The warm ocean breeze caressed her face, a few random strands of raven-black hair tossing in unison with the tall, swaying palms of the estate. The granite bannister was warm, almost soothing to her touch. Lightly dragging a lone fingernail along the texture of the gray stone, her eyes remained perched straight ahead.
"I know what you are thinking..." the voice of Miss Xiang came, drifting up behind her as with the breeze.
Nuriko said nothing, continuing her stare out the private third-story balcony.
Xiang stepped up next to her, staring out at the imaginary spot with her.
"You want to go with them." she added calmly.
Nuriko's eyes flickered briefly, reasserting their stare once again.
"It is the only honorable thing to do." she finally answered.
"This is about more than honor, wouldn't you say?" Xiang replied.
"Yes..." Nuriko said, hesitating but a moment. "...it is about saving this planet."
Miss X nodded.
"Of course...", her voice came with a hint of disbelief.
Nuriko turned towards her.
"Miss Xiang....I respectfully ask that I be assigned to the--"
Victoria's raising palm halted her words, the older lady barely smiling.
"No need to ask permission, Nuriko..." she replied. "You must follow your heart."
The two women stared at each other silently for a moment.
Nuriko bowed slightly.
"...my life is...as ever...yours, Madame Xiang..."
"Come back alive, Nuriko..." she asnwered.
Her eyes suddenly gained a gleam of fiery passion.
"...and, if you do not...." she added, "...then die with the honor you so deserve..."
The two age-old friends stared at each other with knowing smiles.
************
The cooly-lit hangar echoed with hushed voices, and stilted laughter, as the assembled metahumans scurried to prepare for the coming conflict. Small waves slapped the interior of the canal walls, the Stormloader docked motionless against the personnel ramp. Every so often, a reddish-gold blur darted to and fro, as Tobias Christopher's hyper-accelerated repairs neared completion.
Phil wrestled with a dark, naval-blue set of fatigues, pulling with a drastic irritation at the thick jacket zipper...
"...damn...shit...damn..." he muttered, grunting with the stubborn zipper.
Without warning, an enormous pair of purple hands suddenly grabbed the bottom of his jacket, as well as the zipper. In one hard yank, the hands zipped the jacket up completely.
"Ah!" Phil jerked with suprise, as the grinning form of Blackwulf stood over him.
"There!" the boisterous faux-Russian dialect coursed easily above all other noises. "Prettyinpink, Phillip Smith! The Wulf will be lending strong hands toiled with wheat to being helping heroes of mighty MBL!"
"Uhh...yeah...okay, thanks Wulf..." Phil nodded with a crooked smile, straightening the thermal fatigues a bit. "But...uhhh...it's 'Vanguard', now, you know?"
Blackwulf arched his head back in an obnoxiously boisterous chuckle.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Brave Philsmith, you honor the Wulf with the humor of superior western nations!"
Phil just stared at him with a confused expression.
"But!" Blackwulf said, suddenly breaking off his laugh. "It is being time for serious posture and exposition, da' ?"
He suddenly placed a brief palm against Phil's cheek.
"...uhh..." Phil began, even as the mighty giant removed the hand.
Blackwulf's purplish-hue suddenly altered, flowing with a lighter, tan pigment.
"Ahhhh....da....da...." the Wulf nodded, as the metas genetic imprint copied down into his DNA chain. "....the power of thinking now flows through the Wulf...."
The giant turned, walking away.
"...if we were only that lucky..." Phil said, still a bit confused by the entire incident.
Further across the chamber, a ball of fiery-red flame suddenly flared over Drake's ducking head.
"HEY!!" he yelled with supreme irritation.
"Shit! Oh! Sorry sir!" John Bates replied defensively, his fingertips still flickering with a hint of flame; his thermal jumpsuit still laying half off his body.
"...dumbass..." Luchadore remarked, pulling the jacket...across...his chest.
He turned, the jacket...obviously to all others....on backwards.
"Now, zip me up, bitch..."
...neither man noticed as Blackwulf strolled past them momentarily touching their shoulders...
"Dude...where's your bra?" John asked, working to get the zipper up on Luchadore's back.
"With this ensemble?" Luchadore replied. "Faux paux, my good man."
"The cold's gonna spike your nipples, dude..." Bates said, finally getting the zipper up.
Luchadore turned to him.
"It's thick material, man." he explained.
"...slut..." Bates sighed, trying his zipper once again.
His fingertips slipped suddenly off, inadvertently igniting his pants on fire.
Even as Bates' girlish scream began echoing throughout the hangar, Brianna and Leslie struggled with their own suits in a shadowed changing alcove.
"...what is this for, anyway?" Bri asked, staring at the thermal gear questioningly.
"Its Antarctica, sweetheart..." Leslie replied, stripped down to her undergarments. She began hoisting the pants onto her slim frame. "...coldest place on the planet..."
...Doctor Huerta strolled by carrying a fire extinguisher...
"Temperature does not usually affect me..." the Irish lass replied, trying to figure out how she was supposed to get the jacket on over her wings.
"Oh...so that's why you always go flying around in a dress?" Leslie asked, a wry smile lining her lips. "The guys love you for that, you know..."
"I...do not understand..." the winged beauty replied.
Leslie opened her mouth to explain, noticing Bri's back was still to her.
"You know...it's annoying to talk to your back..."
"Oh..." Bri said, turning around to face her.
She stopped, her eyes widening a bit.
"Begora!" she gasped, slamming her lids tight.
Leslie stared at her, buttoning her pants.
"You okay?" she asked.
Bri squinted one eye open, quickly shutting it again.
"You....you are not dressed..." she replied in a near whisper.
Leslie paused, looking down at her half-naked self.
"...uh...sweety...have you ever...you know...looked into a mirror?" she said, beginning to adorn the rest of her outfit. "...I have all the same parts that you do..."
"It...it's not right..." she replied with hushed reverance.
Leslie began chuckling, pulling the zipper up on her jacket.
"...heh-heh-heh...oh, you poor, poor thing...." she laughed. "...we are so going to corrupt you, aren't we....?"
Suddenly, both women jumped with a startled turn, each feeling a hand. The smiling face of Blackwulf met their shocked gaze.
"Thanking you lovelyladies..." he bellowed, walking on.
Across towards the far end of the hangar, Tayden sat, perfectly suited-up, patiently resting along one of the prep-benches. Standing near his sprawled form, Smith stood leaning against the wall...
"...do you smell their fear?" his dark voice creaked out from the vague shadows. "Do you sense their despair?"
Tayden hummed to himself.
"...to fight....to kill an old ally..." Smith continued, drinking in the dark essence of those around him. "....the world is against us..."
Tayden continued to hum, reaching up to high-five a passing Blackwulf.
"...we are all going to die..." the dark being smiled maliciously.
Smith stared at the ex-angel, even as Tayden continued to hum pleasantly to himself.
"Well?!" he asked, growing impatient with the old seraphim's fortitude. "Don't tell me that you can find a silver lining in THIS one, oh-cursed-of-the-light!"
Tayden smiled.
"I sense only hope....courage...." the soothing voice came.
"They are fools." Smith replied with a sullen demeanor.
Tayden turned towards him with a wide smile.
"You know what I like to do in moments like this, Smith?" he asked with a subtle glee.
"I do not care."
"I always....look on the bright side of life..." he began, his voice dropping into the Python melody. "...dee-doo...dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo..."
Smith stared at him with a dark gleam.
"...always look on the right side of life....dee-doo...dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo..."
"Stop that."
"...when you're feeling down....and life makes you frown..."
"Shut up!"
"...dee-doo.....dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo..."
Near the hangar entrance, Grimm sat heavily on one of the benches, re-wrapping the leather bindings along his axe's hilt.
"You ready for this?" Velo asked, adjusting the sleeves on his thermal gear.
"Silly question." Grimm responded.
"Yeah...I know." Velo nodded. "I'm nervous."
"Then stay behind." the avatar of death replied.
Velo stared at him for a moment.
"Was that a joke?" he asked.
"I always wanted to try new things before I died..." the giant responded with a straight tone.
Velo just grinned.
The hangar door slid open, Nuriko walking in with a strident calm.
"Miss Xiang has assigned me to this mission, Mr. Grimm." she explained. "I am at your service."
"It's going to be dangerous..." he replied.
"I am a dangerous woman." she answered, unflinching.
Grimm nodded, Velo handing her the gear.
Suddenly, the hangar door slid open again, Ozzy Baxter bursting in with a nervous energy.
"Okay, okay!" he said to, really, no one. "Sign my ass up. Let's get this over with."
Grimm and Velo turned towards each other briefly, looking back at the man.
Grimm stood fully up, his chest coming eye-level with Baxter.
"You are not required to partake in this mission, Baxter..." he began.
"I know, okay? I know..." the man explained. "But...gobdammit...I'm bored. And, I don't want to be the butt of rookie jokes after all this is said and done....okay?"
Grimm stared at him briefly.
"Are you sure?"
Ozzy took a deep breath.
"...no..." he said. "...but...it's something I've got to do.....okay?"
Grimm slowly nodded.
"Now....you better have boots in a nine-and-a-half..." Baxter said, staring at the thermal gear Velo was handing him.
"Nine-and-a-half...?" Grimm asked incredulously.
"I got small feet." Ozzy shrugged.
"You know what they say about men with small feet, right?" Grimm began, the obvious joke rising in his voice.
"Yeah!" Ozzy began, pointing a finger at the dark giant. "They're willing to risk their fucking necks for strangers they barely know! Now don't give me any shit, Skeletor!!"
If Grimm could have smiled, he would have been all teeth.
"Hello!"
"Ah!!" Ozzy jumped, Blackwulf reaching his hand out.
"I am being the Wulf! You are being new, da' ?"
"Uh...yeah...Baxter...Ozzy Baxter..." he said, grasping the man's handshake.
Contact.
"Thank you BaxterOzzyBaxter!" the Russian said, turning and walking away.
Ozzy just stood there with a confused expression.
Adem Different walked in behind him, looking around.
"...curious..." he said to himself.
*************
In the communications hub, Grissom Montag monitored digital traffic from around the chaotic globe. Multiple screens flared at random, his expert eyes scanning the data before him.
Suddenly, a new blip lit up on the tracking radar.
"...whot' the fock'..." he mumbled leaning in towards the screen.
*************
The hangar was now quiet, bustling with a low expectancy. The assembled metahumans stood silent, staring at the imposing figure of Grimm before them.
"Gentlemen...ladies....others...." he began, his voice coming clearly through the clean accoustics of the room. "I'm really no good at speeches. That was always Dan's forte'...."
His voice dropped into a reverant tone.
"...or, even, Chance's..."
A low hush fell over everyone, as the fresh memory burned their hearts.
"...but, then again...that's my point." he continued. "Here we are...assembled....ready to face the unknown again....ready to face down one of our old teammates against impossible odds. And we have to ask ourselves....why..."
The metas stared at the man, his words finding their center.
"Is it the right thing to do? Perhaps. But, I would like to think it's more than that...."
Velo nodded slightly to the words.
"It's our duty." Grimm announced. "Naecken was one of our own. And, he has taken Mxy from us. As Kristofer was always fond of saying, 'we watch each other's backs'."
Ozzy stared on with a wide-eyed stare.
"Naecken is our responsibility. He is ours to protect...."
Grimm paused, looking out over the assembly.
"....and...to destroy..."
Everyone nodded with understanding.
"We know what we have to do. We know that...some of us...may not come back. Just like Chance." Grimm said. "Kristofer is gone. He died making sure that we could be here today."
Leslie stared at the ground solemnly, even as Phil wrapped a comforting arm around her.
"And, I say this to you now, Vanguard...." Grimm continued. "...if Naecken is our responsibility....if Mxy is our responsibility....then, it is also our responsibility to make sure that Kristofer Chance did not sacrifice himself in vain..."
"Naecken is powerful..." he added. "...well.....alone, we are powerful..."
...Grimm raised his axe high...
"...however......united.......we are FUCKING LEGION!!"
Everyone roared with triumph, raising their fists into the air.
"...Vanguard.....it's time to call down the thunder on this son-of-a-bitch..." he growled.
And, even as everyone yelled again, turning to load the hovercraft, Grissom's frantic voice burst over the comm speaker...
"This is Montag....I've picked up an unidentified flying object nearing La Perdita..."
The group paused, Grimm staring up at the speaker.
"...and they're broadcasting a message on all available frequencies....digital....audio..."
"Pipe it in, Montag..." Grimm responded.
There was a series of audible clicks, and, immediately, a voice resonated throughout the chamber. A calm, cool familiar voice....
"Attention, citizens of La Perdita....this Charles Walker of the EPS..."
Velo's eyes narrowed.
"...Walker..." he breathed.
"...your time has come, my metahuman brothers...." the voice continued. "...even as we speak, an EPS transport is nearing the downtown square. I implore you all...those of you with abilities beyond the normal scope of man....hear my words! La Perdita needs you. Earth needs you. A danger looms for us all. A threat emanating from Antarctica that shall encompass our entire planet, if not dealt with. A dark being of immense power has threatened our existence...our very way of life. I ask you all....in the name of peace, prosperity, and the freedom from tyranny....I ask you....join us! Help us!"
"...sonofabitch..." Phil gasped.
"...the EPS needs you..."
