Ultimate Reckoning Vol 1 1

'Kick-off' is the first issue of Ultimate Reckoning, by PhotonCommander10.

Kick-off
''I remember the days of our childhood. Living in the shadow of that bastard father of ours was…a nightmare. He took us and indoctrinated our minds to his way of thinking. He was wrong all this time, it wasn’t humans who were the problem…it was Mutants.We weren’t the problem before he came along and ruined it. Now humanity is better off without us. We’re the cause of so much disaster...and it took your death for me to realise, and a while longer as well. ''

Pietro stands in a dark room, lit by a single light bulb above his head. He holds a paper file in his hand, opened, with a number of pictures of himself paper clipped to the sheets of paper inside.

''All this time our race was a government experiment, who believed themselves to be the next step in evolution. Some would see my new lease on life as being discriminating of my own race, I see it as protecting mankind. I’m just as good as the Ultimates, the only real difference being that I know the true path to take against Mutants. Don’t protect…kill. ''

He drops the file, a big smile across his face. He disappears in a quick blur, and the light shatters, running sparks down on the hundreds of papers in the room, starting a fire.

''Reed Richards is a true genius. He may be an absolute mad man, but his genius is unrivalled. We met once, I guess you could call us allies. But it’s only now I realise he’d known me long before I met him. ''

He speeds across a vast desert, sand blowing up behind him, creating a massive, moving cloud similar to a sandstorm.

''He’d taken in my sisters probability manipulation a while back, when he was working at the Baxter Building. Then he took an interest in my super speed. Apparently he theorised that it was due to molecular acceleration. He also believed that I was capable of other powers. The Quake Theory, he called it in his files, that I would be able to focus my molecules, and create earthquakes. ''

He sprints across an ocean, his speed keeping him running along it. Within a minute or so of running, he reaches the shores of France, then with a quick blast, he sprints even faster, and moments later skids to a halt at the edge of the City, the former home of Reed Richards.

''He also reckoned that I could use it to my advantage, and fly. I’d be unstoppable if I could fly, run at the speeds I can, and create earthquakes. But I need to know how to do it. That’s why I need Reed.''

The super-speeding Mutant takes a moment to look at the city, before racing in towards the heart. Quickly, he’s attacked by a man in a large mechanical armour. Pietro smacks him into the side of a building, and continues his sprint. He reaches the ‘prison’ facility, where only two people are imprisoned. The first, Pietro stops to look at, a bald, handsome man, with his mouth stitched shut, chains around his wrists and legs, holding him down, and strapped to the wall, in a crucifixion position.

The second, ‘Quicksilver’ knows more, and recognises on site. A man in a black, skin-tight suit, severe burns on the right side of his face, his eye distorted, is strapped to the only metal wall in the cell, the others being laser shields. The man smiles when he sees Pietro, quickly turning into an evil grimace. “It’s been a while, Pietro. How many months?”

A stare, that’s all Pietro gives to Reed Richards, AKA the Maker. “I need help.”

“Why should I help you?” He scowls.

“Because I need to learn how to use my powers. You’re the only person who knows how that might work.”

An alarm sounds, startling Reed, “If I can study your progress, we have a deal.”

Quicksilver disappears, and within seconds the lasers turn off. “What about your stitched friend here? Is he of use?” Reed unstraps himself and begins to walk away from his former cell.

<p class="MsoNormal">‘The Maker’ walks over to the man, who remains strapped to the wall. “Oh Victor, I’m sorry they did this to you.” He unstraps him, “He comes with us, whether he stays once we’ve escaped is his choice.” He looks at ‘Victor’, “I can’t stand to see my Children in this state.”

<p class="MsoNormal">''This is all for you, Wanda. Even in death I know you’re with me, just unable to string together words. But please, Wanda, help me. I’ve gone to the maddest man in the world for help, I need you. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">Pietro grabs both Reed and Victor, and speeds away, the City passing with a blur. Behind them, Children swarm the prison, unaware that they’ve already escaped. The super-speedster looks up at the sky, which to him appears as a blue with white blurs.

<p class="MsoNormal">''Tell me what I’m doing is right. Tell me I’m…no! Actually, go f*** yourself! ''

<p class="MsoNormal">He looks forward and scowls.

<p class="MsoNormal">''What I’m doing is right! Mutants are a menace, I don’t care what you say. Our entire race is a virus that needs to be cleansed. And only with myself and the Maker can this be accomplished. ''

<p class="MsoNormal">They rush across the ocean, hitting the shores and across the countryside. They come to a farm house, where Pietro skids to a halt, stopping several metres away. The Maker looks at the building, “What is this place? It’s a dum…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Pietro glares at him. “It’s the former home of my great uncle. I haven’t been here in years, before he died…”

<p class="MsoNormal">This interests Reed, “If he’s dead, then what’s paying the bills?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“A Mutant friend of his, who accesses the bank accounts to pay them off.” They walk inside, where a short, blue-skinned man sits at the table, working on a laptop.

<p class="MsoNormal">Startled, the man falls off of his chair. He sees Pietro and smiles, “Peter! It’s been a while! My how you’ve…” Pietro speeds over to him, snapping his neck. He then looks back at Reed and Victor, “Come in. We now have a base of operations.”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">'''The City, next day… '''

<p class="MsoNormal">“The reason we handed Reed over to you is that your technology was greater than ours, and you could keep him at bay.” Captain America stands at the edge of the City, a number of Children standing just inside.

<p class="MsoNormal">The apparent leader speaks, “I’m sorry, Mr Rogers, but if I recall when you had him he escaped, and straight away changed the world to his distorted vision. May I mention that as of yet the world is the same way it was?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Steve scowls, “How did he escape?”

<p class="MsoNormal">A hologram appears between the Children and Steve, showing the prison facility, the Maker and Victor strapped up. Quicksilver suddenly appears, for a brief moment by Victor, then disappears and reappears by Reed’s cell. “Quicksilver? This doesn’t seem like the sort of thing he’d do.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Evidently it is. Facial recognition software confirms it to be him.” The hologram disappears. “We managed to trace the speed at which they left the city, and tracked the direction. At the speed they were going at, changing direction would be incredibly difficult.” Another hologram appears, showing the United States. It zooms in on a specific point, “We believe him to be in the home of his great uncle.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Captain America nods his head, “Thank you. This will help us a lot.” He begins to walk away, but then turns back and asks, “Is there anything else we should know?”

<p class="MsoNormal">The seven Children standing there look at each other, nodding to the leader, “Yes.” Steve looks, intent on hearing, “There’s a chip attached to the Maker’s brain. It stops him from controlling his powers. However, he’s a ruthless man. He’ll tear it out of his head if he has to. Once he gets his powers back, he’ll be able to fix the damage he caused. As far as we’re aware, he doesn’t know where on his brain it is. He’s a smart enough man to not try and take it out until he’s sure of its exact location, it should buy you some time.”

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Lensherr Farm…

<p class="MsoNormal">Reed sits at a table, his face exposed, the burns lit up in an eerie way that makes him look frightening. He writes down equations and draws designs, keeping his concentration the whole time. Victor stands in the corner of the room, near-motionless. Reed looks over to see his helmet on the dining table several metres away. He reaches his hand out to grab it, but nothing. He remembers, “Damn it!” The villain stands and walks over to the table, picking his helmet up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pietro appears, “What did they do to you?”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Maker looks at Quicksilver, “They put a chip in my head. It blocks the synapses between certain Neurons, stopping me from controlling my powers. The problem is that I don’t know which area of my brain controls my powers. I need to know where it is, then I can remove it.” He looks at Pietro, “I’ll need your help.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“What can I do?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“The Children scanned my brain and found the source of my powers, they’ll have kept the files. I need you to go to the City and find them files. The City is run by City, an artificial intelligence, it’ll try to keep the information away from you.” He throws his helmet to Pietro, “This’ll store the data, just wear it while you read it. The processing is fast, it should be able to keep up with you.” He smiles, “Do that, and I’ll help you with your powers.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Pietro disappears, leaving a blur that lasts for a split second. He rushes across the United States, then speeds up, crossing across the Atlantic Ocean in mere seconds, then slows down as he comes to the City. He rushes in, straight past Captain America, who doesn’t even notice. Reaching the centre of the City, he enters the giant building and finds a computer. He types incredibly fast, searching through the system in seconds. He finds the file he’s looking for and quickly reads it, and the helmet scans the screen. He then disappears, past Captain America again, right as the alarm sounds.

<p class="MsoNormal">Steve is shocked to hear the alarm, “What’s happened?”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Children before him look at the centre of the City, “Our systems have been hacked.” They scowl, “We have had enough.” The leader looks at Steve, “We are sorry that the Maker has escaped, but we don’t want to be part of this anymore.” They hover into the air, “Begin Protocol Darwin.” The leader looks down at Steve, “We are leaving you to your own devices. We have had enough of this world, we will once more enter Trans-time status. As we once did, we will enter an evolutionary stage. City, programme Darwin Dome for time ration one as to eleven. Good day to you, Steven Rogers. We wish you the best in your attempts.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Steve watches as from the edge of the city, a white substance rises up. It looks like a some sort of slime, but it moves otherwise, speeding up and forming a giant dome around the City, which takes up a large portion of Germany. Steve touches the dome, which has become absolutely solid.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">'''Lensherr Farm… '''

<p class="MsoNormal">The Maker takes the helmet off of Pietro and holograms appear on the glass visor. It shows him a diagram of his brain, and the location of the chip. He takes the helmet off, having already remembered where it is. He looks around, and sees a steak knife in a holder. He pulls it out and looks at it, “Here goes.” He walks it into the toilet. Looking into the mirror, he sighs, clenches his fists and pushes the knife into his head, just slightly, and cuts a whole open.

<p class="MsoNormal">He screams in pain, his skull becoming visible as he pulls the flesh away. Blood pours everywhere as he uses the knife to crack his skull open. He sees his brain, and the chip inside. He pushes his fingers into the small hole, and pinches it. He turns around and pulls, tearing it out of his head. Blood splashes everywhere, along with small pieces of flesh. “GAAAARRRRGGGHHH!” He falls to his knees and begins vomiting. As he does, the whole shrinks, but it isn’t healing. His skull begins to heal as well, beneath the flesh and skin. The flesh around the damage is stretching to accommodate for the missing flesh. The Maker lies on the ground, surrounded by blood, an evil grin on his face. “One freaking skeletal structure left in my body and it’s my f***ing skull.” His eyes shut, as he falls unconscious.