* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by Marvel Comics Group. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/~samerc/fanfic/index.html * DEDICATED TO * Malea, Terri, Sequoia, Kaleko, Indigo, KayJay, Sabre, my sister and anyone who reads this story! * STARRING * Sunspot! Karma! Magma! Darkchilde! Douglock! Chance! Marrow! The FALLEN ANGELS in ***************** * FIRST AND TEN * ***************** * CO-STARRING * Danielle "MIRAGE" Moonstar Matthew Michael "DAREDEVIL" Murdock Mary Jane Watson-Parker Thor Odinson * ALSO STARRING * Tandy "DAGGER" Bowen Johnson Tyrone "CLOAK" Johnson Peter "SPIDER-MAN" Parker Coy Leong Coy Nga * GUEST STARRING * Edwin Jarvis Anthony "IRON MAN" Stark Natalia Alianovna "BLACK WIDOW" Romanova Father Michael Bowen P. Norbert "FIXER" Ebersol * AND STARRING * Val Kilmer as BULLSEYE * CONTINUITY * This story takes place on a Christmas 1-3 years in the future. The new team of Fallen Angels has formed during this year, and have just met X-Force for the first time a couple of weeks ago. ***************** * CHAPTER THREE * ***************** Bullseye narrowed his eyes. "Who the %$&£ do you think you are??" "I'm Marrow. I'm a Fallen Angel. And I'm going to rip you open from crotch to throat if you so much as try to touch that baby, upworlder filth." "Oooo, a tough chick", Bullseye smirked, and glanced over to Daredevil. "Remember what I did to your tough ninja chick in red?" He twirled his remaining sai around a bit in his hand, and then started slowly stalking towards Marrow. "Get out of here --" Daredevil called out to Marrow, pushing himself up with his functioning leg, leaning his back against the sewer wall. "He's more dangerous than you can imagine." With that, he threw his billy club, which ricocheted off walls a few times, before darting towards Bullseye. "AGH!" Bullseye snarled as the club smashed into his shoulder before ricocheting back to Daredevil. His arm spasmed, his hand letting go of the sai, but his left hand grabbed it out of the air before it fell into the sewer waters. "Just for that, DD, I'm going to cut your arms and legs off before I kill you..." he said as his right arm was going numb. Marrow leaped at Bullseye, fast and furious, a bone dagger in each hand. "Too many threats. Too little action!" she hissed as she prepared to slash her bone blades across Bullseye's torso. "NO!" Daredevil shouted as he saw the young woman leaping towards the mercenary, reaching out with one hand towards the conflict as if he could somehow stop it from happening -- but he knew that whatever he'd do, it'd be too late. "Stupid skirt", Bullseye grinned, and instead of backing away from Marrow's assault, he rushed forward, inside the arc of Marrow's blades, and as his body impacted into hers, his sai was between them. Matt Murdock watched with horror as the tip of Bullseye's sai burst out Marrow's back, and a few tips of blood flew out of Marrow's mouth. He pulled his arm back, priming it for another throw of his billy club. Marrow coughed briefly a little more blood, and then grinned, as her legs snaked around Bullseye's waist, grabbing him and not letting him go. "Stabbed thru the heart, and you're to blame, you give love, a bad name --" she said harshly, her face drawing into a feral expression. Bullseye's eyes widened. "You should be dead, you stupid b****!" he said. "That went straight thru the heart!" "I have another", Marrow grinned. "Can you say the same?" THUNK! THUNK! Marrow's legs were around Bullseye's waist, preventing him from getting away, as she plunged her bone daggers -- which had gone past him when he had rushed in -- straight into Bullseye's back. Bullseye had a mixed look of surprise and confusion on his face. Then, he coughed blood. Then, his eyes closed, and he collapsed forward, splashing into the sewer muck, burying Marrow underneath the weight of his body. Marrow wrinkled her nose, and pushed Bullseye off herself, and then slowly stumbled up, leaning onto the sewer wall with one hand, and placing another hand over her chest where the bleeding from her punctured heart had already stopped. She did not have a healing factor per se, but an enhanced cardiovascular system. The puncture wound in her chest and back would heal at normal speed, but the bleeding had already ended. And it was the same enhanced cardiovascular system which had allowed her to regenerate the heart that Storm had once ripped out of her. Daredevil frowned at the sight. "Did you kill him?" he asked, slowly limping over towards Bullseye. "No", Marrow breathed raspily, as the adrenaline rush was slowly dying down and was leaving her in a worse shape than she had expected. "The Dark One would have a cow if I'd have done that." She shrugged. "So I didn't." "The Dark One?" Daredevil asked, as he looked Bullseye over, and then finally let his eyes go to Marrow. "Are you all right?" "I'll heal", Marrow answered, and then took a deep breath, closing her eyes and tried to focus on ignoring the pain -- a practice at which she had become very good over the years. "The Dark One. Sunspot. Roberto Da Costa. My leader." "You need a doctor", Daredevil pointed out. "So do you", Marrow just replied with something of a sneer. "Gunshot wounds treated in hospitals get reported to the police." "I know an ask-no-questions place." Marrow's eyes twinkled a bit. "I don't think either of us is in a condition to carry Bullseye", Daredevil pointed out, still holding the baby, but now considerably more loosely, relaxed. "And we can't just leave him here." "Why not?" Marrow smiled. "There aren't alligators here. Not in this part of the sewers. Much. Often." Daredevil sighed. "We just can't. We need to get him to a hospital. And I can't do it alone." "Whoever said you were alone?" a new voice rang in the sewers, and a red light was snapped on, bathing the tunnels in its light. "To quote the Fab Four, DD --", Spider-Man smiled from the sewer ceiling, "-- I get by with a little help from my friends." "Spider-Man", Marrow hissed. "Hiya, bones", Spider-Man replied, as he let go of the ceiling, and gracefully dropped down into the sewer waters, beside Bullseye. "I gotta tell you, I was half expecting a 'He's dead, Jim!', but then again -- dammit, Jim, I'm a superhero, not a precognitive! Well, except with my trademark spider-sense, but that doesn't count." He placed his hand onto Bullseye's neck, checking for pulse, and nodding to himself in satisfaction upon finding it. "You know her, Spidey?" Daredevil asked curiously. "I've run into her a couple of times", Spider-Man answered. "Cyclops told me she used to be an X-Man for a while, but skipped after some time. Probably got shore leave." He then glanced at the baby. "Look, if you want, I can take care of the baby and Bullseye. You just go on and get yourself patched up, okay?" Daredevil nodded slowly, and then handed the baby over to Spider-Man, who webbed the infant onto his back, like in a backpack, and then grabbed the unconscious Bullseye under one arm, and prepared to head off. He stopped in front of Marrow, and placed a hand onto her face, spreading the second and third fingers apart from the fourth and fifth fingers, and said, "Remember!" Marrow snarled, and swung her fist at Spider-Man, who ducked underneath the vicious slash, and then grinned under his mask. "Really, Dr McCoy, you must learn to govern your passions -- they *will be* your undoing!" With that, Spider-Man leaped up to the ceiling, climbed up thru a manhole opening, and left the sewers. Daredevil put a hand in front of his lips to hide a smirk, and then cleared his throat a bit, re-assuming his calm expression, as he asked, "So, about that no-questions-asked place...?" *** "You did WHAT??" Roberto Da Costa gaped. Douglock sighed quietly as he was still being dangled at the end of Thor's arm. "Now I know what it feels like to be on trial..." Danielle Moonstar, in the meanwhile, was having trouble restraining laughter. "I don't believe this -- sweet spirits, wait until Rahne hears about this --!" "NO!" Douglock said. "Don't you DARE tell her --! Dani, I swear I'll do ANYTHING, if you won't tell her --!" "I would say", Amara Aquilla commented, "that you have got him, as I believe the saying goes, 'by the balls'. I would advise making the best out of this opportunity." She smiled playfully. "I doubt Douglas will go even *near* the risk of having this happen again..." "Uh, Dani --?" Douglock said with a pitiful expression. "Could you tell the god-type person to let go of me? It's embarrassing enough to have my dirty laundry aired in front of everyone, but *being waved around* like dirty laundry isn't making this any better..." Dani forced the smile off her lips, and cleared her throat. "Of course", she said, and then the grin burst back onto her lips. "Uh, Thor -- would you mind letting him down?" she nonetheless asked. "With pleasure --" "GREAT!" Douglock breathed. "-- once the base deceiver hath made a solemn vow to refrain from any such activities in the future, whether it be in mine personage, that of brave Captain America, or anyone else!" Douglock muttered under his breath. "I did not hear thee, mortal." "You know", Douglock wrinkled his nose. "If it wasn't for US, *Loki* would be running Asgard right now, with Storm. But did I ever hear a 'thank you' for saving your home while you were off somewhere? Noooo! So pardon me, mister high-and-mighty Thunder God, so maybe I did something wrong, but that doesn't give you the right to dangle me like a worm on a hook?!" Roberto sighed quietly. "Well, at least I'm not the only one he acts stubborn to..." he said quietly to himself. While Amara was looking to Roberto for instructions on how to proceed, Dani did no such thing. "Okay -- Thor, let's all calm down here. It's Christmas, right? Maybe you don't believe in Christ, and I know I don't, but that's not the point -- this is supposed to be a time of peace and good will. Let him go -- please -- and I'll personally vouch on my honor as a valkyrie that he'll never do that again, okay?" Thor looked down at Danielle Moonstar for long moments. Then, his hand let go of Douglock. "UMPH!" Douglock wheezed as he fell headlong onto the sidewalk. "You know, the tabloids are gonna love this..." "Your honor, Moonstar, is more than sufficient guarantee for me", Thor said, as the twirling of his hammer slowly picked up speed, lifting him higher gradually. "And think not that thou hast not my gratitude", he boomed, looking at Douglock. "For that, and more, mine respect, dost thou have -- Loki is not a foe to be taken lightly. Nonetheless, I shall tolerate no further impersonations of my person. Is this understood?" he said sharply at the techno-organic symbiosis. "Yes mein fuehrer", Douglock first muttered under his breath, and then cleared his throat as he got up from the sidewalk, and saluted with a palm to the temple. "Sir yes sir." "So be it!" Thor said, and his hammer accelerated its twirling. "Fare thee well, Fallen Angels -- should thou ever be in need of assistance from the God of Thunder, you but need to let me know!" With that, he soared off to the skies. "Hmp", Douglock commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who does he think he is, anyway --?" "A god", Amara said, flatly. "Oh, come on, gimme a brea-- OW!!" Douglock was interrupted when Dani grabbed his ear and started dragging him by the ear towards the front doors of Da Costa International. "You've caused enough trouble tonight, Doug -- just shut up before we remind you of the Roulette incident at the Hellfire Club..." She glanced towards Roberto. "And you owe me one." "ME??" Roberto gaped. "Why *me*?? *Ramsey's* the one who got into trouble! I didn't have anything to do with it!" "You wanted to be a leader, dear heart", Dani replied with a sweet smile. "Lesson number one -- everything your people did, *you* did, lover. Live with it." Dani headed inside the building, tugging the repeatedly-wincing Douglock behind her. Roberto followed after them, grumbling to himself, while Amara just had a content, amused smile on her lips as she came in last. *** Chance was munching on her chips, occasionally dipping them into the dip sauce, while watching the television. Suddenly, she heard the elevator doors swishing open, and several voices entering the penthouse. She licked her fingers clean, then changed the channel to something non-pornographic, and resumed munching on her chips. "Take the two of them into the living room", Roberto's voice ordered. "And *not* onto a leather couch!" "Roberto", Amara's voice retorted. "The couches are *all* leather." "Ah", Roberto's voice returned. "Take them to a bedroom, then, onto a bed. Douglock, go with them. Amara, you're with me -- we'll go grab some medical supplies." After a few moments, Chance saw Marrow and Daredevil, escorted by Dani, head thru the living room towards the hallway where the Angels' bedrooms were. She quirked an eyebrow, and left her chips over at the couch, getting up and heading after them. "What happened --?" *** "-- all right, Leong -- Nga. It is time for us to go back home and get the two of you into bed", Xi'an said motheringly, as the Coy Manh family, the two Johnsons and Father Bowen were the only people left in the Holy Ghost church after a good while of chatting and getting reacquainted. Tyrone Johnson raised an eyebrow, and then briefly glanced to Tandy, as if for approval, before asking, "Need a lift?" *** Illyana gave Mary Jane a tight hug at the latter's front door. "I'll see you at the next rehearsal, red", she said. Mary Jane nodded, and let go of Illyana, starting to dig for her keys in her pocket. "You're spending the Christmas with your friends, right?" she asked. Illyana nodded, running her fingers thru her straight blonde hair once. "At Da Costa International, yeah", she said, and then tightened the scarf around her throat so it'd be a bit warmer. "Okay", Mary Jane smiled. "I was just making sure -- I was going to invite you to spend the Christmas with us, if you didn't have anyone to spend it with --" "Sweet thought, MJ", Illyana said, and hugged the redhead again, kissing her cheek briefly. "I'll see you in a coupla days. Merry Christmas!" The door opened just then, revealing Peter Parker inside and making MJ's digging for her keys pointless. "Hi honey", he grinned. "I'm home." "Ah, stop scaring me like that!" Mary Jane grinned, and playfully hit Peter's shoulder. "Got home from work already? I didn't expect you back before, oh, I don't know, the morning?" she teased, and then glanced at Illyana. "Hi there, Illyana. You doing okay?" "Just great, Petey", Illyana answered. "You two have a good Christmas!" she smiled, and then dashed off. Mary Jane then turned and draped herself tiredly over her husband as they moved inside the house, closing the door behind them. "What're you doing home so early, Mr Superhero? I thought there were lots of bad guys out there to catch." "Well", Peter replied, starting to run his hands over his wife's body. "I just dropped Bullseye off at the cops, and returned a baby he had stolen, to its mother..." he mused, and kissed MJ tenderly. "And it's Christmas and all...so I was kind of wondering...if maybe we could work on a little bundle of our own...?" "Why Mr Parker", Mary Jane grinned. "That's mighty forward of you. And if I say no?" "You won't." "I won't?" "No." Peter smiled and made a concentrated expression. "These are not the droids you're looking for..." Mary Jane giggled and then blanked her eyes. "These are not the droids we're looking for..." she repeated in a zombie-like tone. "You will be my sex slave until the break of dawn..." "I will be your..." She paused, and quirked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not using the Dark Side of the Force? It's easier, quicker, more seductive, you know..." "So am I." "I've noticed." "Oh shut up." *** It wasn't more than a few minutes later that Illyana Rasputin's white coat was whipped about by a cold wind in the cemetery of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Silently, she watched the tombstone onto which was inscribed her name. Illyana Nikolovna Rasputina. It wasn't her down there, six feet under, dead of the Legacy Virus. And yet it was. The X-Men had died in Limbo. They had not been any less the 'real' X-Men than those of this world. The Illyana they had come to rescue, the one buried in this ground, was no less 'real' than the one reading the tombstone right now. And Illyana Nikolovna Rasputina wept, as she kneeled by her tombstone, putting her arms around it, imagining the little seven-year-old girl who was dying and so very frightened. The seven-year-old girl *she* had condemned by giving her a fresh start in this world. A fresh start which had turned out to be a horrible death. Her heart, her breath shuddered, but eventually, after some time -- seconds? minutes? hours? -- she finally stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry", she whispered, and then was gone as a disk of golden light swallowed her up. *** "He WHAT???" Chance started laughing loudly, grasping her stomach as she toppled backwards, smashing onto the floor with her butt, but she hardly noticed, and just kept laughing. "It's *not* funny", Douglock said in an icy voice. "How was I going to know the real Thor would find out?!?" "You *could* have just refrained from doing it at all, Doug", Dani stated while looking over Daredevil's knee and cleaning it with disinfectant. "Does anyone know where Shan is --? She's a much better medic than me..." "Over here", Xi'an said as she entered the room, and glanced at the situation. "All right -- Roberto, Amara, Douglock, Chance, Danielle, unless you have injuries, out of this room. Chance, could you make sure Leong and Nga brush their teeth and go to bed, s'il vous plait?" Chance looked away from Douglock so she could control her laughter for a moment, and quirked an eyebrow to Xi'an. "What am I, a babysitter?" she asked with an indignant expression. Mothering instincts, she did not possess. "I can do that, Xi'an", Amara said. "Do not concern yourself with Leong and Nga, I will make certain they will go to sleep." She was the first to head out of the room, and walked over to the living room. "Bon soir", she nodded to Cloak and Dagger. "Hi", Dagger smiled while Cloak loomed behind her, doing his usual looking-gloomy-and-dark schtick. "We just dropped Shan and the kids over, hope you don't mind..." "Not at all", Amara replied. "Friends are always welcome." She quirked an eyebrow as Roberto entered the living room. "Speaking of which -- come on, Leong, Nga -- it is your bedtime." "Bedtime. Feh", Leong commented. "Little children have 'bedtimes'..." "Be as it may, Leong", Roberto said as he passed Amara and the two teenagers as he entered the room, "we do not intend to let you stay up and watch the Playboy channel -- so off to bed it is for the two of you. No arguments." "Sunspot", Cloak commented in a dry tone. "Cloak", Roberto responded, wrinkling his nose. "Boys", Dagger broke in, trying to dispel the instant animosity. "Don't worry", Roberto smiled a bit tauntingly at Cloak. "I don't intend to steal your powers today." "I don't intend to let you, today", Cloak simply replied. Roberto smirked, and then glanced over to notice Dagger's wedding ring, and raised an eyebrow. His expression even brightened a bit. "You have gotten married?" he asked, and was rewarded with a brief and shy nod from Dagger. "Congratulations!" he said, and quickly shook the hands of both Tandy *and* Tyrone. "Now if you will excuse me, I have some socks to attend to --" he said, and headed out of the room thru a door on the opposite wall from the one he had entered thru. "Hang on, Bobby, I'll come help you!" Chance's voice briefly rang in the living room as she dashed thru the room, causing both Cloak and Dagger to follow her with their eyes like in a tennis tournament where the ball goes back and forth. Here, Chance only went forth, but it was enough for Tandy and Tyrone to feel like they were watching a tennis game, with all the people hustling and bustling here and there. A golden disk of light flared in the middle of the living room, and Illyana Rasputin entered the penthouse headquarters of the Fallen Angels. "Dagger. Cloak", she smiled. "Long time no exorcising powers, huh?" "Hi, Illyana", Tandy smiled. "We were just dropping Xi'an, Leong and Nga off after the mass at my uncle's church --" "Ugh. I remember that place. Gave me the creeps", Illyana grinned toothily. "Shouldn't anymore, though -- maybe. Dunno. I should come check it out sometime." "Hi, guys", Dani said as she entered the room. "Anybody seen 'Berto?" "He went that way", Cloak said, pointing towards the door Roberto had departed thru. "He said something about socks." "Oh yeah, of course --" Dani said, and left the room promptly thru the indicated door. "-- I need some scotch tape --" Chance muttered as she rushed thru the living room in the other direction than she had a few minutes earlier. Leong came into the room, kneeled by the VCR, inserted a tape, then fiddled a bit with the controls, and then headed back out of the room. "-- anyone made any food --?" Marrow grumbled as she stalked into the living room and headed straight off into the kitchen. Cloak, Dagger and Illyana stood in the middle of the living room and watched people rush here and there, to and fro, for almost a quarter of an hour, before Cloak glanced to Dagger with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, it's time for us to leave", Dagger smiled, and gave Illyana a brief hug. "Merry Christmas, Illyana." "Merry Christmas, Dagger", Illyana said, hugging the blonde back. "You too, Cloak." With that, Cloak teleported the pair off, leaving Illyana alone in the middle of the room. She yawned, stretched, and headed off to her room to browse a stack of Playgirl issues before allowing herself to drift off to an unusually untroubled sleep. *** In the morning, Clint Barton would wake up to find a gift-wrapped cylindrical object on his nightstand, with a card next to it, saying, "Merry Christmas from Tony and Tasha." He would quirk an eyebrow, and unwrap the present to find a collapsible energy-shooting bow which could be retracted to be a functional flashlight and fighting baton. *** And despite any possible religious differences, the morning would also see the Fallen Angels eagerly unwrapping their presents. Sunspot, Karma, Chance, Magma, Douglock, Magik and Marrow alike would want to find out what the others had gotten them. And they were joined in the feeding frenzy by Roberto's girlfriend Dani Moonstar, and Xi'an's younger siblings Leong and Nga. It was the Fallen Angels' first Christmas and ten people. And in the end, it didn't matter if some of them were Pagan, some were Catholic and some were atheist. For the important thing to them all, regardless of religion, was giving and receiving presents. And in particular, the most important present of all. The one that crossed any borders, religious or otherwise. The gift of friendship. Roberto looked deep into Danielle's eyes as they both stood underneath the mistletoe. "You know", he whispered, "mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it." Slowly, Danielle touched her lips to Roberto's, her arms wrapping around him and holding him close. "A kiss can be even deadlier", she answered with a warm breath, "if you mean it." And love and peace was felt by all.