Chapter 34- A Surprise Visitors

Preserve- Jungle north of the Citadel, 2008 February 14 (late morning)

Wanda Maximoff (Gypsy)-

Wanda watched the mercenary transport helicopter ascend into the air. She had gotten here before they took off. But her powers told her attacking them on her own wouldn’t end well for her. Exodus had still not caught up to her but the yellow craft with its gaudy phrase of ‘the blades on this bus go round and round’ painted on the side was drifting away from her. And despite her having the ability to fly she knew she couldn’t keep up with the flying machine.

So she stepped out from beyond the cover of a jungle tree, and she reached out with her powers. The red aura started at her elbows but went well past her fingertips as she willed her abilities towards the ground around her.

Holding the Grey-wing together was one thing, but pulling an enemy craft that would soon be retaliating was something different. Five rocks the size of watermelons rose into the air, wrapped in her crimson energy. She wove her wrist as she round the rocks up. One after another she flung them at the tail of the yellow beast.

The gunner must have seen her or more likely the red aura, as the closet gun adjusted and aimed at her. With the final rock soaring in the air, she changed her usage. Wanda visualized a wall in front of her. She stretched her fingers as if she was willing more material between her and the oncoming bullets.

The first rock was off, striking the side of the craft. The second one overshot, missing it entirely. But the last three were close enough. As the third first clipped, and then the last two struck twice at the tail blades of the transport.

The bullets started pounding into the barrier she created. But that wasn't what hurt Wanda. It was that the transport limped on. And she couldn't try again without risking her life, as she still couldn't protect and attack at the same time.

And just she lost all hope, the other helicopter suddenly came barreling into the transport. Causing serious damage to both crafts. And then both crafts fell to the earth.

And while the bullets went wide, Wanda didn’t lower her barrier. She knew that there was still a risk of a stray round or other freaky thing that could happen.

“They sent you by yourself, or did you wander off alone?” the voice of her father made Wanda jump.

But Wanda couldn't help by a smile when she turned to face him. "Exodus was supposed to join me, after he distracted the men attacking the Citadel's shield, for the others." She had heard the thing's official name, but couldn't recall it at the moment.

Her father nodded at Wanda. She hoped in approval for her actions.

A large muscular black man emerged from the wreckage and shot into the air, shouting. “Magneto! Show me you’re a man and face me!” the big man didn’t leave the burning craft, he instead climbed atop it and repeated the challenge.

Her father crossed his arms as he looked at the confidant man, before saying. "I can feel that at least a dozen men are moving and alive in there. I know that the pilot and gunner of their attack craft are dead long before I threw them at the other chopper. Bastards tried to snipe me with one of Stark's laser weapons."

Wanda thought it was odd to see him out in the jungle without his armor. She had seen him many times in civilian attire when her mother had still been alive. But ever since whenever he went out it was in armor and his helmet.

'Well, he is in his helmet at least.' She thought.

Other survivors were climbing out of the craft. A dark-skinned female seemed to be leading them. Wanda watched as the woman order them to bring out even the dying. After all the dozen or so missions the Brotherhood had been with Wanda, even she knew those people were on a timer. Eventually, the fuel would ignite and explode killing and purging the area in fire.

Seeing the sight made Wanda a little sad. These people were here to fight and maybe kill us, they had hurt Sam, but they were just doing the job they had too. Letting them all die, seemed so much like a waste. But getting her father to see it like that.

An idea struck Wanda just before she said. “Father we don’t know if the other collared mutant is in there. We can easily protect ourselves from them, but if that tank blows…”

“An innocent mutant could be slain.” Her father finished saying for her.

Magneto held out his hand towards the two wrecks. It took them a moment but the metal around the fuel tanks began to twist and distort before the tanks themselves lifted from the piles of metal. The sight caused even the confident black man to stop his shooting and yelling.

The tanks continued to float away, the pipes leaking fuel. But the majority of the unstable liquid was now away from the heated and burning metal. Her father closed his fist, and the pipes were crushed so they didn't leak anymore. He then waved them away and the tanks floated down away from both the two of them and the newly made clearing.

After a moment he waved his hand again, and Wanda felt the magnetic grip of his protective fields wrap around her metal headband. She assumed that he was also placing a field around them to shield them from harm, but she still projected her aura around herself. The two of them lifted into the air and floated towards the crash.

The large man upon seeing them leaped from the top of the wrecked craft. Wanda was honestly amazed that he had remained there when the chopper shook and shifted as the fuel tank was removed from it. But he did, and as he leaped he aimed his heavy machine gun at the two of them.

The female leader however barked at the big man. “Hard-case hold your hand, we have wounded here. And they bought us time to treat them.”

This Hard-case wasn’t deterred, as he clearly said. “You forget why we are here Scalpel. It’s to take him and his Brotherhood in. Alive or dead.”

"And if I were you I would hold your fire, because if you do shoot even once. I will crush your barrel." Magneto said as the pair of them landed. Once on the ground, he added. "We are not alone."

“Your right. A dozen or so of us, only a pair of you. I like our odds.” The brute taunted.

“Not your remnants, you fool. Them.” Her father pointed past the wreckage and the mercenaries towards the tree line.

From it emerged good hundred-plus cavemen. All tanned and wielding the simplest of weapons. But here and there were people in animal headdresses. Wielding staffs with metal star-shaped spear tips.

“And them.” Magneto added before pointing towards the northwest.

From the trees the dog-men she and Exodus saw emerged. Again in far great numbers, even greater numbers than the cavemen. Their leaders didn't have headdresses but had staffs of pure metal. When they waved them around dark energies reminded Wanda of her own powers gathered around them. The largest of their leaders slammed his staff into the ground, and somehow Wanda knew that he had cast a spell like how Nath does.

“Fucking gnolls.” The large black man muttered

Then the pilot and navigator inside the attack helicopter began to punch the canopy of their cockpit. After about the third strike the glass broke and spilled onto the two men. Then they climbed up and fell the three and a half to four meters from the top of the craft to the ground. While the pilot didn't rise to his feet, the navigator did. And even with all that glass in his face he hissed and snarled as he approached us.

"Your gnolls appear able to animate the dead." Magneto commented as he waved a hand. And the blades of the broken craft detached and bisected both corpses not once but three times before burying themselves in the ground.

“I hate sorcerers.” The big man muttered again.

“What about mages?” Wanda asked absentmindedly.

“The magi are extinct girl, read a history book." The big man responds to her random question, but before anyone could expand on his statement. The sound from their transport made this 'Hard-case' move towards the opening as more zombies stumble out of the transport.

The female leader seemed struck dumb at the sight of her dead comrades emerging and moving on their own. Wanda assumed that she must have a background in medicine given the care she was ordering her personnel.

But the large man didn’t shoot his heavy weapon, she wondered if it was because of his threat. But her wondering stopped when her father said. “And them.”

Wanda looked where her father pointed again. And a small army of women emerged. But they appeared odd to her. As their hair moved, despite there being little breeze that day. Then when their leaders joined the rest of their forces she understood what unnerved her about them. As their leaders were snakes from the waist down. And then the moving hair became more obviously not locks of hair, but snakes as hair.

‘Medusae.’ Wanda thought but didn’t have the will to speak.

Then among the cavemen, a black-haired headdress-wearing priestess stepped forward. She struck the butt of her staff three times before speaking. Wanda wondered if she had cast a spell beforehand because everyone mercs and mutants seemed to hear her words.

Wnada was surprised when one of the head-dress wearing people began speaking in English. But then she remembed she still hand on the stone Nath’aniel had given them.

“With three tribes gathered, the challenge of the new gods has been accepted. Sons of the Sun God, announce yourselves.” The cavemen hooted and hollered for a moment. It went on for a time, as they lack any form of discipline. “Sons of the Bone God, announce yourselves.” The dog-men, gnolls, the large man called them, hollered too. But it seemed more of a laugh rather than a threat. “Daughters of the Stone Goddess, announce yourselves.” The medusae hissed, their hair becoming far more active in their attempts to draw attention to themselves. “With the tribes gathered, let the challenge begin.”

The large man had drawn a knife and had been cutting down the few zombies that made it out of their transport. "Anyone speaks caveman because all I'm hearing is please shot me?"

“Please don’t?” the female merc leader asked.

Her father admitted. “My helmet is blocking the translation magic that my host cast on me. Gypsy did understand them?”

The black female raised her hand about to ask a question but stopped. When Wanda began to speak, answering her father’s question. “They think you father, and these people’s with your ‘metal birds’ challenged their gods. And so they’ve laid a challenge against us.” Wanda added the last part hoping whatever this challenge was would be able to unite the two groups and stop them from continuing their attack against them.

Then a roar, which made Wanda’s ears pop, came from the east.

"I think that would be our challenge." Her father muttered before a second roar joined the first. The ground began to shake in concert with the stomping of a large something. The Magneto added. "I am not an expert. But I think we are standing in the hunting grounds of a mated pair of Tyrannosaurus Rexes."

And as her father had guessed a pair of large dinosaurs pushed through the trees, several breaking as they did, their mouths, let alone their heads were bigger than any human gathered here. The two beasts roared again. As they looked at the wreckage before them. The many wounded tried to move. But their injuries or the medications they were under prevented them from getting far.

Ironically it wasn’t the confident 'Hard-case' that shot first but, a Latina woman took aim and fired a strange brass rifle, which hurled a beam of light and heat at the face of the closest of the two dinos.

The burns didn’t do much, as the beast only shook its head before roaring again. And then stepped around the fallen air crafts to get at its attacker.

“Sorry Mags, but duty calls.“ The large black man said before raising and firing his heavy weapon at the already angry monster. Wanda was surprised at how well the man held the rapid-fire machine gun on target. The first dozen rounds only managed to bleed the creature, but that was only in a single second.

By the time the beast knew it was being attacked several seconds had passed and a long line of damage had been inflicted on it. Its right arm hung limply as it continued to march on them. Other mercenaries who were able to fight raised their weapons and tried, but little if any damage was inflicted by their assault rifles smaller rounds.

Wanda was frightened by the limited effect all the modern weapons were inflicting on only the first of the two monsters. So she looked towards the other gathered groups and was saddened to see that they just stood back and watched. Then she remembered that they saw them as challengers to their gods. So of course they wouldn't help them.

Suddenly her father said to the dark-skinned female. "Hold off your target, merc. I'll take care of the other."

Then he reached out his hands towards the fallen attack copter. And both those still attached and those that he buried, shifted, and moved to his will. Once the four large blades and five smaller blades were free, he shifted his attention towards the undamaged beast that had been about to approach the soliders form another side, as the cry’s of its mate seemed to anger it, but then it held back after seeing the floating metal.

When the blades approached it, it roared in defiance at the flying metal. That did little to the blades as they tore and cut into the monster. It wasn’t like the zombies her father had killed easily. this beast took effort and concentration on her father’s part to hack and slash the creature.

Wanting to be seen as useful, Wanda lowered the barrier around her and reached out for the blades of the transport. It took her a moment to detach the broken and bent blades. During that time, the mercs had poured and poured bullets and other weapons on the beast. And yet it had crushed two wounded and began eating some of the fighters. Oddly it didn't seem to want to attack the Latina woman or this 'Hard-case' as it seemed too focused on easier prey.

Meanwhile, Magneto broke the legs of the second monster and started to focus on the creature's head. It had no time to growl or roar as soon as a blade struck it, and then another, which was followed by another. Never was the beast not under attack. And her father didn’t seem to tire from beating the creature.

By the time Wanda got her own five large blades ready, much of the creature's right side had become ground hamburger from all the heavy machine gun fire and laser burns digging into the beast. By the time the red aura-wrapped blades started to cut into the beast, it was probably already bleeding to death. And it just didn't know it.

Unlike her father she didn’t try to cripple the beast, Wanda started on the beast’s head. But despite the damage the monster had taken, her first couple of blows didn’t do much, as the Rex had such a sturdy head.

By 'Hard-case's' third belt of ammo he had chewed into the beast's lungs. And then a lucky shot from the Latina with a laser weapon must have hit the monster's heart as it roared one last time before it fell to its knees and coughed blood twice before laying still.

Wanda felt some that made her turn and look. With much of his belt of ammo spent, Hard-case turned his heavy weapon towards her. She recalled the energy holding the blades she held, but she knew she wasn’t fast enough. But before he could fire a series of chopper blades buried into the ground between her and the violent man.

“Do not think I didn’t see your glances young man.” Her father said as he lower himself between the merc and Wanda.