Mokole
02-12-2006, 02:17 AM
The EXiles (Blink, Morph, Sabretooth, Iron Fist, Longshot, Moondragon) arrive to find a small town that has been flattened by... something. It appears the destruction is very recent and quite random, although why is hard to tell. As they move through town they find little standing and lots of dead bodies - people, animals, trees. Blink and Sabretooth ponder what's happened, Morph jokes, Moondragon says she sees evidence of more damage heading north. They follow the debris and son run into a squad of soldiers. The soldiers quickly aim at the EXiles but an order to hold their fire keeps everyone alive. A short, bald, old man walks forward, he's not dressed in military clothes. It's Eugene Judd! He orders more soldiers to the area and orders the EXiles to hold their ground. Blink stuns the soldiers and Judd by saying they mean no one any harm....
Blink - What's happened here? Who did this?
Judd - So some of you can talk. Tell me, what happened to make you like this?
Morph - Like what? Tall?
Judd - Freaks.
Blink - I beg your pardon?
Judd - You aren't like your friends but that doesn't mean you aren't trouble.
Judd calls in a helicopter and other transport
Judd - I've got another group of them here, small ones by comparison. No, these ones seem tame, but just about as ugly in their own way. Three of them look quite human, in fact, and all are actually wearing clothes. They are under cover and do not pose a threat, we need evac to HQ as soon as possible.
Blink - Maybe introductions will help. I'm Clarice Ferguson but you can call me Blink. My mates are Morph, Victor Creed, Moondragon, Iron Fist, and Longshot. We are the EXiles and we're here to help, if we can.
Judd - OK, Blink, you're doing a good job of confusing me, eh? What's an EXile?
Blink - We're interuniverse travellers who try to right wrongs.
Judd - OK, that didn't help.
Blink - We're a group of, well, mostly mutants brought together to travel to different universes and fix things before they go to wrong.
Judd - As a helicopter arrives So what's a mutant and what do you mean by "different universes"?
Morph - Changing into a newscaster Mutant, a human with genes that grant him or her special looks and/or powers. Different universes, as in not this universe but other ones.
The soldiers move in tighter on Morph but Judd intercedes
Judd - Not too close, we don't want them to get any advantage!
Judd - OK, I want to break you up into groups. The big guy and the green girl can go in that truck. The tough guy and three fingers go in the next truck that comes. Blink, you and the marshmallow come wth me.
He motions for four of the soldiers to go with him to the helicopter
Sargeant, hold the fort here and go with the last pair, no fewer than six guards per truck. Got it?
Mitchell - Yes, sir.
Off go Judd, Blink, Morph and four soldiers, guns still pointed at the mutants' heads. Judd sits opposite Blink and Morph as they take off
Judd - OK, so tell me the truth eh, what happened at that lab to cause all this?
Blink - What do you mean? What lab?
Judd - groans The lab that created you, the one you destroyed before you demolished that town and its inhabitants.
Blink - We did no such thing! I told we we're interuniverse travellers and we arrived only minutes before we saw you. We have no idea why we're here so maybe you can fill us in about what's been going on.
Judd - You say you have no ties to that lab and that you zipped here from another universe? I'd have an easier time believing that the Moon is made of green cheese.
Morph - So you really don't know what we are or that other universes exist?
Judd - Both of those questions things guys like Langkowski and Thorne get paid to answer.
They travel in confused silence to the edge of Ottawa, where they see a large building partially demolished. Blink and Morph see the stunned looks of the soldiers as they view the carnage. Once they land...
Judd - What happened? Did they escape?
Soldier - You must be Mr. Judd. No, but one woke up and fell from his chopper, then started taking apart the place. We almost ran out of gas before he fell over again.
Judd - Who's in charge here, then? I've got two more freaks with me and four more on the way.
Soldier - You best see Dr. Langkowski, I think. Not many of the higher ups are left.
Judd - Motions to Blink and Morph to follow, as everyone stares We'd better get you inside and out of sight before something else goes wrong. No TV cameras, thank heavens for small miracles.
Inside, they see just how bad things are. The building to their left is barely together, with sky showing in several areas. So they go right and meet Dr. Langkowski
Langkowski - So you're Judd. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. What have you brought now?
Judd - They were in the area of the disaster, generally coming from the lab. They say they're 'mutants from another universe...'
Morph - Universes.
Judd - Universes, who came here, I don't know how, to help us, and they don't know how that's supposed to work, either. You need to figure out what they are, eh?
Langkowski - If this were six hours ago I'd be the happiest man on Earth seeing these two anomalies. I'll see what I can do. Keep them under guard.
Judd - Where are your cohorts, Thorne and the rest?
Langkowski - Motions left Thorne, Haddock, Huxley, all were over there, but the makeshift morgue is outside now.
Judd nods solemnly
Blink - How can we prove to you that we mean you no harm and that we're here to help?
Langkowski - I'll see what I've got to test them with, Judd. Keep them under wraps. By the way, I'm sorry at your loss but I guess we're all lucky you were there.
Judd - Thanks, we've all suffered our fair share today.
Langkowski hurries out
Morph - So you have no idea what a mutant is, or any other kind of paranormal?
Judd - I've met mutants before but they had six fingers or no legs, nothing like you two. And I don't believe in ghosts or witches or other paranormals.
Langkowski returns with a bulky device with a monitor and 'dish'. He points it at Blink, then Morph, then Judd
Langkowski - Well, it seems they could be telling the truth. This device measures atomic motion. Everything around here but them shares the same motion, and they don't even share the same motion.
Judd - Could what made them like this explain that?
Langkowski - Our three monster men, the wall, you, all have the same spin, there's a good chance they either had their atoms drastically altered or they are from another universe.
Judd - You already pointed that thing at the other three?
Langkowski - The only way we can evaluate them is passively, we can't risk waking them up, we don't have anything left to stop them again.
Blink - Monster men? What are they?
Judd - Breathes heavy OK, I'll be an idiot and humour you. Six hours ago my home, that town that you came through, was obliterated by three monsters, I don't know what else to call them. They were huge and ugly, strong, fast, and they smashed everything that moved. When the army arrived bullets bounced off the monsters and they kept on killing. Shells, grenades, they never slowed down. I took charge of a group and had them contact Department H here, to get whatever gas supplies they had out there. If weapons didn't work, maybe gas would. It took a while but they all dropped. They killed over 300 people in less than two hours, including the specialists H here sent. I'd guess another 100 or so died here. Maybe another 500 casualties who aren't dead, yet.
Blink - What did these 'monsters' look like?
Judd - One looked like he was made out of stone, grey, maybe 3 meters tall, I'd guess from his footprints he must've weighed in around 200 kilograms. The second one was dark bown and hairy, something like a sasquatch if you know that legend, a lot wider than the rock one. The third was bigger, blue, smooth, looked like a cross between a man and a shark if you ask me. And they had a mad on for everything.
Blink - They came out of a lab? Whose?
Langkowski - Everyone for miles around hear the blast, then before anyone can get to the border and see what happened these monsters attack. Their trail lead back to the lab but our people didn't cross into the U.S. to have a good look, they said it was demolished and partially sunk.
A beep sounds. Langkowski motions for Judd to leave with him
Langkowski - Stay here, we have work to do. The others you, uh, came with will be here soon so sit tight and don't cause any trouble. Understand?
Blink - We'll wait but undersatnd that we won't stick around if we're not going to be treated decently.
Judd and Langkowski go upstairs, where Director Heather Hudson and Chief James Hudson are watching monitors, very grim, one monitor is fixed on the mutants.
Heather - Nice to meet you, Mr. Judd. I hope you're not here to spy for SHIELD?
Judd - To be honest, I'm surprised you know that I ever worked for SHIELD, or that it exists.
Heather - You didn't answer my question.
Judd - I retired years ago and I have nothing to give them. My town was in trouble, the army was in trouble, so I stepped in to help. Now you're in trouble and I'm not about to make things worse. How did you know I was a SHIELD agent?
Heather - You know there were rumours for years that some clandestine organization was around manipulating events to keep the world 'safer'. They did a pretty good job of staying out of sight, until Stark took over.
Judd - Astonished You know about him too?? I'm impressed!
Heather - We got conclusive evidence 10 years ago that SHIELD existed but until Anthony Stark became Director we had no idea what SHIELD was about. He doesn't walk siliently.
Judd - And the Crimson Dynamo affair could've been handled more discretely, eh?
Heather - We knew pretty quickly that the Russians had an armoured suit program and that it was destroyed and all designs confiscated. Black Air had a man close to the action and they owed us a favour.
James - How come SHIELD didn't get the Americans in?
Judd - I doubt even Stark or Reed Richards had a contingency for this ever happening. Bombs, poisons, terrorists sure, but this? They probably were scrambling just to get plans together in case the army up here failed.
Heather - Are they SHIELDs, then?
Judd - Well, I knew that genetics lab existed when I worked there but it did designer drugs, SHIELD never crossed paths with it in any way. But I have no idea what, if any, involvement Stark or Richards could've had with it lately.
Langkowski - I doubt even the vaunted Reed Richards could've done this. He's likely got SHIELD scientists running a thousand different experiments for him but this, aliens or turning men into monsters, I can't see even him conceiving of this.
Judd - So you aren't sure if this is an experiement gone wrong, an alien invasion, or an accident?
Langkowski - Not in the slightest. And having these new arrivals here just muddies it up more. I can't risk doing any tests on the monsters because they are too likely to wake up.
Heather - And we can't allow that. What do you make of the new arrivals? Are they playing any part in this?
Judd - My instincts say yes but how, I don't know. But your man here says they could be telling the truth.
Langkowski - There is evidence that they are not made from the stuff our universe is. Given enough time and tests I could tell you if they are telling the truth or not, but I doubt I'll get the chance.
Heather - Why not? You know, we even hacked into a SHIELD satellite to try and contact them but they aren't listening. I don't think they can move the monsters safely.
Judd - SHIELD is coming anyway, they will never talk to you. Now that you have the monsters secured they'll instigate one of their recall scenarios, get your army to 'help' move the monsters to SHIELD labs where Richards can study them. And if they have any clue that you have six more mystery people on board, they'll likely move them all, then clean you out. I'm sorry to say it, but Department H is finished and most of you will not live to see the morning, even if SHIELD doesn't wake the monsters.
James - Why?
Judd - You know too much. They have to contain this incident, just like the Crimson Dynamo one. Winterguard was wiped out, so will you. They may take some of you prisoner but unless Richards has some sort of memory eraser they'll have no choice but to continue the slaughter. Stark probably already has his people coordinating the spin as we speak. And those super suits of yours just make matters worse.
James - wincing Those are my Guardian suits, electro-magnetic power source, hovering, even an electroblast.
Judd - I saw. Impressive but they still died, and SHIELD will confiscate anything and everything.
James - We have three Guardians left. I invented them to protect Department H from attack, I guess that's over now.
Heather - I see all six have arrived. breathes heavy So what now? How long do we have?
Judd - SHIELD will already have things in motion, they'll try and move the monsters tonight.
Langkowski leaves. THe EXiles share notes. Next Issue: What the EXiles think, what Langkowski thinks, and the arrival of SHIELD. Can the EXiles help? What does Langkowski want? Will SHIELD fix things? Stay tuned
Blink - What's happened here? Who did this?
Judd - So some of you can talk. Tell me, what happened to make you like this?
Morph - Like what? Tall?
Judd - Freaks.
Blink - I beg your pardon?
Judd - You aren't like your friends but that doesn't mean you aren't trouble.
Judd calls in a helicopter and other transport
Judd - I've got another group of them here, small ones by comparison. No, these ones seem tame, but just about as ugly in their own way. Three of them look quite human, in fact, and all are actually wearing clothes. They are under cover and do not pose a threat, we need evac to HQ as soon as possible.
Blink - Maybe introductions will help. I'm Clarice Ferguson but you can call me Blink. My mates are Morph, Victor Creed, Moondragon, Iron Fist, and Longshot. We are the EXiles and we're here to help, if we can.
Judd - OK, Blink, you're doing a good job of confusing me, eh? What's an EXile?
Blink - We're interuniverse travellers who try to right wrongs.
Judd - OK, that didn't help.
Blink - We're a group of, well, mostly mutants brought together to travel to different universes and fix things before they go to wrong.
Judd - As a helicopter arrives So what's a mutant and what do you mean by "different universes"?
Morph - Changing into a newscaster Mutant, a human with genes that grant him or her special looks and/or powers. Different universes, as in not this universe but other ones.
The soldiers move in tighter on Morph but Judd intercedes
Judd - Not too close, we don't want them to get any advantage!
Judd - OK, I want to break you up into groups. The big guy and the green girl can go in that truck. The tough guy and three fingers go in the next truck that comes. Blink, you and the marshmallow come wth me.
He motions for four of the soldiers to go with him to the helicopter
Sargeant, hold the fort here and go with the last pair, no fewer than six guards per truck. Got it?
Mitchell - Yes, sir.
Off go Judd, Blink, Morph and four soldiers, guns still pointed at the mutants' heads. Judd sits opposite Blink and Morph as they take off
Judd - OK, so tell me the truth eh, what happened at that lab to cause all this?
Blink - What do you mean? What lab?
Judd - groans The lab that created you, the one you destroyed before you demolished that town and its inhabitants.
Blink - We did no such thing! I told we we're interuniverse travellers and we arrived only minutes before we saw you. We have no idea why we're here so maybe you can fill us in about what's been going on.
Judd - You say you have no ties to that lab and that you zipped here from another universe? I'd have an easier time believing that the Moon is made of green cheese.
Morph - So you really don't know what we are or that other universes exist?
Judd - Both of those questions things guys like Langkowski and Thorne get paid to answer.
They travel in confused silence to the edge of Ottawa, where they see a large building partially demolished. Blink and Morph see the stunned looks of the soldiers as they view the carnage. Once they land...
Judd - What happened? Did they escape?
Soldier - You must be Mr. Judd. No, but one woke up and fell from his chopper, then started taking apart the place. We almost ran out of gas before he fell over again.
Judd - Who's in charge here, then? I've got two more freaks with me and four more on the way.
Soldier - You best see Dr. Langkowski, I think. Not many of the higher ups are left.
Judd - Motions to Blink and Morph to follow, as everyone stares We'd better get you inside and out of sight before something else goes wrong. No TV cameras, thank heavens for small miracles.
Inside, they see just how bad things are. The building to their left is barely together, with sky showing in several areas. So they go right and meet Dr. Langkowski
Langkowski - So you're Judd. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. What have you brought now?
Judd - They were in the area of the disaster, generally coming from the lab. They say they're 'mutants from another universe...'
Morph - Universes.
Judd - Universes, who came here, I don't know how, to help us, and they don't know how that's supposed to work, either. You need to figure out what they are, eh?
Langkowski - If this were six hours ago I'd be the happiest man on Earth seeing these two anomalies. I'll see what I can do. Keep them under guard.
Judd - Where are your cohorts, Thorne and the rest?
Langkowski - Motions left Thorne, Haddock, Huxley, all were over there, but the makeshift morgue is outside now.
Judd nods solemnly
Blink - How can we prove to you that we mean you no harm and that we're here to help?
Langkowski - I'll see what I've got to test them with, Judd. Keep them under wraps. By the way, I'm sorry at your loss but I guess we're all lucky you were there.
Judd - Thanks, we've all suffered our fair share today.
Langkowski hurries out
Morph - So you have no idea what a mutant is, or any other kind of paranormal?
Judd - I've met mutants before but they had six fingers or no legs, nothing like you two. And I don't believe in ghosts or witches or other paranormals.
Langkowski returns with a bulky device with a monitor and 'dish'. He points it at Blink, then Morph, then Judd
Langkowski - Well, it seems they could be telling the truth. This device measures atomic motion. Everything around here but them shares the same motion, and they don't even share the same motion.
Judd - Could what made them like this explain that?
Langkowski - Our three monster men, the wall, you, all have the same spin, there's a good chance they either had their atoms drastically altered or they are from another universe.
Judd - You already pointed that thing at the other three?
Langkowski - The only way we can evaluate them is passively, we can't risk waking them up, we don't have anything left to stop them again.
Blink - Monster men? What are they?
Judd - Breathes heavy OK, I'll be an idiot and humour you. Six hours ago my home, that town that you came through, was obliterated by three monsters, I don't know what else to call them. They were huge and ugly, strong, fast, and they smashed everything that moved. When the army arrived bullets bounced off the monsters and they kept on killing. Shells, grenades, they never slowed down. I took charge of a group and had them contact Department H here, to get whatever gas supplies they had out there. If weapons didn't work, maybe gas would. It took a while but they all dropped. They killed over 300 people in less than two hours, including the specialists H here sent. I'd guess another 100 or so died here. Maybe another 500 casualties who aren't dead, yet.
Blink - What did these 'monsters' look like?
Judd - One looked like he was made out of stone, grey, maybe 3 meters tall, I'd guess from his footprints he must've weighed in around 200 kilograms. The second one was dark bown and hairy, something like a sasquatch if you know that legend, a lot wider than the rock one. The third was bigger, blue, smooth, looked like a cross between a man and a shark if you ask me. And they had a mad on for everything.
Blink - They came out of a lab? Whose?
Langkowski - Everyone for miles around hear the blast, then before anyone can get to the border and see what happened these monsters attack. Their trail lead back to the lab but our people didn't cross into the U.S. to have a good look, they said it was demolished and partially sunk.
A beep sounds. Langkowski motions for Judd to leave with him
Langkowski - Stay here, we have work to do. The others you, uh, came with will be here soon so sit tight and don't cause any trouble. Understand?
Blink - We'll wait but undersatnd that we won't stick around if we're not going to be treated decently.
Judd and Langkowski go upstairs, where Director Heather Hudson and Chief James Hudson are watching monitors, very grim, one monitor is fixed on the mutants.
Heather - Nice to meet you, Mr. Judd. I hope you're not here to spy for SHIELD?
Judd - To be honest, I'm surprised you know that I ever worked for SHIELD, or that it exists.
Heather - You didn't answer my question.
Judd - I retired years ago and I have nothing to give them. My town was in trouble, the army was in trouble, so I stepped in to help. Now you're in trouble and I'm not about to make things worse. How did you know I was a SHIELD agent?
Heather - You know there were rumours for years that some clandestine organization was around manipulating events to keep the world 'safer'. They did a pretty good job of staying out of sight, until Stark took over.
Judd - Astonished You know about him too?? I'm impressed!
Heather - We got conclusive evidence 10 years ago that SHIELD existed but until Anthony Stark became Director we had no idea what SHIELD was about. He doesn't walk siliently.
Judd - And the Crimson Dynamo affair could've been handled more discretely, eh?
Heather - We knew pretty quickly that the Russians had an armoured suit program and that it was destroyed and all designs confiscated. Black Air had a man close to the action and they owed us a favour.
James - How come SHIELD didn't get the Americans in?
Judd - I doubt even Stark or Reed Richards had a contingency for this ever happening. Bombs, poisons, terrorists sure, but this? They probably were scrambling just to get plans together in case the army up here failed.
Heather - Are they SHIELDs, then?
Judd - Well, I knew that genetics lab existed when I worked there but it did designer drugs, SHIELD never crossed paths with it in any way. But I have no idea what, if any, involvement Stark or Richards could've had with it lately.
Langkowski - I doubt even the vaunted Reed Richards could've done this. He's likely got SHIELD scientists running a thousand different experiments for him but this, aliens or turning men into monsters, I can't see even him conceiving of this.
Judd - So you aren't sure if this is an experiement gone wrong, an alien invasion, or an accident?
Langkowski - Not in the slightest. And having these new arrivals here just muddies it up more. I can't risk doing any tests on the monsters because they are too likely to wake up.
Heather - And we can't allow that. What do you make of the new arrivals? Are they playing any part in this?
Judd - My instincts say yes but how, I don't know. But your man here says they could be telling the truth.
Langkowski - There is evidence that they are not made from the stuff our universe is. Given enough time and tests I could tell you if they are telling the truth or not, but I doubt I'll get the chance.
Heather - Why not? You know, we even hacked into a SHIELD satellite to try and contact them but they aren't listening. I don't think they can move the monsters safely.
Judd - SHIELD is coming anyway, they will never talk to you. Now that you have the monsters secured they'll instigate one of their recall scenarios, get your army to 'help' move the monsters to SHIELD labs where Richards can study them. And if they have any clue that you have six more mystery people on board, they'll likely move them all, then clean you out. I'm sorry to say it, but Department H is finished and most of you will not live to see the morning, even if SHIELD doesn't wake the monsters.
James - Why?
Judd - You know too much. They have to contain this incident, just like the Crimson Dynamo one. Winterguard was wiped out, so will you. They may take some of you prisoner but unless Richards has some sort of memory eraser they'll have no choice but to continue the slaughter. Stark probably already has his people coordinating the spin as we speak. And those super suits of yours just make matters worse.
James - wincing Those are my Guardian suits, electro-magnetic power source, hovering, even an electroblast.
Judd - I saw. Impressive but they still died, and SHIELD will confiscate anything and everything.
James - We have three Guardians left. I invented them to protect Department H from attack, I guess that's over now.
Heather - I see all six have arrived. breathes heavy So what now? How long do we have?
Judd - SHIELD will already have things in motion, they'll try and move the monsters tonight.
Langkowski leaves. THe EXiles share notes. Next Issue: What the EXiles think, what Langkowski thinks, and the arrival of SHIELD. Can the EXiles help? What does Langkowski want? Will SHIELD fix things? Stay tuned