********************************************************************** DISCLAIMER 1) This material is not used for monetary profit in any manner. It is done solely for enjoyment purposes, and as homage to the great stories and characters of Marvel Comics Group 2) All the characters, events, and locations portrayed within are recognized as property of Marvel Comics Group should they so wish. 3) This story has been written by Samy Merchi . Any commentary in the form of compliments or critique is welcomed, and eagerly hoped for. So go ahead and drop me a line telling me what you thought, okay? It'll make my day. ;) 4) This story is being archived at least at my fanfic page at . Previous parts can be found there if needed. ********************************************************************** ******************* * NOT YOUR LEADER * ******************* CHAPTER ONE: The Sword Is Broken "No! 'Berto, dinnae do this!!" "You'll thank me one day, Rahne", Roberto commented calmly as crackling black solar energy washed outwards from his outstretched hand, blasting the wolfgirl backwards in a high arc, towards the tall spire of the Muir Isle Mutant Research Center. "GOTcha!!" Meggan shouted, barely flying up in time and snagging Rahne by her belt to save her from crashing into the tower. Then again, that is how Roberto Da Costa had planned it, to keep one of the most dangerous members of Excalibur out of the game for the time being. "Mein Freund", Kurt commented calmly, appearing in a BAMF! and a burst of fire and brimstone, right above and behind Roberto's hovering form, brandishing a sword. "Our past acquaintances notwithstanding, we would still like a rational explanation as to your motivations for trying to abduct Douglock", he spoke as his foot impacted onto the back of Roberto's head. Toppling forwards with an "Unggh!", Roberto grasped the back of his head in pain, and floated higher. "Nightcrawler", he hissed, and solar energy lanced outwards from him towards the spot where the German had been -- but too late, as another BAMF! and a lingering black cloud had already carried him elsewhere. "Kurt's right, 'Berto! Stop this craziness now!" Kitty shouted, standing beside the almost-abductee Douglock, who was surveying the situation closely with his scanners. "Kitty, my sensors indicate his ambient power level growing, but his power output is remaining constant...he's stockpiling power", the renegade Phalanx unit reported. "Let us see what all his power can do against my organic steel frame!" Peter boasted, his massive frame glinting in the moonlight as he looked upwards towards the momentarily disconcerted Roberto. "Dare you face me in honest combat, Sunspot? Or will you resort to trickery as you did many a time during our practice sessions?" "He who does not do all he can to win, Colossus", Roberto hissed, slowly regaining his balance, "is condemned to be a loser. I grow weary of this. Hand me Douglock!" he commanded with an imperious tone of voice booming over the field on Muir Isle. "I will brook no further interruptions!" "Well, ain't that just too bad, you little scab!" Peter Wisdom's voice rang out, as he ran to the scene from the direction of the MRC. Pointing his hand towards Roberto, he flung a spray of hot-knives -- plates of heat as hot as the heart of sun -- towards the former New Mutant. "We ain't too fond of this Douglock-nappin' trend everybody an' their bloody mother seems to be havin'." Roberto smirked as he did not flinch. Taking Wisdom's blast point blank, he did not even blink. "Pathetic", he commented, before solar energy -- the heat of Wisdom's hotknives, converted to concussive force by Roberto's powers -- lanced outwards from his eyes, blasting the ground under the Brit. Only then did he notice he was on the edge of a cliff, as the ground crumbled under him, and he started falling down towards the ocean and the rocks jutting out of the water. "PETE!" Kitty screamed, and started running towards the cliffside, but she knew she wouldn't get there in time. However, Kurt did. "No need to worry, Katzchen", he grinned, as he appeared at the cliffside with a BAMF, with Wisdom in his arms. "Our ill-mannered and black-lunged Mr Wisdom is quite all right, merely given a slight scare by the fall." Roberto started quickly assessing the situation. Meggan and Nightcrawler were the worst threats to him -- one possessing long-range strike capability, and one able to get close to him at any time. A quick thought, and the latter was handled with a smirk. Then, he turned his attention to Meggan, who was flying back towards the battle scene, carrying Rahne. "Stop this insanity, 'Berto!" Rahne yelled desperately, dropping onto all fours near Douglock as Meggan put her down, and took position before the Phalanx protectively. "Tell us what ye want him f'r, maybe we can help ye!" "Poor, poor Rahne", Roberto grinned. "I don't -need- your help. Nor do I want it. The only thing Excalibur has that I want, is Douglock." He smirked slightly. "And perhaps, under some circumstances, Meggan, but I believe she is engaged, so I will refrain from charming her now, and merely take her out of the fight." "What're ye...?" Rahne started, just as Meggan, who had been hovering some ten feet above her, to the right, suddenly fell to the ground like a puppet with her strings cut, curling up into a little ball and shivering like there were no tomorrow. "What'd ye do tae her, y' spaleen???" Rahne screamed, darting over to Meggan and wrapping her arms around the fairygirl, holding her close. "Meggan!" Kurt shouted, and a BAMF signalled another teleport from Kurt, as he teleported to Roberto again, prepared to take the young man for a dozen or so quick 'ports to exhaust him and take the fight out of him. Another BAMF came out beside Roberto, accompanied by Kurt and the characteristic black cloud. "Du...schwein!" Kurt managed to say, barely holding his rage at seeing Meggan hurt -- then he let out a horrible scream, and fell towards the ground. "Kurt!" Peter shouted, seeing one of his oldest friends overcome by such terrible, invisible agony, and moved underneath him, preparing to catch the German...but a fall from the height Roberto was at -- fifty feet or so -- might kill him if Peter maintained his organic steel form. Golden energy briefly crackled about him, and he transformed to his human fleshform. "Ah, you'd love to hear the answer, wouldn't you, Rahne?" Roberto asked, letting the black crackling of energy intensify around him a bit, to show off his power. "As I am certain, you would love to hear what I did to your leader. Alas", he grinned, "I am not some pathetic would-be ruler like Apocalypse who takes pleasure out of explaining his plans. I am a Da Costa -- a ruler by heritage -- and I have no desire to explain myself." Had he explained, though, he could have said that he had absorbed heat from Meggan's body -- lowered her body temperature quite significantly. She would recover though. Eventually. As for Nightcrawler...well, it was simply a matter of raising the temperature of the air around him by a few hundred degrees. He had considered going for a few thousand, but he wasn't here to kill anyone. Well, Colossus was tempting...the boorish peasant buffoon...he would enjoy showing the Russian a lesson in repayment for all those beatings during the training sessions...but business before pleasure. It would be easy to strike Colossus down now, while the man was in his fleshform. -Too- easy. And a Da Costa is nothing if not one who gives his enemies a sporting chance before handing them their asses. Peter caught Kurt, and instantly transformed back into his organic steel changeform. "Katya, what should we do?" he called out, looking over his shoulder towards Shadowcat, running back towards the scene with Wisdom from the cliffside. "I'll tell ye what ye should be doin'!" came a new voice, accompanied by the sound of several plasma rounds firing. CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM! Moira MacTaggart was standing by the outside door of the MRC, holding a plasma rifle and aiming it at Roberto, the muzzle still smoking by the white-hot plasma discharges. "Not lettin' him take poor Dougie's what ye should be doin'!" she yelled. "What th' bloody devil d' ye think ye're doin', Roberto Da Costa?? I've got a mind t' take ye over me lap an' spank ye!!" Roberto blinked as the plasma blasts hit him, and turned his attention towards the new arrival. Then, he started laughing. A deep, amused laugh that lasted a good dozen seconds until it was cut off by a huge boulder speeding his way, tossed by Colossus. "Please", he commented dryly as the boulder was shattered to a cloud of dust by a solar blast from his eyes. "As for you, Moira", he then said, turning his attention back to the doctor, a grin resuming on his face. "You have amused me. The enticing nature of your offer notwithstanding, I am afraid it simply is not within your power to stop me. I have removed from the playing board those of you who have a significant chance at stopping me, and I will hardly favor you by waiting here long enough for you to revive them. Now", he said, and waved a hand absently. "If everyone would please step away from Douglock?" "In your dreams, buster!" Kitty huffed, and stepped in front of Douglock. "Not before you tell us what you want him for!" "Kitty", Roberto sighed, shaking his head. "You seem to be under the delusion that you have some leverage in these negotiations. Please, next time you make demands, I would suggest you make certain you do so from a position of strength. You will find the results infinitely more satisfactory. Besides", he commented dryly. "Should I inform you of my intentions, you would only oppose more vigorously. Which you will do now anyway after I have said that." He shrugged. "Who would like to be the first to go down?" "Wait", Douglock cut in, and looked over to Kitty. "I have analyzed designate: Sunspot's attack methods, and I have come to the conclusion that his claims are not exaggerated. My sensors indicate that he was able to instantly lower Meggan's body temperature to cause a state of shock in her, and has a constant field around his body of 344 degrees celcius. From the power levels I am measuring from him, he is nowhere near his maximum exertion. It is quite possible he could incinerate or freeze all of you where you stand. I don't wish this to happen. I will go with him." Kitty bit her lip, and looked upwards, towards Roberto. He was -that- powerful? And once, he was considered by some the weakest New Mutant, only having a meager amount of super strength... And he was right, too. None of the still conscious members of Excalibur could fly to get up to him -- and even if they could, they'd just run into his heat bubble. The only way they could defeat him was by long-range attacks...and he had laughed off Moira and Pete... Based on him having taken Meggan out first, it seemed like she was the only real threat to him...but she was out. He had made sure of that. Damndamndamndamn!! Both Petes watched Kitty silently, acknowledging her leadership. Moira, as well, waited silently, but a new plasma cartridge primed to fire away. Rahne was tense, almost ready to leap up and tear her ex-teammate's throat out. She was the closest to Douglock -- they had gotten very...-very- close in the past months, and she didn't want to give him up. "Bastard", she spat out, a rather vicious word for someone like Rahne. Roberto smirked slightly. "No, Rahne. My parents were quite happily married when I was born." His grin widened slightly, and went a bit colder. "How about you?" A ferocious snarl came from Rahne's lips, and she glared at Roberto...but she couldn't fly. If she could, she'd probably have went right at the Brazilian, heat bubble or no heat bubble. "Now ye watch y'r mouth, 'Berto!" Moira snapped. "If ye think ye're gettin' away with all o' this without us givin' Cable a call..." she started, but got quickly cut off. "Moira", Roberto interrupted, his eyes flaring in slight anger. "Cable is not my father. My father is dead. I am a Da Costa, and if you think you can threaten me with some petty insinuations of having me grounded or something equally asinine, then I suggest you think again. You, Xavier, all of you pushed me around when I was young. Kept my powers in check. Gave Sam and Dani the leadership post. Xavier saw my potential. Magneto saw my potential. They were all afraid of unlocking it, because they knew! They knew I would supplant their weak-kneed ideologies. They knew I would be too strong for them to control. They were right! And I warn you, Moira!" he hissed, his eyes burning furiously with solar fire. "Do not think you can push me around anymore! Treat me like a child again, and past friendships notwithstanding, I will burn the flesh from your bones! IS THAT CLEAR???" Excalibur all blinked. Rahne. Kitty. Peter. Pete. Moira. "'Berto, it wasn't like that..." Rahne started. "SILENCE!" Roberto shouted at Rahne. "You always hated me, Rahne", he snapped. "You and your hypocritical little tendencies. You were jealous because I was a true ruler, and your addled mind could not handle treating a Da Costa properly!" He made a disgusting face and shook his head. "After all I did for the New Mutants. All I did...and you still hated me. Probably as much as that buffoon Ramsey. It is beyond me why I still keep doing you favors." "If this is the kind of favor you keep doing us, 'Berto, then you can TAKE your favors, and you can shove them up your royal, uptight [CENSORED]!!" Kitty yelled. Roberto sighed slightly. "I will call in about three hours", he simply said, before starting to raise the temperature in the fields. Rahne was the first to fall, screaming in pain at the rising heat. Not soon afterwards, Moira did the same, dropping her rifle and falling to the ground. Wisdom did not utter a sound, too stubborn to give the scab the pleasure as he dropped, his skin red as a lobster's. And last, Kitty. The one with the strongest will, she stared upwards at Roberto with vicious eyes, until, eventually, she collapsed with a small cry. Douglock watched with frustration as his comrades fell, and as they did, he quickly hurried over to each one to make sure they were all right. The heat was no worry for the techno-organic unit. Not at these levels, anyway. Roberto was holding back enough for him not to be damaged, and Douglock wondered why. Roberto shook his head with another sigh. He really hadn't wanted to hurt them. He slowly, deftly, descended down to the ground, and looked to the one remaining Excalibur member. "Rasputin", he commented flatly at the armor-skinned steel warrior. "I suppose you'll want to challenge me as well?" There was no verbal reply from Peter, merely a curt nod, as he started approaching. "When I left you I was but the learner", Roberto grinned darkly. Then, a torrent of crackling black energy streamed from his eyes, and impacted onto the russian with a huge explosion, sending him flying in a long arc. Miles long. Far, far beyond Muir Isle. And falling with a huge splash somewhere miles off the coast of the island. "Now, I am the master", he said silently to himself, before turning his attention to Douglock attending to the fellow members of Excalibur. "Time to go, Phalanx." "Is this some attempt at vengeance over the Phalanx's attempted takeover of the world?" Douglock asked curiously, as he made sure one more time that Rahne was lying comfortably on the ground, before heading Roberto's way. "I assure you, I was no part of it..." "I am not concerned with that", Roberto replied sharply, and grasped Douglock's wrist firmly, then black solar energy crackled about his form, and he flew off, with the alien in tow.