Chapter 27- Skirmish

Antarctica Special Region, Brotherhood Clearing February 13, 2008 (13:30)

Maria ‘Scalpel’ Anderson-

“Sky-born here. Found your little blip, god he’s fast. Looks like he is reporting back to Big M, who appears to be suppressing some of the natives over.”

Scalpel was wrapping the last man that had been caught in the explosion.

It had taken them the better part of four hours to march through the jungle to the clearing the Brotherhood's plane was in. And then they wasted time going extra carefully and cautiously over it, in case it was booby-trapped. Only to find the fuckers had only welded the doors shut. So then they had to wait for Tech-box to go back from the fallback point to retrieve the welding torch on the Bus.

And just as they were about to start cutting to get inside, the speedster runs up, punches out a lookout, and shoots the acetylene tanks before running off again. Four people were caught in the blast. Fortunately, none were too close to have died immediately. But that meant Scalpel and the other medics had to double time treat them before they bleed to death.

And from the reports, Sky-born had given them, the little shit ran all the way to the eastern border of the artic, before doubling back towards his allies.

“Roger that. Keep your distance, we don’t know Magneto’s range, but try and keep an eye on him.” Slice’s voice in her ear caused an odd feeling in her gut. She wasn’t in love, what she and he had was purely a physical distraction. But something was different lately, and Scalpel wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad one.

She nodded at the two men on her right and left, and then they lifted the man she had been working on, and took him away. They were all from Tech-box's squad. And their leader wasn't taking the attack very well and had been trying to get them into the plane without completely destroying it.

Scalpel reached for the controller, her hand shaking as she reached for it. It had felt like a burden since she had been assigned it and was glad when she left on the ground when she began working on her patient when the man behind her spoke. "If it's that much of a problem you could always give it to someone else. Not me of course. Can't trust me with my own controller, but maybe that hot Latina girl you gave the laser rifle to?"

Scalpel waited till she held it, to say. “Shut up.”

The strange RC car thing and the mutant's collar working in concert, forced his mouth shut, and unable to speak. She stood up and looked him in the face. He was shorter than her, at just under six feet. He honestly wasn't all that much different from anyone else. Other than maybe his eyes, for having such dark hair, he had these brilliant grey eyes, like steel.

Sky-born’s voice was in her ear “Taking a pass.”

“Negative Sky-born, he can take you out. Stay at a distance.” Slice voice was ahead of her in telling him to take it easy. She was frustrated with having wasted most of the morning, but she wasn’t stupid enough to charge a man who could control metal while in a metal craft.

There was silence as they waited. Scalpel looked toward where thought she had heard the Hawk as it tried to follow the speedster. 'Live you, old bastard.'

“Negative damage. Tosser already had a shield up. Scratched off a lot of the natives though. Bugging out before he can retaliate. Sorry boss saw an opening and I missed it."

Scalpel let out a breath she didn’t know that she had been holding.

Tech-box approached her with his second. The rest of his squad was either injured or were carrying his injured. Heck, he didn't even have enough, some of hers and Hard-case's men had to lend a hand. 'What a way to start a mission.’ She thought.

"Ready to move out whenever you are ma'am," Tech-box said as he nodded at her.

"What? What about the…" Scalpel began to ask as she pointed to a large craft looming over them.

"We aren't getting in there without a ridiculous amount of bullets, c4, or a torch. And the Bus only had one of those. It's better that we support Slice because we both know one squad isn't taking these freaks down." Tech-box said, he seemed more aggressive than usual but then, he just saw a half of his men taken out in a moment.

Scalpel nodded and reached for her headset.

 

Antarctica Special Region, Northern Jungle

Benjamin ‘Slice’ Smith-

"Slice, Tech-box, and I are combining what men we have here and are ready to move out. The others can retake the plane after they've dropped off the wounded." Scalpel's voice was in his ear as he looked at the tablet screen in front of him. It was some foldable laptop that was usually stowed in one of his men's backpacks, but he wanted to look at the quickly moving dot of the Hawk.

He was debating trying to go after Magneto right now since the whole gang wasn't there. He knew that Sky-born was right, that this was their best chance at taking him alive. The female mutant with a super noise had been leading them through the jungle following the speedster's scent. And he had zigged and zagged as he went. Slice's gut told him that it was in an effort to bypass natives or the couple of dinosaurs that they had spotted.

But right now he was trying to figure out where they could have possibly set up camp. If they weren’t using their plane as shelter, then they must have set down roots somewhere nearby. Slice used a wireless mouse to zoom in on the map in front of him, as he traced with his finger where he thought the other mutants had taken. They didn't move any were as fast as their scout, so they couldn't have taken as many turns on their route.

When he reached a magnification that was what he wanted, he reached into the man in front of him's ear and stole the cigarette he had stashed there. Using it like a ruler Slice tried to guess where the Brotherhood had come from. Much of the map was just green, but on his third guess, that same itch that told him to fire back at the gnoll things was there again.

“Sir, do we head to M’s location now or do we come to you?”

Slice reached and triggered his coms and said. “Negative. I’ll gonna send you some coordinates, head there. My squad will move to intercept. Over.” He then reset the laptop so its hardened case was on the outside and restored it in the man's backpack. And then gave the man his smoke back. Muttering “thanks”, as he walked back to the front of the group.

Once there, the men that had taken a knee to rest stood, and they moved in a direction that he chose. The small female with very short red hair scurried up to be next to him and muttered. "This isn't the way the scent…"

“I know.” Slice interrupted her.

The small-collared girl flinched at his reply. He assumed whoever had collared her had done some kind of torture before they could get the damn thing on her next because only abused people acted as she did. Hell, even the other freak still had something of a backbone but not this small thing.

Feeling pity for the thing, made him want to do something. So he increased the pace of the march. He didn't order it, he just did it, and his men kept up after a time. They jogged steadily for the better part of an hour. Then he slowed to a walk and scanned the terrain. This entire side quest was based purely on guesswork. But that same guesswork had gotten him his command, so he wasn't going to quit anytime soon.

He was debating going back, and trusting tired and true soldiering when the little woman started sniffing the air. “What is it?”

The collared girl shrugged, but when Slice reached his hand down to the controller, she spoke. “It’s not the first man you had me track. But it’s similar. I am not sure. I’ve never done this before and they only thought me enough to tell men from animals.”

“Where?” He asked as he brought his hand back to the trigger on his weapon.

“It’s weaker that way, but stronger that way.” She said pointing first to her right and then to her left.

‘So they came from the southwest and headed northeast. That all checks out, but what to do.’ Slice thought, as he again scanned the terrain.

“Stay close to me.” He whispered to the mutant girl, before ordering. “All right men take some positions we are laying an ambush right here.” He then walked over to a nearby tree and leaned against it. Letting it take some of the weight off of his legs.

His men move to other trees or check a bush before crouching down in it. The mutant girl sat down near him and curled into a fetal ball. He closed his eyes, as he tried to listen to the jungle. He heard a pair of his men whisper about setting a trip wire, in case of the running man blitzed through. But others said not to because of the metal involved.

Slice didn’t comment. He knew that despite our attempts they still had some metal on them. Too many things had a bit of metal of one kind or another. Their honestly only hope for a real ambush was the girl at his feet.

The collar she wore would never win any fashion shows, with the various tubes and buttons on it. And in its center was a light, hers was currently half green and half red. Slice hadn’t read her file completely. He only cared that she could track with her super senses. But he guessed the light was to signal that some of her powers were still being suppressed.

"You hear something big coming, you tell us," he said in a very soft whisper. Yet she nodded as she could hear him.

They stayed still, and quiet. No one wanted to risk drawing the ire or attention of others on them. After an hour, Slice worried that they might have taken a different route back to their base. And after two, some of the men busted out of their canteen and drank. But as it was nearing three, the girl stood up and pointed.

Slice reached into his back pocket. Next to his wallet was a compact for makeup. His wife had given it to him to remember her by when he first shipped out to join the Marines. It was his good luck charm. He opened the plastic case and angled the mirror.

About a hundred yards up, there she was. A large blackish-grey woman with four arms. Her lower left arm seemed to be rubbing her lower right. And Slice then recalled Sky-born saying that they had been fighting the locals. Slice didn't see the main target though, but then the wind picked up and a flap of purple moved with the breeze.

‘He must be pulling a rear guard for her.' Slice thought. He then clicked his coms three times before reaching the main unit and switching it off. It was him telling his men to get ready and go radio silent.

Slice looked to his left and saw Black Pearl loading a round into his RPG. The Pakistani man loved two things, Captain Jack and blowing shit up, and Slice wasn't going to tell him no. so he nodded. And the other man stepped out and fired the rocket.

Slice was a step behind him, his laser rifle at his shoulder. But he was stunned to see the rocket just hovering fifteen yards in front of them. The thing just spinning in the air as the flame still shot out the back of the thing.

“Really you think I wouldn’t have noticed you?” Magneto’s voice was cold and damning.

“Open fire!” Slice ordered. And his men came out of their hiding places and opened up.

The giant woman flinched and tried to make herself smaller, as six men poured their automatic weapons on the two of them. Magneto was ready for them. The bullets didn't even get close. As the rounds either stopped completely in the air or were crushed by the next round. Or they suddenly veered off course wildly, hitting only trees or dirt.

Slice reached for one of the grenades on his vest, pulled the pin out with his mouth, and threw it at them. He hoped with Magneto holding a rocket and a barrier, that he wouldn't be able to stop the pineapple surprise.

But unfortunately for him, the giant woman backhanded the thing. And it hit a nearby tree, detonating on impact and causing the tree to fall. Not only on the floating spinning explosive, which had caused yet another detonation. But on a pair of his men, which also pinned them in place.

Pissed, Slice lined up a shot and fired. The rifle hurled a shaft of heat, which hit where he aimed. On the large beak in the middle of her face. Basilisk whimpered and screamed before falling to her knees.

“You animal!” Magneto yelled.

Sudden Pakistani swearing made Slice turn to see Black Pearl holding on for dear life to his RPG, which was dragging him into the air. After a couple of seconds, and about thirty feet, the weapon, that Slice was terrified to see was reloaded and turned at him.

Slice didn’t wait. He turned and ran, grabbing the small girl by the back of her collar, literally. And after a few steps threw her in front of him. Slice heard Black Pearl crying ‘no’ as the weapon fired. And a rocket hit where he had been standing only a moment before.

Slice's world was made up of blurry dirt, ringing and a burning sensation in his back. He tried to push himself upright when something felt wrong. The itch he normally felt was now a cold emptiness. Then his headset moved on its own, pulled back off of his eats and around his neck, as it tightened, Slice knew how fucked he was.

He left the rifle on the ground, as Slice grabbed for his headset. Air was getting thin as it tightened, and he tried to fight the metal band in it. As the tightness increased, Slice’s feet lifted off the ground. He kicked and struggled while his hands tried to find and seize the band that was killing him.

He rotated in the air to face Magneto. He was helping the wounded Basilisk walk towards Slice. M looked at the rifle and sneered, before muttering something. But all Slice heard was ringing.

The tightness on him lessened suddenly, he was still floating but Slice could breathe and speak. The merc let his hand down to his holster but didn't pull it out.

Magneto laughed in between the ringing. “Really a gun, like they proved so useful earlier.”

Slice pulled the controller up just enough so his finger could reach the trigger, once pressed he gasped. “Kill him.”

A wolfish scream was the immediate answer. Then the small mutant girl emerged from the bush Slice had thrown her in. Her hair now half covered her face and body, and her arms and legs popped as they lengthened. By the time the collared girl took two steps, her clothes were rags from the strain of suddenly her growing body. She was now almost half again taller than she was previously. By the third step, her clothes snapped off. And then a half-naked, half-fur-covered mutant was leaping to tackle Magneto to the ground.