Chapter 33- Burn-out

Antarctica Special Region- Northern edge of Brotherhood base, (08:35)

Benjamin ‘Slice’ Smith-

Exodus fell out of the sky, and as he did he stretched his shield into something like a turtle shell. The shell stopped the Fang's men's shots from getting through, but everyone heard the crunch when the red-skinned man hit the ground. Slice hoped the brute broke a leg or two.

“Smoke him!” Slice yelled. “If we deny him his precious light we can tanq him later.”

He then grabbed the S.M.G. from the bleeding-out medic that was lying on his already injured legs. He fired it one-handed at the cocoon of light. Other men did as well, while a pair popped smoke grenades and tossed them at the downed man.

Tech-box then walked over and kicked the dying man off of Slice. “I told you to move him into cover, but no don’t listen to me.” The engineer snapped at the medic. He was then all smiles when asked. “You alright boss?”

Slice held up the broken stark gun, before tossing it towards some bush that had managed to survive the missile strike. Slice struggled to rise to a standing posture. Tech-box helped him where he could. But even with the help it was hard to move, with the piece of metal sticking out of his thigh.

Slice reached down and tightened the headset that he had told the medic to use as a tourniquet. Once it was tight enough, he pulled the shrapnel out of his leg. Tech-box handed him the medical tape, which Slice used the moment to glance at the ongoing battle. Exodus still hadn't gotten back to his feet, and the Fang's men continued to fire at him, while the black cloud of smoke began to gather around the battle.

Slice then bandaged his leg and asked the tech junkie. “You got some new gadget that you’ve been holding in reserve, which we could use about now?”

“Fraid not boss. Do got an old trinket that I managed to get working again, but not sure we should use it." Tech-box answered, while he too watched the remaining four men of their two squads move in on Exodus.

“Why?” Slice asked before pulling the controller out and ordering into it. “Come to me.”

"Cause it's a poof gun. If I got it right, the weapon turns people into living bombs. And we need something to bring to the higher-ups for us to get the reward right?" Tech-box looked away from the fight and began the long process of removing the warped barrels on his Heat Caster.

As the collar mutant got closer to them, Slice ordered him. “Take the weapons from those two bodies.”

While Tech-box and Slice had kept the original, he allowed the mutant to use his powers to make a copy to put with Hard-case and Scalpel’s squads. When the copy had been made the copy was fully dressed and collared like the original. So he hoped by arming the freak. He could make up for his losses by having the mutant spawn a squad or twos worth of armed men.

As the collared man walked over to them, the mercenary noticed him cradling the two assault rifles like it was natural for him. So Slice asked. ”You know how to shoot?

“I grew up on a farm.” The freak answered.

“You ever think to use your space gun on their barrier around their base?” Slice asked while he and the breeder exchanged equipment.

The gunfire was slowing. So Slice looked up again. Black smoke completely enclosed around the fallen mutant now. And the men weren’t able to see their target so they eased up on attacking.

Slice had switched off the restraint on the collar's controls for his powers and was about to order the man to start breeding. When a white streak came at them, Slice was punched a dozen times. But then the sound of a shotgun going off warned him of the buckshot headed his way.

Bee bees and pellets peppered his vest and legs, but no blood covered him. And he only felt the pain in his already injured leg intensify. Slice saw that Tech-box had a simple shotgun mounted into his arm’s gauntlet. It looked to have originally been part of a barrel attachment.

Slice looked around for the speedster and saw that he was in a fistfight with their mutant. Who had spawned half a dozen copies. The collar compelled him to protect whoever threatened the bearer of the remote. And Quicksilver must have thought his speed would give him the edge, but after another twenty seconds of them punching each other, there were another dozen of copies that were now fighting each other to get at the trapped speedster.

The screams brought Slice back into the fight, as a nine-foot man made of fire had just backhanded one of Tech-box's men. There was little force behind the hit, as the fire had little mass, but that didn't change the fact the knocked-over man was on fire from head to toe. And his gear and bullets were starting to cook off.

"Buy me a minute." The man with the grenade launcher yelled. Before he went down on one knee and began swapping out the explosive rounds in his weapon for the chemical ones.

The remaining men backed away as they fired at the flaming giant, not that their actions were doing any damage to the creature. As it was neither alive to damage, but no one wanted to get into a range to throw a grenade against something that big.

Seeing the smoke was beginning to disperse. Slice dove for the now dead medic, and pulled his tranq pistol. Once in hand, he took a knee, and aimed the pistol, hoping the smoke weakened the man enough for his damaged shield to break away. He fired once, ready for the next dart, when the light on the side said it had enough air again, he shot again. Then he moved to the struggling mass of clones and the speedster.

Once at the edge of the pile, he ordered. “Make a hole.” Then he lowered the again recharged dart pistol. The compulsion of the collar made, the now twenty-five, clones step back, revealing a bloody and beaten teenager trying to crawl away from them.

Slice didn’t really aim this time, just points the dart gun at the boy and fires the dart cleanly into his back. A second or two later the mutant collapses as the sedative began to take effect.

More screams behind him, made Slice worry. He turned and saw that the giant had willingly fallen over on top of the three remaining men. The ordnance cook off quickly even the chemical rounds, but there was just too much fire for them to do any good.

The flames parted in the middle, as Exodus rose to his feet. The two darts stuck in the thin but still present hard light shell. “Remind me to thank Master Nath’aniel when we get back. Had he not exposed me to his Darkness spell earlier I doubt I would have noticed that even in smoke some light bleeds through.”

Slice took aim and was about to order the horde of clones to attack.

When a purple blade pierced his chest, Slice’s whole body tensed up as psychic energy numbed his entire body. “Tell them to stand down, or I will stop your heart.” A feminine voice whispered into his ear.

Slice tensed, as the numbness continued to spread. The clones all paused as they weren't sure what they should do. Apparently whoever built these collars was smart enough to have allowed some discretion in their compulsions, such as in this hostage-like situation.

Exodus strode through the flames towards them. But stopped when Tech-box shoot his Heat-Caster at Psylocke's foot. The blade left Slice's chest as she fell down from a loss of balance. Slice glanced and noticed that her foot stopped just above her boot.

Exodus held out his hand. Slice expected the light bender to blast one of the two remaining mercs. So he ordered “Shot that man.” at the clones.

The collared men moved to comply, some aiming right away, while others had to move to the sides of their 'brothers' to get a clear shot. Although they didn't shoot as the Fang did, they fired their assault weapons wildly and inaccurately. The weapons were set to full auto, but it was clear the mutant was only used to a single action weapon, as they would line up a shot, and squeeze hard on the trigger, causing a small burst of bullets to fire. Before they would repeat the cycle.

Exodus didn't care though, he thicken the barrier that had been saving him for much of this fight, while he tried to continue whatever it was he was attempting. Then it dawned on Slice, Tech-box had a double-barreled Heat Caster.

And sure enough, the engineer had fired his second barrel, but the beam was just outside of the barrel of the weapon. Stuck in the air, as if something was holding it in place.

Remembering his own briefing, Slice moved towards Exodus. Before jumping to the side of the barrier, when he fired another dart at the mutant. Then he dropped the spend tranq gun and reached for the rifle. When he didn’t find it. Slice realized that he dropped it when the psychic blade had stabbed him. So he instead went for his pistol.

Exodus was down on one knee when Slice aimed his pistol. The tranq dart was buried in his right breast. "Pyro!" the red-skinned man yelled.

When the flames started to move towards them, Slice dodged behind the tree. Screams followed behind the marching flames. The clones unable to disobey their orders stood in them and continued to fire at Exodus. But the pain they felt wasn't restrained by the collar.

Slice grabbed the remote and ordered them to find cover. Which they did, as the collar made them obey. Many of them failed in their attempts. And fell down as the flames ate them alive.

Knowing that he was the only man that had been clear from the beginning, Slice moves to check on Tech-box. He spots the man a couple of steps from where had been before the flames passed through. Pyro must have known where the people were because the center of the clearing was spared.

Slice moved swiftly to Tech-box and rolled the man over. Tech's entire left side was a completely chared and ruined. But the soldier is still alive. The sergeant whispers something, but unable to hear him, Slice leans in closer.

Tech-box whispers softly. "Cut off the head, two more…" the engineer does finish, but he just stops and stares at Slice. And the merc looked at the engineer in confusion.

Then the mercenary leader takes a deep breath. Then holsters his pistol and picks up the dead man's Heat Caster. He also grabs the man's radio and clicks the walkie-talkie and says. "This is Slice, everyone radio in, over." He waited for an answer. In the passing silence, he got distracted by the sound of someone gasping for breath. But in between the steps were the sounds of footsteps.

Slice spun to the noise and aimed the double-barreled weapon at the stranger. The stranger was in an odd set of black and red robes and had the strangest damn eyes Slice had ever seen. Part metallic, part crystal. The stranger smile at Slice and said something that he couldn’t understand.

“Talo, got Nath’aniel, sid of Path’aniel. Recus namin told hotsti demuth.”

Behind the stranger was a crouching Pyro, checking on Exodus.

“You fucking mutie freaks. Die!” Slice screamed, before aiming and firing the Heat Caster at the robed stranger. The beam burned through the fabric and flesh of the stranger. The beam didn’t stop there it went out the back of the strange mutant and over the heads of Exodus and Pyro.

Pyro jumped up to his feet and aimed the mouth of his flame thrower at Slice.

Slice aimed the Heat Caster at the other standing mutant. Pyro spoke with an Australian accent. “Well son, you bloody well fucked up. You just shot the only one of us that wanted to negotiate for peace.”

“Fuck you!” Slice said before pulling the other trigger. The beam was on target and smacked into the man who had taken so many of his men’s lives. Knowing the weapon needed to cool before it could be fired again, Slice reached for the remote and ordered at the clones, “Get over here and back me up.”

The beam struck Pyro and he laughed in response. "My suit is fireproof, what do you think your bloody pew pew gun is gonna do to me?"

The mercenary leader then stared in amazement as the robed stranger wrote a glowing letter ‘F’ into the air before crushing it. The burn on his chest glowed before being replaced with perfect undamaged flesh.

Then the sound of marching feet could be heard. But it was from the wrong direction for it to be the clones. The jungle illusion shimmered as knights with swords were followed by spearmen, was followed by archers emerged from beyond the barrier. And all of them appeared to have been molded from mercury.

Then the clones began to scream. As cavalry on silver horses wielding pole axes charged into them. Only sometimes would a clone make another when it was struck, but even then, the riders were ready, as the axe head would fall and end the lives of both. But the horsemen were not alone, behind their charge were monsters of men. Then appeared thin and frail-looking bearded men, but they had a single horn growing out of one of the temples. And their chosen weapon they swung was a cleaver-like swords sized for men twice their size, which the metal freaks swung around one-handed, easily.

The Ace’s clones stood not a chance against such mindless aggression. Slice dropped the useless laser rifle, and when for his backup pistol.

As he did the stranger wrote a black glowing "U" into the air. Once stable he punched it, and as he did a black rift seemed to open from behind him and a large plated fist flew out of it. Like getting hit by a car, the first punched Slice in the chest. Pushing him to his knees. But the hand wasn’t done. It grabbed the merc and waved him around like a rag doll, for a few times. Before slamming him into the ground.

Slice lay on the ground, hurt and winded. The hand remained there above him. A grim reminder that he couldn’t do anything. ‘Skipper was right.’ He thought. ‘I got so many men killed and for what?’

“Nath!” the Aussie shouted. "It's Betsy. I don’t think she’s breathing.”

Slice remembered the beam that Exodus had been holding in the air. And as the darkness took the merc he thought ‘Well we got one at least.’