantic pounded against the cliffs. In the distance, a small red light drifted on the fog-shrouded horizon, the only visible sign of Amari's yacht, moored and waiting for the rendezvous.

"What a God-forsaken place this is." Teryn said, snuggling into the voluminous fur coat that she had wrapped around her uniform.

"Jeez, Gill is that real fur?" Minotaur realised, with revulsion.

"What's the matter Rawhide? Recognise a relative?" Gillian stuck her tongue out at him, then returned to complaining. "Why on Earth would someone arrange to do a deal here? There's nothing for miles around."

"I guess they don't want to be interrupted." Minotaur noted. "Do we even know who the buyer is, Miss Morell?"

Quill, who was setting up a surveillance post at the top of the cliffs, stopped long enough to shake her head. "No, which is another reason why we go in quiet, and as soon as it gets dark. Stick to the plan and we'll have Amari and the Sentinels before the buyer arrives."

Damien Morgan wandered a little further away along the cliff edge. He wished that they didn't have to wait - especially here, where there was nothing to keep his mind from the tiny phial of Zen that he still had in his pocket. He looked about him, realised that he was out of sight of the others, and then drew the tiny capsule of blue liquid from its hiding place. For a few seconds he felt its weight in his hand. Then he hurled it out to sea. The wind caught it as it fell and drove the capsule back against the rocks, shattering it forever. Damien exhaled. If he had hoped the theatrical gesture would be an act of catharsis, he was mistaken. He wanted it even more now.

"Nothing's easy." He said, turning away. "Nothing's easy."

He didn't feel like company, and so continued along the cliff a little further. The wind was a raging force and he had to stop several times and cling to the rocks for support. Suddenly, ahead of him, he saw Lamprey. At first he was worried that the girl might have seen him with the Zen, but she was facing away from him, standing at the very edge of a rocky outcrop, as close as she could get to the ocean. As Damien watched, a wave struck the base of the cliff and an explosion of white spray swallowed her up, completely drenching her. Lamprey raised her arms and laughed.

"Come back!" Damien shouted. "You'll be killed!" Another wave sent more spray cascading across the rocks. It was no good, she couldn't hear him. Carefully, he edged closer. Lamprey saw him coming and grinned.

"It's incredible!"

"What is?" Damien was having to shout above the gale

"The sea!" Lamprey laughed, as another grey wave battered into the rock, showering them with foam. "Can you feel it? It just makes you want to dive in and swim and swim and swim forever!"

* * *

Isabella Amari's white uniformed guards patrolled the decks of her luxury yacht with more than their usual vigilance that night. Every man was on duty, ready for anything. Usually Amari auctioned her illegal armaments to an invited clientele of criminals, usually while hosting extravagant parties off the French Riviera or San Marino. This was very different. Not only were they hundreds of miles from their usual haunts, but there was no party - no auction - only one buyer would be attending. They didn't need to be told - they knew - get this right, and the rewards would be great. Get it wrong...

"Time to check in." the guard on the lower deck reminded his companion, who had a small radio microphone attached to his gun harness. As the second guard reported in, neither noticed a small metallic object levitate above the rail and hang suspended in the air behind the guard as he spoke: "Team Three: Kowalski and Gowan. All clear."

As soon as the guard finished speaking, the tiny metal object descended, back the way it had come - but as the yacht rolled suddenly the floating object struck the rail, with a sharp metallic ring. Both guards turned instantly.

"What was that?"

"I don't know - I thought I saw..."

The two men reached the rail as the tiny object vanished from sight, and two huge arms covered in brown fur reached up for them, seized them by the heads and brought them sharply together with a dull crack. The two guards slithered unconscious to the floor and Minotaur clambered aboard.

"Good work you two." Teryn whispered as Minotaur lifted her over the rail. "Did you get the recording?"

"Timer is set to two minute intervals." Damien Morgan answered, positioning the tiny recording device he had levitated beside the unconscious guard's microphone.

The Hellions had crossed from the distant cliffside as soon as night fell, riding small hovering platforms which had dangerously skimmed over the churning surface of the ocean. Quill had taken the shuttlecraft up once more and now circled high over the yacht, invisible behind the shuttle's cloaking screens, monitoring the situation from above.

"OK, you all know the plan." Teryn smiled, as Lamprey joined them on the deck. "Let's go!" she held up her hand as Minotaur started forwards. "Not you, Rawhide. Wait here."

"You might need me!" Scotty said.

"Then we'll call." Gillian patted him on the arm. "You have to admit you're not exactly stealthy."

Quill's careful surveillance paid off and the three remaining Hellions were able to ascend several decks completely avoiding the patrolling guards. Finally, they arrived at a good vantage point, overlooking the main deck, where the sheer number of armed soldiers indicated that the deal would be taking place.

"I don't see the Sentinels." Lamprey whispered.

"They're probably in the hold." Teryn said. "According to the schematics Quill had there's a hydraulic lift that comes up right through the middle of the floor back there." She indicated towards a large cabin that butted onto the upper deck. As she did so, the doors swung open and Isabella Amari emerged, her sleek black hair standing out in stark contrast to her gleaming white outfit. One of the guards immediately scurried to her side to make his report. Gillian smiled. They didn't suspect a thing. "OK, Hellions," she whispered, "Get ready..."

"Wait! Look!"

The guards at the far end of the deck parted and a tall man stepped forwards, his features completely obscured by the hooded blue robe that he wore.

"Is that the buyer?" Damien wondered. "Surely we'd have heard him arrive - How'd he get here?"

"No aircraft or boats within forty miles." Quill's voice added through their earpieces.

"Quiet!" hissed Teryn. "Maybe we can hear what they're saying!"

The stranger advanced to greet Amari. He moved awkwardly, as if he wasn't used to walking, placing each footstep with slow, deliberate care. He seemed strangely proportioned somehow - human-like but not quite...

"What can you hear?" Teryn whispered to Lamprey, knowing the other girl's hearing was far superior to her own.

"His voice is... strange." Lamprey said, distantly.

"That's a big help." Teryn said, rolling her eyes. "Right - we go now, before anyone else shows up. I'll take Amari. Damien, you tackle the guards, Scotty can come help you. Lamprey, you get the new arrival. Quick and brutal, people! Don't give them time to think. Go!"

As one, the three Hellions lunged over the rail. Lamprey cannoned into a trio of guards, shocking them into unconsciousness with her bio-electric sting before they were even aware of her. Damien landed a few seconds later, brushed his hands over prone guards and then sent them catapulting into their comrades with a burst of his tactile telekinesis. Lamprey was moving again, vaulting over the sprawling mass of bodies towards the blue robed stranger, who seemed rooted to the spot in surprise. Amari, reacting more quickly, headed for the cabin, escorted by a trio of guards.

"Oh no you don't." Gillian said, skirting around the melee and following.

The startled guards were well trained, but the ferocity of the Hellions sudden assault had caught them by surprise. The surprise was compounded by Minotaur, who burst up through the floor behind them just as they were bringing their weapons to bear on Damien and Lamprey. Lamprey was enjoying herself, acrobatically evading the guards and slicing to the left and right with her razor sharp arm fins as she closed the gap between herself and the stranger, who seemed to have finally realised what was happening and was backing away towards the rail. Damien hesitated. Where did the stranger think he was going? There was no escape that way - only the icy cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Watch yourself Damien! He almost had you!" Scotty's voice snapped him back to reality. A guard had had him in his sights, but Minotaur had seen the danger and crumpled the gun barrel between his fingers. The guard wisely surrendered. "These guys aren't much trouble. Go help Gill! We can manage here." Scotty grinned.

* * *

Teryn quietly slid open the door to the cabin. It was a vast room, almost as large as the Main Hall of the Hellfire Club's Manhattan Brownstone. The Hellion whistled with appreciation.

"I'm going to have to get my brother to buy me one of these." She said.

"Gillian DaCosta." Amari said. The arms dealer was standing at the top of a small flight of stairs on the far side of the room which led up to her personal apartments. "Still running around for the Hellfire Club I see. What does the Inner Circle want with me?"

"Like you don't know." Teryn said. "The distraction thing won't work, Amari. I can see your goons over there in the shadows. Come on out boys, quicker I beat you, the quicker you get to an emergency room."

Amari laughed. "Always so witty. Why did you stop coming to the parties on the CÙte d'Azure? Oh, yes, I remember - no-one invited you." The three guards took up position, ready to attack. Suddenly the first, a huge, heavily muscled figure with enhanced strength, lunged at the Hellion, who stepped aside. Her assailant overbalanced and crashed into the bar. "In all seriousness Gillian," Amari went on "you do realise that there's no earth around here for your mutant powers to control, don't you?"

"Don't need powers to deal with these bozos." Gillian said, landing a high kick against the jaw of the second assailant. "If they were any good they wouldn't be working for you."

The big man was back on his feet and Teryn barely evaded a roundhouse punch that would have decapitated her if it had made contact.

"Physical exertion is so undignified." Amari observed, as Gillian scrambled away. "And that costume makes you look fat."

"Your fat makes you look fat." Gillian said. The second guard had circled around behind her, cutting off her escape. "Wonder what your power is." Gillian said. Suddenly she ducked, and the super-strong guard's punch whistled over her head and shattered the skull of the second man. Teryn laughed. "Now we'll never know."

"Smooth moves." The third guard started to pull of his gloves, revealing long tapering fingers almost as pale as the outfit he wore. "Think you're ready for the main event?"

"Sounds as though I'm just in time." Damien said, stepping through the sliding doors.

* * *

On the main deck, most of the guards concentrated their efforts on stopping the rampaging Minotaur, which enabled Lamprey to make up ground on the blue-cloaked stranger. Just as she reached him, he slid back over the rail and dropped to the next deck, landing heavily with a clang of metal barely muffled by his bulky robes. As she watched he scrambled to his feet and lurched across the walkway towards the next rail. The Hellion vaulted the railing and dropped, landing on the fleeing stranger's back and slamming him to the floor.

"Let's have a look at you!" Lamprey grabbed the robes in her fists and heaved, turning the man over. Stunned, he didn't resist, although she was surprised by how much he weighed - clearly he was wearing some sort of armour. She dropped him - now face up and pulled back the hood that had obscured his face.

* * *

Teryn left Damien to deal with the two remaining guards and leapt up the staircase after Amari, who turned and fled back into her room, locking the door behind her.

"A locked door won't stop me, Isabella!" Teryn shouted, slamming her shoulder against the door.

"No, but it will slow you down just long enough..." the door gave way at the second charge and Gillian fell sprawling into the room, "...for me to make my getaway." Amari finished. The arms dealer had pulled on a rocket pack over her uniform and was just fastening the last few buckles.

"Can't take off in here." Teryn said. "And you aren't going to get past me."

"Is that so?" Suddenly, on cue, Damien started to scream in the room below. Teryn didn't move - keeping her eyes focused on Amari, but the eyes betrayed her.

"You want to help him, don't you Gillian. You want to know what's happening - but you know that as soon as you turn your back on me, I'll get away." Amari grinned. "Better choose soon. I don't think your boy can take much more." Damien screamed again.

"What are they doing to him?" Teryn demanded. "Answer me you bitch!"

"Temper, temper." Amari laughed. "You never should have crossed me, Hellion. I stay out of Hellfire Club business and you stay out of mine - that's the way it's always been. But to answer your question - the young man screaming in the next room would be Damien Morgan, yes?" Teryn nodded. "A mutant telekinetic who has to make physical contact with an object that he wants to manipulate with his powers. It's a shame he's fighting Syphon, then, isn't it?"

"Syphon?"

"Yes, one of my guards. His power is based on physical contact too - but he drains the life force of the people he touches." Damien screamed again. "Make your choice, Gillian. Fight me, or save him. You can't have both."

Teryn hesitated for a second, then turned and ran out of the room.

"As I thought." Amari smiled, she made the final connection on her flight pack's harness and then stepped out through the door. Teryn was waiting on the other side, and lashed out with a savage uppercut. Amari let out a startled shriek, fell back and hit her head against the deck.

"You thought wrong." Gillian said, kicking the unconscious woman in the face.

At the foot of the stairs, Touch was dragging himself away from the remorseless Syphon. The Hellion had dispensed with the strong guard with relative ease, smashing him through the wall with his telekinesis - but Syphon's powers had taken him by surprise. The guard, a former member of the Diablo gang, could have killed him then and there, but preferred to see him suffer, subjecting him to a series of short contacts which had left him too weak to escape.

"Stop running, Hellion." Syphon gloated, as Damien collapsed to the floor, overcome with the exertion. "It ends now."

"That's right." Damien said, pushing himself up to a sitting position. Syphon's eyes widened with fear. As Touch had crawled away he had made contact with every nail in the floorboards he crossed, and now, levitated by his telekinesis they floated obediently beside his head. Syphon turned to run, but he wasn't quick enough.

Teryn applauded from the balcony as Touch nailed Syphon to the wall. "Nicely done Damien."

"Thanks for your help." Touch said icily.

"Ah, I knew you could take him."

* * *

Lamprey's eyes widened in astonishment. The man she had unmasked had blue skin, just like her own He was wearing an elaborate, unwieldy suit of armour and a helmet and mask which she could see was filled with water, enabling him to breathe above the surface of the ocean. It was an Atlantean.

"By Neptune's Trident!" the blue skinned man whispered with astonishment. "It... it cannot be!"

"What is it?" Lamprey said, releasing her grip on the robes at the Atlantean's throat. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She didn't get an answer. There was a sharp electric crack, and a bolt of energy slammed into her from behind. Lamprey cried out and fell forwards, unconscious. A huge submarine craft, contoured and sculpted like some massive, prehistoric sea creature, had risen noiselessly from the water beside Amari's yacht. Standing on its deck were four armoured Atlantean soldiers.

"Quickly Vizier - you have tarried at the surface too long" the leader said, his weapon still smoking from the shot he had fired at Lamprey. The robed Atlantean - the Vizier - seemed about to respond when a shout from the upper deck attracted their attention.

"Lamprey! Hold on! I'm coming!" Scotty had finished the last of Amari's guards and flung himself over the rail. The Atlanteans opened fire, all four shots striking home. Scotty landed heavily on the deck, shattering the wooden planking. His fur was scorched and burning, but he ignored it, bracing his hands against the ruined deck he pawed at the ground with his hooves and charged, bellowing like a wild animal.

The Atlanteans fired again, and once more, all four shots were on target, but the Hellion kept going - heedless of the pain. They fired again. Scotty had reached the edge of the boat now, smashing through the guard rail like it wasn't there. Again all four shots hit home - they could hardly miss at this close range. The Minotaur leapt for the submarine craft. Again the Atlanteans fired - panicking now - but again the deadly beams slammed into Minotaur's chest...

Scotty crashed down onto the Atlantean vessel, unconscious.

"What manner of beast is this?" one of the soldiers prodded the Hellion with the butt of his gun. "Four volleys and it is merely stunned?"

"Bring it on board." The Vizier had stepped onto the submarine now, carefully carrying Lamprey in his arms.

"Are you sure?" the lead soldier protested. "Our laws about surface dwellers are clear."

"Look at her Thakos." The Vizier said. "Look well."

The Atlanteans carried Minotaur and Lamprey onto their vessel, just as Teryn and Damien arrived on deck, barely in time to see their friends disappear beneath the inky black surface of the sea.


TO BE CONTINUED...

Issue 13

Issue 15