MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East & Africa
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Light =&gt; Light: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Veluux on 03-11-2012, 06:57:47</h2>
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				Title: <strong>MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>03-11-2012, 06:57:47</strong>
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				<div align="center"><strong><span class="bbc_u">THREAD DIRECTORY</span></strong><br><br><strong>Administrative:</strong><br>Recruitment Thread (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156287.msg7151369#msg7151369)<br>Character Biographies (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156367.msg7156000#msg7156000)<br>OOC &amp; Plot Discussion (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156288.msg7151409#msg7151409)<br>GM UPDATES!!! (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156696.msg7176403#msg7176403)<br><br><strong>In-Character:</strong><br>New York (<em>Eastern US/Canada</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156508.msg7165306#msg7165306)<br>Los Angeles (<em>Western US/Mexico</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156511.msg7165393#msg7165393)<br>Moscow (<em>Europe &amp; Northern Asia</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156514.msg7165561#msg7165561)<br>Tokyo (<em>Asia &amp; Pacific Ring</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156520.msg7165755#msg7165755)<br>Cairo (<em>Middle East &amp; Africa</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156516.msg7165677#msg7165677)<br>Buenos Aires (<em>South America</em>) (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156522.msg7165804#msg7165804)<br></div><br><hr><hr><br><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 36pt;" class="bbc_size"><span style="font-family: impact;" class="bbc_font">-&nbsp; CAIRO&nbsp; -</span></span><br><br>(http://cdn.publishme.se/cdn/8-1/3112931/images/2012/pyramid_207158355.jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;While the convenient location posted between two important and valuable resource supplies of the Middle East's oil, and Africa's Crystal and Metal mines... that isn't the primary reason Apocalypse has picked Cairo as his base of operations. Back in his history - far longer than even textbooks discuss... Apocalypse had seen it first hand. He had watched the Pyramids of Giza get built before his very own eyes. To accomplish the task, some divine intervention had taken place and a little bit of celestial technology was lent to the humans to accomplish the feat for their god - and old rival of En Sabah Nur (now known as simply as Apocalypse).<br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The Pyramids themselves were just a part of a much greater cosmic machine - ancient celestial technology that has been lying dormant for years. Apocalypse knows of the potential power that these mysterious stone monuments of mythic proportions truly hold - though mankind has never known how to unlock it. The few humans that had any knowledge of its original use had long passed away, and let the incredible power fade with their own rules. So were the selfish Pharaohs of old, always wanting to leave the largest impression... never passing on the knowledge to the next dynasty. So those times faded from memory, but Apocalypse would resurrect the ancient power plants and use them to launch the Earth into it's greatest age yet. Tony Stark's pitiful arc reactor paled in comparison to the self-sustaining energy these monoliths could provide... </div>
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>06-11-2012, 00:37:07</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d9/LokiLookSquare.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Undecided<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo, overlooking the pyramids of Giza<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Open<br></span></span><hr> <br><br>The city of a thousand minarets lay battered and broken, shrouded by a black cloud composed of newly risen smoke and a century of pollution. In many ways Loki was thankful for its obscuring presence; this wretched corner of Midgard was hot enough without the eye of the sun blazing down upon him as well.<br><br>Yet something important had brought him here, not long before the devastating attack of earth's latest conqueror. Odin may have robbed him of his ability to see and sense magic but Loki's memories remained. Memories of what the tesseract had revealed when he held it. Faint as they were, he knew his best chance at recovering his rightful powers lay somewhere in or near this sprawling city. His search had barely begun when unfamiliar armies appeared and the massacre of the humans began.<br><br>Not that there was anything wrong with thinning the herd, but that part of the invader's plan remained a puzzle to Loki. Many humans were gathered into warehouses and most were destroyed. At the same time, little by little, the army's numbers swelled. But these soldiers were not strictly human; they had enhanced abilities that could be quite challenging. He tested himself against them when he found small patrols alone in the labyrinthine streets. Few of them seemed formally trained but each one was uniquely skilled and deadly enough to provide a challenge. His curiosity was roused.<br><br><div class="floatright">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/e/ec/CairoHaze.jpg)</div>He knew that the remaining free humans, huddled like rats in the darkest corners of Cairo, had watched him kill their enemies. He watched them at other times: fighting their own battles, rarely winning, sometimes escaping. Whatever they thought of him, they didn't object when he drew near in the night to listen to the clandestine radio broadcasts that delivered fragments of news from the other fallen cities of world. <br><br>It seemed that Cairo had fared well compared to other locales. Her minarets were shattered but the vast majority of her structures remained standing. Highways were clogged with abandoned vehicles but the invaders worked to clear them, making way for tanker trucks and transports that bore the foreign army's mark. The river ports lay untouched and open to commandeered vessels. Enemy airships has claimed the landing fields. It seemed, then, that this city was particularly useful to Midgard's new ruler as a strategic point of distribution for earthly resources. And perhaps there was something more located here... something the Trickster himself had come to investigate.<br><br>Loki's cloak rippled and flared with the shapes of a thousand dark feathers. Where he had crouched in the dim morning light, a golden eagle suddenly took to the cloudy skies. The bird wheeled to the south, soaring over the massive pyramids of stone that were cradled within Cairo's embrace. Here the conqueror's soldiers were especially busy clearing debris, erecting barriers, and assembling mysterious technological constructs; obviously preparing for an event of some import. A new arrival?<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>06-11-2012, 09:20:34</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo, About 31 kilometers Above the City<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br>(http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/balloon.png?w=470&amp;h=214)<br><br>The conversation went threw his mind once again as he opens the door of the absolutely tiny capsule. He'd be lying if he said he never saw something like this happening, but he never imagined that one day he'd be doing this and that it could save the world.<br><br><em>Half,</em> was all he'd managed to say at first- he felt so helpless. The numb horror of it all. In two days this monster had wiped out half of the human race, who could do such a thing?<br><br><em>We know this Apocalypse character likes Egypt. Maybe he's from there, I don't know. We just know he's there a lot and he's up to something even bigger. We need to find out what, and stop him if we can. Who's with me?</em> someone had said. Wolverine, he thought. Kurt wasn't paying as much attention to that as he should of. Just. Half.<br><br>Someone said it was suicide. The defenses were too solid and the X-Men weren't as a rule known for Stealth. They talked of automatic weapons systems and patrolling soldiers and ship security- even flying someone in seemed too risky. A flying person was small enough that they wouldn't show up on any radar system but people notice people that fly- it's just in how the brain works.<br><br>But then an idea started to form. Even the best Ground-based Radar was useless at finding things above 26 kilometers even if they aren't small as a person, and Kurt does turn invisible when the lighting isn't so good.<br><br>The last hold-out of this desperate plan was Rogue. That didn't surprise him. Half-Sister by Adoption, Family was Important.<br><br><em>Kurt, this is Suicide.</em><br><br>The way she said it actually gave him a moment's pause- but only a moment. No, he's the only one who could do this and it not be suicide. Tiny Capsule on a Balloon, all way too small and much too high for any known Radar system, looking out at the curve of the world. Up here was so beautiful- he takes a moment to enjoy the view of Cairo just before Dawn.<br><br>He gave a quick prayer, then it occured to him that he could only think of one person- human or mutant- that jumped from higher and he, unlike Kurt, had used a parachute.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;With all due respect, Herr Baumgartner, but I think 31 kilometers without a parachute or a safety crew on the ground tops 39 kilometers with them. Though if you're still alive I'm willing to discuss it,&gt;</strong>" he quietly chuckles as he gets to the edge of of the capsule. Nothing but a pressure suit to help a bit with the thin air and the heat, designed to degrade when there's enough oxygen outside the suit that he won't need it.<br><br>Then an old feeling returns, a return to memories of a simpler time. He imagines the crowds back in the Circus. He speaks into the suit a little louder, knowing nobody can hear him. Not shouting it though. It was silly, there was no way Apocalypse and his forces could possibly hear him but he most certainly keeps it on the downlow.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;Ladies and Gentlemen&gt;,</strong>" he speaks in German, "<strong>&lt;Tonight the Incredible Nightcrawler will be performing without a net. . .&gt;</strong>"<br><br>Last check. Suit, Tail, Sword, Sword, Sword, Image Inducer with full charge. Check. Check. Triple Check. Check. At least it feels like they were there. His invisibility power had kicked in back in the capsule. He breathes. . .and pushes off into the void above the African Continent. <br><br><em>Kurt, this is Suicide,</em> he remembers again. This time the memory keeps going.<br><br><em>You and I both know it's not a Suicide mission until Logan gives you a beer, Sister.</em> Kurt had joked, discretely. It was serious, no argument there. He'd hugged his sister. He had Faith that in the end God's will would be done, but he hoped neither of them had to die for it.<br><br>Of course, when Logan chose that moment to walk in with a couple beers- and not the thin water that passed for American beer either- the tone got even more somber.<br><br><em>You don't have to do this, Elf.</em> he'd tried as he handed one over.<br><br><em>Yes I do.</em> Kurt had simply answered.<br><br><em>Yeah you do. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't offer.</em><br><br><em>Thanks for the thought, Logan.</em> Kurt had answered as he broke off to leave the room. They had old Forge projects to de-mothball and preperations for a jump to make.<br><br>Falling so fast now, he high was he? Still invisible, an altimeter would be useless. He just had to go by sight to the ground. He had to be past halfway now. Right on target, the city was growing underneath him.<br><br><em>Kurt, if you don't make it- anything you want us to do for you?</em> Rogue had asked him.<br><br><em>Besides Avenge my death like the first of God?</em> he had cracked a quip as they got ready to close the capsule and get the balloon going. Storm could give the gentle encouragement to the winds for the trip.<br><br><em>When you stop Apocalypse, Light a Candle for me- and if Wanda shows up, tell her I'm sorry. My journal will say why.</em><br><br>Nocturne. It's strange really, meeting your daughter years before she's conceived. Time Travel was involved. He wondered if her timeline was even going to happen now. He wished he could apologize to her too, but odds are she didn't exist anymore. Or never would, really.<br><br>The ground was coming up so fast now. He had to look down and watch closely now. This had to be timed perfectly- too soon and he'd get unwanted attention, too late and Kurt would be able to ask God personally why all this was allowed to happen. He panics for a moment- he was still invisible but he'd leave a sign in the air- the plan was to fall next to a Minaret to block view of it from more angles but Apocalypse's forces had smashed them. He wasn't even a Muslim and he thought those things were beautiful. Alright, improvise. Look around real quick, plan ahead, the ground is coming up so fast. . .<br><br>BAMF!<br><br>Within just a few meters of the street a small cloud of some sort of brimstone just appears. It's before dawn, nobody should of seen it.<br><br>And there lies the secret of how he could make it without a parachute. Kurt found out long ago that he couldn't shed speed when he teleported. He always came out with the same inertia as he went in- but he didn't have to have the same direction.<br><br>One block down, next to a 3 story building, a cloud of the same gas appears- Kurt now not falling downward but launched upward. It doesn't take but a fraction of a second to match the height of the building, but now he's not speeding up to Terminal Velocity by Gravity but being Slowed by Gravity. BAMF!<br><br>He reappears next to a two story mansion, this time it takes a little longer and once again when he aligns with the roof- BAMF!<br><br>BAMF! An apartment building.<br><br>BAMF! Another house. Yes, this should be slow enough now.<br><br>BAMF! He grabs a broken streetlight as he goes by, swinging around it like a true circus trapeze artist. With a feeling a triumph, he settles on top of the light- stopping to catch his breath if nothing else.<br><br>Nightcrawler rolls his neck, smiles- one of the greatest feats he's ever accomplished and the whole point was that nobody saw it. The powers for Stealth but the heart of a showman. The lord had a wicked sense of humor. Kurt swings to the next light, jumps to a wall, and begins his quiet mission to save the world from Apacolypse. Something tells him he just did the easy part.
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>07-11-2012, 05:33:30</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u133/kokotigress/Elliquiy/Marvel%20Character/ElsaAvi.png)</div><hr><br>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name:</strong> Elsa Bloodstone<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Big Bad Monster Hunter<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong> Herself for now<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong> Cairo, Cairo University Campus<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br><em><strong>CAIRO UNIVERSITY<br>CREEPY BASEMENT LEVEL STORAGE ROOM IN THE ARCHAEOLOGY BUILDING...</strong></em><br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Prior to Elsa's arrival</div><div class="spoiler_body">"Are you sure we should be doing this?" The light scuffing sounds of footsteps echoed eerily around him as Amir's friends moved around the room setting up. His job was to keep watch at the door for any signs of trouble. Granted if he saw trouble coming it was likely too late but hey, even if trying to see in the dark basement was creeping him out, at least it was something to do.<br><br>"What choice do we have? Everything's gone Amir. Everything." Micah looked up from where he was drawing arcane symbols from an old tome on the concrete floor around a large circle lined with candles. <br><br>"Not everything is gone, not yet. Maybe we should let the professionals handle this one. Or at least folks more qualified than us." <br><br>"Dude, what professionals?! Supposedly not even the supes and freaks can stand up to this big evil MoFo. We have to do this. Besides, I've been studying this book for ages, ever since I first found it in my father's study. I can so do this. <em>We</em> can do this." Their voices were kept low but their whispers seemed almost harsh in thick silence, almost too loud. The power had been cut, leaving them in pitch black and without air conditioning to relieve the heat of the day. Candles and flashlights had been rounded up to help relieve the darkness at night but there was nothing left to make any noise but for the occasional groans of the structures and the pockets of survivors that did their best to stay out of sight. Fear of Apocalypse's armies had stolen their voices so that none dared to speak any louder than the four were currently lest they draw judgment straight to them. The campus had been all but deserted after the bad guys had appeared, rounding everyone up. The structures were mostly intact but the entire campus showed signs of the fighting and mad scramble to escape that had occurred. Many of the Professors had been snatched or killed and the student body along with faculty and staff had been herded off to who knew where. The four of them had managed to get to a safe hiding place with a few others to wait out the initial round up and slaughter but when the second round had come, searching through the campus for survivors to haul off, that's when Micah had come up with his bright idea. <br><br>"But Micah, I'm scared. We've only messed around with this stuff before now. We've never tried anything major like this. What if... what if this doesn't go the way we think it will? What if it just gets worse?!" Her fingers trembled as she lit another candle. She had never been so scared in her life as she had been since Apocalypse had shown up.<br><br>Out of patience, Micah stood abruptly, the chalk dropping from his fingers forgotten as his fear pushed closer to the surface. Truthfully, the 18 year old was terrified. However, rather than let it make him weak, Micah was using it to fuel his anger over all the shit that had gone down. His voice deepened to a rough growl as he pinned Janet with a glare that was clearly visible in the light provided by their flashlights and the candles they'd lit. "Just <em>stop</em> with sniveling already! You don't wanna be here, fine. No one's forcing you, there's the door!" He gestured toward the door Amir stood in front of. "Good luck making it out there like sooo many others did. I can do this on my own, I don't need you. I just thought you might like to help save the world is all. To help save our families. To be one of the heroes instead of cowards for once." He glanced at Amir and then at his cousin Jamal who he had expected to back him up without question, anger twisting his features. "This guy, Apocalypse, whoever the fuck he is, he got my dad. He turned him into a freak who doesn't even recognize me. His own son! Maybe you guys can just ignore it, all the death and pain, but I can't. I won't." <br><br>"Hey, chill man. It's alright. We'll help you. Right guys?" Jamal looked looked away from his cousin back toward the other two, his dark gaze lingering on Janet who seemed to be on the verge of tears over this whole idea. He couldn't blame her for being afraid because honestly he was too but he willed her to understand, to be brave, because apart from Micah she alone seemed to have the best grasp on the magic they toyed with. If she cracked, he didn't know that any of this crazy plan would work. What Micah was asking them to do was dangerous as hell but he agreed with his cousin that they had to do <em>something</em>. Anything was better than waiting around to be found. "We can do this guys. We have to."<br><br>Janet didn't look at all convinced but she said nothing else on the subject and simply continued with her task in silence. No one else volunteered anymore words either. There was nothing more to say really. The four of them had been friends for a very long time and no matter how scared or unsure, they wouldn't abandon Micah to do this alone.<br><br>"Are we ready?" Jamal looked to his cousin as they each stepped up around the circle once everything had been completed. <br><br>"Yes. You have the amulet?"<br><br>"Yeah. Right here." He handed it over to Janet who took it hesitantly. With a quick look to each of the boys the she pulled the amulet over her head and let it rest against her chest. <br><br>"Alright. Now lets begin."<br></div></div><br><strong>"Of all the stupid fu..."</strong> Elsa just barely bit off the curse before it left her lips as she peered through the small window in the closed door before her. Her personal transport system, aka her magic lamp, had dropped her in the basement of some school or other but thus far she had no idea which one or where it was located. It really didn't matter at this point, the only thing that mattered was stopping whatever it was that her lamp had been warning her of. Honestly she had expected to be dropped near the sight of some skirmish involving one of Apocalypse's freaks yet again but as she made her way down the dark hallway she wasn't so sure that would be the case this time. She almost wished it was though because her lamp didn't go off for just any little old thing and she had a feeling that whatever potential beastie she was to encounter it wouldn't be anything run of the mill.<br><br>As she had initially moved through the hallway, her eyes had scanned her surroundings as best as she could, looking for any sort of clues as to what she might be after. Frankly with the world in its current state the monsters seemingly had gone into hiding along with the humans which meant her monster hunting had taken a backseat to survival and well timed (and exceedingly fun) target practice for Elsa. Accustomed to being in dark places, she had been able to make out the signs that Apocalypses armies had made their way through here at one point or another but she could also tell that they were long gone... at least for the moment. <br><br>From classroom to classroom she'd moved, her steps careful and thankfully quiet on the carpeted floor as she'd done her usual methodical sweep. The only sounds to keep her company had been the sway of her coat and the light creak of her leather boots. Her searching had turned up nothing useful and the redhead had grown more and more anxious by the moment. It had taken her a second to realize that her rising anxiety was the byproduct of whatever magic was being raised and as if to emphasize this point every hair on her body had risen to stand on end. In that moment it had been difficult for the huntress not to reach for the mini Uzis she carried at her hips or even one of the two Remington 870ps strapped to her back but she'd managed. Gritting her teeth against the march of the oh so wrong magic over her skin, Elsa's blue eyes had narrowed at the cliche ominous dark doorway at the end of the hall. <br><br>Now as she stood outside the door, she knew had a decision to make. She could feel the magic rising to its peak but it wasn't yet at the point of no return. She could go in and handle this delicately and attempt to be-- aw, who was she kidding?! There was really only one way she was going to do this. Blue eyes blazing with irritation, Elsa reared back and kicked the door open violently enough to scare the living daylights out of the four idiots chanting around their incorrectly drawn circle. Immediately the power level began to dim as their chanting cut off with choked cries and they scattered... well all but one who clearly thought he was hot stuff. Bloody amateurs, the lot of them.<br><br><strong>"No no no. You've got it all wrong you fuckwits. Where's the creepy robes, drugged virgins, and nauseating incense? Don't you know anything?! These things always require virgins! Oh, and news flash, its not even night time."</strong> Her accented tones sounded almost amused as she sauntered in like she owned the place. Looking around she could see that these four had no clue what they were toying with down in this cluttered and ugh, musty, storage room.&nbsp; <br><br>"Who the hell are you?" Micah's hands were shaking as he held the book he'd been reading from but his face was a mask of rage. ”Are you one of those new freaks they send out to round people up?”<br><br><strong>"Who am I?"</strong> Her eyes widened and she pressed a gloved hand to her chest. <strong>"Oh deary me, where are my manners?! I guess I forgot to introduce myself amidst stopping you bloody gits from destroying what's left of the world with your half-arsed scheme."</strong> Her voice practically dripped with sarcasm. <strong>"Now be a good lad and hand over the book and the amulet and I'll help you lot get to a safe place."</strong> No need to mention that she didn't yet know where such a place was. She just needed to get those two power items away from these idiots before they got any more half cocked ideas. At least the other three seemed to have some sense unlike the fool across from her.<br><br>"Safe place? Is that what they call it?" Micah shut his book with a slam, knowing there was nothing in it that he could access fast enough. Instead he reached behind him intending to pull out the hand gun he'd recovered from on of the fallen attackers, "Sorry, but after what you guys did to my dad, I think I'll pass." His arm swung back around but Elsa moved even before he had pulled the gun free of his pants, her fist making just enough contact with his jaw to knock him soundly on his ass. <br><br>Not giving the boy a chance to recover, Elsa leaned down to slip the gun free of his limp fingers and tucked it away before taking his jaw in her hand lightly and checking to be sure she hadn't injured him too badly. <strong>"Silly boy. Guns are not for children."</strong> She tsked at him condescendingly, even going so far as to tweak his nose, nevermind that she'd picked up her first gun at 18. <br><br>Seemingly reassured by what she saw in his eyes she picked up the dusty old book he'd dropped and turned to the others who still looked like they might piss their pants at any moment. <strong>"Now... the amulet, please."</strong> Elsa held out her hand expectantly, <strong>"Come come... we haven't got all day. I'd rather get you all out of this creepy basement and tucked away somewhere safe before night fall. Or before we run into real trouble."</strong><br><br>"You mean... you don't work for that tyrant that keeps sending his lackies into Cairo to round people up?"<br><br>Elsa's features tightened, <strong>"Fuck no darlin'. Elsa Bloodstone hunts the monsters, she doesn't work for them."</strong> 
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-11-2012, 23:33:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/9tb7F.png)</div><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong><br></span></span><hr>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Sixty Hours Ago...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;SWORD (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) Space Station known as “The Peak”</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Abigail Brand, Director of SWORD, the space oriented counterpart of SHIELD, was best known for her impressive stewardship for the past several years as the head of this new agency of global security. As its first and only Director, as well as its still most recognizable advocate, Abigail Brand had spent her entire adult life dedicated to bringing Earth properly and safely into the world of intergalactic community much like those brave diplomats sixty years ago brought the world together into the United Nations. For decades, despite Earths disproportionate impact on extra-terrestrial affairs, Earth had never elected to create a world body dedicated to those affairs, relying for ages on a haphazard mix of superhuman intervention, national responses and creating large numbers of intergalactic incidents which if not for sheer fortune, luck or will, could've brought a decisive end to life on Earth as everyone knew it.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But now finally, there was an organization. People in the press and on the blogs were drawing comparisons of her to Henry Kissinger, or less favorably J. Edgar Hoover. She didn't mind the comparison. Each of them had exceptional personality flaws, but they were great men of history. And all people, even aliens and mutants, had flaws. Abigail... being born of both parentages, knew she had her own. Much like them, they accused her of being paranoid, authoritarian, abrasive, even hateful. Pro-mutant groups always accused her of ignoring the mutant problem. Pro-Earth groups accused her of being sympathetic to aliens. But there were already advocates for mutants and humans at large. Mutants would always have the famous Charles Xavier and the courageous turnaroud of Senator Robert Kelly to look up to. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was lost in these deep thoughts that she sent off Beta Ray Bill, an alien with an Equine appearance and honored defender of both Midgard and Asgard off on a goodwill mission. Beta Ray Bill, being an Alpha class powerhouse, didn't work for SWORD, but he was a good person and willing to act in a consular capacity representing SWORD's and Earth's interest. There were rumors that Loki of all people, the notorious Trickster God, was present on Earth and though it occupied a gray area, Agent Brand wasn't going to let that go without investigation. In her opinion, Asgardians were aliens and thus fell under her jurisdiction as much as they did SHIELD's. Beta Ray Bill was going to go to Asgard and investigate the circumstances of Loki's location and current activities, and report back within, in his own words, 'a fortnight' at the most on his investigations there.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail liked Beta Ray Bill... then again... she always had a thing for the smart, studly nonhuman humanoids...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She was wondering just how this day could get any worse when as soon as she returned a green fatigue wearing orderly raced up to her with a datapad bearing news directly from SHIELD. “Ma'am. It's a Level One Security Alert being issued to all agencies!” the young male Agent said with a distinct Quebecois accent. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Give it here Agent Duchamp” she then said, before glancing at it, her brow furrowing almost immediately. “Possible imminent Superhuman assault in force on government, military and symbolic targets. Possible links to Mutant extremists or militants. All agencies are advised to increase alert levels,” she then muttered, reading over the main points before sighing. The chances of mutant extremists attacking 'The Peak' was extremely unlikely, especially since she, a half-mutant, was its head and one of the few who was in charge of any high level organization that had a mutant parent. Still, not wanting to be grilled by Henry Gyrich or some other self loathing bureaucrat, she handed the datapad back to Agent Hariri. “Move us to Alert Status Two. Re-orient the surveillance scopes towards...” she paused. New York City could handle itself. “Los Angeles. Beijing. And ummm... Jerusalem. And increase drone patrols in our surrounding space.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Plenty of symbolism there in Jerusalem after all. Considering all of its other problems, mutant rights happened to not be one of them in the Holy Land. But there was a first time for everything.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A moment later, her bad mood had an excuse to turn more sour. “Agent Brand... the surveillance scope on Los Angeles has gone black,” said the agent monitoring the visual feed on one of the spy satellites now pointing at Earth. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Same for Jerusalem,” suddenly said its respective agent.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Brand took a moment to confirm those satellites were in fact still in orbit and realized they were and immediately surmised something else. “We're being jammed. Active the Electronic Warfare packages and-.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red lights started flaring and klaxons started blaring. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Ma'am! We're getting reports from SHIELD command. There's an attack in progress in New York City,” the Agent stated. “It's serious.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Ask for details. I want eyes on New York City. Clear up the jams and clear out the comms. If the satellites don't work, hack into a weather satellite. I need to know what's happening people,” she then said. “Suit up the Space Mandroids,” she then added, wondering if this wasn't a mutant or even terrestrial attack. Maybe it was aliens. The Skrulls. The Kree. Annihilus. Blastaar. The Badoon. She needed intelligence now.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just then every monitor went snow white.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But auditory systems remained. “WARNING! COLLISION IMMINENT!”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And she could still look outside the window. She was savvy enough to recognize every former Herald of Galactus by appearance. Little known fact, Terrax the Tamer, in addition to being a cosmic level asshole, was also a rarely found alien mutant. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Brand frowned. Maybe it was mutants after all. “Raise shields,” she said, hoping they'd still be working.<br><br><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fifty Four Hours Ago...</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Peak almost seemed to convulse, as the reactor itself, based on exotic technologies focused on harnessing the power of anti-matter, collapsed inward before reacting with the matter based universe it now found itself reacting to. Needless to say, the explosion was terrific and the shockwave as it soundlessly rippled through the vacuum of space soon translated into the rather violent and loud vibrations of the escape pod Abigail Brand was currently housed within. Strapped into the cockpit of the cigar shaped spacecraft, she glanced back at the terrified personnel strapped in behind her. “Don't worry. This ship is made to take hyperspace, micrometeorites and planetary re-entry. It can handle a little anti-matter induced turbulence,” she said reassuringly, though not all that confident of the ships structural integrity herself. “You look nervous Agent Hariri,” she then said to the dusky eyed female Agent sitting beside her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Hariri glanced back at her and offered a nervous smile. “It's just the first time I fired a nuclear weapon before,” she replied back before cracking a forced smile.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Hopefully it'll be the last,” Abigail said with a grunt before glancing back over her shoulder, out the window at the wreckage of the Peak and idly hoping Terrax the Tamer went with the explosion. “I'm setting a course towards the Sinai,” she then added as Hariri's eyes lit up.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Why there?” she asked, her interest obviously piqued. Agent Hariri had hailed from the Levant, and was a member of Lebanese military intelligence before being recruited into SWORD. Naturally her interest was peaked. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“New York City, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Moscow all have powerful nations and superhumans to back them up. What does Cairo have exactly? If we're falling planetside, we're going where we can do the most good,” Agent Brand said. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Do you really think it's Apocalypse,” asked Agent Marquez, his voice having an undercurrent of fear in it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Well if it is, then we're heading to the right place...” Abigail stated grimly.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>48 Hours Ago...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Suez Governate</strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Leave the nine millimeters. Rifles and survival packs!” Abigail screamed over the roar of what she initially thought was a jet engine. Needless to say, she was wrong. She watched as her green garbed agents scrambled away from the landing site, as pulses of energy shot up the dirt around them. Green was a poor choice of color for a desert environment. They were ditching the pistols and submachine guns and everything too heavy to carry on their backsides as they scrambled up the rocky slope of the mountain, hoping that the otherside would bring safety, or at least an escape route via the Suez Canal.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The roar grew louder as their singular pursuer wasn't so much climbing up the hill as walking up it. Taking cover behind the spacecraft, itself now riddled with pulses of energy, she reached into an olive green duffel bag and then glanced at Agent Duchamp. “I need covering fire on the flyers!” she screamed over the din of the inhuman roars.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Duchamp nodded, raising his light machine gun and firing several tracer heavy bursts into the sky at the pair of darting humanoid specks that were peppering them with brightly colored energy pulses. Originally, there had been four of the superhuman flyers but they quickly learned that flight and shooting fancy energy out of your hands or even having fancy armor doesn't make you automatically bulletproof as much as bullet-resistant. The other two backed off and were seemingly content at annoying them. As another energy pulse glassed the sand only a few feet away from her, Abigail just smiled. “Once I get&nbsp; Stinger with some image-recog software on it... Or a quad fifty...” she started to mutter, shaking her head.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Brand. You have LOS!” Duchamp then screamed before suddenly ducking down as a massive clawed hand, a giant human sized one, suddenly careened through the air to take a swipe at the rocky protrusion he was hiding behind. The previous five minutes of the skirmish revealed an annoying immunity to anything but being annoyed by heavy caliber gunfire, even to the creatures foot wide eyeballs. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But as she rounded the rear edge of the spacecraft, emerging from cover, she drew a bead on those same bulletproof eyeballs. The massive dark orbs with a hint of red to the iris. They matched the cruelly twisted visage of the ugly humanoid giant that it belonged to. It was, needless to say, a shock to be attacked by a hundred plus foot tall monster with giant clawed hands like a wolverine and with a face that looked like the Bald Bull from the game Punchout, but being SWORD agents, they reached to the unexpected rather admirably and finally had lured him into the killzone.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The giants eyes might've been bulletproof. But were they rocket proof. Specifically a high explosive round meant to burn through a tanks armor launched from a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle? She fired, muttering Nick Fury's popular and largely unknown motto in combat. “When in doubt, don't just wait to see the white of their eyes but aim for them!”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She did.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As it turned out, giant eyeballs were not rocket proof... at all. And giant roasted eyeballs didn't smell all that great either.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another energy pulse whistled over her head. Three down. Two more to go. “Agent Hariri and Marquez, find the Barrett. I think all that time Fisher spent clay pigeon shooting is finally going to pay off,” Abigail then ordered before the sound of the giant tumbling back down the slope drowned out her voice.<br><strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;24 Hours Ago...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Southwestern Sinai Peninula</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Salah al-Masri, a senior leader of the Islamic Glory Brigade in the Land of the Nile suddenly toppled background, his nose broken as the dagger he was once wielding clattered to the ground between them. Landing on his posterior, Abigail Brand then aimed her pistol at the man. “Make no mistake Salah al-Masri. I respect everyone who treats me with respect, including Muhammad, peace be upon him. But I will not sacrifice a single life or waste a single breath on factional struggles. There's us and there's them. And they just killed more of your co-religionists then every Crusader, Zionist, infidel and Persian in the past fifty years and if you can't reign in your people, I'll be more then willing to make a martyr out of you.” <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced over her shoulder at Agent Hariri, who was confidently leveling a weapon at a pair of blue eyed brunettes who if they weren't wearing IAF uniforms, looked like they wouldn't be out of place on Miami beach or Monaco sunbathing. “There's no time for revenge killing and blood feuds. I'm Lebanese. If we can get over it in moments of crisis, so can you,” Agent Hariri said with a frown. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Good? We're good right?” Abigail then asked, the tone of her voice letting both parties know if they weren't, that things were going to get messy for everyone involved. “If any of you have any problems, talk to Colonel Farahani, don't try to hash it out between each other anymore. This isn't another religious skirmish. This war is for the species girls and boys and if we're not all on board tomorrow, we're going to lose this war before the weeks over.”<br><strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;18 Hours Ago...<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Muslim Brotherhood Headquarters, Ismailia Egypt</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The entire building was shaking as Agent Hariri raced downstairs and handed Brand the holographic datapad. Agent Brand's green accented brow furrowed again. They had gotten a response from the Kree and Skrull Empires. Immediately the twelve inch tall holographic image of a human woman in a business suit with long locks, a pretty face and tall figure appeared, her unnaturally flawless features marred by worry. “Agent Coffeecake, this is Abigail, report.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The beautiful Agent frowned. “The events on Earth have been received in most of the Capitals of the major powers including the Kree, Skrulls, Sh'iar and Badoon but no help will be forthcoming,” Agent Coffeecake replied in a terse voice. “After talking with the Ambassadors and my own analysis, I think the best way the mood could be described is... 'Silent Jubilation.'”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Hariri's face visibly paled in horror at the statement, while Agent Brand looked nonplussed. “Thank you Agent Coffeecake. We're sending you a burst transmission. Try and follow these orders and disseminate them as best you can. We have to move again before they find us. Good luck!” Agent Brand then said, before cutting off the transmission before it could be reliably traced.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Brand looked up at Hariri, knowing what she was thinking right now. “Don't be so surprised Agent Hariri. We've been meddling in intergalactic affairs for years now, disrupting the delicate balance of intergalactic politics. Truth is, most aliens think of Earth as a rogue state like Iran, but instead of nuclear missiles we have superhumans, mutants and the damn Fantastic Four. As far as they're concerned, a lot of them think this is poetic justice.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“But millions might have already died... maybe bill-,” Agent Hariri started to protest.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Galactic politics is always on a bigger scale Agent Hariri. The longer you're in SWORD, the more you'll realize this. What Apocalypse has done to our planet... Galactus does worse every other month,” she stated drly. “You can't expect people light years away to give a damn about us unless we make them.” Abigail took in a deep breath. “We're on our own I think. At least for now.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The cellar rattled again. It was time to move.<br><br><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Present Time<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Somewhere south of Port Said</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail Brand peered through the scope, observing the maritime traffic through the marshes and could see even in broad daylight how the hundreds of canals and streams and miles upon miles of thick vegetation and wetlands, people were still trying to escape northward. Off the Egyptian coast, a motley fleet of military and civilian vessels were hiding away or dispersed in deep water, waiting to return to Port Said and Damietta and innumerable smaller ports to send in supplies and take refugees away to what were hopefully safer havens. Cyprus. The Aegean Islands. Crete. Libya. Even Israel. <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was from her overwatch position on slope of this high ridge that she was watching the trickle of refugees sneaking towards them whether on small boats, darting across the ground, or wading through the marshes. Next to her, Agent Fisher, born and bred the Transmissippi delta, was chewing a wad of gum as she peered through her sniper... or rather, anti-material rifle scope, just waiting for a target of opportunity to try and descend on the helpless scattered refuees filtering through the delta area before them. “Anything yet?” Abigail asked, trusting her snipers eyes better then her own.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Nope,” Fisher replied with a bit of a drawl.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They're probably consolidating themselves in Cairo and the other population centers. But make no mistake. They can't ignore us for much longer. Not with us so close to their base of operations,” Abigail then said with a nod. “We're a threat as long as we're clinging to this sliver of the Nile Delta.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Whaddaya intend to do?” Agent Fisher then asked. “Get out as many refugees as possible?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“No,” Abigail replied dryly. “That's merely a side benefit. When they come I want to bleed them dry and when they're so embroiled in destroying us, we'll deal with Apocalypse's power base the same way we dealt with Terrax three days ago... and the Japanese in forty five.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fisher took his eyes off the scope, glancing at her green haired Boss incredulously. “You can't mean...”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail frowned, not feeling the need to give out the details. “Apocalypse's first strike on Israel crippled their long range missile capability, but leave it to the Israeli's to be so paranoid to have several redundancies in case of first strikes. I've been negotiating with the surviving IDF high command about acknowledging they still have some, much less utilizing them.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“The Egyptians can't be condoning this,” Agent Fisher then said, gazing back into her scope for a moment. “Hell even Hariri must...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail Brand looked Fisher straight in the eye with an intensity that Fisher could almost feel send chills through her body. “It's become that kind of situation,” Abigail stated flatly.<br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance<br>Agent Coffeecake (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Susan%20Coffey/1decadentdesigns.jpg) (LMD): Offworld Consular Relations<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>13-11-2012, 18:33:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcs3w6RBZl1rk6on4o1_500.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Nightcrawler, Open<br></span></span><hr> <br>There was a distinct air of preparation around the ancient stone structures. Loki kept to the heights, dipping in and out of the grey smog cloud, not daring to draw attention by swooping too close to the center of activity. As luck would have it, his observations were obscured by gathering numbers of vultures and fellow birds of prey intent on a free meal. Mounds of human corpses were rising in open lots and intersections around the city as the enemy's troops systematically gathered families together to examine and slaughter them.<br><br>Waste. Such waste.&nbsp; He harbored no affection for Midgardians in general; they were as unruly children who needed a firm hand to guide them. Yet their mass destruction was ugly to him. Ugly and unnecessary. Moreover, it lacked elegance. Surely there were easier ways to eliminate a species. Instead the enemy sifted them first, as if looking for wheat amongst the chaff. What were they after? <br><br>He circled back towards the heart of Cairo, marking the patrols in the streets. There were far more of them now and they moved in groups of four rather than the pairs he'd met initially. Four would be complicated. Without his magic there was no certainty of triumph. If he were captured, what then? What would the enemy do when they found neither grain nor chaff but a god in their midst? A crippled god. The wind hissed bitterly over his wings as he swooped towards a broken mosque. Even this basic trick of shape shifting would drain him for hours. Make him weak and practically... mortal.<br><br>Loki's eagle eyes caught a sudden, strange movement&nbsp; nearby. A puff of smoke with no source burst into existence and faded. Another followed. He sped after the series of tiny clouds, intrigued, until a figure appeared as if by magic on a lamppost. Narrowly avoiding collision with a wall, he flapped awkwardly to perch on a bent antennae and stared, beak agape, at the blue skinned stranger.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>15-11-2012, 06:04:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo <br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Loki, Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Well, technically he was more an Indigo then a Blue but with the dawn just really starting to crack and the stranger's tendency to stick to shadowy places it would take a bit to tell the difference. What is rather obvious however is the uniform. Leaving behind what was left of the pressure suit in one of the previous teleports, Kurt would now be seen with three shorter swords strapped across his back- yes, three- and in a uniform that very obviously denoted him as one of the X-Men if one going for a bit of stealth. A black bodysuit with thin Indigo X's on his chest, belt, and shoulders he starts with a simple roll of his neck.<br><br>The bird. He saw the bird with it's beak agape. Now he had no idea&nbsp; that the bird was the Norse God of Mischief, but he was feeling a bit excited about this whole thing. So maybe he didn't something outside the norm.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;I hope you appreciated that, my friend.&gt;</strong>" he speaks in German to the "eagle". Alright, so his greatest stunt did have 1 witness. Without the power of speech so they can't tell anyone. Ah well. <br><br>Nightcrawler starts to move around the city, going with the shadows as much as he can. Funny thing, the way he moves speaks of lots of training of not the traditional kind. It's not quite like a La Parkour/Freerunner even when you take into account the fact that he's sticking to the walls. More like something else that's supposed to work just as good but a bit more showy but trying not to be. You can take the Acrobat out of the Circus, but Kurt is showing that you really can't go the other way. The really odd part is when Kurt passes into an actual deeper shadow. Despite the showmanship he's obviously trying to keep down low when he gets in a shadow he doesn't just blend in but he seems to disappear entirely until he comes out the other end. Uniform, Swords, Tail, and All.<br><br>Kurt mentally works through what he knows again. Apocalypse, 48 hours, half the human race wiped out either being killed outright with a small percentage instead turned into mind-controlled superhumans at his bidding, and for some reason he absolutely loves Cairo. He tells himself he won't be the hero, he's just here to try and figure out what he's doing and see if he can get his hands on some the serums for the surviving Scientists on the Resistance. Some more information on the man himself would be nice as well.<br><br>He tells himself he's not going to be the hero. Yet. The swords on his back might tell a slightly different tale.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>15-11-2012, 07:08:47</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/3/3f/En_Sabah_Nur_(Earth-58163).jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah Nur<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Vision<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Giza Plateau, Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Wade<br><br></span></span><hr><hr><br><br><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="bbc_size">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"Eventually a day will come when the Earth will call for your gift. Do not stray from that calling my son; for you were born of purpose beyond our understanding. I will keep you in my prayers, forever."</em><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick overcast of unnatural clouds, casting an eerie lack of brightness on the normally golden landscape. A deep inhalation brought the arid scent of dried mud and scattered sand to his nostrils. It was the smell of barren desert to many - but to En Sabah... it was home. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;He had been born here so many long ages ago. He had been a boy back then - he could barely remember across the ages all the finer details; but some did remain. His head was tilted forward, his bright white eyes cast upon the ground as he reflected on those ancient days. Sabah had been raised amidst the unforgiving dunes of this very place; and every awakening had always returned here to rejuvenate himself - both mentally and physically. Ancient technology was buried here, deep beneath the belly of Egypt's greatest cities. It was a power that outshone even the greatest superhumans over the history of the Earth and it's people. It was said to have been given from the gods... though that was a very "human" way to approach the idea. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse was no <em>human</em>.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;His glowing white eyes and stark grey skin made that outwardly apparent immediately - but inside he was different as well. His mind worked in ways that few others could ever hope to understand. Although he was of this world... he was born beyond the limited scope that most people understood. His manifest body pushed a scientist's understanding of modern-day physics beyond their limits. His mind had been shaped fitting for his task - and few others could comprehend his vision without a significant "shove" in the proper direction.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;He clenched his fists as he remembered his oldest of memories with his "father". His eyes narrowed and he spat at the recollection. The one who Apocalypse so long ago thought had truly believed in him, had been nothing but a fraud. An easily enchanted human who believed he'd witnessed the birth of a god. A god much like all the other "gods" these humans worshiped.</span></span><br><br><div class="floatright">(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/6/67064/2023330-en_sabah_nur_super.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="bbc_size">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;But Apocalypse was no god either.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Those pitiful beings could not comprehend what he was - they fell away from him in fear, awe, disgust. He was terrifyingly mysterious and powerful - and for that, he had been labeled a god. Throughout the centuries he had awakened and come to fulfill his destiny... only to find the people of the earth feeble, fearful, and far from ready for his gift. So he would return to slumber after vanquishing the weakest and most-unworthy. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This time it was different. He could feel a tingle under his skin, as if the sands of the earth were speaking to him - the dusty wind of the desert was whispering to his body... This time they were ready. The earth was ready, and the worthy would shed their weak skin and be born anew - ready to enter their new existences. The unworthy... well... they would perish and fall away like chaff - unfit for harvest.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah rose his head slowly, his eyes taking in the pyramids that stuck out form the landscape like mountains. There was a swarm of beings hustling and bustling all around them. On them, under them; everywhere. An authentic smile curled one side of his mouth as he spoke: <strong>"I have no "gift" to give this world, father. I only have a destiny that may be taken by it..."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"For Apocalypse is <em>Fate</em>, and his time has come."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;No ears caught his words; spoken unto the empty proximity around him. Spoken back through time perhaps - to those long ages ago. Or perhaps spoken to himself - audibly recognizing the truth, <em>his</em> truth. He turned around in place, away from those future beacons of power and to the city of Cairo that engulfed the ancient plateau. The city was not in good shape, but it was in far better shape than most other major cities in the world. Perhaps it was Sabah's nearly-abandoned sentimentality; but then... maybe he was just saving it for last. What a sweet taste it would be to abolish those old memories and this city along with it - after his task was complete.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; His mind reached out across the city and beyond it. It stretched beyond the edges of Egypt and the seas that bordered her north and east. It stretched all the way to Moscow, New York, even Los Angeles and Tokyo. <em>"My Riders, Death, Pestilence, War, and Famine. Do not fall short in these tasks - or I will cull the weaknesses from your bodies slowly and painfully; and I will hold them in my hands and crush them."</em> He sent out a jarring telepathic wave of pain to reinforce his promise (it was no threat). It would rock them nearly off their feet. Following that first "greeting" he gave each of them separate instructions, which they could hear as if he were standing right beside them - talking in an ominous and deeply powerful voice:<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"<strong>War</strong>, tear what shreds are left of New York to pieces. I want every superhuman uncovered. Topple the ruins; and when you're done with that stomp them for good measure. The mutants there are of a particularly unsavory type - they will never understand The Vision. They must be killed. I am certain I have chosen the right </em>...man <em>for the job."</em><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"<strong>Famine</strong>, my ageless beauty, bring every human you can find to Judgement. Unearth the whole of Europe if you must. Bring every superhuman you can to Trial and test their might. Do <strong>not</strong> show mercy, and destroy any who would ask for it."</em> His eyes narrowed, and she could feel the focus flowing off of him as he bored his next demand into her mind. <em>"Find me the man who killed Sebastian Shaw, I will see to his trial</em> <strong>personally</strong>."<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"<strong>Pestilence</strong>... Pestilence, my fine creation, bring the world to its knees my dear. Maintain the chaos, maintain the cloud. Drown every pitiful and unworthy being in a see of ashes and poison. May only the strong survive."</em><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"<strong>Death</strong>, you know your task. Seek out the last remaining leaders who would seek to oppose their destiny. Do not let their foolishness go unpunished. Do not grant them the gift of parlay or the blessing of slavery. Kill them. Kill them all. I know you will find them - they may run... but they can never hide from you. Put my gifts to good use my deadly lotus."</em><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em><strong>Deadpool</strong>, report back to me on your search, immediately. I grow impatient with your games.</em> <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;And with that his mind pulled back, slinging back from such a distance like a taught rope. Apocalypse staggered backwards under the weight of his thoughts returning. He shook his head slowly to clear his mind before noticing one of his servants standing before him - recently turned from his meaningless pursuits and errant ways just yesterday. "Master, the lower tunnels have been uncovered - but we still have much ahead of us." His white skin seemed to reflect the shrouded glow bouncing off the sand at their feet.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse's grey face turned up in a smile once again as he replied, <strong>"Do not toy with me Sinister. Show me the tunnels."</strong> And with that the two began walking off towards the base of the largest pyramid. Apocalypse's skin shifted with every step he took forward as they strode along - each massive muscle rippled with organic strength, but his veins pulsed with a glowing energy as if he were a machine with visible circuitry.</span></span></div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>19-11-2012, 22:03:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What was left of the Egyptian Air Force had redeployed to more secure Israeli airbases for the time being, but the truth was, there wasn't much left. Forty years of peace had impacted the Egyptian Armed Forces a great deal and thus Apocalypse's first strikes which focused primarily on Egypt, the apparent nexus of his power, struck with more devastation then even the Israeli airstrikes of the Six Day War. And Abigail Brand was pretty sure Egypt couldn't last six days, not without a massive influx of support, especially in the often overlooked area of command and control. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Military histories often glossed over the importance of a good generals staff and that rang true for a great deal of the militaries of the developing world. Thankfully, Abigail Brand brought a staff with her. From space.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thanks to the fact her multinational team had previous employment running a massive intelligence, diplomatic and security organization as well as the fact Apocalypse's first strikes often targeted the military and civilian leadership around the world, her team was best qualified in rallying and then organizing the regional resistance by taking the job of the command team. And thus, after just over a day and a half ago her headquarters staff, once based on a space station at the beginning of the week running SWORD, was now taking over operations in this region of the Middle East, the one in which Apocalypse was believed to be in. And Abigail Brand knew Apocalypse wasn't finished yet.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So she kept on working bringing together former enemies and allies, terrorists and soldiers, militia and military and trying to organize them into a proper resistance that wouldn't prematurely shoot their bolt. It went far beyond the Egyptian Armed Forces too. The Isreali Defense Forces, especially their Navy and Air Force. The various Palestinian militias, Hamas and Fatah and the more radical Islamist ones, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and its more extreme branch cells, NATO air and naval assets, Saudi National Guard, Jordanian Air Force, Hezbollah militias, even HYDRA's Middle Eastern branch and a score of other factions all interested in one thing, stopping the current armageddon level threat that Apocalypse was so that they could go back to fighting each other.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stepping into one of the main command centers, she immediately recognized Egyptian military and SWORD personnel manning most of the consoles, while the uniforms, or lack thereof of at least twenty different factions was discussing strategy in the neighboring conference room. On flatscreen monitors, the often static and corrupted images of other leaders, including an Italian Admiral from NATO, an Israeli Air Force Commander, and a Saudi Prince who was in charge of the that Kingdom's military, were listening in, among others while Agent Hariri was trying to moderate. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The conversations however died down as soon as Abigail Brand stepped in and pulled off the headscarf she had taken to wearing while amongst her predominantly Muslim allies. Even though she wasn't one of them, she was canny enough not to want to cause undue offense. “Gentleman and Ladies,” Abigail said. “Nightfall is about three hours away. I'm predicting they'll attack at dusk, thinking they can take advantage of low light and cause as much damage to the evacuation as possible. What's our sitrep?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We have over a hundred and fifty ships dedicated to evacuation that are heavier then two thousand tons. Everything from feeder container ships to tankers and even a cruise liner. In addition, there are about twenty amphibious vessels including a Turkish contingent that has just arrived,” the Italian Admiral stated from his position on his flagship somewhere in the Mediterranean. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Good. And the evacuation flight paths are still secure?” Abigail asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Some of the airfields in Saudi Arabia were struck by mutants but they've already been repaired. Evacuation flights can keep going as long as we can keep the planes in the air. From what we can tell, the mutants seem to underestimate just how effective our jets are at evasion and interception,” the Israeli Air Force commander then stated. “The only concern is that we may run short of ordinance by the end of the week.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“If we get Iran on board with our alliance, hopefully that can be sorted out,” the Saudi Prince then stated distastefully, as a wave of tension rippled through the room. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Well if they don't want to assist with the evacuation and fight, they can reap what they sow in the aftermath after we win,” Abigail stated firmly. “Now I want the evacuation ships to remain offshore until nightfall. Keep the evacuees on shore until after the attack,” Abigail then suggested in bold terms, raising a few gasps from the rest of the council, including the Egyptians in the group.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“They'll be exposed. That's who Apocalypse wants,” one of the Egyptian Generals then stated in disagreement.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“And he'll get them if he sinks our ships. I want us to pull back the evacuation vessels. We'll draw the mutants into a kill zone, several square kilometers, between us and Damietta,” Abigail then said, pointing out to the marshlands between Port Said and Damietta. How many refugees do we have currently?” she then asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We've evacuated hundred fifty thousand estimated since the crisis began but are predicting we can exceed that tonight alone,” an Egyptian Admiral said. “If they're not kept from shore,” he then added, throwing Abigail's suggestion back in her face.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Hear me out,” Abigail then said. “The Mutants.... Apocalypse,” she then clarified, not wanting to group herself and the good mutants that might still be out there with Apocalypse's ilk. “They want our evacuees and they want to destroy us as a threat. But to do that, they have to come get us. Thanks to their armored suits a lot of them can fly, but a lot can't. They'll have to deploy across the Nile Delta which historically has been quite difficult to move forces through. We draw them in and then we envelop and destroy them. Cordon.... sweep... and clear. Our goal is to inflict as much damage upon a superior enemy force as we can with our limited resources.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“So basically you want to use tens of thousand of civilians as bait?” one of the Muslim Brotherhood spokespeople then said dispassionately. “Like Muslims lives are somehow worth less then that of you witchbreed infidels.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another uneasy mood swept through the room as he flat out insulted Abigail to her face, but she just shrugged and went back to the map. “Killing them now beats killing them later. We'll be able to evacuate a lot more people and conserve more planes and ships in the long term with this strategy,” Abigail said.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Except that your plan involves bringing the mutants to the coastline where you'll herding our people like animals to the slaughter, just like Apocalypse is!” the Muslim Brotherhood leader then spat back, rising from his chair.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still not facing him, Abigail pointed to the map. “It's only by drawing them to the coast that we can kill more of them. And that's the goal really. There might be civilian casualties, but keep in mind they have better chances in secure shore facilities then on some container ship in the middle of a battle. If you care about the refugees so much, I would recommend deploying your... irregulars to defending them tonight,” she then added before turning to the others.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“That's my plan. My objective is to defeat the enemy. We haven't lost yet. Evacuating civilians is secondary, but also important and this plan will assist in both of our endeavors. But my people and I are willing to work with whatever plan you all come up with,” she then added before nodding. “But we'll need a decision by the top of the hour! Good evening,” she finished before stepping out of the conference room to let the real planners and leaders hash it out. Truth was she wasn't a General or Admiral or Minister, the people in the room were far more capable of formulating a defense, she just wanted to offer her own strategic objective and a way to fulfill it and hoped that they would adopt and refine it into something workable.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As she stepped out of the bunker and emerged back into open ground again, she passed by the pair of Egyptian commandos standing guard outside and looked out to the streets of Port Said. They were largely empty now except for the abandoned cars pushed to the side of the road but truth was the population of the city now was greater then ever before, only it consisted mostly of terrified refugees huddled in basements and bunkers and in the marshlands and outlying buildings of the city or of various military and paramilitary forces being brought to bear here in what many were thinking was the last campaign of humanity. Abigail meanwhile, despite speaking of victory boldly in the conference room, wasn't sure if those doomsayers weren't correct.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not that it mattered though. Even if the odds were long against her, she wasn't going to allow humanity to go down without a fight. Or better yet a slaughter. If she could help bring about such an utter devastation of her enemies, she would. It was then she noticed Agent Marquez emerge from the darkness of a nearby alleyway, clutching two metal mugs of steaming coffee. “It's actually pretty good here,” the Filipino-born SWORD intelligence analyst said, handing her a cup.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail smirked and took a sip as they started to walk away. “What's the word in Cairo Agent Marquez?” she asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We're getting a pretty positive confirmation that Apocalypse is in Cairo. There are reports suggesting he just sent out a non-traditional broadcast there. As well as sightings and rumors thereof,” Marquez replied as the two of them headed into an abandoned police station that was temporarily serving as SWORD headquarters or what was left of it. Passing by a pair of burly Bedouins who didn't even speak English that they hired as their front door guards, the pair entered the police station where other SWORD agents were&nbsp; trying to set up a communications suite. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“No luck on comms Agent Tokoro?” Abigail asked one of the SWORD technicians as they fidgeted with their haphazard collection of equipment thrown together.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Actually we got some bad news. According to an Advanced Ideas Mechanics transmission we intercepted coming out of Staten Island,” Agent Tokoro started to reply as a crestfallen look, as the color drained from her already pale face. Abigail glanced over at the other comm tech who just turned away, averting his eyes.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“What is it?” Abigail then asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Nick Fury was killed in action. In New York...” Agent Tokoro then barely managed to say before smacking her lips together tightly and closing her eyes, trying her best to compose herself. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Marquez's mug of coffee clanked as it splattered across the floor.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even though SWORD and SHIELD were separate agencies, almost everyone in both considered Nick Fury to be the practical Father of Modern Special Operations and Intelligence. And even though Abigail Brand often disliked, even despised Nick Fury, she respected the hell out of the man.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She wasn't feeling grief. Before she even realized it, her fingertips were digging into the palms of her hands to the point she could feel pain even through her gloves. Her hands were already balling up into fists. Regimes rose and fell, despots and mass murderers of every kind rose, prospered and then floundered and somehow Nick Fury survived it all. And now he was dead. Apocalypse was going to pay for this.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned to Agent Marquez. “I need to talk to the Israeli's. If they want to follow through with this operation, we need them to release the Jerichos for deployment while the window of opportunity is still open,” she then said grimly. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Agent Hariri believes that escalating to the use of nuclear weapons-,” Marquez started to offer before Abigail cut him off.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Apocalypse escalating this conflict by killing a billion people a day and splitting California right along its fault line. The only reason this planet isn't a nuclear wasteland yet is because no one is available to order people to turn the keys for either side,” Abigail then stated succinctly. “These guys aren't your typical terrorist cell. We cut off the head this time, they aren't growing back like HYDRA. Apocalypse is the main target. We should never forget that his end is our endgame. <br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Coffeecake (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Susan%20Coffey/1decadentdesigns.jpg) (LMD): Offworld Consular Relations
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>20-11-2012, 04:35:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/95/LadyLokiBips.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki?<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr> <br>For the first time in an eon, Loki was speechless. Here, during Midgard's twilight hours, in some dust-choked city at the corner of a broken lamp post and a collapsed minarette, he'd just met a blue-black creature with some sort of magical teleportation abilities who hailed him in fluent German. Stranger things may have happened but certainly not many.<br><br>He stared at the well-armed being, madly rifling through his memory for something to compare him with. The cross-shaped badges on his clothing were vaguely familiar; the symbol of some earthly "heroes" organization, wasn't it? It seemed odd, in retrospect, that heroes hadn't swarmed to this locale at the first hint of trouble. They were usually so eager to avenge every little thing. Where were they all? Or was it now a matter of how many were left?<br><br>His mind flooded with questions as he leaped to the air again, following this fascinating stranger. If Midgard was in such a state, what was happening in the other realms? In Asgard? Would any gods or heroes bother to look for him? Only to cast some of the blame, no doubt. Caution was called for, more caution than he had shown thus far. If he was ever going to regain his powers - and if this realm continued to exist long enough for him to do so - it would be wise not to reveal his true identity to potential friend or assured foe. At least for the time being.<br><br>The eagle wheeled and dropped just a few yards away from the blue creature, within his line of sight.&nbsp; Its wings spread across the ground, arched and lengthened like a fluttering cloak. Then a human figure rose and flipped her earth-brown cloak over her shoulder. <br><br>A bronze-skinned woman dressed in loose, ragged robes stood with her back to a pile of rubble. Her head was covered with a scarf but a few shadowy curls had crept out to frame her cheeks. She gazed at the hero with surprise in her dark eyes and a cautious smile. "<em>Sprechen Sie Deutsch, Fremder?</em>" Her head tipped to one side as her hand moved towards the dagger sheathed at her slender waist. "And do you bring us help or further harm?"<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>20-11-2012, 06:38:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo <br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Loki, Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Well, that was a bit of a surprise there on his end as well with that. So he was just talking to an Eagle and now an Eagle- who might of been the same Eagle, he wasn't going to pretend he knew- has landed in front of him and turned into a woman. Now, granted- he did know a shapeshifting woman rather well. He called one his 'mother' in fact. If technically she was more like his father, biologically speaking at the time. He doesn't pretend to understand the science behind it, just figures he'd go with how she identified herself.<br><br>Now, was this woman her? By the nature of the powers it really wasn't possible to know for sure- but in the end Nightcrawler just has a few hunches. Mystique probably wouldn't call him a Stranger unless she was running some sort of gain, not to mention know a dagger would be next to useless around a man who was known for prowess with three swords.<br><br>So he took a bit of a leap of faith and smiled his response that he just encountered another shapeshifting woman, answering in German with a bit of a showy bow.<br><br>"<strong>In the Bavarian Circus and in the X-Men, they called me the Incredible Nightcrawler, and I've come to help if I can.</strong>" he says, trying to sound upbeat despite the surroundings. And truth be told, this did add a bit of an element of 'damsel in distress' that spoke to his inner Swashbuckler rather well.<br><br>"<strong>Now we should try to find somewhere relatively safe so you can tell me more about yourself and what's going on here.</strong>" he says, offering his hand and mentally imaging the remains of a street cafe they passed- should have something edible in the remains and enough cover for now. Teleportation could be a bit of a shock the first time, admittedly. . .
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>20-11-2012, 17:51:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/95/LadyLokiBips.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loka<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>Goddess of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><hr><br>The woman's smile softened and her hand returned to the folds of her robe. "Incredible, eh? I hope this is not an idle boast, for both our sakes." She took a slow step towards Nightcrawler. "I am Lokasatya, my companions call&nbsp; me Loka for-" Her knees buckled and she would have dropped to the ground had she not caught the hero's outstretched hand. "Ah! Forgive me, the transformation takes all my strength. We must hide until I can recover."<br><br>His face was reflected for a moment in her golden-brown eyes as she studied him, not in fear but with open curiosity. Then, as if remembering her manners, she dropped her gaze demurely. Thick lashes brushed her cheeks as she looked down but her fingers remained curled in Nightcrawler's palm. "Yes, we should go."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>20-11-2012, 18:33:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo <br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "Loka", Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br>If he had known that the woman was Loki, he probably would of been a little less enthusiastic but in full honesty not completely. He know 'she' was a shapeshifter and something he could say for shapeshifters- many people found his appearance frightening, especially at first glance. Shapeshifters however usually went for 'kind of interesting' at most.<br><br>Now, what might be a slightly different story is what happens when she takes his hand with the notable lack of all the fingers it should have- three large fingers instead of 5 normal fingers- and he flips a little mental switch.<br><br>BAMF! Where they stood only remains a cloud of a purple gas that smells vaguely of brimstone that quickly dissipates.<br><br>BAMF! They reappear in the remains of a street cafe. It was on the bottom floor with a hole in the ceiling that goes all the way up through the apartment above and through the roof but as long as one stayed away from the very dirty front window it actually provided excellent cover. Even had some rubble that fell across the doorway for a makeshift barricade to block entry from the front. Two days of conflict hasn't gone well with some of the food, but what didn't need to be refrigerated was probably going to still be fine.<br><br>"<strong>Saw this from above,</strong>" he says in German, seeing to make sure she's still steady. Taking people with him has been known to cause exhaustion and nausea when he goes too far or two fast, neither of which he did but he decided to be careful just in case.<br><br>"<strong>Should be a good place to hide until you recover your strength. And for the record, I like to think I do okay.</strong>" he says with a quiet chuckle. 'Incredible Nightcrawler' indeed.<br><br>"<strong>How about I see if there's some salvageable food and drink, you take a seat and rest a bit. I'm going to need information but no need to do that on empty stomachs.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>21-11-2012, 04:44:18</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/95/LadyLokiBips.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loka<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>Goddess of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><hr><div class="floatright">(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdtivvXRHR1rv7osmo1_500.jpg)</div><br>Their unexpected detour through the pocket dimension would have wrung a scream from Loka, had the transition itself not sucked all the air from her lungs. Her new form very nearly slipped as the energy expenditure required to maintain it – a negligible amount on Midgard, even in her magic-starved state -&nbsp; multiplied exponentially in the alien realm. She was subject to a blinding flash of pain that reminded her just a bit too much of being struck by lightning. This unfortunate association brought a torrent of curses to her lips as they manifested in Cairo once more. Most of the words were obscured by her lack of breath, but the final “And by the balls of the All-Father, never do that again!” came out quite clear.&nbsp; There was a momentary lull as she swayed on her feet in a swirl of brimstone and tried to remember that she was supposed to be a simple human.<br><br><em>Mere mortals don't have Asgardian tantrums, you fool.</em><br><br>Loka's hands flew to her mouth. “Forgive me, Nightcrawler! I was, ah, taken by surprise. And alarmed. And I must collect my... self.” Her eyes darted around the ruined cafe, catching sight of scattered heaps of clothing through a gap in the wall. “You must excuse me for a moment. I will find something more suitable to wear than these rags.”<br><br>She tottered towards jagged opening and climbed into the shop next door with a disturbing blend of fury and nausea on her face. There were a few muffled thumps and one last unladylike expletive before all was quiet for a few minutes.<br><br>When she finally reemerged, it seemed that the woman had recovered her cool disposition. She had also discarded her modest robes in favor of a webbed top and snug trousers that hid neither curves nor muscle. At her belt hung a dagger, a carved wooden baton, and a long leather whip, neatly coiled. She moved wearily across the room and sprawled in one of the few unbroken chairs in the cafe. “So,” Loka began with a pained expression and half a smile, “where did you learn to travel like that?”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>21-11-2012, 09:54:55</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo <br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "Loka", Open<br><br></span></span><hr><br>. . .why did a Egyptian woman who happens to speak German just swear in a language that sounded vaguely Nordish? And did some of those words sound more like they came from a man's voice?<br><br>Okay, mental note- maybe he should learn a little more about this one first. While she was getting clothes he scrounged up some basic bread, cheese, and what smelled like a weak tea. That'll have to do for now. Still, it would be nice if he found something a little stronger. When "Loka" walked back down he's suspended from the ceiling by a support bar being grabbed by his tail. Her voice, and the tail shows that it's at least strong enough to carry his weight.<br><br>"<strong>I didn't 'learn' it actually. The mutant genome is full of surprises.</strong>" Kurt quips as he starts to get back to the counter, walking a bit on his hands before flipping over onto the floor and sticking the landing.<br><br>"<strong>X-Men, Mutant Superheroes, Sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them- that sort of thing.</strong>" he chuckles, if a bit shallow. With Apocalypse about that could mean a whole lot of things when the human race overcomes him. When, not If, Kurt did have faith in that at least.<br><br>"<strong>Where did you learn to shift your form?</strong>"<br><br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>24-11-2012, 04:02:36</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/3/3f/En_Sabah_Nur_(Earth-58163).jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah Nur<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Vision<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Giza Plateau, Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Wade<br><br></span></span><hr><hr><br><br><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="bbc_size">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The dry, hot air dissipated the further they traversed inside the large stone structure. They had entered the largest Pyramid on the plateau, and were beginning their decent through a newly open side passage just off the main corridor. The door had been hidden perfectly, and had been masked by an ancient device that hid the empty space behind the brick hallway's wall. To any type of radar, or seismograph, or any other form of earth/density reading technology it gave off the same signature as any other part of the passage wall: solid stone.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;But Apocalypse had known that it was there somewhere, he had his superhumans cracking, digging, and walking-through the stone searching for it. Finally the narrow passage had revealed itself. Mr. Sinister wasted no time taking his leader to the spot and the grey-skinned leader of The Vision quickly began descending. There was a humid-musky smell of old earth and stale air. It smelt very similar to death - but without the sharp and putrid scent of rotten flesh.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A thin smile began to grow on Apocalypse's face as he continued down the long staircase, every so often it would twist to the left or the right on an unpredictable course. The stairway walls were cut unevenly and even the width of the stairs was not consistent. It felt like they were walking through a narrow crack in the ground that had rough stairs fashioned into the bottom of it. It took about ten minutes for them to finally reach the archway at the bottom - some hundred or two-hundred feet below ground. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The floor at the bottom of the stairs was beautifully tiled and the moment En Sabah took his first step on the glossy surface, ruins along the floor began to glow. His smile widened into fullness. The glow then spread along the floor, lighting up a long chain of ruins that hugged the wall of the massive chamber that was now illuminating itself before their very eyes. <strong>"Magnificent."</strong> He glanced to the left and then the right of the large finished cavern. In it's center loomed a thirty-foot tall crystal pyramid - with bricks so perfectly lain it almost looked like a single gem. Once the ruins on the floor finished the circuit, they followed a center-line out from the back wall directly into the pyramid's base. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Almost instantly an eerily organic groan emanated from the crystal pyramid and the ground vibrated in a deep, but soft thrum. Slowly at first it began, before speeding up to a continuous hum where no individual thrum could be distinguished. The small pyrmaid glowed a deeply saturated blue that painted both Sinister and Apocalypse's muted skin tones into full color. Sinister stood with a look of pure and dumbstruck awe on his face. The gemstone pyramid resembled the tesseract with a dancing blue flame in it's center - except it wasn't cubical. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Sinister broke the silence between them first, "It looks like the Tesseract that the Asgardians stole away." Sinister was a very knowledgeable villain. He had studied past villains of the earth to perfect his own crafts - and the day that Loki had used the Tesseract to open a portal into deep-space was among those studies. If that little cube could do something so unbelievable - he couldn't imagine what this could do.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Fool."</strong> Sabah said coldly. <strong>"You limit it's potential with such narrowed experience. This is but one of twelve - and these pyramids of power gave <em>birth</em> to that trinket cube."</strong> He reached back with one of those massive grey and blue arms and pushed Sinister backwards. <strong>"Leave me. I must unlock the combination."</strong> En Sabah was very protective over this ancient knowledge, he did not want any - even one as loyal as Mr. Sinister - to be aware of it's secrets. They would witness them - and possibly utilize them, no doubt - but they would not be in complete control. Apocalypse reserved that role for himself.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As Sinister departed back up the long flight of stairs, En Sabah Nur stepped towards the glowing, humming, gemstone pyramid - his right arm extended forward towards it's surface. As he neared he could feel the heat radiating off of it. He could feel the vibration, the power, reaching out - reverberating beneath his own skin. When his palm finally made contact it's surface was cool to the touch. Apocalypse spread his fingers wide and a bright white circle lit up beneath each fingertip. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; He closed his grey, colorless eyes and remembered the ancient rituals his father's people had taught him. For the code was hidden amongst their ancient ritualistic movements and dances. Just as the other twelve had been. Carried on through tribes of the superstitious over the whole face of the earth. Thought once to be nothing but pagan religious expressions - they were infact the key to a technology that far-surpassed what this world currently knew to be 'cutting-edge'. His fingers worked the specific pattern from the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's 'Dance of Divinity'. </span></span></div>
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>30-11-2012, 01:47:23</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Port Said, Egypt</strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail Brand was checking the receiver on her Kree Plasma Rifle before slamming in a fresh power pack and heard it slowly whirring to life as the sun rising off in the distance. “I thought they'd attack during the night,” Abigail said, somewhat surprised. But they hadn't taken advantage of the cover of darkness and tens of thousands of refugees had managed to escape onto the Dunkirk style flotilla that had assembled offshore and as they spoke, was currently chugging their way to safe havens far to the north across the Mediterranean. “I just don't understand it,” Abigail then added, having put screening forces on alert for the entire night and just now being rotated out for a dayside crew.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A battalion of elite Jordanian Special Forces had arrived with helicopters and heavy weapons and the whole kit, ready for a fight. Abigail had them pulling security operations around the half dozen headquarters and command and control facilities that they had established in the tightly packed buildings that mostly made up Port Said and its sister across the canal, Port Fuad. Unlike everyone else in the region, everyone, even the Israeli's, seemed to have a semi-positive opinion of the Jordanians that they'd trust them enough not to opportunistically backstab them as they pulled security on all of the high value locations and people.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From her point on one of the taller buildings, Abigail then glanced back at the flotilla just hovering short of the horizon as navy ships were covering the withdrawal of the civilian shipping that was literally packed with the thousands of refugees they had loaded during the night, not just from here but along almost forty miles of coastline stretching from here to Damietta on the other side of the marshy lake. “Maybe they think it'd be too costly to attack us,” Agent Tokoro offered but she shook her head.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Cairo has a population of almost... ten million people. Let's say half of them are dead or fled the city. That means five million are left. If the reports are true, this Apocalypse guy is transforming them into more mutants that are slaved to him. Less then ten percent survive. Lets say he captured... half of them by now. That's two and a half million. That means ten percent of two and a half million is a quarter million. Let's say half of them are doing other things... that means... if everything else is working perfectly, he can hit us with over a hundred thousand superhuman terrors. Amateurish ones yes, but we barely outnumber them if we pull out all the stops. And we don't have superpowers. Not all of us anyways... not by a long shot.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Agent Fisher would say an M-24 at a thousand yards is a great equalizer,” Agent Tokoro then said with a smile. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sentiment brought a smile to Abigail's face too. “Anything from Fisher yet?” she then asked, knowing she was still several kilometers to the south, in a hidden overwatch position somewhere in the marsh to the southwest, right in the line of the possible avenue of attack if it came from Cairo. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“No ma'am,” Agent Tokoro replied when suddenly her holo-communicator buzzed. Her face paled. “It's Agent Fisher. She didn't send a call, just an emergency secure burst transmission.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Of what?” Abigail asked walking up next to her communication specialist. Agent Tokoro held up the small viewscreen of her datapad of Fisher's transmission. It was a short video clip Agent Fisher had taken through the camera on her Toughbook.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It showed the blue skies over Egypt... then suddenly from the south, coming in strong in neat formations almost looking like migratory birds, wasn't just dozens, or even hundreds of mutants clad in powered armor flying in at triple digits northward. Then she heard Agent Fisher's almost icy voice suddenly come over the audio on the video. “Many mutants. At least brigade strength. Probably multiple more.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And that was that. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Multiple more?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What did that mean?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Multiple numbers beyond a brigade in the dozens? Or maybe just multiple brigades? <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then she realized it didn't matter.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Battle was upon them. It was time to get ready and stop worrying about the odds. Nothing she could do now would change the forces arrayed against them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless the Israelis gave her some nukes to use on Cairo...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She didn't smile at the thought of it. Nuclear weapons were meant to be weapons of last resort, weapons that could only be used with threat of mutually assured destruction. As far as she was concerned, both of those conditions were met. “Tell everyone to get to battlestations and get ready,” she told Agent Tokoro before walking over to a communication station set up to lock in with Port Said's public address system normally meant to sent out calls for prayer.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“This is Director Abigail Brand. We have a formidable enemy force approaching our defenses as we speak,” she said in a voice that echoed throughout the entire city and on communication lines possessed by many of the defenders. “For those of you that have lost or missing loved ones, think on avenging them. For the rest of you, think of defending them. So far this Apocalypse character has had a great deal of success murdering innocent men, women and children. Let's show him how humanity fights on even terms. If they wish to deliver their murderers to our guns, let us deliver them to Hell. We will slay them wherever we find them. And we will fight them until their genocide ends. God bless humanity,” she finally stated, before nodding to Tokoro to cut the transmission.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She wasn't a particularly religious person, but well, in circumstances like this, you had to play for your audiences. And as she heard a rousing chorus of cheers as her speech was translated into a half dozen languages ranging from Arabic to Aramaic to French. She heard quite obviously the rising chants of Allahu Akbar however being exulted by the defenders and only receding when the swarm of superhumans could be seen approaching from marshes to the south.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Agent Tokoro. Return to the communications bunker and close the door behind you,” Abigail Brand said, readying her own Kree Plasma Assault Rifle. “And keep your gun within arms reach. It's time to defend ourselves.” She pulled back her green headscarf, revealing a thick mane of lush green hair flowing in the strong coastal breeze and walked towards the edge of the roof, taking cover behind a sandbagged corner of the building and intent on taking down at least one of these murderous bastards before they got her. 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>06-12-2012, 00:42:40</strong>
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				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Four Kilometers Southwest of Port Said, Egypt<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Fisher, Recon</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Fisher clung to her sniper rifle tightly as she remained half immersed and all hidden inside a muddy spiderhole she was using as her base of operations. Three kilometers away, across a green colored marsh lake that bordered Port Said's southern end, was the closest nucleus of resistance to Apocalypse. Only two hundred twenty kilometers... or about a two or three hour drive away. Abigail Brand was convinced holding on here, so close to his power base, was worth a shot. Now, as Agent Fisher looked up and saw the invading army of armored mutants approaching, she wondered if everyone would be willing to pay the price of holding this real estate.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fisher herself had a front row seat to the battle that may... or may not... decide the fate of humankind.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Adjusting the leaves and grasses on the hood of her ghillie suit, she slowly lifted her head from her position, her eyeballs alone the only thing not camouflaged as she felt the gentle ripples of a thousand plus impacts all around her. The mutant forces didn't attack during the nightly evacuation like Abigail had predicted. They were attacking at the crack of dawn instead. And there were a lot of them. Brigade strength at least, she assumed. While some of the mutants could fly, analysis of their power armor pointed out that most were equipped with jump jets and they were using these to 'hop' their way across the nearly impassable Nile Delta to strike at Port Said and the closest threat to Cairo, Apocalypse's seat of power.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From marshy island to causeway to an agircultural dike, thousands of armored mutants, most of them created unnaturally in the past few days since this crisis began, were swarming upward under the cover of nightfall to attack them as soon as the sun rose. Fortunately, despite the element of surprise, Abigail and the military staffs planning had been versatile. Agent Fisher remained almost perfectly still, briefly flirting with the thought of hiding her body heat but figuring the mud, humidity and layers of clothing she was already wearing dissipated her heat enough that she didn't need the climate control apparatus of her SWORD fatigues. As dozens of armored feet thudded onto the vegetation covered sand bar she was located on, several pairs of feet landing within earshot of her. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Keep on coming in,” Agent Fisher thought to herself. She was trained as a scout sniper, but direct action wasn't her modus operandi. She focused far more on the scouting aspect then the sniping aspect. If she was doing her job right, she should've never needed to take a shot with her rifle. Instead as wave after wave of enemy troops moved over her position, she silently recorded and transmitted their passing, sending short range burst transmissions over push to talk analog transmissions back to Abigail and her little command center. Others had told her communications were secure, but Agent Fisher was too paranoid to believe that, especially in a situation like this. Short ranged and quick transmissions is what she would stick to. Let everyone else gamble with so-called secure sat lines and long distance transmissions. Not her, not when it was her hide on the line.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She watched the first wave then jump even further north, after their jump jets recharged, and saw them land along the Port Saaed-Alexandria highway, the last stop before jumping directly into Port Said. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was then that Agent Fisher increased her body count far beyond she could ever do from simply using her sniper rifle for a week in a target rich environment. Sinking really low into her hole, the cold swamp water reaching up to her chin as she practically squatted down in her little muddy sinkhole, she then produced a handheld detonator and and gave it three quick clicks with her hand.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A line of fertilizer, old artillery shells, low grade packed explosives, and fuel based bombs all wired together&nbsp; along the northern edge of the road suddenly had their detonators spark, igniting thousands of pounds of explosives at the same time at a ground level. The power armored suits the first wave of mutants were using protected them far better against explosives, small arms and shrapnel then even the highest quality body armor available to conventional militaries, but the amount of explosives suddenly detonated sent their shockwaves rippling through the armor plating through sheer massive force. They exploded with the same amount of force as the IED's used by insurgents and terrorists to blow up armored vehicles. Unless survivability or regeneration was a superpower, a great many of the mutant attackers were simply blown apart. If their armored suits remained intact, whatever was inside was more or less reduced to chunks. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In a split second it was all over and Apocalypse's assault had started off in a demoralizing bloodbath. Unfortunately for the defenders of Port Said, morale was not an issue for the attacking mutants. The jammers they brought along were taken from Egyptian military bases and meant to disrupt and jam radio and cell phone signals that could detonate IED's. They turned them on now and sent in a second wave straight where the first went, not expecting anymore surprises to blow up in their faces. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another loose line of mutants charged forward, jump jetting another kilometer towards the same section of causeway that had just blown apart their comrades a minute earlier, the trees and vegetation along the north side of the road turned to kindling and aflame. Their jammers were on. Agent Fisher could tell because her own datapad blacked out. But as she picked up the second detonator, she clicked it three times. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This time, a slightly smaller amount of explosives were detonated along the south side of the freeway, just as the first mutant touched ground. Agent Fisher didn't need a cell phone signal. She helped string along the waterproof telephone wire herself with several backups in case one or more were cut. There was no jamming of the detonation of her IED's. No amateur hour here would cost humanity its last chance at resistance. The second string of IED blasts struck most of the second wave of mutants just as they were in an uncontrolled descent towards the ground, the shockwave and shrapnel of the second explosion smashing into them with a force greater then a hurricane. Using their own descending momentum against them, the explosion smashed into them violently, shattering limbs inside their armored cases, and sending bodies spinning end over end or hurtling prematurely into the marshy swamp that surrounded the southern approaches of Port Said. Those that were too badly injured or whose armor was damaged beyond mobility, died slow drowning deaths in the marsh lake or, in an ironic twist of fate in Agent Fisher's opinion, became a fine repast for the monitor lizards and crocodiles of the delta who were roused by the commotion of the growing battle.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Fisher grimly smiled.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As much as she hated to admit it, she was having the time of her life as the world was falling apart. She had wreaked so much havoc and death and destruction upon the most wickedly evil army in the history of the planet, she had to will herself not to laugh with giddy glee. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More mutants were coming and as the smoke cleared from the previous blasts, she noticed a great deal of those attackers caught in the blast weren't stopped by the explosions. Some by luck. Others because they could shrug off explosions. The battle wasn't over yet.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Northern Coast of Port Said<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Marquez, Intelligence Analysis</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Marquez couldn't see the explosions that were wreacking havoc roughly ten kilometers south of his own position on the Mediterranean coast. Parked on the coast, Agent Marquez was standing outside, on the beach, binoculars in hand. He wasn't the only one. The military staff had decided that this was the best place to place there heavy anti-aircraft ordinance and for the longest time, none of the SWORD agents understood why. They thought the best place to place the heavy weapons would be on the southern edge of the city, so they could blast away at the mutants as they came across the lake to attack them. But the military commanders chose instead to place almost all of their anti-aircraft artillery right along the coast where it almost seemed exposed as well as completely unable to engage the invaders since there was a city located between them. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just then, a few minutes after the two large explosions, Agent Marquez realized why they had moved all of the anti-aircraft vehicles, guns and launchers to the coastline. It was a three kilometer 'final jump' into the city proper which meant the mutants had to attain a lot of height to make the journey. They launched upwards, high in the air, and then Marquez suddenly saw the entire sky fill up with targets. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No one actually said 'Open fire' or anything silly like that. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone just opened fire.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As soon as they heard the booms, they threw on their radars and now a minute later, the great mutant turkey shoot began. It was like when you went duck hunting and spooked the entire flock into taking off at the same time and opening fire with a shotgun. Only instead of using a single shotgun, they were using hundreds of autocannons, light artillery, even surface to air missiles meant to shoot down helicopters and airplanes. They filled the air with lead and the targets, little more then specks, started falling just like ducks. A great many of them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But many were weathering the storm, or simply managed to avoid it as they plummeted back down out of sight. And some were firing back. Agent Marquez saw pulses of energy, green bolts of superheated plasma, blasts of focused coherent light, sizzling bolts of unnatural lightning and a hundred different other projectiles were unleashed in a responding salvo. An Egyptian Army Humvee, having fired off a quartet of Stinger missiles at its target a second before, suddenly had a bolt of nondescript green energy thud into its engine block, melting clean through it and then detonating its fuel tanks, sending the small vehicle blasting upward in the air atop a fireball and roasting alive its crew.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another few meters down the line, mounted on the rooftop of a seafood restaurant, a twin twenty three millimeter autocannon suddenly blasted apart inexplicably, splattering bits of blood and molten metal outward inexplicably, as if at random. All around Marquez, the mutants were firing back. But most of it was erratic, and off target, thudding harmlessly into the sea behind them, or harmlessly into the buildings in front of them. And the reason was obvious. Both sides looked like specks to each other. But one side was equipped with weapons solely made to engage enemies kilometers away, the other unless they possessed super marksmanship or other senses, were relying on their eyeballs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And that just wasn't cutting it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dozens of mutants capable of independent flight swarmed over the city proper, intent on closing distance and flew in low over the buildings rooftops, meanwhile waves of mutants braved the enemy anti-aircraft fire and landed on the south end of Port Said, quickly charging into the city proper and somewhat surprised beyond the IED's, there didn't seem to be any gunfire coming from the southern edge of the city itself. It was like they had left the beach completely undefended. <br><strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Port Said Communications Bunker<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Tokoro, Communications</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Tokoro stood amongst the staff, monitoring the radio calls and listening to the scouts and observers using walkie talkies as they reported the mutants were both flying over the city and making landfall all along the southern shore. The military commands orders were explicit, do not open fire on them after they landed. They had their own plans. And they waited until every mutant of this wave had landed before they revealed exactly what they were going to do.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The last few mutants of the second and third wave assaults landed on the southern shore of Port Said when, almost at the same moment a large series of booms could be heard in the distance. Just beyond the horizon, several dozen naval ships were opening up with their cannons, as an almost deafening cacophony of mortar rounds whistling downward followed up a moment later. All of the artillery and mortar rounds were right on target. They had been pre-sighted hours in advance, in expectation of a blind night battle.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead of firing a mix of illumination and high explosive rounds though, they were loaded solely with the lethal stuff. Within a minute of arriving within Port Said's city limits, the villainous attackers now found themselves under an almost immediate and saturating barrage of light artillery and mortars while the airspace above them was still filled with lead being shelled out by the string of AA defenses located along the northern coast of the city. The entire city had been turned into a killzone and only the fact they had power armor and superpowers was what was keeping them alive. For any mere human army, being drawn into such a crushing ambush would've been devastating and demoralizing. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But for Apocalypse's armies, as far as they were concerned, only the weak were being winnowed out. Those not bulletproof. Those who couldn't survive drowning in their armor. Those who couldn't endure explosions and being set ablaze. Those who couldn't dodge cannon fire. And so on and so forth. Only the strong would survive this trial of fire. And thus, even as the attackers were being felled by their supposedly puny human opponents, the survivors felt resurgent, and charged headlong into battle, heedless of casualties. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Al-Abassi Mosque, Center of Port Said<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail Brand, Director of SWORD</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She heard the reports being filtered in and shook her head slowly. They should've broken by now. They should've ran. The casualties had to of been heavy for them. But they were still coming in. Two waves were decimated, but so many of them had survived and now literally a third wave had just landed amidst an artillery bombardment and yet still was charging into the city. And it looked like a fourth wave was moving in. Each one comprising of literally a thousand plus mutants clad in their fancy mass produced power armor. Agent Fisher was right, an entire brigade of superhumans. That was a lot. Thank God they were amateurs Abigail thought.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If they weren't, they'd all be dead by now.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As it was, if they were fortunate, maybe they'd last the morning.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She heard gunfire erupting all around here, as someone gave the order over the radio command, one of the Egyptian Generals. “All units open fire!” Agent Hariri translated from Arabic to English for Abigail's benefit. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It made sense. The enemy was in the streets. There was no need to hold back now. It was a fight now. A city fight. Fallujah. Hue. Arnhem. Stalingrad. And everyone would keep on fighting until one side or the other was literally broken. Abigail knew that there was no retreat for her people and surrender simply wasn't an option. Meanwhile their foes were literally incapable of retreat unless they were commanded to by their mutant God or whatever Apocalypse was to them. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I'm going out there,” Abigail then announced as Agent Duchamp looked up. It made sense, everyone realized. There was no way anyone could control this battle now, especially her. Not with the diverse forces in an urban battle. The best they could do was call out incoming threats. Redirect artillery. And hope people responded. And Abigail wasn't needed for that. Agent Tokoro or any of the dozens of military commanders could handle that job.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The best way she could contribute she realized was getting out there and help finish the fight for their side.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I'm going with you,” Agent Duchamp said as he slung a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle over his shoulder and hefted a big light machine gun in his hands and followed her towards the back alley door. “Where we heading eh?” the muscular Canadian soldier asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail Brand, checking her Kree Plasma Assault Rifle one final time, glanced back at him. “We'll take a scenic route, check on the command bunkers. Kill any bad guys we see along the way,” she said simply.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Sounds fun,” he replied before handing her a spare bandoleer. “Here... have some frags.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking it and slinging it over her shoulder, Abigail smiled. “You're a real treat, you know that,” she replied before pushing open the door and heading outside, Duchamp following her out and politely closing the door behind them. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It took them about twenty steps to get into trouble...<br><br><strong>Northern Coast of Port Said<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Marquez, Intelligence Analysis</strong><br><br>"Marquez, the Admiral is signalling us," an excited Egyptian sailor then sscreamed, pointing out over the ocean as they saw in the distance, an Italian warship, the San Marco, was flashing them a transmission using a light based code. It took a few moments to translate it, but when they did, Marquez frowned. <br><br>"I knew it wouldn't be that easy," Marquez practically shouted over the steady din of autocannon and artillery fire that was still erupted all along the coast.<br><br>"What is it?" the Egyptian sailor asked in rather good English.<br><br>"They're telling us they are detecting two more enemy forces moving towards Port Said. One going straight up the Suez Canal, the other coming in directly from the East," Agent Marquez said.<br><br>"The East?" the Egyptian stammered.<br><br>"Yeah..." Marquez said with a frown.<br><br>"What are they doing over there?" No one said they would be coming from over there. Our defenses are focused southward," the sailor replied.<br><br>"I know. No one expected them attacking from the East. That's where Israeli reinforcements are supposed to be coming from," Marquez said with a frown. "Get me Director Brand, she needs to hear this before its too late. We need to transfer some of our defense to the East as soon as possible before they smash us," he said.<br><br>The Egyptian sailor nodded and with a sharp salute, quickly ran off as Marquez then noticed the Italian warship was signalling them again.<br><br>This time, their transmission made even less sense.<br><br><strong>FRIENDLY SUPER EN ROUTE FROM THE NORTH! DO NOT ENGAGE</strong><br><br>Super?<br><br>As in superhero?<br><br>That sounded amazing.<br><br>But who? Europe was just as devastated by the initial strikes as everywhere else. Apocalypse made a point of taking out as many heroes as he could early on. Who exactly was north of them... supposedly in Europe, that could come to the rescue that was powerful enough for the Italian Navy to bother telling him of their arrival. It just made no sense.<br><br>And made finding Abigail Brand all the more important. The situation was becoming confusing... rapidly. <br><br><em><strong>MAP:</strong><br><br>- Green points are friendly defensive points.<br>- Blue arrows are the avenue of attacks of Apocalypse's forces.<br><br>And yes I majorly geeked out on this via MS Paint.<br></em><br>(http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Comic%20Book%20Scans/Said.jpg)<br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Coffeecake (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Susan%20Coffey/1decadentdesigns.jpg) (LMD): Offworld Consular Relations
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>07-12-2012, 20:50:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Port Said, Egypt<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Twenty steps, they hadn't even made it out of the three foot wide alleyway when an explosion reverberated from above them and one of the armored mutants literally plummeted down from the sky, his armor sparking as it left a wispy trail of light gray smoke in its wake. They could hear the mutant attacker screaming before his upper body literally smashed onto the edge of one of the rooftops, did a flip backwards, and then smashed against the opposite wall before bouncing back and forth down the alley and tumbling into an armored heap literally a half dozen feet in front of them. Both of them paused, and neither of them looked merciful as they kept their weapon trained on the fallen mutant, noticing a melon sized hole in its shoulder, likely from an anti-aircraft cannon hit.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A groan escaped the attackers mouth. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail fired a plasma bolt through its armored helm, roasting its skull and the slagging the brains inside with a single trigger pull of her Kree Plasma Assault Rifle. “Counts as one,” Agent Duchamp said with a forced laugh over the din of combat. Stepping over the now unmoving creature, the two of them inched their way down the alleyway, approaching one of the broader avenues when Abigail raised a hand, signaling for her partner to stop and stay low as they crouched down behind a trash heap at the end of the alley. Waving away the flies, she glanced down the broad avenue, noticing movement down the road, at an intersection as several Egyptian soldiers sprinted across the road, one of them firing wildly behind him with his assault rifle before being cut down by a blast of unnatural energy. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A moment later, three of their armored pursuers raced into view, but before they could make it halfway across the intersection, a loud boom followed by a tremendous explosion engulfed all three of the armored men, blasting them apart into smoking armored chunks. Abigail panned her vision back, noticing an Egyptian Army Abrams main battle tank was parked at the end the road, right next to the mosque. Nodding to them, and making her presence known, Abigail simply grinned and then darted across the road into the next alley, Agent Duchamp following hot on her heels, the tank covering their crossing. Almost as soon as they reached the next alley, they could hear the booming staccato of the Abram tanks heavy machine gun, as tracer fire soared into the air at even more aerial targets.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving down this alleyway, the SWORD Director suddenly her a radio transmission coming through and immediately she Abigail pivoted around a corner in the narrow passageway, slicing the pie as she maneuvered down another pathway, Agent Duchamp keeping his eyes both up and on their rear in case of surprises. Quietly, her boots softly crunched the sand and dirt under her feet as she looked up ahead and saw the body of an Egyptian militiaman neatly nestled under a small awning, still clinging his Kalashnikov. Abigail crouched down beside the corpse, one hand still on her rifle as she glanced down to check his pulse and confirming he was in fact dead. She recognized the body as belonging to one of the Muslim Brotherhood militias. Likely he died defending one of the many mosques and other religious institutions used as a shelter for the passing refugees. But of more immediate interest to her, she heard the radio chatter in Arabic mention something that caught her ear.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail couldn't speak Arabic, but she recognized the designation of one of the command bunkers being mentioned and it being under attack. “Change of plans,” Abigail said. “We're heading to Command Bunker Gamma, it's under attack,” she then said, before searching the miltiaman for anything useful and found, somewhat surprisingly, a rather large, round and flat anti-tank grenade Shrugging, she decided to bring it along, just in case.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Duchamp just dutifully nodded. “Want me to take point?” Duchamp asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Go for it,” she replied, rising to her feet and patting him on the shoulder. He moved forward, resting the stock of his light machine gun against his shoulder, casually looking down its sight as they emerged along another roadway, this one paved and now pockmarked with impacts. “We're heading East eight blocks, towards the canal,” she then said, as he leaned his head out and saw the obvious signs of battle in this particular road. But other then that, the coast was clear, more or less. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking cover in the shadows of the arched overhangs that made up a great many of Port Said's buildings, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_unique_house_of_Port_Said.JPG) the duo passed by the bullet and energy riddled abandoned storefronts and occasionally ducked down as whistling mortars from the enemy artillery sailed down into the city, apparently at random. “Jesus Christ,” Duchamp suddenly muttered, as they proceeded down their first block, noticing several craters in the middle of the road, dead civilians simply laying out in the middle of the street, surrounded byu their bundles and luggage. Off to the side, an apartment complex, half caved in and collapsed by Apocalypse's re-apportioned artillery units or perhaps by his mutant shock troops, was still smoldering. The tenants that escaped their buildings destruction were likely caught in the open when the artillery landed in the street, likely at the same time. Farther ahead, an impromptu roadblock of burning vehicles, furniture and tires could be seen as well as several dead armed militiamen peppered around the barricade, all of them apparently killed in various ways and surrounded by shell casings. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sprinting across another road, the two of them briefly glanced southward and saw a limited telescoped view of a battle going on several blocks down. Another Abrams tank was parked in the entrance of an alleyway, only its armored front end peeking out, just enough to drive out, fire its main gun, and pull back inside. Several smaller vehicles were ablaze, with soldiers using them for cover and others firing down on their superhuman attackers with heavier ordinance and rockets along the rooftops. In response, they could see pulses of energy and lightning flung back at them, as well as the near inhuman roars of their mutant adversaries carrying over even the steady din of battle. The glimpse was only momentary, but sobering. “Are we winning this fight?” Agent Duchamp asked as they found themselves now leaning against the outer stone wall of a small mosque, likely what the miltia and their barricade was defending. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We're going to,” Abigail replied as they both glanced up, noticing a series of missiles sailing over their head from the north, likely landing amongst the attacking forces. The sky was still filled with its own, almost separate battle, one likely extremely unique to history of man sized superhumans in power armor engaging conventional military forces based off the ground. The military theorists and armchair generals would be having a field day analyzing this battle for decades to come, if of course, the human race survived the month. The gate to the mosque was smashed open, but someone had parked a Soviet-era BTR armored personnel carrier across the front though that too was on fire. Laying in the front of the mosque was a man dressed as a private security guard with a pistol and a taser, one in each hand. He was also missing his head. Duchamp glanced down and then noticed Abigail eyeing the taser for some reason. Abigail nodded, and without a word, he picked it up.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They passed it by, Duchamp muttering a soft prayer to Christ, hoping the Muslims taking refuge within were still safe. Moving down the road, they came upon a half dozen more corpses, all of refugees, mostly in pieces, spread across the road and an overturned school bus in the intersection. Just above it, entangled in the street lights, was another power armor clad mutant dripping a thick, inky black ichor from what looked like a dozen different wounds. Moving from doorway to doorway, the two of them prepared to make their way across a wider, four lane road complete with a broad median, replete with palm tress, gardens and brick decorations. Abigail took a deep breath, realizing it was likely a kill zone as they approached the highway that ran parallel to the Suez Canal which was only a few kilometers over now. As they moved towards the side of the road, preparing to cross at the intersection, they noticed someone flashing a mirror from a balcony on a building directly diagonal of their position. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Focusing her eyes, she noticed a friendly machine gun nest was located on a second story apartment window. The Egyptian soldiers there holding up their hands, signaling for her to wait. Abigail nodded, and then leaned out to peer down the road and saw why. There was a literal battle erupting farther down the road. A full fledged one. Just from a glance, no more then a kilometer down the road, she could see two tanks, one located on either side of the road, opening fire on an oncoming enemy. The main guns were booming, while the machine guns never seemed to die down as the crews switched between their co-ax medium machine guns and the heavier ones on the turret. Along the windows and rooftops, rockets were being slung out and heavy cannons and machine guns ripping up an enemy Abigail simply couldn't see but could hear well enough. She could even see more infantry scurrying back and forth, taking up firing positions behind wrecked cars, sandbagged positions and even in artillery craters or the median itself while others pulled away the dead or wounded. The palm trees meanwhile didn't sway anymore, either torn apart or their foliage literally shredded or burned away by the battle.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just then, there was a rapid popping sound as one of the tanks unleashed a miniature volley of smoke rounds from its mortars and then, to the cries of 'Allahu Akbar,” both tanks suddenly surged forward as their crescendo of fire seemed to increase in volume impossibly. One of the tanks though barely could round the corner when a suddenly blast of brilliant golden light suddenly shot down straight into the top of the vehicle and immediately caused it to explode into a brilliant fireball as its remaining ammunition detonated. Glancing upward, Abigail saw a mutant literally glowing with energy soaring down the street and starting to charge up his attack again when, almost anti-climatically, a surface to air missile was fired from the rooftop literally above Abigail, the supersonic missile streaking towards the powerful mutant and slamming into his chest. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The missiles powerful warhead, meant to bring down jets, more then sufficed in blasting apart the mutant. From behind the smokescreen, the defenders, apparently not stymied by the destruction of one of their tanks, surged forward with the men on the rooftops and upper levels providing covering fire as two more tanks previously unseen rolled down the street, right behind the initial advance. Abigail glanced up at the machine gunners and saw them emphatically waving them to cross. So the two of them did. They sprinted across the four lane highway, hearing and almost feeling bullets crack the air as they ran with all their might to the safety of the other side. Practically collapsing as they caught their breath, Abigail nodded to the men in the machine gun nest and then nodded for Duchamp to take point again. They were almost at the command bunker. Two more blocks east, they soon realized they were hearing the renewed sounds of a battle and realized they were closing in on it. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Duchamp rounded the corner, swiveling his light machine gun out in front of himself when suddenly his head almost violently jerked backwards and he toppled straight back and landed flat on his back on the ground. Abigail froze momentarily and then stopped cold, hugging the corner before crouching low and peeking around the corner. “Duchamp are you alright?” she called out to him as he laid there, just out of arms reach. She saw the front of his helmet was indented, but not penetrated and beyond that, no other wounds. But his eyes were closed and under all of his body armor and gear, she couldn't tell if he was still breathing. “Shit!” she cursed under breath, before glancing around the corner again, this time her plasma rifle at the ready and saw what was going on. A massacre.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The screams of numerous people could be heard as what was apparently a fight in the middle of a school had now spilled out into the middle of the street. A line of women and children, running down the street towards Abigail were being cut down by automatic gunfire as they fled screaming, away from the violent clash erupting behind them. Four of the attacking mutants were amongst a group of fleeing civilians running out of the school building. One of the mutants was dual wielding a pair of submachine guns and chasing down the helpless women and children racing down towards her position as Abigail realized it was likely a random bullet that struck Agent Duchamp.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Realizing there were lives to save, Abigail didn't delay with Duchamp any longer and moved around the corner and opened fire. She took careful aim with her first shot, knowing that over the cacophony, there was little chance of the mutants detecting her until she made her presence known. She fired a single bolt of plasma that slammed into the helmet of the mutant, roasting the murderers brain in an instant, and causing him to drop his submachine guns. Abigail meanwhile, quickly ducked behind an arch support column, out of sight as one of the fleeing civilians, clad in the white robes of an Islamic student, snatched up one of the submachine guns and opened fire point blank on the mutant closest to him. At this close of range, he couldn't miss as the bullets repeatedly thudded against the attackers armor, causing him to stagger back but not be killed. Instead the mutant lashed out, revealing its superhuman power being the emitting of some sort of energy pulse from the palm of his hand. The pulse tore the skin off of the brave civilians face, just as he drove the bayonet with enough force into the seam of armor just along the mutants waistline and as he toppled backwards, mortally wounded, he kept pulling on the trigger, perforating his attackers groin and stomach with the rest of the submachine guns drum sized magazine contents.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail turned around the column and saw the remaining two mutants standing there. One looked like a hulking brute, the other... just looked... off. He wasn't even wearing armor beyond the jump jet pack and had a monotone, sandstone brown complexion to his body that was even devoid of anything but the most vague of facial features. The brute brought his tire sized armored boot down upon an injured old man, crushing him under his foot and letting out a roar of sick satisfaction as the mans remains splattered across the road. The other mutant meanwhile was firing a single round of his assault rifle into the heads of the bodies of civilians surrounding him. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Firing quickly, Abigail emptied two bolts of hot plasma into each of the mutants. The brute grunted as the bolts of plasma sizzled against his armor reinforced carapace, as the other two energy bolts seemed to almost seamlessly pass through the other nondescript mutant, creating brief holes in his body before they seemed to almost magically fill up. Not like regeneration but, like the mutant was made of gel or play dough. Abigail frowned, this was going to be trouble. It was then that she heard Duchamp groan from behind her just as&nbsp; the brute started to charge forward. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thinking quickly and wanting to take attention off of Duchamp, she charged down the street towards them, letting off her best battle cry before reaching into her bandoleer and throwing a grenade at them. The playdough mutant stretched upward, pulling himself onto an awning as the brute suddenly rocketed high into the air, thanks to his jump jets. And it was then that Abigail grimly smiled and watched the brutes shadow slowly grow bigger. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Racing across the street, she reached into her haversack and pulled out the anti-tank mine and tossed it into the middle of the street, right where the brutes shadow was. She dived behind an abandoned sidewalk food stand just as the brute touched the ground again, one of his big feet slamming onto the anti-tank mines detonator. “Did I step in camel shit?” the brute growled, lifting his foot and exposing his groin to several pounds of high explosives. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The column of the blast engulfed his body as a pair of beefy legs flung outward in opposite directions, while the shredded upper body spun in the air before flopping back onto the ground only a few feet away. Three down. One left. Abigail saw the playdough mutant, still toting his assault rifle, leap back down onto the street and without hesitation advanced on her while opening fire. She returned fire, only to find her plasma bolts still uselessly punching through its body, not even slowing him down. She ducked behind the stand as the mutant kept her pinned down, all while still closing in. “You're dead bitch!” the playdough mutant growled, casually reloading his assault rifle before advancing on her again as his 'wounds' instantly regenerated. “I'm going to fu-aanannnnggghhh!” he suddenly said, his voice seizing up as Abigail immediately popped out from behind the food stand and saw the playdough mutant almost randomly spasming before crumpling to the ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Standing not too far behind him, Agent Duchamp, deployed taser in hand, kept the current surging through the mutants body. Abigail walked around the corner of the stand she was taking cover behind and them produced a thermite grenade. “I've always wondered what happens when a thermite grenade meets playdough,” she said, activating the weapon and throwing it with enough force into the playdough man it half submerged into his spasming body as Duchamp dropped the taser, the two of them quickly scurrying away just as the thermite started to sizzle, roasting the murderous mutant alive.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of them moved forward, carefully stepping over and around the bodies of two dozen murdered civilians, and then found the scene of yet another battle just outside a police station. “They must've been part of this group,” Abigail said, referring to the four mutant team they had encountered moments before. The carnage of the battle here was obvious. The police cars used to block off the road were all ablaze and in one case torn apart. “This command center was located under a police station,” Abigail said. “Watch the perimeter, I'll go inside and see if anyone is alive,” she then ordered her partner who nodded, looking for the best overwatch position.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The police station itself was literally pockmarked with burn marks and bulletholes, all of the windows shattered and one wall literally collapsed, the ceiling partially caved in. The corpses of a squad of Jordanian commandos could be seen scattered around and inside the police station, along with a few civilians and local police officers along with the armored corpses of about seven mutants, most of them blown apart or riddled with bullets, but usually both. The mutants had struck this police station in force, using twelve power mutants it looked like. That couldn't of been a coincidence, she realized. They knew to attack here. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She had to move quickly and warn the other command bunkers.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Making her way through the station, she stepped over the tied and bound bodies of two female police station office workers, both of them with their necks broken. Next to them was the door to the basement, wide open. The interior was well lit. The mutants had made their way inside. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail already knew whoever was inside was likely dead, but she had to check anyways, if only to use their radio to warn the other command bunkers to either reinforce their security or redeploy. Briskly running down the stairwell into the basement command center itself, plasma assault rifle at the ready when she stepped off the stairs and into the basement proper. A dozen more bodies, all of them killed in a violent fashion, monitors smashed, computers wrecked, papers scattered. She recognized many of the faces. Senior military officers and political operatives of the Egyptian military, and a NATO military attache. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Too late Dear Abby,” an unmistakable American voice suddenly called out from the side.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail turned, leading with her rifle when two flashes of light soared across her field of vision and suddenly she felt her rifle ripped from her grasp and sent skittering across the blood drenched floor as a second later, another blast of pure concussive force slammed across her armored side with enough force she could feel her ribs crack as she was lifted off her feet and sent careening into a file cabinet across the room. Groaning, the SWORD Director tried to stand up, but felt her chest seize up with pain before she convulsed, coughing up blood and letting out a dry grunt.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Oh poor Abigail baby,” her attacker then cooed as she stepped into view, twirling a pair of batons of coherent hard light in her hands. “As the first and last leader of the resistance, let me say, it is my honor to be the instrument of its... and your... demise,” the woman said.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Who the fuck are you?” Abigail spat at her, the blood staining her lips as she struggled to stand back up. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“My name is Joystick,” the supervillain replied with an exuberant smile completely unlike that of her stoic mutant brethren. “I bring joy to my master Lord Apocalypse by wielding these sticks,” she explained in a cheerfully sarcastic voice, (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/) nonchalantly twirling the light batons in hand as she stood over the SWORD Director. “See!” she then said, suddenly spurring into action as she brought one of her batons into grip and aimed it into a downward strike aimed at the point of Abigail's body where the neck met the shoulder when a gunshot suddenly rang out and Joystick staggered backwards, suddenly clutching at her gut as she stumbled back rapidly, before falling backwards over a computer desk with enough force it flipped over with her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail gave her pistol a twirl as she stood back up. “Blah. Blah. Blah,” the SWORD Director said with a sigh. “Next time, though I doubt there will be a next time, don't bother gloating. It makes you look stupid,” she said, walking up to the overturned desk that Joystick had fallen behind. “Now how about you tell me how you found this bunker and I might get your gut wound patched up before you die.” She peeked over the edge of the desk only to see to her genuine surprise, Joystick was no longer laying there. There wasn't even a speck of blood on the floor.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The SWORD Director immediately spun around, pistol in hand only to see it get knocked out of her grasp as one of the batons slammed across her wrist, followed by the instep of Joystick's foot slamming into the side of her face, sending her careening to the floor. “Next time you shoot somone once, make sure they're not wearing lightweight, high tensile body armor,” Joystick then replied, closing in on the fallen hero yet again as she scrambled to get back to her feet. “See?” she then said, lightly tapping the two small burn marks on her vests inserted trauma plate. “I'm always underrated.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail spit out another dollop of blood and clenched her fists. “Prove it D-lister!” Abigail spat back. Joystick smiled, more then willing to oblige. <br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Coffeecake (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Susan%20Coffey/1decadentdesigns.jpg) (LMD): Offworld Consular Relations<br><br><em>NPC Villains:<br><br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>13-12-2012, 21:37:22</strong>
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				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Hyah!” Joystick screamed, cutting loose with a left side kick that came straight out of karate. Abigail threw her hands up, deflecting the villains instep with her forearm as she telegraphed the kick only to have that same foot suddenly slam into the side of her body, crashing into her already bruised ribs as Joystick displayed her martial prowess, bending her foot back at the knee and then with a minute adjustment, delivered the same kicking foot under Abigail's protective arm. The green haired SWORD agent let out a sharp yelp of raw pain, her side buckling in as she pedaled backward and Joystick, smelling blood already, moved in to finish her off.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stepping forward, Joystick let loose with a downward energy baton strike, only to have Abigail parry the blow painfully with her right arm, only to leave her exposed to a hard knee strike straight to the Agents gut. The air knocked out of her again, Abigail let out a dry grunt of pain before blindly lashing out with a wild right hook. Her gloved fist sailed just millimeters short of Joysticks chin as she jerked her head back, just out of the way of the Agents punch. “Your quick bitch!” the villainess conceded. “But I'm better!” she then replied, delivering a perfect counter left hand, her fingers still wrapped around the baton, and slammed her fist across the SWORD agents face and knocked her into a backpedaling stumble into a wall rack of computer servers.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Gah!” Abigail grunted before reaching up, grabbing one of the server racks and wrenching it free, hurled it down at Joystick, only to have her laugh derisively as she stepped aside of the obvious attack and then delivered a front kick straight between Abigail's breasts, slamming her back into the rack of servers again, the back of her head banging hard against the metal tray of the computer shelving. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Fah!” Abigail suddenly snarled back, bouncing off of the wall like a boxer off the ropes and suddenly charged forward, delivering a three punch combination herself. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right straight. Left straight. Overhand right. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Miss. Miss. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And another miss as Joystick flawlessly bucked and weaved before sneaking her own baton gripping fist between a gap in Abigail's defenses, her knuckles smacking right between the heroines eyes, causing her head to snap back as blindly, Abigail shot out a blind front kick of her own. The move of sheer desperation clearly caught Joystick off guard.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because it actually landed.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The treads of her combat boot smashed into Joystick's firm gut, knocking her back into a desk as the villain grunted more out of shock then anything as the breath was ripped from her lungs by the impact of the blow. But she recovered quickly, grabbed hold of Abigail's combat boot and started to twist it around, intent on snapping her adversaries ankle. Abigail countered by flexing her leg inward with all of her might, pulling Joystick in and in a display of her own flexibility, lunged her head forward, slamming her forehead into the bridge of the villains nose. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A suddenly splatter of blood sprayed across both of their faces as Joystick's nose almost erupted into a welter of gore as the once brash and confident villain suddenly coughed and gagged on her own blood flowing down her throat. Not wasting any time, Abigail jerked her leg free and then smashed her own fist into her opponents throat, smashing it and simply magnifying the effect of the choking effect the blood was having on her. The energy batons immediately disappeared as her hands started grasping at her own throat, momentarily choking and incapacitated.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was a situation Abigail was taking full advantage of. Realizing fisticuffs alone couldn't defeat her, Abigail quickly glanced around and picked up the nearest and most powerful weapon she could find. A half second later, a metal stool slammed into the side of the near defenseless villain, knocking her stumbling into another desk, knocking the monitor off of the desktop as Abigail pulled back the stool, intent on smashing it into the villain again when Joystick snagged the keyboard off the the same desk and in a wild swing, intercepted the downward strike with the stool, swatting it aside before lashing out with a side kick of her own as she leaned against the desk. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her foot slammed into Abigail's gut as, still choking, Joystick pushed off of the desk and launched another left high kick, only to have Abigail block it with her arms, bringing them up to cover her head. Dropping the keyboard, Joystick's batons appeared in her hands once again as Abigail tried to reach out, grabbing the villains wrists only to find the villain was far too quick, pulling her arms back and driving her knee into Abigail's gut once again. Staggered momentartily, Abigail then saw one of the batons come out of the corner of her eye and then connect with the side of her head, knocking her aside and causing her to crash into the wall one more time as she felt a darkness encroaching upon the edges of her peripheral vision, her eyes already seeing double as the last blow nearly knocked her unconscious.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Clearing her throat audibly of the backed up blood, Joystick then flashed Abigail a bloody grin that made her look almost sadistic. But instead of monologing like Abigail was hoping she would do, she just winked at her inexplicably and gave her batons a final twirl before closing in. The SWORD Director suddenly lashed out with a backfist.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Joystick jerked her head back, swerving out of the path of the blow before delivering another perfect counter, the baton smacking across the top of Abigail's head, bringing the heroine to her knees. “I'll see you in hell,” Abigail snarled up to Joystick. It was bluster, Abigail never was one for religion really, but she wanted to provoke Joystick into delaying her inevitable execution of her, and hoped she would just take that extra moment to say something.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Sorry Hydra hair, but I'm planning on living forever,” Joystick replied.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Freeze!” suddenly boomed a voice from the stairwell. The villain glanced over her shoulder and saw a burly light machine gunner in SWORD fatigues and with a Maple Leaf patch on his shoulder aiming the dangerous end of his machine gun at her from across the room. Against a normal soldier, she might've hazarded dodging and closing distance. But this guy looked like a pro. “Hold it right there!” Agent Duchamp ordered when Joystick simply took a half step to the side and then turned back to Abigail.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Shoot me and you hit her too dumbass,” Joystick said confidently when her entire body suddenly seized up for several seconds as Abigail flinched, scurrying away from the suddenly madly gyrating villain. Another second then passed before Joystick simply crumpled to the ground and Agent Duchamp holstered the taser.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“This thing sure is handy,” Agent Duchamp said with a smile as he lowered his weapon and Abigail immediately produced a pair of hand cuffs from her belt. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“She's high up, we need a prisoner for intelligence,” Abigail then said, not wasting anytime in both handcuffing the stunned villains arms behind her back and then using two pairs of zip cuffs to bind her ankles together, securing her limbs before she started to fidget with her wrist gauntlets where the energy batons seemed to be emitted from. Then, almost as an afterthought, she looked up at the man who had saved her life twice already. “Thanks by the way.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Duchamp just smiled. “Are you okay?” he asked only to see Abigail nod immediately as she finished securing Joystick. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Yes but we have to warn military command. They found out this bunker somehow despite our security protocols,” Abigail said when suddenly a light, mocking laughter escaped the lips of their new prisoner. “Something to add?” Abigail asked as she recovered her pistol and plasma assault rifle from the rooms wreckage.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Oh wow.... you guys are so sad. Lord Apocalypse has been monitoring all of your communication traffic since the beginning,” Joystick said with a laugh, as she shook her head, still laying face down in the floor, unable to move as blood dripped freely down her face from her broken nose.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Bullshit,” Agent Duchamp snapped back when Abigail grabbed his forearm, wanting him to let her talk. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Sorry to tell you this McMooseman but it's true. You idiots thought you had secure satellite phones and hidden communication channels, but you don't. Apocalypse has fucking technology so advanced it makes that stupid rifle of yours look like a flintlock!” Joystick spat derisively, referring to Abigail's Kree Energy Rifle she had just recovered. “He kept your lines of communication specifically open so he could monitor your pathetic plans you idiots.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Then how come you haven't crushed us like the bugs we supposedly are then?” Abigail asked, wanting more information from the now chatty villain.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was then that Joystick simply turned her head and looked up at Abigail. “Who says we haven't?” she said with a grim blood stained smile curling across her face. Then, without further ado, she turned her head and faced the floor again.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Three seconds later the entire police station was literally blown away as the roof of the reinforced concrete basement was literally torn away by a powerful shockwave of pure concussive force. Agent Duchamp grunted as a chunk of rebar flung through the air, smashing against the helmet encasing his head and knocking him out cold as Abigail quickly hit the dirt as the ceiling of the basement bunker was literally blasted away. Almost in disbelief, she then looked up and saw the bright midafternoon sun shining down on her in lieu of the large police station that was above her head mere seconds before.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then, in an almost surreal moment, an armored rider clad in silver and crimson armor unnaturally flew into sight, mounted on a devilish golden horse. (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/229/88878-9170-war_large.jpg) The lidless and soulless gaze of the black haired mutant clad in such peculiar, yet advanced armor, suddenly turned down upon Abigail.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;MY NAME IS ABRAHAM KIEROS, WARLORD OF APOCALYPSE AND CAPTAIN OF HIS WILL! I HAVE COME TO CLAIM THIS CITY ABIGAIL BRAND, AND YOU AS WELL. YOU WILL SERVE AS MY RETAINER AS I CLAIM MY RIGHTFUL PLACE&nbsp; UNDER LORD APOCALYPSE AS HIS HORSEMAN OF WAR.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He didn't say it as much as simply let his voice echo through her mind, and into the air. Ignoring the mans powerful, authoritative voice was impossible, but whatever superhuman qualities his voice had, one of them wasn't mind control. And whatever he meant by her being a retainer almost made her laugh if the circumstances weren't so sobering. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;JOIN ME CAPTAIN OF THE RESISTANCE AND TOGETHER WE WILL DIRECT THE GREATEST ARMADA IN ALL OF HISTORY. YOU WILL FIND YOUR PLACE SERVING ME BESIDE IN BATTLE... AND UNDER ME IN BED.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail blinked. That was the end of this conversation. His haircut alone was vomit inducing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The SWORD Director took a deep breath, then suddenly leaped into a roll, snatching up Agent Duchamp's Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and in a display of speed and agility, broke out of the roll and aimed her anti-armor weapon right at the underside of the so-called Warlord of Apocalypse and let loose with a rocket capable of burning through a dozen inches of military grade steel. The rocket fired, flaring bright for a brief moment before slamming into the underside of the horse, watching both rider and mount disappear into a billowing plume of smoke as the explosion enveloped them. Tossing aside the launcher tube, Abigail already realized things were bad when she didn't see burning bits of mutant and horse tumbling from the sky and immediately produced her plasma rifle as a strong breeze came through and sure enough, the Warlord and his mount both seemed except for a mild blackened scar across the underside of the golden horse.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;YOUR CONSENT IS NOT NECCESSARY<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Horseman suddenly swooped in low as Abigail dropped to one knee and opened fire with her plasma assault rifle, letting loose on full automatic. One pulse of superheated plasma energy after another thudded into the body of the horse and the rider himself only to have the green bolts of hot energy simply sizzle almost uselessly against the riders armor and barely marr the golden hide of the horse mount as he reached out a hand. She ducked only to have the rifle ripped from her grip and tossed aside as the Horseman flew past her. Reaching over, she grabbed Duchamp's light machine gun.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In desperation she hopped quantity might win out where penetration was failing. The Warlord of Apocalypse turned on a dime however, practically turning in place and simply waded through the thick barrage of automatic machine gun fire, the bullets harmlessly plinking off of his superhumanly strong skin and that of his mount. The barrel of her weapon was almost burning hot when he simply reached down again and plucked her from the ground and with one vigorous shake of her body, caused her to drop her annoying weapon.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I ADMIRE YOUR PERSISTANCE. IT AROUSES MY OWN PASSIONS INTENSELY<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail wasn't listening and instead punctuated his last sentence by pulling out her sidearm and emptied round after round into his face.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abraham Kreios kept talking through the gunshots.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;STOP IT LITTLE ONE. YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nonchalantly he reached over and crushed the barrel and action of her pistol in his hand, before tossing the useless wreck of a sidearm aside as he started to lightly trot out of the clearing where the police station once was. She noticed coming from the east, another brigade of hundreds of armored mutants advancing towards the city from the direction of the Sinai Peninsula. It truly was hopeless, they couldn't hold out against such raw power. Not unsupported.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PERSIST AND I WILL CLAIM YOU BEFORE YOUR ENTIRE PATHETIC RESISTANCE TO MAKE NOTE OF HOW USELESS ANY ACTION BUT SUBMISSION WOULD BE A FOOLISH ACT.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Yeah I wanna fuck you over too!” Abigail snarled as she pulled free her combat knife and suddenly drove it into his open eyeball. Abraham didn't even blinked as Abigail pulled the blade back, noticing the tip of it was blunted.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I SAID STOP THIS FOOLIS-<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abraham Kieros suddenly paused when a series of explosions erupted from the East. The Warlord of Apocalypse rose higher into the air, still clinging to Abigail with one hand around her neck when, to his mild displeasure he saw a swarm of jet fighters, gunships, helicopters and.... even suits of power armor suddenly sweeping over the calm waters of the Mediterranean ocean, unleashing a barrage of fire into the flank of the Warlords mutant army as it just arrived over the Suez Canal.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then the Warlord suddenly winced in pain, as he glanced down and saw his wrists starting to steam and burn as Abigail Brand finally revealed her own mutant parentage and unleashed a power she rarely ever used. Her hands wrapped around Abraham's wrist and unleashed a searing grip that was capable of melting through metal, or carving through flesh due to its intense heat. Abraham gritted his teeth, struggling to hold onto her when something else suddenly caught both of their eyes.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A streak of red soared across the sea, leaving a thundering wake as it zoomed straight towards them, looking like nothing more then a streak of light. Then she realized it was heading towards them. Abigail focused all of her energy into her fingers and finally, distracted by the oncoming threat, he simply let her go, letting her unceremoniously drop fifteen meters through the air and landing painfully on the dirt road beneath them.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She winced in pain but recovered just quickly enough to see Abraham Kieros suddenly stretch out his arms and then bring them together in a deafening thunderclap that was powerful enough it caused the ground fifty feet below him to shake from the concussive force of the blast. Nearby, buildings were rattled to their foundation, chunks of masonry falling off of their corners, windows shattered, cars were flipped over onto their sides and even Abigail winced, her ears burning as she heard the powerful echo of the thunderclap rattle her own insides like they were jelly.<br><div class="floatleft">(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c6/Xfactor19_005.jpg)</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the oncoming streak of red energy only barely dissipated before literally slamming into the the front side of the Warlord of Apocalypse with an incredible force. One second, Abraham Kieros was on his horse, the next, the horse was hovering in midair by itself. Whatever it was, it had survived the building shattering force of the Warlords' concussive thunderclap and now having been ripped off his golden mount, the blur of red energy slammed the mutant into the ground. Another explosive boom reverberated through the open space as the rubble that was torn up peppered her with debris even though she was dozens of meters away.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shielding herself briefly, she then lowered her defenses and saw with wide eyes as the glowing pulse of red energy suddenly take form. The form of a man.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A human being dressed in a white shirt and black tie with formal black suit pants. Under his clothes, he was literally glowing with red energy that seemed to be suffused throughout his body, burning like a miniature reactor was contained within his body.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Beneath him, Abraham Kieros unleashed another deadly thunderclap only to have the concussive force of his blast barely causing his mysterious attacker to flicker at the edges of his form. Without hindrance, the mysterious red figure then reached down, seizing the powerful mutant by his throat with both of his hands and simply started to radiate more of his incredible energy, letting it flow from his body and surge through his arms, into his hands as Abigail watched in wide eyed wonder as the powerful mutant started to smoke and steam, uselessly struggling against his superhuman grip.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NONE CAN STAND AGAINST THE WILL OF LORD APOCALYPSE! NONE WILL ESCAPE HIS JUDGMENT!<br><div class="floatright">(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/57606/1228159-nefaria002.jpg)</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Just then, his body ignited into flames as without another thought, the man glowing with red energy simply seized the mutants flaming carcass and hurled it high into the air, watching the flaming, broken body of the warlord arch through the sky. The broken body, still set ablaze, proved to be a fiery beacon of utter defeat as the remaining mutants immediately started to withdraw in the face of the resurgent and freshly reinforced forces of the resistance.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Abigail slowly rose to her feet, her relief at victory immediately tempered as she saw her mysterious savior walk out of the crater he casually created when the Abraham and he crashed into the ground and approach her. With every second, the man looked less like a being comprised solely of some fantastic energy, and more like a human being dressed in a slightly tattered business shirt, tie and suit pants. He even had a well trimmed black bread and neatly combed hair, looking almost like a cultured, refined and more regal and older version of Tony Stark. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The growing unease swelling within Abigail's stomach betrayed any thought of her mistaking this man for Tony Stark. She knew who this man was.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Ah Director Abigail Brand,” the man suddenly said, straightening out the cuffs and sleeves of his white collared shirt before extending a hand to her. As she did so, she saw the defeated mutants who had survived the attack and counterattack were scurrying to the south desperately, the resistance pursuing them aggressively but stopping their pursuit several miles south of the towns edge. Meanwhile several huge, well armored humanoids descending in the town clearing, landing all around her. “Your efforts are to be commended milady,” he then said extending her a hand as a pearly white smile crossed his handsome, distinguished face.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She recognized the armored humanoids as war machines called Dreadnaughts. They were manufactured by HYDRA. (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Against all of her reservations, she accepted the handshake and forced a smile to her face. If anything, it made the mans smile grow even larger. “Thank you for your assistance Luchino,” Abigail said tersely as various resistance fighters started to fill into the clearing, also wondering who their savior was and who Abigail Brand, the current face of their resistance, was shaking hands with.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Please Miss Brand,” the man then laughed. “No need to be coy like a goose. My name is Count Luchino Nefaria and I have come to offer my assistance... in saving the world.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Nefaria)<br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Coffeecake (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Susan%20Coffey/1decadentdesigns.jpg) (LMD): Offworld Consular Relations<br><br><em>NPC Villains:<br><br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)</em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>19-01-2013, 06:16:38</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/3/3f/En_Sabah_Nur_(Earth-58163).jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah Nur<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Vision<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Giza Plateau, Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Famine, Blink, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><hr><br><br><div class="floatright">(http://sniktbub.wdfiles.com/local--files/file:288409-145029-blink/288409-145029-blink.jpg)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="bbc_size"><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<em>"You are no ordinary mutant, my dear. You are not an after effect of random chance, you are born of destiny."</em><br><br><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 10pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse smiled, completely genuine - as unbelievable as that may seem - at the pink-skinned woman standing before him. "You have grown so much since I last laid eyes upon you." He held out his hand in her direction and spoke again, "Take my hand Starchild, my dearest granddaughter, I must share with you my Vision." The moment the young lady's fingers touched his own she felt a sense of familiarity and security. She felt at home. "I have been asleep for many years, but the time has finally come. The world is finally ready for our gift." And with that, he closed his eyes and sent forth many visions of his future plans - leaving out, of course, all of the bits of information that would turn away her compassionate heart.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A few moments later he opened his eyes, and he could see her eyes slowly opening as well, having received all of the images telepathically. "We are the firstborn, we are the future. I was drawn up from the belly of the earth, and you were brought down from the stars my child. Let us show the world what they have been missing." He smiled again and let her hand go. Then he started walking away from her slowly, glancing over his shoulder to speak one last time. "They will resist it, but we must not avoid our destiny. The fate of the world depends on our success Starchild."</em><br><br></span></span></span></span><hr><hr><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse's eyes snapped open as the memory faded away. He could see the glowing runes he had activated the pyramids with and now, the three underground crystal structures were humming loudly. There was a rhythmical wave that kept surging every few moments as the energy being produced sought an outlet. The blue and grey skinned giant called back to his pale companion from the previous hall. <strong>"Sinister, have them lay the lines and begin siphoning the energy. Cut off any further shipments from the Middle East - we don't need the oil any longer."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Mr. Sinister replied in a weak tone, "As you command. This new development will reduce the amount of casualties from the north." Nobody ever liked giving Apocalypse bad news. Sinister stood his ground, however, and waited for the angry response from his master. Apocalypse <em>hated</em> bad news.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Mass casualties? From what?"</strong> The power of his voice boomed almost skeptically. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"There is a large defensive force holding strong at Port Said, remnants of SWORD - from what our communication taps have picked up. Many prominent leaders of the Middle East have supported the defense - albeit half-heartily." Sinister added.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse growled. Taking out the powerful factions on earth quickly and decisively had been his primary focus. He had hoped that SWORD would not offer any assistance - since this was Earth's internal battle. It shouldn't have drawn any extra-terrestrial aid. Interest maybe, but the other systems would be foolish to pick sides this early - the human's side least of all. <strong>"I will see to this insurrection myself! Prepare a squad of your finest fighters Mr. Sinister - you are coming as well."</strong> And with that Apocalypse stormed up the long long ancient staircase leading out of the secret chamber below Giza.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As he climbed the long stairs he reached out telepathically to Selene, <em><strong>"I did not ask for you intrusion Lady Gallio. You risk much with those prying eyes of yours; but I cannot blame you. You are wise and intelligent, I would be alarmed if you weren't suspicious. Continue to impress me and I will bring you fully into my fold. Find me Magneto!"</strong></em> His tone was calm and pleasant, but a forceful boom erupted with his last sentence. He would find Shaw's successor and he would turn him. Or kill him. After a moment for effect, he added: <em><strong>"As soon as you have him, tell Blink to escort you both to Cairo immediately. She should be somewhere near you already. Do not fail me in this, Famine."</strong></em><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Now to deal with that meddling SWORD. Didn't they see what he did to SHIELD? Fools - the whole lot of them. They do not deserve life, not with such limited intelligence. He wouldn't even bother wasting serums on those few who survived.</div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MaiMizzu</strong> on <strong>20-01-2013, 07:23:18</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/74814A.jpg) </div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Tony Stark<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Genius, Man With The Plan<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Humanity<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Rurouni Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Every man, woman and child on God’s green Earth<br></span></span><hr><br>If you have a communications device… anything from the Avengers or X-Men or Fantastic Four or even a walkie talkie… you will be able to hear Tony Stark’s voice. It would first be broadcast in English, and then 4 more times in other languages. Anyone that can receive radio broadcasts, television signals, even some data signals will be able to hear the message. You won’t be able to communicate back, but you will hear his voice. And a few hours later.. you would hear the voices of others around the world, depending on the range of your communications device. It’s not spotless, there is going to be breakups in the signals and static… but it’s a start. <br><br><strong>“I know you’re out there listening. Looking for hope. Hiding from those that seek to destroy you. This being, Apocalypse has committed the first offense against us, against all of us. Borders, nationalities, religions, they don’t mean anything to him. If you are alive, you are a target; but you probably know all of this already, don’t you? <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I want to tell you that hope still exists - that right now I am building an army for the grand counterattack... but I'm not. I can’t, not alone against such powerful tyranny. Every single one of us has been struck, or someone we care for has been struck. I have. But I know I have to keep going. And so do you. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We’re far from ready to come riding out of the dawn and save the planet, but soon we will be. If you can hear me, and you aren't under the control of Apocalypse, then you are a part of this too. It doesn't matter what you think about yourself or your abilities or what you can or cannot offer - you are a part of this! <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Mourn for the dead, pray for the living. That’s all we can do right now, until we are ready to strike back. To rise. To stand. To resist.&nbsp; <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I have full confidence that if all of you answer the call, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our home. To ride out this storm of war - and to outlive this menace of tyranny and violence. We are the only resistance left. You are humanity’s hope, each and every single one of you. You are the heroes now. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;It may take days... it may take years... At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is what I am going to do.<br>Because I am Iron Man, and Apocalypse has not seen the last of me yet; nor has he seen the last of you. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Our vengeance is coming.”</strong><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>21-01-2013, 10:50:32</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Tony Goddamn Stark<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br><em>OOC: Sorry Mad, I waited.</em><br><br>The message had come in on his X-Men Commlink, a bit grainy but overall pretty clear. He'd smiled with that, and by the time the message was over he was checking to make sure his swords were still in place- and all three are perfectly in working order and sharp.<br><br>"<strong>Apologies, milday- but it seems that Duty calls.</strong>" he says, through a smile but more serious then he has been before.<br><br>"<strong>After all, if Herr Stark is determined to save the world then what better place for the world's finest swordsman? It's true you know, I've best Olympic Gold Medalists- if it wasn't for the anti-mutant rules. . .</strong>" he starts with a somber chuckle. Yeah, he's having a bit of a crisis of faith right now, how could a loving God let this all happen?<br><br>Well, if this was his appointed hour then he was going to go as Kurt Wagner- the Incredible Nightcrawler. Besides, the Iron Man was still on the field. Anthony Stark was Iron Man? He inwardly chuckles how obvious that was with hindsight.<br><br>"<strong>There's food, water, and shelter here. Stay away from windows, no fires if you don't absolutely have to, and with that power of yours you should find it easy to stay hidden. Good Luck, Fraulein.</strong>" he speaks. A jump straight up into the air to catch the lip in the hole in the ceiling, climbing his body upward. He says a silent prayer as he clings to walls and around shadows.<br><br>It doesn't take long to figure a few things out from all the troop movements of the armored Mutates- he refused to call Apacolypse's Troops "Mutants"- that something was going on.&nbsp; A collection of whispers, caught while clinging to shadowy walls and out of sight.<br><br>The Human Race was fighting back at Port Said, and the battle was going well. So well that Apocalypse himself was going to make an appearance. What really gets his interest though was that this monster was doing <em>something</em> at the Great Pyramids. Something big.<br><br>Kurt takes a gamble. With his teleportation powers in theory he can get a look around and still get to Port Said in time to help with the battle, in theory. It's a great risk- a good chance that whatever defenses the monster has prepared will have invisible opponents in mind- and that's when it does work, Kurt's well aware that he only turns invisible when the lighting was poor anyway.<br><br>No. No, they needed to know that the Lord and Master of this Madness was going to come upon them like a Force of Nature. They had to be warned. Just knowing it had something to do with the Pyramids would have to be enough for now. He gets to a position with some visible range to it, looks for a tucked away corner, and begins the journey to Port Said- leaving briefly lived puffs of brimstone clouds as he teleports, hopefully before Apocalypse lives up to his name.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>22-01-2013, 05:37:07</strong>
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				<hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr>Port Said, Egypt<br>Things had gone from worse to slightly less worse.<br><br>Ah the thrilling ecstasy of victory. <br><br>The Savior of the hour, Count Luchino Nefaria, had arrived at literally the nick of time at the head of a literal armada of European Union, HYDRA, Maggia and other associated forces he alone could pull together, especially in the wake of Apocalypse's decapitation strikes of numerous governments and other organizations. She had no idea but after the initial battles, and resulting massacres, the Battle of Port Said was likely one of the first battles of the 'Resistance' as it was now coalescing into becoming and while it was through SWORD stewardship that the battle was fought, she also knew it was only because of Count Luchino Nefaria that it was won.<br><br>Count Luchino Nefaria, the most powerful family head in the Maggia criminal organization. <br><br>Count Luchino Nefaira, whose underworld and political connections in Europe were as extensive as say... Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime himself, were in North America and Japan.<br><br>Count Luchino Nefaria, wanted by Interpol, SHIELD, the Avengers, the CSA, and a multitude of other law enforcement organizations, and yet could still walk openly in public as a literal untouchable.<br><br>Count Luchino Nefaria. <br><br>If he was a normal Crimelord, someone might've been tempted to put a bullet in his head just to stave off whatever plan or plot he had in store for the post-apocalypse.<br><br>But that was were Count Luchino Nefaria was different then your typical criminal, or your typical supervillain. Because there was one other thing Count Luchino Nefaria had besides lots of political power, massive amounts of influence and a cunning and ruthless intellect. He was superhuman. And not run of the mill either. He could, and had, taken Mjolnir to the jaw and remained conscious to tell the tale. Avengers. X-men. Whole lineups. He had enough raw power in his body that he could take them all on.<br><br>Thus, during the entire meeting she had this sinking feeling in her gut. Apocalypse had ushered in the end of the world. Now would Count Nefaira usher in the post-apocalyptic one. One shaped by him and him alone, with no one powerful enough left to challenge him. <br><br>Already it looked like everyone else was falling into line. Arab sheikhs, Egyptian Generals, and Muslim Imans were all already paying lip service to Count Nefaria in the meeting. He had awed them with his amazing arrival, cowed them with a show of force and now was using the best angle he had, as the last best hope of humanity. Abigail sat there, stoically but feeling like she couldn't do much of anything except sit there. After all, he had quite openly saved her life from imminent death or capture, or worse. Nothing she could say could tip the balance in her favor now.<br><br>And as the meeting came to an end, she was already drifting away, trying to think of something to do. Some way to act. To save this resistance she had fought tooth and nail to form, only to lose it to a literal supervillain. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard her name being called, and with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she looked up and saw it was Count Luchino Nefaria addressing her. He was even rising from his seat, at the head of the table naturally.<br><br>"Before this council ends, I wish to recognize Agent Abigail Brand for her courage, wisdom and leadership in this entire affair. I am not only sure, but positive that if she was not here, our cause could've been lost tonight," the Count said as Abigail's head slowly rose from her slumping shoulders, slowly panning her vision around and noticing the assembled leaders all looking towards her, nodding and applauding. <br><br>She tried her damndest not to smile even as she had that warm rush of euphoria billow up from within her body, making her stomach tingle and her body shiver with gratitude as all of these powerful and influential people recognized her in the wake of so much loss and sacrifice. Even in the wake of Count Nefaria's dominating presence. But as her eyes fell upon Count Nefaria, she paused and realized she couldn't give in. He was a charmer and manipulator, par excellance. "Thank you," Abigail said, narrowing her eyes as she focused on the supervillain across the room.<br><br>"No. Thank you Agent Brand," one of the Egyptian Generals said. "You have helped bring us all together!" he then said. "Israeli and Arab. Guerrilla and soldier. Muslim and Christian. East and West," the General said before turning to the Count. "And now with Count Nefaria's arrival, we will no longer be resisting, but attacking!" he said, playing to Nefaria's unintentional script perfectly.<br><br>Abigail stifled the villains momentum. "Thank you General," she then said before turning to Nefaria. "But I'm not an Agent, I'm a Director... of SWORD." The Count's smile faded, but only slightly and just for a moment, withering just a shade as she gave him her best law enforcement stare, silently thinking how delightful it would be to simply tell him he was under arrest at this very moment, at the pinnacle of his influence in the world.<br><br>But she couldn't.<br><br>Literally.<br><br>He'd atomize her with a thought, and no one here would be able to do anything even if they wanted to. So instead she satisfied herself with correcting him in public as the meeting adjourned and quickly made a beeline for the exit. She would head back to the Mosque that was their headquarters, the only place she knew she was safe. Because if there was one thing that was certain, it was that the two of them couldn't exist side by side, not in this close proximity. It was like Russia and the Western Allies. They had Nazis and Japanese separating them during their conflict. Right now, they were rubbing shoulders.<br><br>It couldn't last.<br><br>But just before she stepped out of the Suez Canal Headquarters building that was acting as the headquarters for the resistance, she felt the undeniable presence of the Count himself standing behind her. She kept on walking when he simply laid a pair of hands lightly upon her shoulders and held her in place.<br><br>Literally.<br><br>"With but a gesture, I can disintegrate you my dear," Count Nefaria suddenly said, leaning in close to her ear, whispering to her softly, a perfect smile on his face. "I can rip your arms off with a flick of my wrists, or cause your body to spontaneously combust from within. Why... I could even sheer the layers of flesh and muscle off of your body like an onion with an intense stare. So many ways for you to die, and for what?" He paused, as Abigail remained silent. "Please speak... it won't change anything." <br><br>"I have every intention of arresting you as soon as practical," Director Brand stated. "However, I'm willing to offer amnesty for you and your forces if they subordinate themselves to my command," she then offered.<br><br>He smiled, and gently squeezed her shoulders, the slight pressure of his fingers causing her collarbone to start to bend, and sending an almost paralyzing pain surging through her shoulders, cutting off her voice as she let out a low toned whimper of pain. It sounded pathetic, but she couldn't help it. "Tell me... Director Brand. Would you prefer Lord Apocalypse and his genocide. Or Count Nefaria and his... enlightened rule?" he asked. <br><br>"That's a false dilemma. I choose neither," Abigail replied coldly. <br><br>"Mmmm too bad. But at least you'll make an excellent martyr," he said before suddenly letting her go with a shove and then as he turned her head, saw him give her a farewell salute. "I will remember your name and your sacrifices Director Brand. What you have done is extremely commendable and worthy of rememberance," the Count then said before withdrawing inside.<br><br>Abigail frowned.<br><br>She made it six blocks before Nefaria made his move.<br><br>"Herman Schultz. You made it?" she then said as a single armored goon, wearing the same power armor that Apocalypse's mutants did, approach her. She recognized his quilt patterned mask behind one of the transparent face plates though as Herman Schultz, otherwise known by his supervillain moniker The Shocker.<br><br>"That's right," the Shocker replied, raising his vibro-blaster.<br><br>"Ah... martyr. So everyone will be led to believe I was killed after the battle by some left behind mutants," Director Brand said with a smile, patting the pistol on one side of her hip, and then the radio on the other. She knew the latter was useless. Not only had Apocalypse been eaves dropping on their communications, she figured Nefaria was jamming it anyhow just so she could die alone. "I never thought of you as a hitman."<br><br>The Shocker frowned. "This is a good end babe. We should all be so lucky," the supervillain then replied pragmatically. "Anything else? Time is short."<br><br>"Fight the good fight Herman. You don't have to be a villain anymore," she said with a shrug when suddenly her radio barked to life and Tony Stark's transmission echoed through the empty, dark streets. And it ended suitably.<br><br>“Our vengeance is coming.” <br><br>The Shocker then paused, having heard the same transmission, as uncertainty crossed his face. Abigail narrowed her eyes. "Walk away Herman. You're too valuable now to be wasted," she then said.<br><br>But he hesitated and she could read his body language, realizing he was making the same internal debate lots of people in Port Said were. Tony Stark's transmission changed things here. He was an Avenger, a billionaire, with worldwide influence and connections and incredibly powerful in his own right. And most of all he was associated with the rule of law. <br><br>Like she was.<br><br>Rich, charismatic, influential, powerful and heroic.<br><br>Like an anti-Nefaria.<br><br>It wasn't until shouting voices emanating from a nearby building, shouting aloud excitedly at the announcement that The Shocker realized his opportunity to dispatch of her had ended and he immediately withdrew back into the shadows, not wanting to be caught in the open wearing the armor of the enemy. And Director Brand sighed in relief.<br><br>But she still cursed herself under breath.<br><br>Tony Stark had literally saved her life. <br><br>That announcement might be the immunity from assassination she needed. As long as Tony Stark was alive, as long as anyone like him were, that meant she wasn't alone, even if he was on the other side of the world. That's how great men and woman of the world influenced it. Taking her out, she realized, would automatically become more costly, if not dangerous, solely because the same power base he needed would still want to curry her favor as well. <br><br>She made her way back to SWORD's headquarters. They had plans to make. <br><br><em>NPC Villains:<br><br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br></em>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>22-01-2013, 06:30:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>I did some good in Kurt's heart to see just how good the battle went for Humanity. All the death and carnage around him was horrifying but he could take some solace in the fact that the beasts had been driven back. This was not time to rest though, not with the information that he had.<br><br>Most of Apocalypse's remaining forces had been routed and were fleeing back to Cairo as he understood it, but so few were heading back that it was hard to tell if that was the truth or not. The pittance that trickled back were easy to avoid at any right- the smoke and chaos on the horizon told him that he was getting close.<br><br>It didn't take a telepath to see what was still going on. There was still fighting in Port Said of course- but it gave up on even the pretext of being organized long ago on at least one side of the battle. Now Apocalypse's remaining forces weren't even pretending that this was anything but spreading slaughter.<br><br>Entering the city itself, he has no idea where to start looking for leaders of the Resistance or even who they were- but he knew how to get their attention. Or at least he knew how to ask. Teleportation clouds of Brimstone top the cityscape as Kurt looks for a fight with a bit of care. They will all have to be dealt with of course, but fighting lonely troops now could cost someone else their life fighting elsewhere. <br><br>There. The library just down the block from the roof he is standing on. Some Muslim Brotherhood Militia and SWORD Agents pinned down with some blessed Refugees. Pinned down by what looks like an androgynous electricity thrower, a man who shoots of black eye-beams, a strong man, and what looked like a woman with at least 6 arms- guns in two of them and swords in the other four. He sees a militia man rise to bravely open fire, a SWORD agent try to tackle him to get him back under cover, a black eye-beam lances out and soon the militia man- a man who Kurt couldn't help but imagine was just someone trying to protect people they cared about, was just gone. Disintegration maybe? They'd pay for that.<br><br>Kurt didn't like killing, but this was War. He draws his swords- a thin and almost graceful rapier for his right hand, a parrying dagger for his left hand, and a second shorter rapier for his tail.<br><br>The first strike against the four murderous Mutates, he still refuses to consider them brother and sister Mutants, is silent and sudden. Leaping from the rooftop for some extra momentum he disappears. . .<br><br>. . .Reappearing in a collision course with the large, strong mutate that had distracted himself with finding some larger rubble to throw. The contact is so sudden the large man doesn't even have time to make noise before Kurt takes him right out of his armor in a puff of brimestone smoke. . .<br><br>. . .And they reappear not quite straight up but closeby. Kurt then lets go before the large man gets any ideas and another puff of smoke. . .<br><br>. . .Putting the electricity thrower between him and the black eye-beam shooter he speaks for the first time, with a Swashbuckler's smile and pose, a loud "<strong>En Garde!</strong>" goes threw the air. Of course, these amatuer fighters go with their first instincts- the Swordswoman locks in place as she raises her swords while the Eye-beamer turns his head and fires. The Eletricity Thrower is soon little more then skeleton with bits of armor hanging on- and Kurt doesn't wait to see what happens when the beams are done with their work, he jumps and disappears. . .<br><br>. . .To deliver a hard stab with his dagger to the back of the neck of the beam shooter. Inwardly he curses himself for it going so well as the man drops in his armor. Maybe later he'll wish he'd made the man suffer more but no, that wasn't in this moment. The woman with the swords draws beads with her guns just as the shadow and the shouting voice over her starts to form. Like an amateur, she looks up instead of does the sensible thing like get out of the way.<br><br>Kurt really doesn't like what the mess of flesh looks like a scant moment later, shying his eyes away. Kurt didn't like using his powers to kill- but it was hard to deny that when he put his mind to it they were frighteningly effective. He wonders how much of the violence was his own heart, how much was trained into him by Xavier, and how much was just from how ugly the world had become.<br><br>"<strong>DEMON!</strong>" a shocked Militia Man calls out and raises his weapon, but another SWORD Agent steps in the way.<br><br>"<strong>Look at the Uniform. He's one of the X-Men. He's a Superhero.</strong>" the Agent replies, and decides wisely to leave out the part that the X-Men were all mutants in membership by design. They'd need all the help they can get.<br><br>"<strong>Nightcrawler, right? You with Tony Stark's group?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Ja, though he doesn't know it yet. Abigail Brand still Director of SWORD? Do you know where she is?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Set up our HQ in one of the Mosques. We got scared civilians in here, could use the Escort- I'll take you right to her myself.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Danke! Lead the way. But we must be fast and I need you to pass on a message to leadership right now. You fought back better then Apocalypse was expecting, and he's on his way to end this himself.</strong>"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>24-01-2013, 04:35:10</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Center of Port Said<br>"Objectively speaking Director," Agent Hariri said, her arm still in a sling, her forearm fractured and her shoulder dislocated when a roof support beam in her bunker literally fell on her when the room she was in collapsed in on her. It took an hour to dig her out. "I think it's stupid and to any outside observer it would be stupid," she added. The Lebanese born translator narrowed her dusky eyes, obviously filled with annoyance at how the resistance here seemed to be unraveling while right on the cusp of victory. "We should be working with Count Nefaria's people and with HYDRA. There's no more good guys and bad guys anymore. All of that political shit went out of the window when this Apocalypse guy..."<br><br>"Mutant," Agent Marquez stated gruffly, half of his face bandaged up from burns incurred in the previous battle when the air defense vehicle he was standing near exploded during the battle. He was knocked unconscious, and nearly drowned in about six inches of water as he laid helpless on the beach before a refugee literally pulled him out of the water. <br><br>Agent Hariri didn't bat an eye, as some of the others shifted uncontrollably in their seats at how hateful Marquez's single word statement was, especially with the Director in the room. "Whatever he is. This is just like with Hitler. We have to ally with unsavory people and deal with what happens after, after."<br><br>Agent Fisher, still dripping with mud and dirt and grime, suddenly rose up from leaning against the wall, a look of disgust still obvious on her camo blackened face. "This is nothing like that! The world is burning. A billion people are already dead. If it wasn't for Tony Stark maybe... still being alive, Nefaria would've killed her," the sharpshooter said defensively. "The only use he has for any of us is as a martyr if we don't tow his line. The only reason he hasn't made a move on us is because how helpful the locals think we are and because the Israeli's, nukes and all, are cooperating with us."<br><br>It was then Agent Tokoro visibly frowned, and Agent Marquez just sighed, shaking his bandaged head slowly. Agent Fisher stared daggers at the two of them, looking far more menacing then it would seem her petite figure could allow. "What is it?"<br><br>Both of them turned to Director Brand, who was just sitting in a folding chair, her coffee having gone cold long ago. Her shirt was peeled off, ice packs taped to her shoulders from the 'gentle squeeze' Nefaria had given her. For the past ten minutes she had listened to her exhausted, wounded, and generally pissed off fellow SWORD Agents sounding off on everything wrong and their recommendations, having let them voice their concerns before weighing in. She knew that even Agent Marquez, his latent mutant hostility aside, was still completely loyal to her and her stewardship of the organization and resistance. <br><br>So naturally, she was reluctant to reveal her plans were shattered. "The nuclear missiles were destroyed earlier today. Apparently while the first three waves of Apocalypse's mutates engaged us, a fourth force attacked Israeli missile bases just as they were bringing some of their arsenal out of storage to redeploy and hide somewhere else. It was that force that actually attacked us from the East late in the battle. It was the one led by the Horseman, Abraham Kreios,"<br><br>Faces started to pale as the realization fell upon them.<br><br>"The nuclear weapons were destroyed during the attack. Whether by Apocalypse's forces, or by the IDF to prevent their capture, no one knows. But the nuclear option is off the table... for now," Director Brand stated.<br><br>"FUCK!" Agent Fisher screamed, suddenly pushing off of the wall she was leaning against and quickly snatched up a nearby stool and gave it a baseball style swing, smashing it against the wall before storming out of the room, still cursing underbreath as she walked out of sight.<br><br>"How did they find out?" Agent Hariri asked shaking her head. She was never in agreement with the nuclear option, but... it was always nice to have that option available.<br><br>"Apparently Apocalypse had been... still is... monitoring our so-called secure communications. Right up to the battle itself. The only reason he didn't know about our defenses is because he couldn't intercept or decrypt the code we were using short range. But his forces basically read every transmission we had with the Israelis. They knew all about the nukes," Director Brand stated. <br><br>A damned silence fell across the room before Agent Hariri futhered the discussion. "What now?" she simply asked.<br><br>Director Brand groaned and sighed, before ripping off the ice packs from her chest and rising up, wearing the same pants she had worn for the past two days, and an olive drab sports bra for a top. "We should all get some sleep," she then said before turning to Tokoro. "Want to man the phone in case anything comes up? Four hours minimum. We'll need our rest. Meet back here in five hours. Fair enough?" Director Brand said.<br><br>There was a line of ragged nods when Agent Duchamp, his head also bandaged and with a plethora of small cuts and brusies on his skin and tears on his uniform, finally rose up. "I'm going to do a final security check," he said with a nod before heading out and meeting with a Kurdish peshmerga commander outside of the room. Ever since Nefaria and HYDRA showed up, they had decided that they'd need reliable guards for their compound just in case Nefaria was bold and attacked. Thankfully a force, for lack of a better term, of Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga had trucked in all the way from Northern Iraq to offer their services in what was being termed as a Jihad by every surviving Islamic scholar and learned man that they had heard. <br><br>Abigail meanwhile half walked, half shambled to the washroom facilities which was located past some empty offices and living quarters that were currently occupied by SWORD personnel but as she passed by the dressing room and looked up ahead at the open shower area, she frowned. Getting undressed and redressed seemed like a hassle. Instead, she glanced off to the side and saw a comfy looking bench alongside the hallway, with an army cot mattress rolled out on top. She looked around, shrugged, kicked off her dirty pants and flopped half conscious onto the improvised bed, propping her head up on her backpack as a pillow. <br><br>Her eyes felt like lead almost immediately as she let the exhausting numbness finally surge through her body and slowly her vision focused into lids as she saw the curtain separating the showers pulling open and a petite, athletic blonde slowly stepping out, a towel wrapped around her naked curves. "Fisher..." Director Brand purred, barely lucid before slipping off into sleep, her body feeling a surge of warmth as she slowly closed her eyes.<br><br>It felt like a second later, she was hearing her voice being called. "...Brand," she heard a voice calling. <br><br>Her eyes groggily, but immediately flashed open before Agent Tokoro could even repeat her bosses chest. "I'm awake," Director Brand said as she practically willed her head up off of the backpack she was using as a pillow and felt a horrible ache simmering through her neck and shoulders, forcibly eliciting a groan from her lips. "Damn I need a massage."<br><br>"Feeling tense?" another voice said, as Brand turned and focused her eyesight on Agent Fisher. Thankfully, for her own sanity, Fisher wasn't wearing a towel anymore, the weird temptation she felt earlier was gone as the sniper walked up to her wearing a gray tee shirt and a pair of shorts. "This is my sleepwear," she said, before holding up her carbine with nightvision optics attached to it.<br><br>Director Brand smiled before turning to Tokoro. "What is it?" she asked as Tokoro handed her a coffee. She immediately started sipping it.<br><br>"Agent Kang has encountered one of the X-Men while doing a security sweep," Agent Tokoro said after pausing, unsure how else to frame it.<br><br>"Kang?" Director Brand half asked, half shouted, her eyes growing wide with horror that in addition to this Apocalypse guy and Count Nefaria, Kang the fucking Conqueror had now shown up, completely mishearing what she said.<br><br>"Agent Jin-Tae Kang, from Kazakhstan," Tokoro clarified. "He encountered one of the X-men. The blue one."<br><br>"Hank?" Director Brand asked, her eyes lighting up.<br><br>"Isn't his name Henry?" Agent Fisher interjected all of a sudden.<br><br>"No... the smaller one with the... fingers," Agent Tokoro replied thoughtfully, pressing her fingers together in pairs and wiggling them so it was like she had three digits. "He says he has pressing intelligence as to another attack on our forces soon."<br><br>"Nightcrawler?" Brand asked, figuring that was the only one left that fit Tokoro's vague description.<br><br>"The Nazi?" Agent Fisher asked, her Southern drawl escaping her lips, her brain to mouth filter obviously not working due to lack of sleep.<br><br>Both Tokoro and Brand gave the redneck an evil eye, silencing her solely with their glares alone. To an outside observer, it would look like telepathy. When that was settled and Agent Fisher shrugged, Director Brand looked around. "Nightcrawler. I should find my shirt, I can meet him in the conference room. Two minutes."<br><br><em>Other SWORD Agents:</em><br><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>24-01-2013, 12:00:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Well, the Director had a little more time then that. Kurt didn't like teleporting anywhere that he didn't know intimately or couldn't see and Al-Abassi Mosque didn't fall into either of those categories. That he had a SWORD Agent, 4 Militia Men, and 7 civilians who only were still alive by virtue of just being that lucky. Two of them were young children for God's Sake. He may look like a moody demon, but in his heart he was something else- something that wasn't about to leave them behind in a hostile city.<br><br>Oh, he's tried to lighten the mood a bit- for the sake of the children. Being an ex-circus acrobat certainly helped with that as he does some walking on his hands to mix it up a bit. They keep moving. Al-Abassi Mosque, for now it was the safest place even if Apocalypse himself was coming.<br><br>"<strong>So I have to ask,</strong>" starts Agent Kang starts, "<strong>So you look like a demon, you teleport, you cling to walls, you're agile- why Nightcrawler?</strong>"<br><br>Ah, he was hoping this question would never get asked. Ever. *sigh*<br><br>"<strong>I was raised by a Circus in Bavaria, Germany while I become something of a star as an Acrobat and on the Trapeze. That was my Stage Name.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Okay, but why 'Nightcrawler'?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>There's. . .a species of a rather large worm in Bavaria. My skintone is surprisingly close to the color of a Bavarian Nightcrawler when viewed under Moonlight. It was a term of endearment from the people I called my Family, it stuck when I started performing, and it carried over to my heroics.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Oh, man- you're named after a Worm?</strong>" Agent Kang says almost starting to laugh- and some of the others in the group<br><br>"<strong>By the people that raised me. And my first love, I might add. We were circus folk!</strong>" he defends, but smiling a bit. Of course, it keeps up when they start to take a shortcut through a public forum with a covered stone roof miraculously still standing. Where it instantly becomes obviously forced merriment on the part of Nightcrawler and Agent Kang, and a couple of the militia members pick up on it instantly and raise their weapons.<br><br>"<strong>You heard it too?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Too late to back out without tipping them off. We're not alone. Something scurrying on the walls. Something big.</strong>" he says, his german accent getting thicker as he gets ready for what's coming up.<br><br>"<strong>Need a Gun?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Agent Kang, no teleporter with any sort of skill ever carries a gun. What use is a ranged weapon to a man for which range is just an illusion? Just get the fighters around the civilians, I'll take care of it.</strong>" Kurt speaks, and disappears in a BAMF! of smoke.<br><br>Circle up they do. Time passes. Tense seconds with the 5 with guns just trying to see something along the stone of the inner walls, trying to back out in a way that doesn't expose to them to <em>something</em> in the dark. Nothing, where was it? Where was. . .<br><br>"<strong>EN GARDE!</strong>" in a thick German accent echoes off the walls as something else lets out a sort of screeching sound.<br><br>"<strong>Where is it?</strong>" A militia man asks looking up, trying not to panic as the gun moves around look up and try to pick out something in the dark. The next sounds that come down sound like wet wood-chopping sounds, a series of them in rapid successful that end with one that sounds deeper and wetter then the others.<br><br>Something falls from above into view. It looks like a cockroach- but it's wearing a modified version of the power armor and is at least 12 feet long. The body lands directly in front of them, the head landing a few meters away and bouncing further away.<br><br>Of course, this time they SWORD agent is joining in as everyone carrying a gun unloads on the still moving headless body and still gnashing teeth of the head. Just a like a cockroach- it can survive a surprisingly long time without a head. With no head and riddles with bullets though? No, it doesn't take long before it stops moving.<br><br>"<strong>Nightcrawler- you okay?</strong>" Agent Kang<br><br>"<strong>Ja! Ja, I'm fine!</strong>" a voice from the dark calls back, "<strong>This Mosque? About 2-and-a-half kilometers north? With a security perimeter?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Yeah, what about it?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Looks like someone tried to use this as a sniper nest, found a pair of binoculars. Looks like we get to take a shortcut.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Yeah, how's that?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>We should be within my range. I want everyone to stand perfectly still for me. This may smell strange and feel kind of funny. . .</strong>"<br><br>BAMF! BAMF! BAMF!BAMF!BAMF!BAMF!. . .<br><br>The cloud of purple smoke smelling vaguely of rotten eggs that suddenly appeared on the grounds of Al-Abassi Mosque understandably raised some alarm- but the smoke quickly cleared revealing 13 people. 7 unarmed civilians, 4 militia members a little weirded out but no worse for wear, Agent Jin-Tae Kang, and a man who looked like a demon of gloom in an X-Men uniform of black with a large and thin indigo X across the chest and smaller X's on the shoulders.<br><br>"<strong>Hold your fire, we have refugees!</strong>" Agent Kang smartly calls out, and SWORD agents start taking these people to safety as well as they can. Kurt rolls his shoulders a bit, feeling how he's been pushing himself today especially with that last stunt.<br><br>"<strong>Thanks 'Crawler.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>X-Men, mutant superheroes vowed to protect the world that hates and fears us. It's kind of our thing.</strong>" he chuckles, "<strong>Now, Where can I speak to some people in charge?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Earpiece says she's in the Conference Room, wondering how a man who can teleport be late to a meeting. It's also saying that the HYDRA people are on our side- for now- so just ignore them.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>HYDRA?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Enemy of my Enemy, 'Crawler. He'll at least listen to what I have to say and consider stabbing somebody else in the back first. Conference room is that way,</strong>" he points, "<strong>I know you said you don't carry a gun- you at least drink?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Ja, though I'm more about Quality then Quantity.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Good, because I owe you 'Crawler. Give 'em hell for me.</strong>" Agent Kang chuckles, and gets back to work. Kurt Wagner has a job to do of his own and gets to this meeting.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>24-01-2013, 22:06:32</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br>Abigail was sitting in a rather uncomfortable folding chair, Agent Fisher off to one side, letting out the occassional annoying yawn as she leaned against the entryway while the Director occasionally glanced up at the sharpshooter, then the clock. The former shrugged, the latter kept on ticking. "How can a teleporter be late for a meeting?" Agent Fisher asked curiously.<br>"There's probably limits on what he can do," Abigail replied, unsure herself but assuming now that was the cause of the delay as she slid her hands into the pockets of the green jacket she was now wearing. <br>"So will he just pop in or...," Agent Fisher then asked, clearly bored apparently, or maybe eager to meet another real life superhero when sure enough, the X-man known as Nightcrawler didn't so much as pop in as walk through the door into the nearly empty conference room. <br>Agent Fisher's eyes widened a bit, clearly unused to seeing someone as peculiar looking as this fellow, who seemed to only be slightly more well built then herself, and she knew she was scrawny. Plus he didn't seem very tall either. But for the most part, the sniper maintained her composure. She was used to dealing with aliens and nonhumans all the time, he was simply another encounter. A friendlier encounter then most as well it would appear.<br><br>Director Brand's reaction wasn't much different, superficially speaking but on the inside, gears were already turning in her head. High stress situations always made her more amorous, and she felt it surface again before she slipped off to sleep and saw Agent Fisher leaving the shower wearing only her towel earlier that night. She had felt the same way when working with that brainy stud Hank McCoy as well. Hell, when it came to guys, she was still into humanoids, but baseline humans rarely did it for her. There always had to be something mutant... or alien about them, coincidentally enough. And her lusty thoughts weren't solely reserved for mutants either, she dug Beta Ray Bill as well, though she'd never think herself bold enough to ask him out for a date.<br><br>With Nightcrawler, it was no different. Though on the outside she remained completely stoic and unflappable, her eyes literally not moving from the demonic looking mutants eyes, her peripherals were literally soaking up his nonhuman appeal. The striking and demonic looking yellow eyes didn't do much for her, but seeing his dark lips open up, revealing those pearly white fanged teeth as they contrasted with his dark complexion, or the thick mop of short, curly black hair, the soft features of his handsome, very human face and much more interestingly, how utterly delicious his body looked with the thick coat of short light and shadow absorbing blue-black fur, the pointed ears, the lean musculature like a swimmer or acrobat. Or how his fingers and toes tapered off into two elongated digits, and in the case of his hands, a thumb as well. Then there was that long prehensile tail that almost absently waved in the air, idly whisking behind him. She was crushing on him, and could only hope he lived up to the kind, good natured and chivalrously noble personality she heard he had.<br><br>Abigail cracked a formal smile and rose from her seat, offering him a handshake before bidding him to sit. "Pleased to meet you Mr. Wagner. I've worked with some of your teammates before but I don't think we ever had the pleasure of meeting. Have a seat," she then said, making a simple gesture to another chair before nodding to her only other companion in the room. "This here is Agent Fisher. One of my shooters."<br><br>Fisher nodded. "I like the tail," she said cryptically with a smile.<br><br>Abigail frowned slightly, then turned to Nightcrawler, to see how he would make himself comfortable. "So I was told you have something important to tell me? I guess we should start with that before we get too comfortable," Abigail then said, cutting right to business.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>25-01-2013, 10:14:52</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Folding Chairs. Truly the mortal enemy of Kurt Wagner. Boring enough to seemingly demand something fancy be done with them but too flimsy to actually survive most of it. He's also had some bad experiences with the tail and trying to sit in them without thinking. Nobody knows how to treat a sprained tail now-a-days. Ugh.<br><br>Still, the view was nice. Kurt did try being a Priest for a while. It was kind of sad how it turned out, turns out his vows didn't count since the nun that administered them only did it out of a desire for revenge against mutants and the church. Too be honest though, the Vow of Celebacy wasn't agreeing with him either. The female form was just something he was too big a fan off.<br><br>Ah, well- what could of been. He did want to ask God why he let this happen- some small part of him wonders if he wants to die fighting Apocalypse so that he can ask God in Heaven himself.<br><br>"<strong>Yes, I'm rather attached to my tail as well.</strong>" he speaks with a German accent to bring out the quip better. He tried to keep a bright eye on things but that wasn't really working unfortunately, his mood seems to darken as he thinks of his teammates and friends. Brothers and Sisters of the Atom, but the mission has to go on- and they'd want him to continue it as Kurt. He takes the shaken hand, firmly. They aren't the brutish hands of a strongman, but the graceful hands of a swordsman.<br><br>"<strong>Alright, where to begin.</strong>" he thinks careful. When he does take a seat he doesn't sit in it so much as step onto it with bent knees with his tail waging a bit for balance on top of it.<br><br>"<strong>First- The Status of the X-Men. I don't know what's gotten out, but we were one of the first targets of Apocalypse's campaign. We've been scattered to the winds, badly. I know the Professor is Dead. I know that, at least of about 12 hours ago that Storm, Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine were still alive. Beyond that, I don't know- but I don't think we've ever been hit so hard before. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if the X-Men will ever really be a team again. Still, the rest of us refuse to go quietly.</strong>" he says, sounding a bit morose but resolute.<br><br>"<strong>Well, that's not entirely true. That is all I know for sure- but there are rumors that Apocalypse has. . .altered. . .one of us. There are rumors that one Apocalypse's Horsemen, Death, used to be Psylocke. I don't believe she'd do this of her own free will but that must seem a hollow comfort.</strong>" he speaks. If the X-Men have ever been in worse straights he couldn't think of a time when. It's sad, really- much of the team dead and one rumored captive being controlled. Would they ever be back?<br><br>"<strong>But more to the matter at hand,</strong>" he presses forward, with a deep breath.<br><br>"<strong>I was in Cairo on a Recon mission, was dropped in by high-altitude balloon before dawn this morning. Without a Parachute, I might add- if Felix Baumgartner is still alive I hope someone tells him that. Been trying to gather information in Apocalypse ever since.<br><br>I can confirm that not only has he been in and around Cairo but he's almost exclusively kept to the site of the Great Pyramds. I don't know why, but with the technology that I've seen going in and out of the complex has been. . .Surprising. Whatever he's planning, the Pyramids of Giza are key.<br><br>But that's not what you should be worrying about right now. The troops that Apocalypse threw at you were the new-bloods, the untested. The battle was a chance to separate the Weak from the Strong.<br><br>You fought back better then he expected. I almost wonder if the man is pleased- because now he's preparing to come at you again. This time he'll be going for Quality, not Quantity. He'll be on battlefield, personally, and he's bringing with him someone named Sinister and this time for troops he'll be going for Quality instead of Quantity. I don't know when or how the attack will come, but it'll be whenever he thinks he's ready. I hope you have a plan in mind.</strong>"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>26-01-2013, 00:02:36</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br>Agent Brand let out a tired sigh, which could've been either of relief, or stress. "Well, at least we don't have to attack him," the Director said, glancing up at Agent Fisher who was still gawking at Nightcrawler as he was crouched on the folding chair. It wasn't out of malice, but Agent Fisher had the incredible urge to kick the chair everytime she saw his tail wagging about slowly in the air above and behind him for some reason.<br><br>"Defending is easier when you are in possession of an inferior force," Agent Fisher replied. <br><br>"Plus we can better facilitate the evacuation of noncombatants," Director Brand then said before turning to Nightcrawler as she rose from her seat and glanced at the clock. It was still dark outside, the early morning hours. Nightcrawler's warning had been spare on most details, except that the attack would be powerful and inevitable and led by the head honcho himself. "Thank you for bringing this information to us Mr. Wagner," she then said, offering her hand to shake his again. "What are your intentions now? It'd be nice if you could rally the X-men again. We could definitely use the support," she said, before turning to Fisher. "Get Tokoro on the line. We need to summon the Council, we can meet at the Suez Canal Authority building again. We pretty much pulled out every trick in the book defending this place last time. We're going to have to come up with something new this time," she added.<br><br>Fisher nodded. "The Council including Count Nefaria?" the sniper asked, perhaps a bit defiantly.<br><br>"Especially Count Nefaria," Abigail replied sternly in a tone that would brook no more discussion on the matter. "Better or worse, Count Nefaria is the most powerful individual asset we have in our theater of operations. Plus until someone fishes our Mandroids out of the Mediterranean, HYDRA and their Dreadnoughts are basically our only individual superhuman or power armored support. If Apocalypse will oblige us with attacking us directly, we shouldn't squander the opportunity."<br><br>Fisher nodded, leaving the unspoken counterpoints hanging in the air. Apocalypse was basically an unknown threat whose direct capabilities were more or less an unknown to everyone it seemed, at least as far as Director Brand knew. The second point was, with that in mind, there was no guarantee that even Count Nefaria could defeat Apocalypse, even with the help of the rest of the resistance, as unlikely as that seemed. And even if he did win, what then. As Agent Fisher left, respectfully not bringing up either of those obvious objections, Abigail turned to Nightcrawler now that they were alone, hoping for a bit of frank discussion with an unbiased party but first opened up with a bit of sympathy.<br><br>"I'm sorry about the loss of your Professor Xavier," Abigail Brand stated in a terse voice, the cold tone betraying the genuine sympathy she felt for his loss. But ultimately she didn't want her emotions to get the best of her, even know. "I don't want to waste words since you knew him far better then I ever could, but he had done far more for mutant rights then anyone by far. I'm sure I'm not alone in stating that I probably wouldn't have known the success I have in my life if it wasn't for his advocacy, and I barely knew the man." <br><br>With that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, she took a deep breath to recompose herself. "Since you knew the Professor far better then I ever did, I was wondering if you had any special insight into the matter we are facing now. I'm sure you're generally aware of the situation right now, but if not, let me appraise you. HYDRA and Count Nefaria basically saved our butts. We're working with them basically because enemy of my enemy is my friend, but I'm pretty sure that as soon as it's practical, he'll make a martyr out of me. I'm disinclined to let that happen. But I'm also disinclined to diverting the time and effort and resources from needless political maneuvering and infighting. You're Professor knew Magneto... personally. Had to work with him a few times even." She paused, getting straight to the point of this side conversation. "If you have any tips, I'm all ears."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>26-01-2013, 04:53:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>"<strong>Thank you,</strong>" he speaks, kind of quietly.<br><br>"<strong>He saved my life the first time we met, actually. First adventure in superheroics, the short version is that I ended up against a serial killer with magic powers. I stopped him, but there were witnesses and he looked human.</strong>" he says with a shaking head and a smirk. Ah, Charles- the world lost a good man when Apocalypse took you out.<br><br>Too the task at hand.<br><br>"<strong>Ah, but there's a difference here. It can be said in Magneto's defense that in the end that what he wants is a world where mutants can live without fear. His methods are deplorable, and sometimes he seems convinced that he can only do that through ruling or killing all the normal humans, but in the end he wants something that's completely understandable and honorable.<br><br>Count Nefaria? Apocalypse? No, neither of this men can be said to have something comparable. But I get what you're saying. You're between a Rock and a Hard Place- and your only advantage is that said Rock and said Hard Place are more interested in killing each other then you at the moment. And we both know that the whole "Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend" line only sounds wise to people who can't tell the difference between an Enemy and an Antagonist.</strong>" he talks, partly just thinking out loud.<br><br>"<strong>Though, I am reminded of one little fact.</strong>" He replies, thinking of something that makes him smirk as he leans in to say it quietly, conspiratorially.<br><br>"<strong>Little secret of Circusfolk. Many of the pickpockets at a Circus work for the Circus itself, just waiting for their marks to be too distracted to notice before it is too late. And sometimes a they stage a fight, because those are very distracting.</strong>"<br><br>Oh he hoped the Director of a Spy Agency caught where he was going with this. Time it right, and her big two problems might fix themselves- or at least one gets fixed and the other weakened enough to do something else about it. . .
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>27-01-2013, 04:13:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A brief smile flickered across her face. She had thought of that, it would be a likely outcome after all and ultimately not a bad idea. But she reserved any genuine happiness due to the fact it still gave her a lack of control when it came to the situation. "Well that would be the best outcome," she said rising from her chair. "I suppose I could orient our efforts to bringing about that outcome. Thank you," she then added tersely. "I'm going to have to summon the council, bring this informtion to them.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She fixed her gaze on him before departing the room, not wanting to waste any time. "Did you have any other plans? I mean... you can hang around with us if you want. We'd be happy for the help. I'm just not sure how you can be best utilized and I'm certainly not going to order you around. You seem more of an independent operator anyhow," she then added with a&nbsp; rare warm smile.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>29-01-2013, 09:40:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>"<strong>That's true- I am rather outside your chain of command.</strong>" he says with his German accent and a smirk as he rolls his shoulders, his swords dancing a bit in their sheaths.<br><br>"<strong>But I'm sure we'll think of something that puts me to good use. And I'm more 'on a deep mission' then independent.</strong>" he says with a bit of a giggle.<br><br>"<strong>And I wouldn't miss Count Nefaria's face when he learns he might actually have to fight Apocalypse himself for the world.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>01-02-2013, 22:37:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong> Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr>The Suez Canal Authority Administration building somehow had escaped any major damage to the battle and thus was still being used as the resistance councils headquarters. The sun still hadn't risen as the Council was assembled again, this time at Director Brand's behest in order to discuss the recent revelations brought to her by Nightcrawler. Her vision panned around the now somewhat crowded basement conference room, noting Count Nefaria, just like before, was on the opposite end of the table flanked by an Italian Navy Admiral and one of those anonymous HYDRA types, probably an officer. Only in the wake of Apocalypse would the three of them be seen together.<br><br>Then again, that went for most everyone in this room.<br><br>As soon as everyone was settled, Director Brand decided to cut straight to the point. "Let me cut straight to the point. Apocalypse, the mutant in charge of this whole thing, heard about our victory and according to my scouts and intelligence, is planning on attacking us directly in the immediate future," the Director said in a frank manner. "And this time they aren't coming after prisoners. They're going to kill us all," she stated matter of factly. "We have to make preparations."<br><br>Almost immediately an uneasy atmosphere suddenly filled the room, with people exchanging curious glances and shifting of positions in seats as Abigail let her statement sink in. Unsurprisingly, it was the HYDRA goon who spoke up first, confronting Abigail immediately. "How did you come by this intelligence?" the HYDRA officer asked pointedly.<br><br>"I'm not revealing the sources. If they wish to, they can do so at their leisure," Director Brand replied immediately. "But I can assure you the intelligence is reliable," she then added. <br><br>"What's the time frame?" one of the Egyptian Generals then asked.<br><br>Director Brand shrugged. "Soon. But we probably won't know until our scouts to the south report of advances," Director Brand then stated, her eyes falling on Count Nefaria as she panned across the room, making sure to show that she wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest by his presence or his antics or his allies. "Regardless we should make preparations in making sure we remove all of the refugees and noncombatants from Port Said. If they cannot be sent offshore, they should be sent to Alexandria. Furthermore, in case we're overrun, we should make preparations for withdrawing to Alexandria along the Coastal Highway. With all of the transporation capacity tied up with the refugee evacaution, we're not going to be pulling off any Dunkirk operations."<br><br>"Why are we even considering retreat?" Count Nefaria suddenly asked, his voice almost booming through the chamber, unable to block out as he rose from his seat and stared right back at Director Brand. "I admire the fact we've evacuated almost all of the refugees, but while Director Brand heads up the evacuation, I would prefer to focus our efforts on the offensive. We have managed to strike a decisive blow to the enemy and much counterattack while the enemy is off balance.Before he can regroup."<br><br>"We've -," Director Brand started to reply.<br><br>"No we're not," Count Nefaria stated, arguing down her point before she could even make it. "This is an opportunity," he said raising a finger to her as if the gesture alone would silence her. "If what you say is true, and this Apocalypse mutant is going to attack then we must not abandon the opportunity presented to us. By exposing himself, he will have commited a grave error and we must take advantage of it."<br><br>"We barely held last time. What we need to do is offer a tactical retreat as part of a strategic offense," Director Brand tried to reason, her logic turning a few heads of those wearing military uniforms. "By not allowing him to dictate the battle, he'll expend energy on assaulting Port Said and allow us to fight him on our terms and further extend his forces, his lines of supply. Buy us time."<br><br>"NO!" suddenly shouted one of the civilian leaders, one of the Sheikhs or Imans that she had lost track of that represented this militant group or that political party or some other private militia. "No more time! Everyday that we wait, more of these mutants are created. More innocents perish. How can we retreat when the enemy offers battle? This attack, it is a sign of their desperation, not strength! We have shown them our power, and they fear it now!" the man shouted to a degree that surprised even Director Brand, as she found herself struck silent momentarily.<br><br>Capitalizing on the unexpected opportunity, Count Nefaria spoke up again. "Did you not defend Port Said in order to hold this area as a bastion to counterattack Apocalypse in Cairo after all? What changed your mind all of a sudden?" the villain asked pointedly as Director Brand frowned a bit at the corner of her lips as she realized Count Nefaria knew about her plan with the nuclear warheads.<br><br>She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he'd reveal in front of a room full of Egyptians that her master plan was to detonate a nuclear missile, an Israeli one no less, over Cairo in order to eliminate Apocalypse, if needbe. Glancing over to Agent Hariri, she saw her fellow Agent turn a shade more pale. Her face said it all. If that secret was revealed, neither of them were likely leaving this room alive. Nuking an Egyptian city that was still likely filled with thousands, if not tens of thousands of Egyptians, even if under Apocalypse's control, was something that they wouldn't be able to reconcile.<br><br>But instead Count Nefaria smiled, realizing the advantage was his. "You do not speak because you know it to be the truth," the supervillain stated. "I think our dear Director Brand has been overwrought by recent events. The destruction of her base, the death of so many of her people, and the fact that ever since she landed in Egypt, her people have been... retreating," he said grimly, driving the verbal knife into her ribs. "We should forgive her for this. I know personally she is not plagued by defeatism, but of weariness and stress. It is natural for a woman like her to be reluctant to risk even more, when she's lost so much already," he then added, suppressing the urge to smile as he used even her gender as her weakness. "Plus, being a mutant, she's had to overcome great mental hurdles in choosing to side with us over her brethren. That is the mark of true bravery."<br><br>Abigail's eyes grew even more wide, as hushed whispers and literal gasps of shock echoed through the room at the sudden revelation that this strange foreigner who had brought them together wasn't just a bit weird or eccentric, but an actual mutant. Director Abigail Brand was always curious, on an intellectual level, what it felt like to be figuratively emasculated, especially being a woman, and now she could experience it firsthand as the meeting literally moved beyond her, becoming a short and decisive discussion dominated by Count Nefaria over how to properly prepare for the possibility of Lord Apocalypse's attack and a counterattack that would follow.<br><br>Occassionally Nefaria would glance at the now silent Director, giving her a bit of a smile or an acknowledging nod, letting her know in a not so subtle fashion that he could've done so much more then just destroy her credibility before the council with a few honest words. <br><br>But it wasn't until after the meeting adjourned and Director Brand, surrounded by heavily armed SWORD agents that Count Nefaria let her truly know how easily he could've had her lynched by the very same people she had fought alongside the day before.<br><br>As they walked back to the Mosque that was their headquarters, Count Nefaria, alone and unescorted, simply levitated down upon the street before Director Brands platoon sized armed entourage, arms outstretched, palms facing outward as if showing that he was unarmed meant he couldn't wipe them out with a minimum of effort. "Director Brand, I cannot help but feel we got off on the wrong foot," the supervillain stated calmly, his feet touching the ground after making his Superman-esque appearance before her and her escort.<br><br>Abigail glanced to her sides, noticing Agent Duchamp and Fisher had their weapons leveled at the supervillain, a uselessly provocative gesture. She waved them to lower their guns and they immediately replied as in response Count Neferia lowered his arms to his side, his face almost beaming with a smile as the sun rose in the distance. "What do you want Count?" Abigail asked, stepping forward and crossing her arms across her chest, still not showing herself to be intimidated.<br><br>"I saved your life," Count Nefaria then stated truthfully.<br><br>"Then you almost tried to end it a few hours later," Abigail replied, equally honest.<br><br>He chuckled. "Is it true? About the so-called Lord Apocalypse coming here? At the head of another army?" he then asked.<br><br>"It is," Abigail replied, somewhat relieved that at least for the moment, Count Nefaria had put practical concerns before personal ones.<br><br>He nodded. "Well if you trust your 'scouts' then I have no reason to doubt you. I can tell you're one of those heroic types who are pragmatic enough to see the reality of the situation," Count Nefaria then stated. "So let me tell you the reality of this situation. We do not need to be enemies. We can work as allies. We have a common foe in Apocalypse and you have proven useful. That is the only reason I didn't tell the council about your abortive plot to use the nuclear missiles of Zionists to incinerate tens of thousands of their countrymen without the courtesy of telling them." <br><br>"How did you find out about the plan?" Abigail suddenly asked.<br><br>"Our... sorry I mean some of our allied aircraft saw the wreckage of the Israeli military convoy in the Sinai, right after the Mutants destroyed it. Apparently it was your fault. Your people thought Apocalypse wasn't listening to your lines of communication with the Israeli's when in fact, you led them right to the closest nuclear arsenal that could've threatened them," Nefaria stated matter of factly. "It was a good plan. Very coldhearted of course, but I like that."<br><br>Abigail rolled her eyes, provoking another chuckle to rise from the villains lips. "The reason I'm here," Count Nefaria stated. "Is that when this current state of affairs is dealt with, I would like your support in helping re-establish a semblance of authority in this part of the world. I promise that your cooperation will be lavishly rewarded."<br><br>Abigail looked up at him. "Here's my counter offer. You help me deal with Apocalypse, and support me in helping re-establish a semblance of authority in this part of the world, and I promise you amnesty for your many, many, many crimes." <br><br>The supervillain didn't frown, but his smile disappeared, a drawn out, exaggerated sigh escaping his lips before he looked down at her and shook his head slowly. "Is the reason your so stubborn because of that utterly pretentious broadcast by that Tony Stark fellow? Tell me, what forces does he have deployed in the area? How many battalions? Ships? Weapons? Anything? Or just words from halfway around the world? Only I possess the power to defeat Apocalypse and when I do, only I will have the influence and power to shape the world that follows after." He leaned in even closer. "I've defeated the Avengers before you realize. One lonely heartbroken playboy in a tin suit will be less of a challenge."<br><br>"Listen Count... we'll cooperate. Don't worry about that," Abigail stated flatly. "I'm under no illusions as to who the greater threat is here and for what it's worthy, when Apocalypse does arrive here, I hope that you face him down and send him straight to hell because I actually agree, you are the only one who can stop Apocalypse. Not me. Not Tony Stark. Not anyone else. And if you do that, I'll hear you out. But until then... you're just a big talker as far as I'm concerned. No different then Tony only unlike him, you can actually do something about it. Fair enough?" she asked, wanting to sound provocative, but not condescending.<br><br>He was Count Luchino Nefaria after all.<br><br>Count Nefaria smirked and then barely nodded in agreement, before literally flying off so fast, the resulting shockwave knocked the Director, and her entire entourage, flat on their butts coughing in the dust of his wake. <br><br>"What an asshole," Agent Fisher grunted between coughs as she waved aaway the dust cloud that enveloped them.<br><br>Abigail however was all smiles. <br><br>Maybe Nightcrawler would get the epic showdown that they both wanted to see.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>02-02-2013, 10:41:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Agent Brand<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Mutant Relations weren't exactly ideal before Apocalypse declared war on the human race. Now, he honestly wondered which would turn more heads when he would walk into that Mosque- the fact that he was a Mutant or the fact that he looked like a Demon. Either way though, he had something he had to do. He'd been asking around, as far as he'd been able to determine there weren't any christian churches known to have survived, let alone Catholic ones. Granted, Catholic was just a preference at this point. Fortunately the Mosque had decided to let some of their space be used for other religious services if off to a side and quietly.<br><br>In fairness to the humans inside, it really could of been because he looked like a Demon and had nothing to do with him being a Mutant. And there weren't that many really. A couple Islamic Clerics, a Coptic Christian priest, some particularly devout worshipers - this didn't look like it was going to get too ugly if only because of the awkward hours. Thank God he hasn't had a chance to change out of his uniform yet, the X of the X-Men was getting to be right up there with the Red Cross and the Avengers A in recognizably.<br><br>"<strong>Can we help you?</strong>" one of the Clerics asks.<br><br>"<strong>Yes, I'm here for Confession. I know I probably won't find many other Catholics here. . .</strong>"<br><br>This seemed to honestly surprise the man, a few of the others too.<br><br>"<strong>I wasn't aware your kind had souls and felt God's desire for Absolution.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>What kind would that be, if I may ask? Germans?</strong>" he asks innocently. Make him say it, make them confront and at least admit it.<br><br>"<strong><span style="font-size: 5pt;" class="bbc_size">Demon</span></strong>" whispers carry from around the building from someone Kurt can't see well. Let them keep their eyes closed then, poor soul. They didn't need hate in return, but pity.<br><br>"<strong>Er, No. It's . . . the church's stance on Mutants. . .</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>I see. Well, I'm probably the closest person here to a recognized Catholic Priest anyway. I'll just take a seat off to a side and try to stay out of the way.</strong>" Kurt speaks and does follow his word, just tucking away toward the Christian corner of the Mosque where he goes to his knees.<br><br>The Coptic Priest's curiosity gets the better of him. Maybe he would of let it be if this Mutant didn't say he was a man of the Cross but it's not too long before he takes to his knees right next to Kurt. The prayers escaping the demonic-looking man's lips he recognizes, last rites.<br><br>"<strong>Sorry to interrupt, but what did you mean "closest to a Catholic Priest"?</strong>"<br><br>Kurt pauses, opens his eyes- fair enough question really.<br><br>"<strong>I took the Vows of the Priesthood a while ago. For a time, I was a man of the Cloth. Unfortunately my vows were disqualified, the Nun administering them only did it as part of a revenge plot, poor woman. I forgave her a long time ago but that doesn't really change that my vows never really counted in the eyes of the Church.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>They let you? I'm sorry, I wasn't aware . . .</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>That Mutants had souls? Yes, a common issue in the religious community. And it's sad really. Even those of us that live by the books- any of the books- have problems seeing past what they see with just their eyes. The Pope had to put it down in an official Holy Writ, that Mutants were just as blessed by God in that regard as a normal human.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Really? The Catholic Pope declared that?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Well, in fairness, I had just saved his life that may of influenced his timing a bit.</strong>" Kurt says with a quiet chuckle, getting back to his prayers.<br><br>"<strong>May I ask, what you were hoping to confess?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Today, I killed 5 people. Apocalypse's Mutates- 4 of them had cornered a group of refugees and were working on killing them, and 1 of them attacked the group on the way to safety. I ended up killing them. I know it was War and Kill-or-be-Killed situations get special dispensation but all the same their souls should be prayed for. Besides, this Apocalypse corrupts the wills of those he changes, bends them to his will. A know at least some of them were under the spell of Mind Control and weren't attacking of their own Free Will. My heart tells me that if this is true the Sin is on Apocalypse more then myself- but they're dead all the same and their souls could use the Prayers.</strong>"<br><br>The Priest admittedly is taken aback by this, and a little ashamed of some past thoughts and doubts he's had himself when he thinks of it like that.<br><br>"<strong>Evil men sometimes take good people down with them. I don't want to say that you shouldn't worry about killing people, but it is War. If there's no reasonable way to stop the killing I think taking some time to pray for their souls like you're doing now is enough. Anything else you wanted to confess?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>. . .Well, there is one thing.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>What is it?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Ah, how to put this? A while back I met a young superheroine named Nocturne. . . </strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Oh, one of these.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>No, I don't think you've quite heard this one before. She said she was my daughter, from the future in our time due to time travel. Admittedly, I never actually saw the time machine or check her DNA but she really did look like I was her biological father- and I definitely would not of been old enough to have done the deed at the time if time travel wasn't involved.<br><br>Anyway, we get to talking and at some point she mentions that while I was her biological father, the Scarlet Witch of the Avengers was her mother. I didn't get the impression that we were married at the time of the conception. Or wouldn't be? The Tenses are hard to keep track.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>So you haven't had a daughter out of wedlock yet, but thanks to time travel you know that you will at some point in the future.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>A superheroine, actually. She apparently becomes an Avenger and saves the world multiple times over.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Wow, congratulations- or it will be. I'm not going to say that it makes it okay but God does work in mysterious ways.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>I hear that. Though the thing is, I think it was an accident- but I think Nocturne might of let slip that the Scarlet Witch wouldn't be the only woman to have my child out of wedlock. I don't know how many or who the women involved are, but. . .</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Okay, this is just getting confusing.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Yes it is. Any thoughts?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Just one. You're thinking about it too much. Just worry about the Sins you've actually committed, not the ones you might commit in the future. A just God wouldn't hold the things you could do in the future but haven't done yet against you anyway.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Thank you. I'll remember that.</strong>"<br><br>Kurt nods, and tries to finish his prays so that he can help with the coming battles and moves ahead. These would be interesting times indeed.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>bubby</strong> on <strong>03-02-2013, 00:18:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/6754/1079307-x_nercrosha_the_gathering_0007_copy_copia_3.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Selene Gallio<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Famine/Black Queen<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Sub-Villain<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; Cairo/ In the presence of Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Blink, Apocalypse<br><br></span></span><hr>The words that flowed from Blinks mouth were perhaps not the wisest choice. Blink was throwing a tantrum, that much was obvious, but there was a line not to be crossed with the Black Queen, and this girl had just done that. Selene however, knew that Blink could not be touched, both figuratively, as the granddaughter of&nbsp; En Sabah Nur, and physically. The girl would simply 'blink' away from any attack Selene attempted to direct towards her.<br><br>The smugness that radiated from Blink set every nerve alive within Selene. Yet there was a reason the Black Queen had lived as long as she had, as well as had become as Powerful as she was. Age brought wisdom, and using that wisdom, Selene simply gave Blink a nod, allowing herself and her prize to be transported to the presence of Her Master...<br><br>… directly before Apocalypse Blink would set them all. Selene would waste no time, grabbing Magneto, yanking him around to toss him at the feet of En Sabah Nur, inclining her head towards the Being in her small show of subservience. <strong> “ As you ordered my Master, Eric, to do with as you wish. I now however, have a request. This child of your blood dares to think she walks the same path as I..."</strong> As Selene spoke, her mind would open to Apocalypse, and the words that Blink had spoken to Selene were whispered along his senses by the link he shared with his Horsemen. <strong> “ It seems that which you have sent me to do in Moscow is a... 'fiasco'.. I believe was the word she used?"</strong> Selene's darkly beautiful features slipped into the rage she felt, not hiding from her Master the fact that she wanted to lash out at his Granddaughter, but did not, for it was not her place, no matter how high in rank Apocalypse had set her.<strong> “ I seek retribution. I have done nothing but what you commanded. I have raised your ranks high, I have found, restored, and stowed away many weapons. I have done all you have wished of me, and this... <em>girl</em>, dares to think she has risen as high as ME!!!”</strong><br><br>Selene spit out her words, seething in Blinks direction, her hands curled into fists at her side. To think that at one time Blink had been the Apple of Selene's eye... no longer.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Teranis</strong> on <strong>05-02-2013, 02:12:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<hr><br><div class="floatleft">(http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n265/TwiztiedStickboy/blink51.jpg)</div> <br>&nbsp;<strong>Name:</strong> Clarice Ferguson<br>&nbsp;<strong>Title</strong> Blink<br>&nbsp;<strong>Affiliation:</strong> Apocalypse<br>&nbsp;<strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; Cairo - In the presence of Apocalypse<br>&nbsp;<strong>Tags:</strong> Selene, Apocalypse<br><br><hr><br><br>Clarice just listened to Selene blather onward like a little human who needed to be the most important as always. Such a shame Blink wasted all that time seeing her as a mother figure when she was not worthy of being one at all. Regardless for some reason her grandfather saw the effectiveness of the Black Queen. Surely he saw her as nothing more then another person to futher the Vison. After Selene was done and finally shut her mouth Starchild would make her way beside Apocalypse.<br><br><strong>“Good thing you said it first Selene as I can multitask and not take up much needed time furthering the Vision. I prefer to not be slowed down by others, regardless of how highly Grandfather values the person or they regard themselves.”</strong> Blink would say and just toss her hair behind her shoulders. Not even a rise in inflection, the teleported regarded the woman just as any other that made up the forces of her grandfather. <strong>“Sure, that is true Black Queen but do not forget that you only rise as high as Apocalypse <em>allows</em> you to…”</strong> said as she looked square at the woman and emphasized the word ‘allows‘. <br><br>A glance was given to the body of Magneto and then back between the two others. <strong>“Not to mention who knows how far things would have backslid if I had been put to use elsewhere and you had to get here yourself Selene; Do not forget that.”</strong> Added as well with no hesitation at all. The girl could really care less at the moment what Selene thought, felt, or if she even drew a breath in her body. Lately the woman was like dead weight to Clarice and she tired of it quite easily. Choosing to not let the irritant get speaking once more and who knows how longwinded Selene could be right now.<br><br><strong>“A fiasco? Oh yes it was to say the least. If it was not for my loyalty to my grandfather I would have sat back and watched to see just how you fared against the other enemies of our crusade that arrived during your ‘encounter‘ with Magneto at White Pillar. Would have been interesting to see how that would have played out and if you arrived with Eric here at all.”</strong> said even more flatly but inflection her tone on the right words to get the point across. <br><br><strong>“Since she is so fond of her place in the scheme of the Vision and her own arrangements; Have Black Queen find another teleporter, surely there are others; My time of being step mother dearest’s pick up and delivery needs to end here and now.” </strong>Clarice would muse and note those curled fists. A smile would curl upon her lips knowing this would just infuriate her even more. <strong>“Also, I have yet to spend any decent amount of time assisting elsewhere; I would like to see just what is going on in other areas not so perfectly under control by the Black Queen standing over there.".”</strong>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>05-02-2013, 18:22:33</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcs3w6RBZl1rk6on4o1_500.jpg)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance?<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo, Giza Plateau<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Apocalypse, Selene, Blink, Open<br></span></span><hr> <br><br>Well. There was another fond hope dashed to pieces. Stark was alive. And if Stark was alive, of course he was talking. And if was talking, of course he was broadcasting it around the world, because he did so love being the center of global attention. <br><br>Loka could not restrain herself from a petulant rolling of the eyes. She was, she had to admit, just the tiniest bit glad to hear Stark's supremely annoying voice once more. It meant there was enough technology left in the hands of the resistance for communication and organization. That was good to know. It was also good to know the name of Midgard's assailant: Apocalypse. Whoever or whatever it was, it was certainly living up to its name.<br><br>The transmission had an immediate effect on&nbsp; her new acquaintance, who was up and away without answering her question. A pity, that, but Loka didn't have the energy to protest or to follow him. While Kurt certainly resembled bore a familial resemblance to Mephisto he didn't have the same empty aura as the denizens of Hades. Closer study of his natural talents would have to wait for another day, if indeed they had another day coming.<br><br>When the blue creature's departure was confirmed Loki resumed his natural form to conserve energy.&nbsp; Transformation was difficult to maintain in the absence of magic. Still possible, but very draining. He spent the better part of the day crouched in the ruined cafe, eating everything in sight, drinking every drop of water, and regarding his bitter fate. The Norns were cruel mistresses indeed to bring him to his knees in a Midgardian hell hole, scuttling about and subsisting on scraps like a beast. It stung his pride.<br><br>Stung. Stinging. Lashing. Biting. Burning.<br><br>The sensation crept into his conscience. Loki put a hand to the packed dirt floor and felt the rushing heat sear his flesh. Only it didn't. He pulled back and studied his dusty fingers. There was magic here. Vast quantities of it. The ley lines were swollen with power drawn from every corner of the globe, pulled to this city. Pulled towards the mountains of cut stone. <br><br>Loki's opinion of Apocalypse spiked sharply. This was no mere warlord come to ruin and rule. This was someone with vision and deep knowledge of Midgardian magic; someone worthy of investigation. Let the heroes play with his toys - Loki would get to the heart of the matter.<br><br>Energized, he leaped to the broken window and took flight as an eagle once more. He made a wide turn over the city, noting a significant increase in the number of organized soldiers sweeping every street and alleyway. Apocalypse's ranks continued to swell with... citizens? So many were dressed like the people he'd seen in Cairo before the cataclysm, it couldn't be coincidence. They were changed - some wore scales instead of skin, or had horns, or extra limbs, or had grown to the size of Volstagg - but they had been human, here, not even a week ago. How had Apocalypse changed them? Magic? Alchemy? <br><br>More importantly - could this "transformation" restore his own powers?<br><br>The eagle's eyes flashed as it rode a high thermal towards the plateau and the pyramids. There was fevered activity on the ground, with soldiers and servants rushing to prepare transports and weaponry. And in the center, near the mouth of a tunnel, was a figure of some importance: grey, masculine, towering over the others with an unmistakably regal bearing. Before the leader was a prisoner and two women who appeared to be having a disagreement. All of them, even to his animal eyes, were blazing with auras of power.<br><br>Dazzled and perhaps too eager to learn more, the eagle dipped below the ever-present cloud of pollution that hung over Cairo. In that instant a bullet punched through its left wing, cracking the thin bone. Shedding copper feathers and blood, the bird spun in an awkward descent, claws extended, to fall in a spray of sand at the crest of a dune just inside the perimeter fence of Apocalypse's compound. <br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>06-02-2013, 03:54:38</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V9XKgV6M6Qw/TIw5G2g3aEI/AAAAAAAAAEs/vMRf_ijo9js/s1600/apocalypse+1.jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah Nur<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Vision<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Giza Plateau, Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Selene, Blink, CLOSED<br><br></span></span><hr><hr><br><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The two pale-skinned villains had just reached the top of the ancient stairwell and began down the longer wider main hall of the largest Giza Pyramid when a pink and purple vortex snapped open in front of them. In a fraction of a second the visible energy was gone and three newcomers stood before Apocalypse and Sinister. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Reflexively Mr. Sinister reached out with his mind, quickly assimilating a wall of mental defenses for himself and of course - his master. Apocalypse could feel the immediate increase in telepathic energy as Sinister went to work and Selene's fury reached out in their direction - <em>his</em> direction. She began to speak almost immediately upon arrival - reporting diligently as always, before moving on to mouth her personal concerns. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The towering grey-skinned mutant listened patiently to her qualms and remained silent even as Blink began to lash out with her own reasoning, though whether it was to defend herself or further attack Selene's reputation was anyone's guess. As his granddaughter finished with a request of her own, his eyes narrowed just slightly at the two of them - clearly unhappy with both. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;He dropped a heavy multi-colored hand on Sinister's shoulder and stepped forward, pushing Sinister back as he did - clearly indicating this would be a personal matter. The well-known white-skinned villain practically fell backwards in the wake of the powerful motion. Apocalypse's voice boomed with supernatural strength. <strong>"SILENCE!"</strong> His fury could be felt by them both - it permeated their skin like the hot, damp air. His mind reached out and gripped them both, stealing their strength and ability to react to what was about to come.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;His arm closest to Blink swept out, backhanding her hard and sending her into the tunnel wall just behind her. It was more than enough to knock the wind out of her - not to mention leave a mark on her face. He ignored the petulant child for the moment and strode forward towards the Black Queen. He towered over her, enough so that his chin nearly touched his massive chest as he looked down upon her. <strong>"If not for your success, you would be feeling the hard stone of these brick walls as well!"</strong> he snarled, a wave of air hitting her paralyzed form as his voice boomed in the narrow corridor. <strong>"I understand your fear to lay hands on my own blood, but insubordination is unacceptable. You will never allow it to happen again, even from her!"</strong> His left arm snapped up to point towards the still-slumping Blink, who was conscious but still unable to rise due to his mental hold on her.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;That was when he stepped away from Selene - releasing her from his mental hold - and moved towards Blink. As if scooping up a pebble or coin from the ground, Apocalypse gripped her by the throat and lifted her limp body so that he could look directly into her eyes. <strong>"Starchild, I have stressed the importance of our destiny countless times - <em>never</em> think your personal desires are above it."</strong> His eyes narrowed coldly, but there was a deep and buried softness in them that she might see if she looked hard enough. <strong>"You have committed a crime against the Vision - <em>our </em>Vision, and the penalty for such is <em>death</em>."</strong> He said the last word very coldly, as if he was conveying the message that nothing would restrain him from introducing her to it.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"However, I will not watch the blood of my blood let all over this sand to prove a point to baked bricks."</strong> His tone lost none of its chilled edge as he continued. <strong>"I do not believe in 'mercy' Starchild. It is never deserved and can never be earned. It is an illusion, the most deceptive mask that weakness will ever wear."</strong> He lowered her to the ground and also released her from his mental hold, allowing the strength of her own limbs to hold herself aloft once more. <strong>"When I give you an assignment, that mission takes highest priority, do not forget what we are striving for."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse turned his back to them both as he walked towards the prone form of Magneto - whom was still groggy from the suddenly frightening turn of events. The massive blue and grey being reached down and plucked his helmet from his head and tossed it aside. <strong>"Rise Lehnsherr."</strong> he commanded, his voice booming once more - ripping the man back into reality. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;With much reluctance, Erik climbed first to a knee, then eventually standing to both feet. "What <em>mutant</em> sends his grand-daughter to do his dirty work?" he replied - clearly detesting that Apocalypse could be one of his own kind. Erik was a leader, a strategist, and often delegated tasks to underlings - but he would never shy from the battlefield. He led from the front-lines. He led by example - not by ordering people around like a coward. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Do not be such a simple fool Erik, I am no coward."</strong> he shot back - showing Erik immediately that he had the power to read his thoughts and feelings. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Magneto almost took a step back as the surprise hit him - that was why Apocalypse had removed his helm, not just to see his face - but he stood his ground instead. He glared up at the massive mutant, a fire burning in his eyes. "Simple, maybe... but a fool I am not." he growled back boldly.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse shattered the tension in the air with what appeared to be a laugh, a real one. The sudden outburst of deep-toned laughter died down to a chuckle before he spoke again. <strong>"Ahh yes. I see now how you were able to eliminate Shaw. You are no coward either, are you Erik?"</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Magneto continued to glare, the fire in his eyes not even beginning to abate. He had seen Apocalypse's atrocities - he had seen the assault on, not only humans, but on his allies... his <em>brothers</em>.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"It had to be done. Do not waste your emotions on the weak Erik. The world would never willingly accept its fate on <em>your</em> terms."</strong> Apocalypse crossed his arms and eyed the confident Master of Magnetism standing before him - showing no signs of fear, not even in his mind. <strong>"It would be such a pity to put down a man of your strength; of your... willpower."</strong> He grinned at the purple-and-red clad tyrant. <strong>"My Vision could use a leader like you. A man without fear. A man who knows the destiny of the Earth that I seek to advance."</strong> His eyes then grew serious as he stared back down at Magneto. <strong>"I know the future Erik, and I know what must be done to achieve such a goal as ours."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"No, you are wrong En Sabah," Erik used his real name to prove that he knew many things as well "about the future of this Earth, as well as about me." Magneto took a step forward, his fists clenched tightly. "I do fear. I fear a world without friendship, without... Brotherhood." His voice began to rise with intensity. "You only seek power. You have no vision. You and I want very different things!" His voice began to rise to a shout "You want victory, you want ascension. You want illusions!" Erik's arms shot forward, he could feel every metallic particle in Apocalypse's very unconventional body. "I want a world where brothers may stand together without fear of genocide from those that do not yet understand us!" He took a step forward and Apocalypse's body rose slowly from the ground. "You took that chance from me when you murdered my brothers! When you murdered my friend!" Erik lunged forward, and fully extended his arms - launching Apocalypse backwards against the pyramid wall - sending him through it.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The whole building trembled with the impact, and Apocalypse's form disappeared in a cloud of darkness, dust, and fallen stone. Sinister instantly moved towards Magneto but suddenly froze in place. <strong>"FOOLS!"</strong> Apocalypse's voice boomed from the shadows. <strong>"Don't you ever dare to intercede again Sinister. You insult me!</strong>" A grey hand extended from the rubble, gripping the side of the hole in the wall as Apocalypse climbed out. He flicked his wrist and launched Sinister tumbling down the corridor like a ragdoll before storming towards Magneto in rage. He had been so arrogant he hadn't actually expected Erik to assault him.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Magneto held his ground, calling out again to the metal in Apocal... wait. There wasn't any! It was gone, vanished. "How...?" Was all Magneto managed to get out before Apocalypse gripped him by the throat. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"You have entered a battle far beyond your abilities Erik."</strong> His eyes narrowed as he yanked Magneto up so he could look him directly in the face. <strong>"It is obvious that you have no place among my ranks in your current state."</strong> Apocalypse's forearm muscles bulged as his grip tightened, suffocating Magneto in his raised grasp. <strong>"But it is not the end for you, my judgement will open your eyes..."</strong> He laughed as Erik's eyelids drooped, as he slipped into unconsciousness. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Once Magneto grew limp, Apocalypse dropped him to the ground and shouted down the long pyramid hallway. <strong>"SINISTER!"</strong> <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Mr. Sinister came sprinting frantically back towards the four of them - Apocalypse, Magneto, Selene, and Blink. "Yes Master?!" He was bloodied and battered, but already the wounds were healing themselves rapidly as he spoke.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Take Erik to receive his judgment."</strong> Magneto was already superhuman, but the blood of apocalypse would rejuvenate his wounds and renew his strength. And then, of course, the mind-control chemicals in the serum would create the perfect lieutenant to carry out his orders. One without fear, and one who was of a like mind... even if not the same heart. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;How he hated that term, what it described... what it represented. It was weakness. It was death. Apocalypse's beating heart inside his chest transformed then - into an electrically powered mechanical pump, feeding off of the energy in his veins - which looked almost like circuitry through his pale skin. It was just to clear his mind of the fact that he could be anything like Magneto. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;No. En Sabah had to be stronger than that flawed man.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Finally he looked back over towards the two women who had observed the violent and dramatic conversation. <strong>"Despite your individual flaws,"</strong> Apocalypse said coldly to them both, <strong>"you have each earned what you have requested."</strong> First he looked to Selene. <strong>"You have done well in Moscow, you may take a reprieve from your duties and take a couple days for yourself. You may go wherever you wish, Blink will transport you there. Return to me in forty-eight hours. I will trust that you will continue to pursue our goals, even while you amuse yourself."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Then he turned towards Blink, the mark on her face growing into a dark bruise.<strong> "Starchild..."</strong> he started, saddened that he had to punish her so - but he did not regret his actions. <strong>"You will go to Los Angeles and check in on Pestilence. Report back to me with good news from that region. You may also take some freetime for yourself, I will require your presence again in twenty-four hours."</strong><br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>"Hopefully by then I will have returned from Port Said, where a sizable force has given our most inexperienced soldiers some <em>minor</em> struggles."</strong> Mr. Sinster was already carrying off Magneto when a call beeped in to Apocalypse. He lifted his palm as it simultaneously shifted into a small portable screen. He watched as Tony Stark himself recited a speech, directed just as much at himself as it was the rest of the world. Having thought he'd already eliminated the Avenger, Apocalypse lips tightened in rage. He had assumed far too many things from the success of his initial assault. Apparently there was more of a Resistance to his Vision, than he had hoped for.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;It mattered not. They would all perish. He would kill them all one at a time himself if he must.<br></div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>08-02-2013, 21:46:30</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><em>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Center of Port Said </em><br><br>"I really doubt it," Agent Fisher said as she put the point of her survival knife into the hull of another date palm. Unlike her conversation partner, Agent Tokoro, the American had her high powered sniper rifle ready, was in full combat fatigues and with her homemade desert modified ghillie suit on a hangar next to her, was more then ready to huff it out into the swamp for another day of power armored mutant target shooting. Truth was, it was remarkable about how out of all of the Senior Agents, Tokoro included, that it was Agent Fisher who had barely a scratch on her while everyone else was injured or wounded or battered about in one way or the other. "I think that concussion you had might've rattled your senses."<br><br>Agent Fisher was emphatic that luck had nothing to do with it.<br><br>No one else was convinced. <br><br>"I'm telling you. It's a reliable source. He has two dicks," Agent Tokoro replied, as Fisher smirked, wondering just how much the entire Japanese love weird sex stereotype was actually true. Because so far, the stereotype was holding out pretty well. <br><br>"He does not," Agent Fisher scoffed. "I'd bet you, but with the way the world is going, I doubt my bank account is accessible, much less worth anything."<br><br>The Japanese Communications Specialist frowned, leaning back in her seat. "He does! Agent Austen told me! And he heard it from-," she started to speak up excitedly when Fisher looked around, if only to make sure the excitable young woman wouldn't reveal her perverse curiosity to the whole room. Satisfied that no one else was in earshot, she turned back to Tokoro. <br><br>"Provisional Agent Austen is a meathead who was too wimpy to become a Navy Seal. If he wasn't the only person qualified to find and fish out our Mandroid armors, I'm pretty sure Abby would've traded him for something useful, like a camel, or a case of bacon... oh my God I need some pork," Agent Fisher groaned.<br><br>It was then Agent Tokoro's eyes lit up. "If he has two dicks, he can do both of us!" she said, completely ignoring Fisher's mini-speech on how the source of the rumor was horribly unreliable as a source of anything but scorn. She was clearly fixated on the two dicks thing.<br><br>"He has a tail. A prehensile one. But not two dicks. Of that I am very certain," Agent Fisher replied. <br><br>"He's also a big Christian like you," Agent Tokoro offered, suddenly seduced and enamoured at the idea of having a threesome with one of her best friends and a demonic looking, super famous, and twin dicked mutant. <br><br>"He's a hardcore practicing Catholic with Lutheran sensibilities when it comes to sex, which I think is awesome. It means he has the values and yet is still fuckable," Agent Fisher then said with a genuine grin before taking a deep breath, wondering if she should indulge in Agent Tokoro's budding little fantasy. "Tell you what. If we survive the day, and I'm not like... taken out by injury or exhaustion, I will join you in your quest of discovery of Nightcrawler's man parts. It sounds fun to be honest. He is super strong, and flexible... and furry," Fisher then said with a smile, remembering drinking up his exotic appearance when they had met earlier the previous night.<br><br>Agent Tokoro's eyes lit up. "Really? You'll threesome with me!" she gushed when the blonde sniper glared at her to keep her voice down, as the two of them quickly panned their eyes back and forth, confirming no one heard them or was eavesdropping. <br><br>"Yeah. If I survive," she said before pushing herself off the wall she was leaning off of. "But tell me one thing," she then added. Agent Tokoro raised a thin eyebrow. "Is it just because he might have two dicks that you want to fuck him so badly?"<br><br>"No!" Tokoro whispered back harshly. "He's really cute and... different. And polite. And sweet. And sexy and-."<br><br>Fisher raised her hand and nodded briefly. "My thoughts exactly. Good luck Agent..." she then said, concluding her half of the conversation with a very gruff, business like tone before heading out of the room, ghillie suit thrown over her shoulder.<br><br>Agent Tokoro glanced around, her cheeks turning a bit more red. Chances were they might die later today when Apocalypse himself attacked. What better time then the present to find out if Nightcrawler was available, and willing. <br><br>And if he did have two dicks, all the better. But she wanted to try him out either way. Now all she had to do was find him.<br><br><em>NPC's</em><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>10-02-2013, 11:31:58</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>He felt better for having done that, truly. If there was a way to stop them without risking innocent lives he likes to think he would of gone for it but it came down to the brainwashed super-soldiers of that monster or innocents. At least, he really, really hoped they were brainwashed. True it was difficult to make the case for that logically but he thinks of Elizabeth, and pushes on. Maybe some of them were helping him willingly, but he didn't believe all of them were willing for a second.<br><br>Spiritual Needs taken care of, he goes to see a man about a drink. He had gone to see if he could help with evacuating the non-combatants but SWORD had an efficient system going already. He had smiled and let them cover that. He was good for short trips and small numbers, very good for that, but neither applied there. So instead, he goes to settle up a debt.<br><br>Agent Jin-Tae Kang wasn't a hard man to track down with that drink in mind. Where could you find a bar on the grounds of a Mosque? Answer - only in a place you bring yourself. The improvised Mess Area didn't have many people in it, people were just grabbing something to eat when they could spare a minute, but the people that were there were pretty clearly divided into groups. SWORD members and their supporters versus HYDRA members and their supporters.<br><br>Agent Jin-Tae Kang, Weapons Specialist. He and a group of fellow SWORD agents were taking advantage of the time to do some weapon maintenance with the table covered at the moment with a wide array of guns. Agent Kang waves to get Kurt's attention, then pulls something out of the cooler next to him and motions that he wants to toss it.<br><br>Of course, one of the HYDRA people take the opportunity to say some choice words about his mutant genetics. If it was in English he would of just let it go, but the man was trying to speak in German and doing a rather poor job. So, as Agent Kang's object - a bottle of non-alcoholic beer it seems - is caught by Kurt's tail he responds with a happy smirk on his face and tone.<br><br>"<strong>Ich hab deine freudin gefickt, aber leider war sie nicht so gut wie deine mutter. HAHA!</strong>" he chuckles back, as he goes to sit at the table with Agent Kang. He opens it and takes a drink anyway, watching as the HYDRA agents figure out what he said to them.<br><br>"<strong>'Crawler. Got a wetstone for you if your swords need a few swipes. Have a seat. Sorry, don't have anything stronger. Not on the clock anyway.</strong>"<br><br>A blond SWORD Agent chuckles off to a side as he's putting an assault rifle back together, the insignia on his jacket marks him as a fellow German, "<strong>And thank you for that, I'd of given them an earful of our native tongue but it wouldn't be professional.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>So, what did he just say?</strong>" another SWORD agent asks, cleaning out a gun barrel. English, going by the flag he wore on his cap to do the work.<br><br>"<strong>An old and traditional insult of our country, one now considered to be absolutely devastating when it comes from a mutant.</strong>" the German Agent chuckles, then turns to Kurt and slips into German, "<strong>&lt;Berlin, born and raised.&gt;</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>&lt;Bavaria, grew up with the Circus Bavaria in fact.&gt;</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>That's nice, but what did he actually say?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>A rough English translation,</strong>" Kurt responds with a chuckle as the first omnious sound of a sword along a wetstone sounds at the table, "<strong>'I have fucked your girlfriend, but unfortunately your mother was better.'</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Writing that one down.</strong>" another comments with a chuckle. Kurt's main sword doesn't need much more then just a few swipes. Neither do any of the others. A man's blades should never rust or get dull.<br><br>"<strong>So, how good are you with those pigstickers, anyway?</strong>" the English agent asks, and Kurt smirks at that.<br><br>"<strong>How many men do you know that bring Swords to a Gunfight - and Win.</strong>" he chuckles.<br><br>"<strong>It's true. I've seen the footage.</strong>" Agent Kang replies, "<strong>In fact, there's a bit of leaked security footage from Castle Doom with a squadron of Doombots in the Archives - </strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Oh, allow me. . .</strong>" Kurt interjects to tell the story himself. A story about the time he woke up in a test chamber in Castle Doom, hooked up to a series of devices for reasons he won't pretend to understand. And of course the adventure he had in Castle Doom during the ensuing escape attempt. Sure, Doom recaptured him eventually - but it was still a wonderful story.<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>10-02-2013, 22:42:14</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Resistance Mess Hall</strong><br><br>The handful of SWORD soldiers were still gathered around Kurt, who was using the whetstone to sharpen one of his swords, the other combat field agents meanwhile doing their customary disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling of their weapons as they were supposed to do everytime they used them to any real degree. Not too far away, a pair of them were busying zero'ing new weapons they had managed to salvage. Meanwhile on the table next to the weapons were mostly empty plates filled with the remnants of balls of minced lamb kofta and errant grains of yellow saffron rice. Several large metal pots of sweet black tea were nearby, mostly empty as well as picked over trays of stir fried vegetables, date palms and what looked like mostly canned fruit.<br><br>On the other side of the mess hall, the villains were having their own early breakfast feast, also not seeming to care that they weren't eating traditional breakfast foods and from the looks and smells, what they were eating seemed to be pretty close to what the SWORD agents were, except more fish. Which to Agent Tokoro, actually made some ironic sense.<br><br>To attempt to look casual, Tokoro tried to casually insinuate herself amongst the weapons squad even though as a communications tech, she rarely had a need to be on the frontlines. Grabbing a metal cup and filling it with some of the tea, she approached the small loose circle of SWORD agents that were gathered around Kurt as he seemed to be finishing his story pertaining to his advetures in Doom's castle in Latveria and to her delight, was using both of his arms... and his impressively long tail, to emote his actions or even for the manipulation of props to better illustrate what was going on. And from the uproarous laughter of her fellow agents, it sounded like he was entertaining them. <br><br>Moving up beside Agent Kang, Tokoro came into view of Nightcrawler, seeing him again just as he finished his story and then glanced down at her green field jacket, making sure the first few buttons were undone on the top, thus allowing Nightcrawler or anyone else for that matter, to easily be drawn in by her ample, especially for an East Asian womans, line of cleacage as it seemed even more well developed thanks to the extra pushing support on the underside of her bra. She was however still wearing her rigor tested, thick black framed eyeglasses as her smile lit up while the mutant finished his story with a flourish of fancy swordwork that seemed more swashbuckling then practical before ending it on a mysterious down note of him being recaptured again.<br><br>There was a brief flutter of applause from the SWORD combat specialists when a shrill whistle came up from behind their group, their tactical commander, Agent Duchamp already barking out orders to get kitted up and ready for combat. Immediately all of the Agents started to scamper about, wolfing down the last of their greasy lamb and rice meals, guzzling down the fresh yet lukewarm black tea and sliding in the last few rounds into spare magazines or finishing off preparing their weapons. Kang and another agent even gave a nod and or, in a more patronizing yet loving show, patted the small framed Japanese Agent on her head, tousling with her hair before running off. "Keep up our download speeds Tokoro!" Kang then said before giving Nightcrawler a wave good bye as he picked up his weapons and combat pack before heading out. <br><br>Agent Tokoro smiled. She knew the combat boys would be having to head out soonafter Agent Fisher did. That meant there would be no interruptions, or interference from them as she decided to take advantage of the fact she had absolutely nothing important to do before the shit possibly hit the fan beyond fulfill a curious itch she had ever she enlisted in SWORD. <br><br>All things considered, she loved her job, her status, her training, her coworkers and the sense of adventure, of reward, of accomplishment and prestige she got working on behalf of SWORD but there was another reason she decided to work for SWORD as opposed to SHIELD, or her own peoples SHIELD equivalent, the Yakiba, or get some high priced job with some Japanese telecommunications corporation.<br><br>She wanted to meet new people.<br><br>And not just in a professional sense but an intimate one.<br><br>As a Communications Specialist though, she found herself spending most of her times in space, which was awesome, listening to deep space transmissions and checking equipment, which was boring. Ever since she enlisted she wanted a liaison position, preferably offworld. She heard how it was a highly regarded gig and the positions were hard to get to, but she had an urge, a kink or obsession really, or maybe just a somewhat perverse attraction to unconventional lovers. And she knew she wasn't the only one in SWORD with the same attitude. But her desire was a bit stronger then the others.<br><br>Thus when the Apocalypse arrived, and her workplace blown up, she wondered if in fact she'd die a virgin, at least in the sense she never had anything but a somewhat unsatisfying homo sapien penis pressed between her nether regions. Then Nightcrawler bamf'd into her life. Possibly the very last day of it.<br><br>And she wasn't going to let this opportunity literally go poof on her.<br><br>"Mr. Wagner, Agent Tokoro... we uhhh... met earlier... yesterday.... NIGHT!" she then said, her voice clearly stuttering a bit despite the fact she often spoke perfect, if not somewhat harshly accented English, which was typical of Japanese English speakers. She pulled the tablet computer she was clutching to her chest suddenly, pushing up her breasts even more, causing the lines of her cleavage to seemingly deepen and elongate as the mounds on her chest perked up even more. But it was all unintentional, though it did help her work towards the same goal as her expressive, brown eyes locked on the semi-famous mutant. "Sorry I'm a bit nervous," she said before taking a deep, exaggerated breath, her milky white chest heaving as she did so. "I... ah... need to put you into a storage container," she said before blinking, her brain catching up with her ears as she realized she said the wrong thing. "I mean... there is business... official SWORD business and its in a storage container and we... I want your opinion," she then said with a shrug before the blood drained from her face.<br><br>"Not that I'm ordering you because you're outside our command structure. But there's something I need for you to see... want for you to see.... for your opinion on it... if you want," she tried to explain haphazardly. "It'd be nice if you could. I'd appreciate it... your opinion."<br><br>"If you want," she then added a second later, cutting him off from a response.<br><br><strong>Port Said<br>Suez Canal Authority Building<br>Resistance Headquarters</strong><br><br>The Generals and Admirals and others were doing what they did best in using the lessons of yesterdays battle for today. "With 95% of the refugees successfully evacuated, we can move far more freely now," the Italian Admiral stated. "I recommend we keep the Naval task force twenty miles offshore at least and if need be they can move in for closer support."<br><br>"I'd recommend deploying them farther West so to cover our retreat in case Port Said is overrun," Director Brand pragmatically suggested as the Admiral initially nodded, only to have many of the others in the room shake their heads or otherwise grumble their disagreement.<br><br>"Planning to run is accepting defeat!" one of the militia leaders protested aloud.<br><br>"Yes your Napoleon said he who fears being conquered is doomed to defeat," another of the Islamists chimed in.<br><br>Abigail refrained from the urge to roll her eyes as the man basically rolled up all the 'West' into one amalgamation of people by saying Napoleon was one of 'her people.' "The only victories which leave no regreat are those that are gained over ignorance," she shot back with her own Napoleonic quote. "Listen. We beat them last time. We can't expect it to occur again. Like Napoleon said, the most dangerous moment is victory. We cannot afford to be complacent. I'm fighting to win, but I want to do it today and everyday after."<br><br>"You've been heard Director," Count Nefaria simply stated, standing at his end of the table, arms folded across his chest. Abigail frowned but didn't dare to confront him now. He had too many supporters and challenging him would simply alienate her more from them. She simply didn't have the oratory or charismatic skills to win them over decisively. And she knew it. Acquiescing, she could only hope Nefaria would go easy as he started to speak. "I actually agree with the Director. We should move the Naval forces to the West, if only to provide a unified front in case of a flanking maneuver... between us and our allies in Alexandria," he said, basically agreeing with her but for different reasons.<br><br>She frowned at his little ploy, but knew it would work as the meeting continued on. "Also I agree with both you and the Generals in creating a mobile defense. In case the worse does happen, we should see to it that our forces aren't tied down, but are capable of maneuver," he added, agreeing with her again, but again in a manner that didn't show that he was actually listening to her advice, or advocating even the contemplation of defeat.<br><br>"Fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man," Agent Hariri mutterd under breath.<br><br>"When attacking, a man who digs a foxhole might as well dig his own grave," Abigail shot back, using another quote from General Patton. <br><br>"Well stated," Count Nefaria said. "One thing we learned is that the power possessed by even a few of these mutants is formidable. A small team were able to penetrate one of our command bunkers, almost killed our dear Director here if I didn't save her life," he then stated, reminding everyone of the fact to her dismay.<br><br>"Where is Joystick by the way?" Director Brand then asked, having not seen her since she had defeated her in the command bunker.<br><br>A flash of sinister darkness followed by a wry grin crossed his face. "Don't worry about her. She's being taken care of and is currently being pumped for intelligence," he added, his tone and word choice making Abigail's stomach churn. HYDRA and the Maggia didn't know the first thing about how to take care of prisoners.<br><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Center of Port Said </strong><br><br>"Right here!" Agent Tokoro finally said, as she unlocked one of a row of shipping containers parked in the large backyard area of the mosque as inside, he immediately noticed it was anything but storage of 'intelligence files' like she said, but instead something else entirely.<br><br>And not much of anything else.<br><br>As she closed the door behind them he meanwhile saw what looked like a red workout mat had been laid out across most of the floor, and off to the far side was a large air conditioner mounted on the wall, the fan inside of it drowning out any of the ambient noise and off to the side were random free weights and other exercise equipment, leading him to realize it was actually some sort of storage for exercise equipment. Though in the corner there was also a SWORD issued rifle, body armor, utility belt, and a battle pack that had Tokoro's name on it.<br><br>Or at least it was until he noticed what was on top of a small stool in the corner. A industrial size box of extra large condoms. Looking at his eyes google, by the time Kurt panned his field of vision back to Agent Tokoro, all puzzlement was quickly dismissed as he saw her already starting to unbutton her field jacket, revealing that in fact she was wearing only a low cut undershirt underneath the jacket. "I'm sorry Kurt... I brought you here under false pretenses but... " she started to say, the nervous stutter in her voice no longer evident as she took several deep breaths. "... we... or at least I... might die today if Apocalypse attacks. And well... I don't want to spend my last few free hours preparing for the inevitable," she said with a gulp. "I want to be happy. And... I don't want to die a virgin," she followed up, lying through her teeth on that part. "And," she then said, throwing off her jacket and approaching him, scooping up the box of condoms. "...I'd like to spend my last hours with you... if you... like me," she then said, looking him straight in the eye. She wasn't trying to pressure him into it, but since she was already half naked in a secluded air conditioned container, it kind of defeated the purpose of being coy about it. "I really want you Kurt... I've wanted you ever since you teleported into my line of sight."<br><br><em>NPC's</em><br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>11-02-2013, 07:54:47</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br>Admittedly, he did wonder what was going on with Agent Tokoro's request for his opinion. The young woman and he didn't exchange many words admittedly but she didn't seem half as nervous then. He hadn't realized that it was because she had such a plan together and going.<br><br>Heh, admittedly - if he had to guess what he'd be looking at he was going to guess some alien sword-like device. He was off by quite a bit it seems. Inwardly he tries to just laugh that off.<br><br>Unfortunately, this runs smack dab into something else. Kurt isn't going to say he isn't a sinner, especially in this regard. Lord knows that the female form was just wonderful to him, almost magical. But the idea was to try and not Sin. It wasn't a secret that Kurt is really Catholic. Heck, how many other superheroes can honestly point to a stint as a priest on their resume? It's true that he disagreed with the Church on a few issues- he never said he was the world's best priest- but in the end his Faith was helping him get through this and he didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of God.<br><br>Of the big two ways he disagreed with the Catholic Church, well - the first was obvious. It seemed like only yesterday that he finally got the Pope to declare to the world that in the eyes of the Church, Mutants were Children of God as well as Children of the Atom. Naturally, Kurt was saying Mutants had Souls since he first was able to.<br><br>The second way, however, was more intimate. The Church flat out declared that sex outside of marriage was a Sin. Kurt disagreed. He's seen a lot of things in his life, he's learned a lot. About Hate, About Love, about where you find them and where you shouldn't find them. No, it's not the Marriage that makes Sex not a Sin - it's the emotional bond between the two people. A good marriage will have that bond in spades, but he's seen people whose marriages were hell on Earth and he's seen people that a just god would never deny them that affection just because they happened to be the same gender.<br><br>And hence we arrive at the issue here. He certainly wished Agent Tokoro no ill will, definitely could get to like her - but right now he didn't even know her first name. Add to that what Nocturne had said about his future, that he'd father out-of-wedlock children with he didn't know how many women but he got the impression it was "several". He kind of doubted he had bonds as deep as marriages with all of them. Granted, there's been times where that should of stopped him before but it didn't- but that's no excuse.<br><br>For a brief moment he considers the condoms as a possible solution, but no - God gave sex for the Bonds first but for Procreation a close second. He was a healthy man, Agent Tokoro was a healthy woman - if a pregnancy could result that's how God would want it. He was just thankful that mutant and human disease transmission didn't always line up.<br><br>In the end, what makes the decision was something else she said. She believed that she was probably going to die in the next few hours, and while she was ready to die for the cause she wanted it to be on her terms - and part of that meant that she wanted to know what it was like to be joined as a man and a woman would be. He wasn't think of the possibility that she could be lying about that, he was still reeling a bit from the offer. Yes, technically this would be a sin - but leaving her like this seemed like it would be even worse.<br><br>"<strong>Three slight issues with your plan, Agent Tokoro.</strong>" he says with a smile as he steps up, an arm reaching forward to go around her waist. His German accent seems thicker then normal to him somehow.<br><br>"<strong>First, there's quite a few around out there who are dedicated to doing everything in their power to keep you and as many others as they can alive. Seems a bit pre-mature to give up on the idea that maybe they'll pull it off, ja?</strong>" he says with a chuckle as his tail reaches around.<br><br>His tail gently takes the box from her and puts it on the ground off of the mat, "<strong>Second, me using a condom goes against my religion. Though it does suggests that somewhere deep down you have a bit more faith in your friends and co-workers, which I like.</strong>"<br><br>His other hand reaches up as he goes in for a kiss, a long one giving her his full attention like he's trying to steal her breath.<br><br>"<strong>Third, I am most certainly willing - but I make it a point to never make love to a woman whom I don't know their first name. Call me old-fashioned.</strong>" he smirks when he finally comes up for air. At some point his tail and one of his arms had just decided to pull her close to him. X-Men uniform over an Acrobat's physique on his end, and he liked what he felt from hers. The female form, one of God's finer creations. He goes in for more of her breath.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-02-2013, 00:24:43</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><div class="floatleft">[<br><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Center of Port Said</strong><br><br>"Satako," she whispered, her accent no longer sounding harsh as, if only for a single word, she spoke her native tongue, her lips pursing up into an 'o' as she whispered her first name into his ear a mere moment before pressing her soft cheek against his face, feeling the soft, warm, smooth skin covered in the fine fur that covered almost all of his body as his peculiar elongated dual fingers gripped her petite yet curvaceous body, pressing his thin lips against hers for a deeply lustful kiss. Virgin or not, she could kiss, though he easily took control of the embrace. As soon as she felt his hand, and his tail, slide around the small of her back, she started to lean back while his fingers and thumb spreading out, gripping the curves of her plump, soft asscheeks as they pressed against her dark green combat pants.<br><br>Her kiss reflected her curiosity, as her tongue quickly slipped between his lips, as she drew his open for the kiss, her tongue flickering over the sharp fang like teeth within his mouth before gently applying the slightest pressure on his own tongue and lips, creating an audible smacking that echoed through the shipping container that was converted into a gym and now was containing the two incredible different lovers. <br><br>She started to angle her head, allowing their lips to press together even more smoothly and deep as she felt her soft body pulled in against his strong one, feeling his lean muscles tense as they increasingly held her weight and he realized she was intentionally leaning back, so they could descend to the soft exercise mat below. Her arms meanwhile snaked under his arms, hooking under them and then snaked her hands over his shoulders, pulling herself against him as well, pressing her milky white mounds against his firm, lean chest, as her hands hooked over the top of his shoulders to the point she was practically hanging off of him now. Then closing her eyes, she simply let the sensations take over, barely coming up for breath as her nostrils flared, her breathing becoming hot, her only exhalations being brief, soft moans as she felt her most sordid fantasy come true.<br><br><strong>Outside</strong><br><br>"Hell are you doing here snake?" Agent Marquez suddenly called out, loudly working the action of his assault rifle as he approached a HYDRA agent, in the trademark green and gold combat fatigues they wore when as the HYDRA agent in question twirled around, Marquez jerked his head back upon realizing it was a female. "I didn't realize HYDRA had a prostitution company attached to their front line units now," he then said spitefully as the female HYDRA trooper noticed Marquez was being flanked by a pair of Kurdish peshmerga soldiers, the ones they were using for security of their headquarters.<br><br>"None of your business," she spat back venomously.<br><br>"Good. Then get the hell out. There's no reason for you to be in our container park," Marquez then said, taking the time to fix a bayonet to the end of his assault rifle. "And do it quickly," he added, locking the bayonet onto the tip of his rifle for added emphasis of how serious he was. The female HYDRA agent just laughed and shrugged, complying with his demands and walked past them, out of the perimeter. Frowning, Marquez glanced back at the row of containers that the HYDRA woman was gawking at but saw nothing out of the ordinary as he nodded for his Kurdish companions to help escort the intruder out.<br><br><strong>Coastal Resort and Hotel<br>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Basement</strong><br><br>The lips of the woman known as Joystick were spread wide around her 'interrogators' cock, not so much because he was well hung as it was the fact he was forcing his entire length down her throat, his free hand having seized a clump of her thick brown hair, gripping it tightly in a gloved hand as he forcefully thrust his hips into her mouth, smothering his groin against her face as the rest of his body shuddered, then rippled as he emptied a second load into the unwilling mutants mouth, his cock pumping a thick geyser of cum straight down her throat and into her belly before finally he reared his head back, letting out a groan of sheer absolutely relief and delight at dominating her. <br><br>As soon as he was spent though, he simply pushed her head off of her cock, while keeping the handgun trained on her head with his other hand as she toppled to the ground. "Fuck..." the well built man with a skull like mask groaned, taking a deep breath as he looked down at the violated mutant, her face marred with dried semen, a black eye and brusies, abrasions and cuts all over her face and neck. Glancing over, he noticed his companion had his gun still trained on her and thus felt comfortable holstering his own pistol before grabbing Joystick by the collar of her uniform and pulled her back up to her knees, wiping his wet and dripping cock onto her face and top to clean it off before pushing her back against the wall again, inducing another fit of dry heaving and coughing as the villainess felt her throat literally burning with pain, as her belly was swilling with the warm semen of her two so-called interrogators.<br><br>"I have to admit Larry, if she wasn't going to talk before, she sure as hell won't be able to now," the other man, dressed in a red and white costume said. <br><br>"Mr. Fear," the masked man whose first name was Larry said, correcting his companion as he slipped his cock back into his pants. "I bet your first name is stupider then Larry," he then added. "Not that Crossfire is much better."<br><br>Crossfire shrugged. "There's a reason I chose it," the former CIA Agent turned supervillain replied before checking his watch. "Count Nefaria should be coming back from the meeting soon. Do you want to tell him that the only thing any of these bitches we have interrogated is the same old shit as before?"<br><br>"Master Apocalypse will come back and kill us! Mercy will not be shown!" Mr. Fear wailed in a feigned high pitched voice, waving his arms around in sarcastic terror. He turned to Joystick, her arms bound behind her back with manacles and her legs duct taped together at the knees and ankles. And just to make sure she didn't escape, they even collared her and chained her to the wall as well. Just in case. "That might be true, but we're going to live it up until then girl, at your expense." Mr. Fear turned back to Crossfire. "How ironic is the name Joystick now?"<br><br>Crossfire just chuckled. "Pity we don't have more time to really work her over," he then said, his eyes, one natural, one cybernetic, hovering over the rest of her body which was, as of yet, till untouched.<br><br>"Well Count's orders. Don't rape any of the named ones," Mister Fear then said, leaving quite apparent that any of the other prisoners they captured weren't given such consideration. "Maybe he's saving her for himself." Crossfire shrugged, suddenlt disinterested in Joystick and glancing down the hallway towards the handful of other 'prisoners' that they had appropriated and were entertaining themselves with via 'interrogation' last night and then glanced back at Mr. Fear. They both smiled. At least there were a few others available.&nbsp; He then glanced back at the entrance, wondering what the lame purists on their little team were doing since they were too high and mighty to lower themselves to a little rape for R &amp; R.<br><br><strong>Main Lobby</strong><br><br>"I should be pooping my pants right now," Wilbur Day, the original Stilt-Man said as he watched the surreal variety show that was going on right before his eyes.<br><br>"Are those really live grenades?" the Shocker asked. Bombshell laughed and then chucked one out of the window and into the pool out front as it promptly exploded into a plume of water thirty feet up while still juggling the rest of them, chuckling calmly at the stunned look on her fellow villains faces. "How is that possible?"<br><br>"These grenades... the spoon needs to pop off but I'm holding it in with a bit of scotch tape," Bombshell, appropriately named not only for her incredible juggling skills, combined with the improbably complimentary expertise in explosives, but also because she was a bombshell in the physical attractiveness department as well. "But if I apply any pressure to the spoon, it'll pop off and kaboom about three to five seconds later," the villainess said casually when the festivities were suddenly disrupted by a muffled scream from down below.<br><br>Bombshell stopped juggling the hand grenades, catching each one in hand and started replacing the pins in them, as all three of the villains had annoyed looks on their faces as they glanced at the door leading to the basement. The Shocker rose up. "I could kill them both... easily," he stated, not speaking out of confidence. He pretty much knew his hand to hand skills alone were more then a match for everyone in the room, combined with the fact his costume was armored, masked and his vibro-blasters could knock aside armored vehicles or rattle the She-Hulk, simply was icing on the cake.<br><br>"Count's orders," Stilt-Man said distastefully. "He can kill all of us easily."<br><br>"Just one grenade," Bombshell said. "Toss it right down there. Put them out of their misery and ours," the villainess said with a sigh.<br><br>"Hey losers!" suddenly called out another voice as the trio of supervillains with a minimum of morals turned and saw an as of yet unknown female HYDRA agent approach them. They exchanged curious glances until she walked up right to them. "I just came back from the SWORD playground and you'll have no idea what I just saw scamper into a container with one of their Agents," she then said, still to the puzzlement of the rest of the villains when she glanced down and randomly cupped her breasts. "Oh crap!" she yelped, pressing an invisible button on her wrist as suddenly her form shimmered and a man in the guise of the Spymaster appeared instead. "If I heard correctly, Nightcrawler is going bareback on some Japanese chick as we speak and they want to keep it a secret."<br><br>The three villains all shrugged, clearly not caring, though the Shocker did shift somewhat uneasily in his stance and Stilt-Man kinda blushed. Bombshell merely asked the obvious question. "Nightcrawler is here?" <br><br>Spymaster nodded. "Oh yeah. The mutant is working with SWORD. Must be Abigail's source on the whole Apocalypse assault," Spymaster said before looking around. "When the rest of the resistance gets word that one of SWORD's senior agents is getting porked by some demonic mutant, shit is going to hit the fan," he said with a laugh as he approached the bar and made himself a drink. He then glanced at the basement. "Are those fuckers still fucking around down there?"<br><br>"Yes," the Shocker said. "We were discussing whether to kill them or not," the Spider-man nemesis said nonchalantly.<br><br>Spymaster shook his head. "Bad idea. When Apocalypse does kick up here, they'll make useful targets. All that white they wear... it's like a bullseye. And if you get in trouble, just tell them what they've been doing all night. Maybe your captors will get so pissed and be so grateful that you can escape," he said, rationalizing it all out beforehand.<br><br>The three villains exchanged glances, the logic satisfying them enough to avert confrontation for now as they took their seats back on the sofa and ignoring the screams and cries from below, tried to distract their minds from the impending doom, or the war crime happening quite literally under their feet. <br><br>"So when are Beetle and Ringer supposed to return back from patrol?" Stilt-Man asked, trying to strike up a normal conversation, despite the incredible circumstances.<br><br><em>NPC's</em><br><br>SWORD:<br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.<br><br>HYDRA/Maggia: (Beggars can't be choosers)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Crossfire (http://www.comicvine.com/crossfire/29-30800/)<br>Mr. Fear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fear#Larry_Cranston)<br>Spymaster (http://www.comicvine.com/spymaster/29-10222/)<br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Stilt-Man (http://www.comicvine.com/stilt-man/29-2474/)<br>Bombshell (http://www.comicvine.com/bombshell/29-27882/)<br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/29-14046/)<br>&nbsp;Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>Prisoners:<br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)</div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>12-02-2013, 10:24:52</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br>It's amazing how light she feels. He didn't think of himself as a strong man, he saw himself as an agile one yes but a strong one? No, he didn't think of himself as a strong man. Not when you end up fighting alongside, and against, men and women who can lift up cars for their amusement. <br><br>An arm and the tail move to raise up her legs around his waist so that he can start descending to his knees, the remaining arm pressing her form close the whole time. He could of done it quickly but with her tongue in his mouth with his sharper teeth he decided slow was best for that.<br><br>He didn't think of himself as a strong man, just an agile one. But to truly be Agile, that requires a fair amount of strength. Not superhuman levels, but a high enough level to think little of carrying your own bodyweight. Yes, he wasn't superhumanly strong - but he was strong enough that the woman in his arms felt wonderfully light. Soon they're laying down on the mat with him on top of her, her chest pressing against his and feeling so wonderful.<br><br>The sick part was how depressingly close the situation was being mirrored in the worst ways. Down below a human male was forcing himself on a female mutant under the excuse of "interrogation", here a male mutant and a human female were willingly having passionate sex together completely willingly - and while in the Maggia weren't exactly bragging out loud about it there wasn't much of a question of which of the two situations would cause more of an uproar if they were openly known.<br><br>But then again, X-Men. Saving a world that feared and despised them. Usually it wasn't quite so poetically displayed but one really couldn't say that it was out of the ordinary in overall theme.<br><br>The hungry kiss continued until he had to come up for air, and he smiles.<br><br>"<strong>Agent Satako Tokoro,</strong>" he repeats in a whisper near her ear, kissing along her neckline and under her jaw as his hands and tail go about separate tasks. One hand of his reaches back to his collar to start shedding his own uniform, naturally. His other hand was starting to work its way under her short but a slow work upwards to savor the moment. His tail's "barbed" tip starts playing along the edge of her pants to get under the edge and start working them down.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>13-02-2013, 21:58:17</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>She started to smile as she saw him break off the kiss, only to have her own lips tremble a bit as she glanced down and saw even as they were embraced, his tail was like another limb, one which had its particular tip slipped over the edge of her pants, and now under them. She gasped, looking up at him, finding this clearly nontraditional partner all the more alluring the more she was making out with him. Her eyes and face lighting up as she did so, she pulled her hands from grasping his soft, furry and yet firmly and tightly muscled body, her fingertips sifting over the soft blue hairs of his body before she suddenly reached her arms down to her sides, and with a flicker of her fingers, undid the belt of her pants and started to use her elbows to help her half shimmy, half slither beneath his body, leaning her head up, hungrily kissing him every second, as she slowly snaked out of her pants while his tail pulled it away and inch by inch the creamy white alabaster legs of the SWORD agent were revealed to his hungry yellow eyes, along with the flesh toned boyshort cut panty she was wearing while her own hands drifted up to the bottom edge of her strapped tank undershirt and simply pulled it off, brushing the fabric brusquely over her own face before tossing it aside.<br><br>Then, for a moment, Satoko looked up into Nightcrawlers inhuman looking eyes, and for a moment her usual doe eyed gaze took on a nearly feral look of lust, as she loved the fact that his eyes were hungrily roaming over her curvaceous, milky white body clad in nothing more then a pair of panties, a bra and her standard issue jungle green socks pulled almost halfway up her calves. <br><br>She threw her arms around his neck, her fingers sifting through the thick, curly dark hair of his head and gripped the back of his skull, the usually hidden muscle tone of the SWORD agent barely showing through her soft skin as she held him tightly and pulled him in for another deeply passionate, lust filled kiss made all the richer as she practically clung to him, her legs opening up, wrapping around his hips, feeling his long prehensile tail flicker over her bare skin, and pressing her own smooth skinned body against his soft, thick blue furred one, loving the feel of his demonic looking, but luxuriously soft feeling fur against her nearly naked form. The new sensations she was feeling practically fueled the moans she was purring into the kiss as she closed her eyes again, wanting to experience every aspect of the lovemaking she was currently, and about to experience with this mutant now and experience the sensation without the slightest reservation.<br><strong><br>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Command Center</strong><br><br>Director Brand was wielding the same Kree patterned Plasma Assault Rifle she had before, her only regret being that she wished she had a few more to dole out. But there were none. They were floating in space somewhere. Meanwhile her spaceflight capable Mandroid power armor suits were somewhere in the Meditterranean. While she still had people looking for those, she realized beggars couldn't be choosers. And conventional weapons had served them well so far. Before her was as much of the SWORD staff that could be reasonably assembled. Curiously, Agent Tokoro wasn't present but as seeing as how communications were compromised, it was no big loss or worry. Chances were she was inventorying something or running a diagnostic or whatnot.<br><br>Also Agent Fisher, sniper rifle and all, had long departed, taking up a new overwatch position to call out the incoming attack and give them heads up. Now it was time for everyone else to get their final orders of the day. "We're dividing you up into teams of three. You'll work in support of larger groups of local forces and provide the expert firepower, and support needed in the coming battle," Abigail stated. "If our intelligence is true, then the only easy day was yesterday for us and it's only going to be harder today, even with the reinforcements. Remember, we're not infantry today. We're force multipliers. Use the short wave radios. Study the maps and keep close to your troops. Your primary duty out there will be to coordinate our power against our attackers. Bring overwhelming firepower on them and only attack to keep them off balance or exploit vulnerabilities. And most importantly, keep your assigned units together. Everyone has a tendency to panic and act brittle when fighting superhumans. Soldiers and militia alike. You've been trained to behave differently. Keep your people in line and be a model because they'll all be looking to you for guidance." She paused and then glanced at Agent Hariri, then back at her charges. "Agent Hariri has your unit assignments and keep in mind the plans we have for fallback. We aren't sacrificing ourselves or anyone else here if we can prevent it. If we're overrun, withdraw and save as many as you can to go with you. Got it?"<br><br>The SWORD agents started to nod. "Good!" Abigail replied, cutting short on any of the inspiring speech stuff, since she was talking to people she knew. They already knew what was expected of them as professionals. Therefore she kept her final briefing to the point while idly wondering what the immediately future would bring.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>14-02-2013, 07:38:49</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Coastal Resort and Hotel<br>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Main Lobby</strong><br><br>"<strong>I'm not saying that they <em>can't</em> have an accident. Just that we have to be really careful about it. Count's orders.</strong>" Ringer lays out the point he's trying to make.<br><br>"<strong>I know, just. . .this is fucked up Anthony.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Nobody said it wasn't, babe. I don't remember anyone saying the Count was easy to work under either. Just easier then this Apocalypse nutjob.</strong>"<br><br>The would finally see the entrance to the hotel after a purposely long patrol a few moments of silence, but Beetle tries to lighten it up a bit.<br><br>"<strong>So, how many of the others think I'm a man under this armor do you wager?</strong>" Beetle asks.<br><br>"<strong>Heh. Definitely Stilt-Man. He's such a sap.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>I think it's cute - in a little brother sort of way. Want to pretend we're a gay couple to mess with them?</strong>"<br><br>Ringer laughs at that while trying to keep it down, "<strong>I've said it before and I'll say it again, my absolute favorite ring is the one I put on your finger.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>You mean it? You have a lot of rings.</strong>" she mock-asks.<br><br>"<strong>Absolutely. Though I'd appreciate my exploding ones when I shove them up Crossfire and Mr. Fear's anal rings - sideways - if they so much as think as sticking you in that cage.</strong>"<br><br>The two supervillains smirk at that, and Anthony and Leila Davis - two little people supervillains in this crazy world of people much bigger then either of them, step into the hotel to finish their patrol.<br><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>If there was anything more beautiful on God's creation then a woman, he couldn't think of it. It wasn't enough to see them either, he couldn't help but loved the way they sounded, smelled, and felt. Her strength betrays her innocence of earlier but he doesn't care about it.<br><br>He doesn't remember when his X-Men uniform was open enough to be off his torso but he's not complaining. Skin and Fur on Skin feels exquisite and her hungry tongue in his mouth is matched by his tongue on hers. His tail pulls back away from her but for a reason that moment's motions explain perfectly.<br><br>Now, in full honesty, there really wasn't any sexual reason behind it. It really was a matter of logistics and speed, but the tail pulls back to help Kurt shed the advanced materials of the X-Men Uniform. The tip had to move carefully to not catch in the uniform but soon with a leg kicking backwards Kurt has shed his uniform and now, in that container, it was plain what he wore under it. Or didn't, to be more precise. Few people make underwear with prehensile tails in mind.<br><br>And yet the answer to the anatomy of Kurt's man parts was still denied to Agent Tokoro as he new lover immediately presses his form against her again, his limbs working with gusto now. A hand to work her bra, another hand to remove her panties, and the tail to stroke the curves and lines of her body and take in every bit of them. And with how hungry his body was feeling for her pleasures just ripping them off was not out of the question.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>14-02-2013, 20:43:33</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>Feeling his uniform finally be discarded and his naked, short furred body press against hers made Satoko practically writhe in anticipatory ecstasy beneath him, her long creamy limbs wrapping around his leanly muscled, dark blue body, the sharp contrasts of skin and color and tone adding another dimension of pleasure to the already incredible aroused Agents mind as she locked her lips with his, her bra undone by his hands, her healthy, soft, breasts topped with brown nipples now pressed against his chest, her nipples hardening into erect nubs as they were stimulated by the fine fur covering his muscled chest. <br><br>Briefly, for only a moment, she tried to steal a glance at his manhood, wondering if the rumors of him having two cocks was actually true, but the press of his body upon hers after he stripped himself was all too brief, and truthfully, she knew she would find out soon enough. Her long, shapely legs continued to wrap around his hips, until she was practically hanging off of his body, moaning her delight into their deep, passionate and unrequited kisses, tongues mingling as their lips pressed together and she closed her eyes tightly to savor and burn into memory every second of this coupling that would follow.<br><br>Pulling her entire body up against hers, she intentionally had him carry all of her weight, forcing him to press her down against the soft exercise mat, the tightness of his body bearing down on hers adding another level of enjoyment to her on an emotional and mental level as she loved the thought of her demonic looking partner practically pinning her body to the floor. <br><br>But even as she clung to his body tightly, ripples of tense arousal shuddered through her body, whether from a brush of her erect and sensitive nipples against his finely furred chest, or the feeling of his long, prehenshile tail slithering and writhing over the vulnerable curves of her body, snaking over her asscheeks, down the shallow arch in her back, the tip tracing delicate patterns along her thighs teasingly, or otherwise both supporting and tickling her nude form. She was even gently grinding her hips against his abs now, her clitoral hood and the outer lips of her loins brushing over his furry groin, the feeling of thousands of minute little hairs flickering over her naked, sopping wet and steaming hot womanhood, making her loins literally quiver as they left bits of feminine dew glistening over his midsection. <br><br>Finally breaking off the kiss, she flashed open her eyes only briefly, her fingers grasping the back of his head firmly still. “Please. I want more…” she practically purred, her eyes hazed over with ecstasy as she bucked her hips against his groin again, grinding her juicy sex against his abs and groin, showing how desperately she wanted his manhood to slip deep inside of her.&nbsp; <br><br><strong>Coastal Resort and Hotel<br>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Main Lobby</strong><br><br>"Ringer! Beetle!" Spymaster said, having just made himself a cocktail despite the fact he was obviously still wearing his mask. "You've returned untarnished by the Apocalypse!" he then said, already pouring out two more drinks for the duo. "I must admit, when I saw you two were working together, I was thinking how unlikely a pairing it was. But if Cobra and Mr. Hyde worked, why not you two!" he then said. "I personally... frown upon team ups, present circumstances mostly excluded," he then added. "You see, I was infiltrating the Stark Tower when this guy Ghost, my rival, offered me his intangibility device to use. And I was like... yeah... I'm not falling for the old deactivate the intangible rival in the wall bit. No idiot would ever fall for that, especially with a person you tried to kill mere moments earlier." He paused, reflecting on that for a moment. "Ghost showed his true colors... as expected. There's no concept of professionalism among the new breed of villains, especially those of us that work in espionage."<br><br>The recently arrived villainous pair approached the bar while mostly ignoring his story as Spymaster, sensing that, took it as an offer to keep talking. "In fact, working with espionage types almost never works out," he then added, nodding his head towards the basement door. <br><br>The Beetle turned its head. "They're still at it?" Leila asked, her voice filtered out so that no one could tell it was actually her, the Ringers wife, under the armor.<br><br>"All night and," the Shocker paused to check the clock. "...most of the morning too."<br><br>"You know Crossfire was ex CIA?"Spymaster then said with a shrug, earning a surprised glance from everyone in the room.<br><br>"How do you know?" Bombshell asked incredulously.<br><br>"I am a Spymaster... it's in the name," he replied as he stuck a straw into his cocktail and started sipping it through a previous undetected hole in his facemask. Somewhat bemused, the Ringer took one of the drinks and then paused in offering it to Beetle, as she was still in her armor. Thankfully Bombshell was game and quickly ran up, liberating the third drink intended for Beetle. If he cared, Spymaster didn't show it and instead kept on talking. "Kind of glad Tony Stark is alive though. Makes me realize, maybe for a little bit longer at least, the old world isn't completely lost. I almost feel sentimental actually." He paused, turning to the other villains when he saw the Shocker shaking his head.<br><br>"You're sentimental about IronMan? I could give two shits about my so-called rival," the Shocker replied referring to Spider-Man.<br><br>"You don't care if he's dead or alive?" Stilt-Man asked, not wanting to confess that he thought about DareDevil quite a bit.<br><br>"I could care less," the Shocker replied. "As far as I'm concerned, we get too preoccupied with rivalries as it is. And now it doesn't even matter anymore. The new lines are us and them, and the perverts in the basement."<br><br>Spymaster shrugged. "It's good not getting attached to things I suppose, but I will admit, I would have a sense of regret if Tony Stark was killed. I mean don't get me wrong, I wouldn't lose any sleep over the playboy getting offed, but oh... the memories..."<br><br>"You know," the Ringer then said, acting a bit conspiratorially, though the sarcastic tone of his voice suggested otherwise. "...if we're not to trust espionage types, what should we do with you SPYmaster?"<br><br>The IronMan foe waved off the Ringers question, chuckling as he took another slurp of his cocktail. "Hey. I don't need subterfuge to tell you all that if you get in a scrape, I will do my utmost not to get caught in it. First rule of supervillainy is to stay alive. The second is to always have an out. I like y'all but don't think that I'll go out on a limb saving your lives." He paused momentarily, savoring the taste of blended alcohol in his mouth. "However, I encourage all of you to extend me the same courtesy regardless," he thoughtfully added, eliciting a laugh from everyone else in the lobby at his flagrant hypocrisy. "Especially you Shocker. You seem like one of those friendly types with misguided loyalties and whatnot."<br><br>"Guilty," the Shocker replied. "And it's <em>The</em> Shocker."<br><br>"I've had that done to me," Bombshell said with a flirtatious chuckle only to provoke an immediately rolling of the eyes from the Shocker and Spymaster shaking his head in dismay at the crude reference. <br><br><em>NPC's</em><br><br>SWORD:<br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.<br><br>HYDRA/Maggia: (Beggars can't be choosers)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Crossfire (http://www.comicvine.com/crossfire/29-30800/)<br>Mr. Fear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fear#Larry_Cranston)<br>Spymaster (http://www.comicvine.com/spymaster/29-10222/)<br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Stilt-Man (http://www.comicvine.com/stilt-man/29-2474/)<br>Bombshell (http://www.comicvine.com/bombshell/29-27882/)<br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/29-14046/)<br>&nbsp;Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>Prisoners:<br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>15-02-2013, 01:19:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>For the briefest of internal moments, he hesitates. It's nothing at Satoko's end, quite the contrary. Now that he's on the precipice he briefly wonders if he's doing the right thing. For religious reasons he himself has never used a condom for sex. Before Apocalypse that was fine, because let's be honest - if a woman was willing to have sex with a mutant she probably didn't have any hang-ups when it came to birth control of her own.<br><br>But now, since Apocalypse has begun his work, that has changed. Unless they've somehow managed to protect a stockpile, he could be giving Agent Tokoro a child with this. And from what he was told of his future its looking more and more like Satoko Tokoro could be just the first of the "several" women he'd just hop into bed with, breed a child into, then go about his merry way like some common deadbeat.<br><br>The moment passes, and Kurt begins to push his manhood into her opening with a smile on his face. She's so tight around him that he has to go slow at first and he inwardly considered it proof that Agent Tokoro really was a virgin. It doesn't really cross his mind that maybe she was lying about that, she has had previous lovers, they were just limp and tiny in comparison to his own mutant manhood.<br><br>His tail on the other hand was going to try something else. Withdrawling from playing along her body it goes back behind him then curves around below. Soon she'll feel it poking at her body is the tip starts poking for her rosebud of an asshole. He may not of had two cocks as the rumors suggested, but he was certainly one of the few men who could get double penetration going by himself.<br><br>Yes, he acknowledged that this could mean Agent Tokoro would be the first of several women that he'd bred - but if that was his future then he was going to do it his way. They were going to love every moment of it. Not to mention, God did say "be fruitful and multiply".
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>15-02-2013, 05:26:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br>As Nightcrawlers thick blue cock, which itself was even a shade darker then the rest of his furred body, slowly wedged between the tight folds of her pussy, her own mouth slowly drew open, a long irresistable moan escaping her lips, forcing her to break off her kiss as her dark brown eyes flashed open, absolutely wide with emotion as she stared at him, her face literally lighting up as she felt her outer lips stretch over and around the thick searing hot glans of his cockhead as he pushed inward. "Ahhhh...aiiii," she started to moan, her voice barely perceptible as she realized she was taking his cock into her pussy, a mutants cock. One who didn't even look human.<br><br>Just the sheer perverse taboo of it made her mind run wild as she felt the warm flesh of his phallus slowly slip in, stretching her entrance until finally her outer pussy lips slipped over the edge of his glans and collapsed around the top of his shaft, almost like her cunt had swallowed up his cockhead, and pulled in another fraction of an inch of his rod into her tight pussy. He barely pushed in before realizing not just that she was incredibly tight, as her sopping wet vaginal walls literally gripped his cock, squeezing his entire buried length and resisting every millimeter of his penetration as he pushed his hips deeper, but he soon realized she wasn't a virgin at all, just merely unaccustomed to such a healthy sized cock penetrating her tight little Asian sex.<br><br>She was in no mood to clarify though, for as he pushed another inch of his shaft inward, her hips bucked upwards as her smooth, bulging asscheeks felt the firm flickering of his tail tip slipping between the tight soft buns of her milky white ass, sliding into her crack and slowly drawing open the puckered tight entrance of her butt and realizing even if she wasn't a vaginal virgin, she was likely an anal one as he saw her eyes started to flutter rapidly as soon as his tail tip stimulated her tender, sensitive butthole and cut short her purring moans, as she soon was so overwhelmed by the pleasurable sensations, she felt like she was robbed of her voice, unable to speak or even vocalize a moan as hot tears started to well up in her now sparkling brown eyes.<br><br>Instead she reacted with her body, smearing her engorged clit against his upper groin, rubbing it against his furry body and rippled abs, the heels of her sock clad feet grinding hard against his ass and hips as her pale legs were wrapped around his waist, her fingers slowly curling on his upper back, before balling up into little fists, as he felt her body literally warm up as he penetrated her deeper with his cock, and his tail. As soon as both of his intruding members slipped past the tight entrance, they were inside and despite the tight furnace of her holes tightly gripping and pulsing on his invading members, neither could resist as he slid his cock deeper into her womanhood, before soon pressing into truly virgin territory, the tip of his broad cockhead pushing painfully against her cervix, drawing an audible squeal of high pitched pain from her face before he forcefully wedged his cock deeper into her sex, filling her through her cervix, pumping his thick dark blue cock even deeper into her, as she struggled through the pain, losing herself in the raw sensation and stimulation of the uniquely sublime pleasure of being penetrated by a long thick cock as well as his tail slipping inexorably deeper into her ass, the two penetrating phalluses practically milking her for a blend of pleasure and pain, which as every second ticked off, soon overwhelmed her overpleasured mind, blending all of her sensations into one ecstastic haze of pure bliss regardless of its origin, like it was a good kind of pain. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>15-02-2013, 20:44:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>He wasn't so naive as to think that the barrier he had felt inside her was her hymen. The knew he was much, much too deep for that. No - he had known that her tight wetness may of been fighting him and gripping him the whole way and he was surprised when it happened but he knew when he had hit cervix.<br><br>And yes, he was caught in the moment when he decided to just go through with it and keep pushing. Dear lord in heaven, he'd penetrated this woman's cervix! He could say in his defence that what had encouraged the decision was her face. She may of made a sound of pain, but if her face had been one of pain he would of stopped at just brushing it. But he saw it on her face - she definitely wasn't used to cocks as big as his so there definitely was pain there but on her face he could read it clear as day. Pleasure. She may of been feeling pain, but she was also feeling at least as much pleasure as well.<br><br>He smirks at that. All sorts of crazy rumors exist about mutants, sexual anatomy among them. He's even heard a rumor that he has two cocks - bizarre, and the fact that he finds it too funny to ever try to disprove it with a straight face isn't helping. But it is true that a female mutant's breasts do average being a little bigger and healthier then a female normal human's breasts - and it's really not that big a leap to believe something similar for males was occurring.<br><br>And he was proud of what he was doing to Agent Tokoro. She wasn't even moaning and groaning in pleasure, she was getting hit by far too much sensation for that. Overwhelmed, overpleasured, and if he had anything to say about it she's going to end up overfucked at the end of this. Her body sexed and pleasured until taken past her endurance and thresholds. It was good to have a goal.<br><br>He pulls out to go back in deeper and faster, working up his pace as she seems able to take it. And that's just his cock pushing in and doing it's evolved task. To drive her further toward release his tail continues to fuck her ass hard as well, all the while those yellow eyes looking into her brown ones - watching for cues as to how to take this further into bliss for her. Pinned down and being properly ravished on that mat, she was going to remember this forever.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>15-02-2013, 22:55:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>Satoko's eyes were fluttering on the edges, as she peered into the mutants amber gaze, finding herself lost in the intensity of his stare, enthralled by the moment and aroused beyond all comprehension by the thick, double penetration of her pussy and ass by his cock and what she almost knew for certain was his tail. The effects on her body was literally ecstatic to say the least. <br><br>Her creamy white form was starting to perspire, as he felt her body literally warming up underneath him, as his hips started to gently buck into her loins, his thick cock slowly and steadily building up a tempo of pistoning into her hot, sopping wet pussy, practically churning it now as her tight womanhood was painfully stretching around his dark blue prick like a finely fitted glove, resisting every thrusting penetration and yet pulling and gripping every withdrawal of his phallus just as firmly. The fact her legs were literally wrapped around his body, her feet bobbing above his backside, toes curling from the over stimulation that was surging through her brain, robbing her of the ability to vocalize the sheer sexual bliss she was feeling beyond the occassional almost inaudibly soft chirping moan that rose from her trembling lips, simply made the mutual enjoyment of their coupling all the more exquisite to experience.<br><br>Then there was his tail, which was sliding so deeply into her ass that her back started to stiffen underneath him, her entire body wincing with a blend of sharp pain and utter ecstasy as she felt the broadened tip of his tail slip deeper into her butt then any phallus could ever go, the rubbing of his thick prehensile tail into her tightly stretched asshole rubbing sensitive glands and other areas that were completely unused to any stimulation and yet, extremely sensitive. Combining the double penetration left her entire pussy and ass burning with arousal, as hot jets of feminine cum blasted and soaked his penetrating cock, while the tight, warm furnace of her anus continued to pulse and massage his tail as it slithered in deeper and deeper and she could feel the distinct sensation of his tail snaking deeper into her body to the point that she suddenly fluttered her eyes shut and her entire body seemed to almost violently spasm underneath him, almost jerking an inch off of the mat before settling down and her lower jaw dropped open, an almost guttural groan escaping her lips. <br><br>Her eyelids flickered rapidly over her expressive brown orbs, as he could feel a literal onslaught of hot feminine pussy juice cascading over his cock, immersing and bathing his glans in her warm girly cum as it seeped out of her sex, rimming her labia with a moist, hot fluid that trickled in rivulets down the insides of her thighs, and down her taint, dribbling onto the matt or down the middle of her split open asscheeks, even lubricating her penetrating butthole a little bit.<br><br>Looking up at him, still silent, he gazed into her barely open eyes as her limbs, arms and legs, tightened their grip on his beautiful, naked, mutant body as she silently suffered a literal orgasm rippling through her form. It felt like her loins and ass were on fire from the pain and pleasure that it blended together and simply radiated outward a sense of pure, utter bliss that surged through her entire curvaceous, sweaty body with such an intense force, that she felt emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Her pussy gripped his still pumping cock, her asshole clenching up tightly, as she rode out the orgasm before finally, after what seemed like a luscious eternity, it finally burned through her body and she was able to open her eyes and meet his gaze clearly once again.<br><br>Her tongue slipped out over her own dry lips, and then gripping his head tightly, she pressed her lips against his in another deep kiss. She didn't want an afterglow or to cool down. She wanted another orgasm. And she wanted to share this next one with her new and best lover. Already her battered pussy was burning raw again, even more painfully now that she had just been through a first climax, but she didn't bother ignoring the pain. She was liking it more and more, realizing the pain was just another sensation, one she could choose to enjoy, much like she chose to enjoy the love of such an unconventional partner.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>16-02-2013, 05:37:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>And Agent Tokoro's newest lover? What did he think? There was a little bit of him that was feeling like apologizing for what was shaping up to a relatively poor performance for him. At least in terms of how long he was going to last. Though it wouldn't be very intense of an apology admittedly.<br><br>After all, the reason that he was on a collision course with his own orgasm was because of just how receptive her body was his double use of his cock and tail together to drive her sensitive places into their natural functions and crescendos. The sweating form underneath him, the moisture on his fur revealing that his own was holding back his own sweat that was now coming through, was driving him crazy before she came.<br><br>And now? Well, if he didn't know any better he'd just say she just came twice in rapid succession - and the second orgasm was much, MUCH more powerful then the first. A gushing of girl cum, followed by a second gush with her body twitching and convulsing and trying to milk him of his cum. That was a surprise, and that surprise sends him forward harder then he was ready for.<br><br>Which was fine, really. He starts grunting with each stroke as he stops holding back even the slightest pretext of being just an evolved monkey like anyone else there. And those eyes, he keeps looking to his lover and this his hands over her sweaty body are on her ass and pulling it upward as well to get those last bits of depth as he pushes harder and harder to get ready to do what instinct demands.<br><br>The kiss she gives soaks up his grunts and moans as he denies his balls the permission to ascend. They do anyway but he's going to fight for every inch to bring her the best lay he can give. And it seems like mere moments of pure mad ravishing strokes of animistic grunting and intensity with sweat mixing together then what felt like a lackluster performance from him for Agent Tokoro is completely redeemed.<br><br>She finally seems to collect enough to vocalize her pleasure when she locks in position, her mouth opening wider and wider as he lungs try to get enough air to express what she's feeling, and when it comes she's seizing and almost convulsing in his arms. The sound she lets out is a near-shriek of pleasure as she starts to milk him like crazy as his cock and hips become absolutely coated with a layer of girl cum. He can't hold back anymore and there's an explosion of white behind his eyes as his balls squeeze and his shaft throbs for the first time in his latest lover.<br><br>A thick rope of mutant semen leaves his body and enters hers, then a second, then a third. His grunts and groans try to join into the pleasure she vocalizes from her lungs but is flooded away as he just tries to hold on tight and hang on. He leans his head in and moans right into her ear, his arms squeezing her against his body as hard as he can as more fluids mix together and spill onto that mat.<br><br>When he finally starts to come down from inseminating her body, he breathes deep and hard and feels his orgasm's strength starts to ebb.<br><br>"<strong>Apologies, Satako - I normally last longer then that,</strong>" he chuckles as he goes in to steal another kiss. She doesn't kiss back. At all. It surprises him, and he leans back a bit to look at why.<br><br>He can feel that her heart is beating from how pressed together their chests are, and he can see her take in air with the feel of how her body moves - but Agent Tokoro herself simply lays under him, her head rolling a little bit to a side as she breaths with her eyes closed.<br><br>He chuckles a bit as he starts pulling his tail out. Here he was apologizing for doing what he thought was a less then stellar job and he seems to have fucked her well enough that she's now unconscious in his arms. He takes that as a sign that he is more then forgiven, to put it nicely. Yes, he knows some of what the future supposedly holds for him but if he's stuck to it- he'll be doing it his way.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Veluux</strong> on <strong>17-02-2013, 03:53:39</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V9XKgV6M6Qw/TIw5G2g3aEI/AAAAAAAAAEs/vMRf_ijo9js/s1600/apocalypse+1.jpg)</div><br><hr><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;En Sabah Nur<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Vision<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Giza Plateau, Cairo<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Selene, Blink, Plague, CLOSED<br><br></span></span><hr><hr><br><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse turned away from the group of people who'd suddenly appeared before him - Sinister was dragging off the unconscious form of Magneto, while the other two were discussing their next moves. As the ancient mutant was walking back into the Pyramid away from them, he could hear Selene's voice practically blistering as she spoke to Blink. He didn't care what they were talking about. He had given his instructions.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;His muscles rippled with every step as he strode down the long dark hallway. The glowing rune-like veins that pulsed just below the surface of his skin were enough light to illuminate the unlit corridor. His footfalls were heavy and echoed off the newly blue-tinted brick walls. The sound of each step bounced down the walkway until he stopped - and then only the distant hum of the crystal pyramid several hundred feet below him could be heard.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;He took a sharp turn into a newly discovered anti-chamber - likely found while they were searching for the cavern below. This particular room had been set up as Apocalypse's personal chambers. It was one large room, with several smaller rooms that branched off of it. Apocalypse strode into the main chamber and he could hear a device set near the center of the room beeping. It was an incoming call. With but a thought, the device blinked to life and a life-size hologram illuminated in the center of the room. Apocalypse continued his heavy and determined gate towards the appearing group of individuals. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; Pestilence was in the center, with that obnoxiously deceptive smile on her face - as usual; as if he didn't know her thoughts and how badly she hated everyone and everything. All of his Horsemen shared this close bond - though it was partially one-sided; as Apocalypse' thoughts and feelings could be well masked while theirs were constantly bare before him. He stopped several feet from the projection and crossed his massive arms.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As if it were some sort of cue, Pestilence immediately began to greet her master with fine words and a seductive flash of her eyes. Apocalypse rudely interrupted her extended greeting, <strong>"Save me your petty banter Plague. What have you accomplished?"</strong> His eyes were cold and calculating, and they were focused on Pestilence alone - despite her accompanying party. Hurt &amp; Harm were present - foolish little children, but useful. There was also one of Pestilence's many scientists, he'd seen the man before. And then there were two new beings, both very animalistic in appearance. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Pestilence didn't even waste the time apologizing - and with good reason, as it would have only further irritated the grey-skinned tyrant. "A new success, master. The first shipment of DNA from the amazon has produced intriguing results." She swept her arm to the side to offer the images of Cackle and Tangle as tribute. "Tangle and Cackle. The first two successes - though the fatality rate of the new serum is substantially higher..."<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Apocalypse narrowed his eyes as he took in the new specimens, they looked good. They looked strong. And more importantly - they had been hand-designed, each given a specific set of animal DNA mixed in with some version of serum derived from Apocalypse' own blood. When Pestilence mentioned the higher fatality rate, he just smiled. <strong>"Perfect."</strong> He'd already amassed an incredible army, and most of his enemies had already been decimated. The world's strongest governments had been destroyed, the rest had collapsed into anarchy. Every major superhuman organization and stronghold and been hit hard and fast. There were survivors, but they were scattered and divided. However, they were no longer leaderless... Apocalypse growled slightly as he recalled Stark's message. <strong>"Set them hunting immediately. Stark has survived the initial assault - I believe he may be hiding in your region."</strong> Stark's home and original base of operations had been in California, after all. With his tech at Stark Tower in ruins, he'd have to resort to older models... though there was no telling how many secret stashes Tony had hidden around the globe. It was a start at least.<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;"Yes Master." Solara answered obediently. She waved Cackle and Tangle off camera and then turned to regard Apocalypse again. "And what new duties would you have for myself sire?" she asked, an eager gleam in her brilliant yellow-green eyes. "I'm assuming our success on the new serum would mean that I know longer need to personally supervise it?"<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A wave of energy burst from Apocalypse then and Pestilence clutched her head and dropped to one knee, a short shout of pain barely escaped her before she managed to hold the rest in. <strong>"Never assume what my commands may be, Plague. You have served me well, don't give me reason to slight your efforts."</strong> He said coldly, hardly flinching as she was racked with his mental attack. <strong>"But you are correct..."</strong> he said with a smile, releasing her from the painful assault. <strong>"too many foolish beings dare to resist us. I would squash them out before their pitiful flame even has the chance to burn. Search out any superhumans in your area..."</strong> <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Pestilence fell to the ground as another wave of pain hit her mind. <strong>"And do not think that you can hide your failures from me..."</strong> he had dug through her memories and seen the Serum survivors that she let escape. She had managed to recapture some, but two still evaded her. Apocalypse was particularly upset about Wreck's escape. He had been a worthy survivor and shown such promise among Pestilence' ranks. Now, he would have to die with the rest of them. Apocalypse took a few steps forward, standing almost directly above Plague's prone form, his body blocking several of the projector lasers and causing her image to flicker. <strong>"Find them. Kill them, and perhaps I will not follow through with the punishment that I will begin fashioning for you... Blink is coming to aid you, and to receive a FULL report. Try your best not to omit any important facts the next time around...</strong>"<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;And with that the projector cut off. Apocalypse sneered. So many fools; didn't they understand that their efforts were futile? He would bring about the new dawn and a new age of the Earth. They could not stop his plans anymore than they could prevent the sun from rising. Now to deal with those pitiful humans in Port Said. They think because they have a few superhuman accomplices that they can defy him? Madness! He stormed into his private resting chamber in the back of the anterooms. He sat down in the center of an intricately carved symbol that had been etched into the ancient stone floor. It was in a timeless language - one that predated every written and spoken language on earth that still existed. He crossed his legs and raised his chin, almost in a meditative posture. His eyes closed and his mind then reached out rapidly across the local area. <br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong><em>Venom. Omega Red. Deacon. Juggernaut. Southpaw. You have work to do. Report to the Giza platform immediately. Rebels in Port Said dare to stand up against my Vision! Bring a squad of Judgement troops, each of you. I will provide the... first assault wave.</em></strong> Apocalypse's glowing eyes snapped open and a twisted smile crept across his face as he stood to his feet. He hoped they truly did have the heart to stand up and fight him. Chasing them down as they retreated just wouldn't be quite as satisfying.</div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>bubby</strong> on <strong>17-02-2013, 22:12:49</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/1115241-selene_super.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Selene Gallio<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Famine/Black Queen<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Sub-Villain<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; Cairo/ In the presence of Apocalypse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Blink, Apocalypse, Loki<br><br></span></span><hr>Cool, blue orbs watched as Blink sailed through the air from the Masters loving touch. Those same eyes drifted up as he now towered over her, berating her for <em>not</em> treating the girl with the disdain and anger she had truly felt. His own rage washed over her, filled her, caused her to shudder, yet not in fear. <br><br>No, Selene did not fear En Sabah Nur. Respect, indeed, for he was powerful. More so then she. But it was that Power she wanted a taste of, and the Master was the only one who could give it to her. His release of her caused red lips to part and allow a soft gasp to escape, her eyes following as he turned to his granddaughter to castigate her as well. Selene would not bother with smugness in any manner. Truly, she was busy plotting. To have been told in no uncertain terms that she had absolutely no leash...<br><br>Shifting herself back into the Shadows, Selene would watch coolly as Magneto was brought into the fold. How easy it was. When finished Apocalypse was offering her 'free time', and she could not help but loft a brow at this. Yet again, there was no argument. She simply inclined her head, watching as her Master left, before turning her attention to Blink.<br><br>Apocalypse was not even fully gone before Selene launched her attack. A flit of fingers and she was feeding from Blink, knowing the girl couldn't escape from her vampiric grasp. The Black Queen was merely sipping at the Masters granddaughter though, even as smooth steps took her close to the girl. With a lick of her lips, blue eyes now blazing with the taste she had gained of Blink, she would snarl at the girl. <strong> “ I require but one thing from you. Go to Moscow, and bring me my sword...”</strong> Though Blink was weakened by Selene's psychic drink, the girl was gone and back in but a moment, throwing the blade at Selene feet. Disdain crossed the girls features, and the Black Queen would but laugh, turning her back upon Her, dismissing her. <strong> “ Best do what the Master wishes. Enjoy your vacation my dear.”</strong><br><br>Gathering her blade, reveling in the feel of it within her palm, her attention would be grabbed by a gathering of Apocalypse's men out amongst the dunes. Scowling, Selene would make her way towards the small pocket, the troops scattering with her arrival. Some were already stammering on what they should do, even as Selene came upon the sight of Loki sprawled amongst the sand, blood seeping from his shoulder where a bullet had slammed through. Hissing at the troops stammering that the Master must be told, with a sweep of her hand, a clenching of her fist, she would Drink the one yammering about how it was his shot to bring down the Eagle dry in seconds. With a satisfied groan, the hot winds chasing away the husk of the man left behind, her attention would fall upon Loki once more, her murmur low. <strong> “ The Master need not be disturbed by such petty matters. The Asgardian shall come with me... deliver him to my quarters immediately.”</strong> Selene would&nbsp; not offer where those quarters were located. The men would find out or die, that simple.<br><br>She had in fact decided to take over a large section of the barracks. Selene did not need opulence, she desired it. Orders were given to find all the amenities she required. She also needed secure, and with taking over where she had, she was still close to the Pyramid, still close to Apocalypse, and still so deliciously close to the Power that was there. Soon enough the section of barracks she had commandeered held plush couches, soft carpets, sweet smells and perfect lighting, among other things. Loki would be delivered and placed upon one of the couches, while Selene settled herself into a throne like chair, ice blue eyes staring upon the God, waiting for him to come to life again.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>19-02-2013, 00:54:34</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Poccy, Nightcrawler and Open<br></span></span><hr><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>Agent Satoko Tokoro slowly stirred awake, the first action being an instinctively clenching of her now incredible sore pussy, her thighs closing up, legs pressing together to the point even her ankles locked together before slowly she shook her head awake, slowly lifted her head from the gym mat, propping herself on her elbows as she glanced down and could feel the warmth of her juicy runoff mingling with the excess runoff of seed from the mutant that she could still feel trickling out of her sore womanhood. Her eyes however immediately focused on the amber orbs staring at her as she noticed him crouching nearby, looking no less sexy now as she finally confirmed he only had one cock, but one impressive tail as well.<br><br>Her asshole puckered up tight at the thought of it, as she felt the dull, tingling pain continue to reverberate through her loins, and the thick load of potent mutant seed literally sloshing around deep in her womb, and the breadth of her pussy. "Mmmmmm," she finally managed to murmur, her first groan almost sounding like a purr as she stretched out her body a bit, toes uncurling as she stretched out her body and rolled onto her side, the ample curve of her pale ass all the more obvious as it rose above her petite thighs and sleekly muscled legs, giving him a full view of her nude body from the side and a contented smile on her face. "Thank you very much," she said softly, smirking, a rosy redness rising to her cheeks as she felt a little bit bashful, before suddenly glancing in the corner where she was keeping her combat kit and immediately wondered what time it was. It had to be mid morning at least. "What time is it?" she suddenly asked, her upper body perking up, hoping nothing too awful had occurred while she was getting plowed by a mutant in a cargo container.<br><br><strong>Coastal Resort and Hotel<br>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Top Level</strong><br><br>The AIM scientist was clad in one of those beekeeper style outfits as he gave Count Nefaria a sharp salute. "The device is ready and keyed to your biometric readings sir," the anonymous scientist said as Count Nefaria entered the currently vacant hotel suite, located on the top floor of the resort. <br><br>"Excellent," the Count said, inspecting the device firsthand and chuckling to himself at how simple it was. "Prepare to deploy it forward and keep it quiet," the Count replied before turning to a female HYDRA officer standing beside him. "And you. Prepare your forces and make them aware of the withdrawal and evacuation plans," he then added as the HYDRA officer gave him a sharp salute as well before she departed the room to carry out his orders. <br><br>Count Nefaria smiled. Of course he planned for retreat. But that didn't mean he had to reveal it to everyone like Abigail Brand did. There were benefits to being a villain. For example, to him, collateral damage was a term he could easily become comfortable with. For her, it was something nigh impossible to avoid if she could prevent it. It was for that fact alone that it while the Bible stated the meek will inherit the Earth, Nefaria knew it would require someone strong to lead them through the apocalypse. And if not God, a humble Italian noble would have to do.<br><br>There were a few obstacles of course, Apocalypse being the obvious one. But once he was dealth with, publicly, every other obstacle would fall away. He doubted even the much vaunted Tony Stark could challenge him once he crushed Apocalypse and his forces. He would be the savior of humanity and of the planet, of civilization. How could some mere playboy with no wealth remaining and few friends left challenge Count Luchino Nefaria, Savior of Humankind?<br><br>The answer was sinmple.<br><br>There was no way.<br><br>As he walked down to the lobby to his assembled minions, as the moment of truth and confrontation came, he slowly began to realize the greatness he was about to achieve. The vision of the future, dictated by him, that would come. With the blessings of immortality he could rebuild the world into his own vision. Time was already no longer and issue. And soon there wouldn't be an Earth bound rival that could contest him. He would almost be a God, not some detached Creator or Architect, but an immortal nonetheless. Like the powerful Gods of the myths that, unlike the actual Thor and Hercules, turned out to be ever so pathetic. A human who rose to divinity. That is what he would be. One who would leave an indelible legacy and impact on the whole scale of human history thanks solely to the fact he was in the right place, and at the right time, and was the only one who could truly challenge this personified Apocalypse.<br><br>His supervillain minions rose from their seats as he approached, and out of respect, received him silently. Count Nefaria smiled. Certainly this motley collection of henchmen wasn't first class but made of those who were overlooked in the initial attacks, or in the case of some of them, far too canny or paranoid or simply smart to get caught up in the resulting events. Truth was, many of the villains who survived the initial attacks turned out to be in league with Apocalypse, mutant or otherwise, or in a bit of irony, were fighting alongside the resistance in one form or another. <br><br>Count Nefaria decided, as he gave his orders to his superpowered minions, that he would be generous to those who flocked to his banner in the wake of this disaster. He could afford to be, since by the end of the day, he would become the most powerful being on the planet. <br><br>As close as a God as a man who was once mortal could practically get... on his own.<br><br><em>NPC's</em><br><br>SWORD:<br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.<br><br>HYDRA/Maggia: (Beggars can't be choosers)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Crossfire (http://www.comicvine.com/crossfire/29-30800/)<br>Mr. Fear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fear#Larry_Cranston)<br>Spymaster (http://www.comicvine.com/spymaster/29-10222/)<br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Stilt-Man (http://www.comicvine.com/stilt-man/29-2474/)<br>Bombshell (http://www.comicvine.com/bombshell/29-27882/)<br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/29-14046/)<br>&nbsp;Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>Prisoners:<br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>19-02-2013, 06:03:02</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand('s Underlings)<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park</strong><br><br>"<strong>No, thank you.</strong>" he speaks as he continues with a smirk on his face as he stretches, his sweaty fur glistening a bit in the lighting of the storage container. The tail wags and swishes a bit as he finishes cleaning it off.<br><br>"<strong>You have no idea the wonders it does to a man's confidence when the woman in his arms passes out from his prowess.</strong>" he chuckles, crawling back over toward her in the mat and going to steal a kiss.<br><br>"<strong>You were only out for a few minutes, Satoko. Thank you for this.</strong>" he smiles, looking back at his own uniform for a moment before coming back to this moment.<br><br>"<strong>And I haven't heard anything over our commlinks,</strong>" he admits, "<strong>I think we are still in the calm before the storm.</strong>"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>21-02-2013, 20:22:41</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://24.media.tumblr.com/0a33374b876d11a83aaf488563aa5b65/tumblr_mikrxif13z1rm5ceao3_500.png)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance?<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo, Selene's Quarters<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong> Selene<br></span></span><hr> <br>There was a thin, green glint of eyes barely opened. Loki took in his surroundings by degree, noting first the couch he was sprawled on, then the incense in the air, the carpets and cushions, the drapes that covered the drab metal walls. The setting was unexpected but certainly not unwelcome. In fact, it was fit for a king... or rather a queen, whose dark beauty graced the throne opposite.<br><br>Dangerous, certainly. But <em>apocalyptic</em>...?<br><br>With calculated caution he eased himself upright, briefly eyeing the torn leather near his shoulder and taking care not to move his arm.&nbsp; Even minor wounds hurt so much more when shape-shifted, these days. Memory of the pain helped him maintain the illusion that he was incapacitated, while in truth his aching bones had already knit.<br><br>Power thrummed through his body as his boots touched the ground and he was very sharply reminded of loss and inspired to gain. Loki managed a faint smile as he bowed his head towards the woman who stared at him with tantalizingly cold disdain.<br><br>"Well, I am certain you have many questions, milady, and doubtless I will have an equal number of answers, but just now... might I trouble you for a drink?"<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>22-02-2013, 04:05:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br>Container Park </strong><br><br>"..fuck have you been Tokoro?" Agent DuChamp asked as he saw Tokoro running out of the container park, still slinging her utility vest over the final shoulder, her equipment rattling as it jingled off of her battle kit. <br><br>"Sorry sir! Won't happen again sir!" Agent Tokoro replied. Though they were of equal rank, he, being the Weapons Specialist, was senior in combat zones. <br><br>"It won't because you'll either learn or you'll be dead!" Agent DuChamp growled back as Tokoro glanced at him, a bit of fear in her eyes as she glanced up at the skies but saw nothing overhead. Her line of sight drifted back down to DuChamp, who apparently had new fresh bandages wrapped around his head. "Listen. You can join Agent Hariri in Alexandria if you don't feel prepared for the fight!" he then added just as emphatically.<br><br>"No. I want to be here," she replied, struggling to keep up with him as he sped up to a brisk jogging pace, also wearing a full combat pack.<br><br>"Then secure your shit Tokoro and make sure it stops jingling around like a damn wind chime," DuChamp finally said, stopping cold in his tracks and turning on her, the large, heavily built Canadian soldier suddenly towering over her, a grim stare crossing his face. She paused, literally gulping as she looked up at him when he sniffed the air a bit. "You smell funny Tokoro."<br><br>She blinked.<br><br>"Secure your gear. If we're trudging through the swamp to escape, I don't want you giving me away with your clitter clatter," he said before pausing again, as if something was bothering him, before sniffing her again. "Draw duct tape from supply if you have to," he then added. "These containers are being shipped to Alexandria just in case." With that said Agent Duchamp started off again to check the rest of his men.<br><br>"In case what? We lose?" Agent Tokoro asked, calling after him, feeling exasperated.<br><br>"Or win," he replied, pointing upwards just as the sounds of jets seemed to roar overhead.<br><br>But it wasn't jets.<br><br>It was dreadnaughts. HYDRA battle robots capable of flight and fighting. Like IronMan on the cheap or something. Count Nefaria brought a couple of them along. Equivalent of any run of the mill supervillain, or hero, easily. She frowned, then wondered if that was even the appropriate response. Truth be told, if she had to choose, she'd choose Count Nefaria. The sound of a semi tractor truck beeping as it went in reverse suddenly jolted her out of her funk as she glanced back and saw sure enough, containers of supplies were being loaded up and shipped West to Alexandria.<br><br>Just in case...<br><br><strong>Marshlands of Port Said</strong><br><br>Agent Fisher lowered her binoculars. Still no sign of the imminent attack. As she remained half squatting in her marsh filled spider hole, covered by a few laters of thermal and camo netting, clad in her ghillie suit, the only part of her that was exposed being a small, near indiscernible black area for her to see out, she frowned. If they did some mutant crap and teleported in, that would totally ruin her day. Trudging back with all of her gear through crocodile infested marshways was not her idea of a good time. Especially in the middle of a battle. But in order to remain low key, beating feet was her only option regardless. She keyed her short wave radio twice, just to let them know she was in fact still alive for the past fifteen minutes.<br><br><strong>Northern Coast of Port Said</strong><br><br>"And another one bites the dust," Agent Austen said, looking north, instead of South as two more of the vessels of the mixed task force suddenly peeled off. <br><br>"What ignoble Frankish mariner abandoned the Jihad now?" Agent Hariri asked sarcastically, having upgraded from a sling on her arm to a partial cast on her forearm. <br><br>The sarcasm clearly going over his head, Agent Austen shook his head. "The Franks aren't even a country anymore. I thought you knew that," he shot back, apparently annoyed at her supposed stupidity even though it was actually him who didn't get her sarcasm. "Two Turkish frigates. Following the corvette that left earlier," the salvage expert said shaking his head.<br><br>"Things must be bad up there," Agent Hariri said with a frown. She could only fathom how bad they must've been. Especially in countries so unprepared for such a total war type of situation. Were there thousands of people being forcibly transformed into cannon fodder there as well. It must've be absolutely hellish in the cities. Everyone of them like Cairo. "Can't really expect them to stay here... protect Egyptians when they have their own people to worry about."<br><br>"Yeah what about Apocalypse though?" Agent Austen then asked. "Should just nuke the bastard," he said with a frown.<br><br>"The British, French, Russians and Israelis all had nukes. Maybe Iran. Maybe North Korea. Chances are the last three are out of the running,we know for sure the Israeli's lost theirs in the last battle and Iran and North Korea, you could count their probables on like one hand. Which leaves the British, the French, and the Russians. Even if they heard that Apocalypse was down here, they can't know for sure. And spending nukes well, they need a good solid target first. Want not. Waste not. Plus... there might still be a few hundred thousand innocents down there," Agent Hariri reasoned.<br><br>"Think the Russians care about that?" Agent Austen asked incredulously.<br><br>She laughed. "Fair enough. But if they followed every rumor they picked up and nuked it, Timbuktu could be glowing green by now."<br><br>"Fuck this shit," Agent Austen then groaned, when almost on cue, another ship started to pull away from the dwindling task force. "Croatian missile boat heading home now. How is Italy managing to keep ships here but fucking Croatia isn't?"<br><br>Agent Hariri glanced down the coast, and briefly nodded in the general direction of a nearby resort for the answer.<br><br><strong>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Lobby</strong><br><br>Stilt-Man was stationed outside, his long shadow casted over the front courtyard of the resort as Bombshell shook her head. "I just don't see why we don't nuke this Apocalypse guy," the female supervillain reasoned, as she loaded up another bandoleer of grenades of seeming every variety.<br><br>"Aren't you worried about like... exploding?" the Shocker asked, warily eyeing all of her various explosive implements.<br><br>She just shrugged. "I die. I die," she replied with a nonchalant smile. "Better fighting and better spectacularly then... hiding in some basement the entire day," she then said, glancing over at Crossfire and Mr. Fear, who picked up on the not so subtle verbal barb aimed at them. Like the others, they were preparing for a fight as well, but were to stay at the resort as opposed to heading out as part of the 'reaction force' that Count Nefaria and Direct Brand were working together on implementing. Crossfire and Mr. Fear were here to guard and either oversee the transport or disposal of the prisoners. Apparently Nefaria wanted to do more extensive tests, beyond rape flavored interrogation. "But still.. why not nukes?"<br><br>"Yeah you'd think a million kelvin fireball would ruin anyones day," Spymaster said with a shrug.<br><br>"It would," suddenly came in a squeaky voice from outside as Stilt-Man walked in and took off his helmet. "The thermal radiation alone means if anything is hit near ground zero that can burn, will burn, if it's not completely destroyed by the blast effects. But the farther out you go, only easily combustible items will burn from the thermal effects. The true killer would be the blast effects. The W76 warhead on a submarine launched Trident nuclear missile releases 420 trillion joules in a roughly uneven sphere," Wilbur Day, the Stilt-man, continued to explain as he walked over to a whiteboard, having garnered everyones attention as he wrote out the math to show everyone. <br><br>"At ten meters... ground zero. I don't care. If you're mortal and killable, you're dead," Stilt-man said. "Over a hundred billion joules of energy is relased into your face. At a hundred meters, you're still feeling enough energy that surpasses any conventional weapon known to man. It should kill anyone. Thor. IronMan. Maybe Hulk. Minus any silly magic nonsense," he then said, waving it off with his hand. "Pretty reliably anyways."<br><br>"But at two hundred meters, we're only talking oh... 12 point 5 million joules. Roughly the equivalent of a tank cannon blowing up or more accurately, the entire front side of your body having a tank cannon going off, point blank... all over that side of your body. That'll kill most folks, even most superhumans. But someone like Thor or IronMan? Maybe... Maybe not."<br><br>He wrote another line of calculations. "At eighteen hundred meters, the energy released matches that of one of those heavy machine guns outside. Enough force to knock down brick walls. Punch through an inch of steel or so. Rupture vital organs. Someone like Thor or IronMan... ehhh they can take machine gun fire."<br><br>Stilt-Man then wrote out a final line of calculations. "At three thousand meters... we're talking the equivalent energy of rifle fire. It's like rainwater to heavies," Stilt-Man then said with a snort as the other villains exchanged curious glances, though folks like the Shocker were able to work out the numbers themselves and realize his math was more or less generally correct.<br><br>"So what you're telling me is that if this Apocalypse guy is really a tough hombre, a nuclear missile has to land within a football field length of him to guarantee finishing him off?" Beetle asked, still wrapping his brain around the revelation.<br><br>Stilt-man shrugged. "I have no idea this Apocalypse's capabilities but I think it would suffice to say that yes, otherwise the strike itself would be fruitless in the elimination of the primary threat, all other variables being normal."<br><br>"How's Count Nefaria supposed to stand up to something that can take a nuke?" Ringer asked in amazement, suddenly feeling a sinking feeling in his gut as he looked to his wife in the Beetle power armor.<br><br>But just as Wilbur started to open his mouth, Count Luchino Nefaria stepped in, his authoritative voice dominating the conversation immediately as every head in the room turned to him. "I have never seen a nuclear weapon go off in the atmosphere until four days ago, during the initial attacks," Count Nefaria stated firmly. "In a manner of seconds, tens of thousands of people were killed right before my eyes and if I was any less of a man, I too would have perished. But as it was, I was the only thing standing within a few hundred meters of ground zero..." He locked his gaze over the room, watching the various villains he had managed to assemble shift under his withering stare. "I learned that day how there is rarely a simple answer to such formidable obstacles," Count Nefaria stated with a steadily growing smile. "When Apocalypse arrives... I intend not to make the same mistake."<br><br>"And what mistake is that sir?" Spymaster asked respectfully, yet without fear. Unlike some of the others, he wasn't so easily cowed. And he wanted to learn a trick of the trade from one of the best.<br><br>"Apocalypse didn't miss. He left my demise to chance. Now that I know Apocalypse is coming here, I won't be giving him the same chance," he said grimly. <br><br><em>NPC's</em><br><br>SWORD:<br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.<br><br>HYDRA/Maggia: (Beggars can't be choosers)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Crossfire (http://www.comicvine.com/crossfire/29-30800/)<br>Mr. Fear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fear#Larry_Cranston)<br>Spymaster (http://www.comicvine.com/spymaster/29-10222/)<br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Stilt-Man (http://www.comicvine.com/stilt-man/29-2474/)<br>Bombshell (http://www.comicvine.com/bombshell/29-27882/)<br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/29-14046/)<br>&nbsp;Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>Prisoners:<br>Joystick (http://www.comicvine.com/joystick/29-4809/)
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>24-02-2013, 09:38:26</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br></strong><br><br>Kurt was taking a more scenic route, if anyone asked. It wouldn't be easy to ask of course considering that the scenic route involved acrobatics, rooftops, and the occasional telltale purple clouds and "bamf!" sounds but if one could ask, that's the answer they'd get. <br><br>Agent Tokoro's physical expressions were appreciated and he'd remember that container, he should be getting his head back into the game but for now it was warm thoughts riding along his mind.<br><br>Then the first Dreadnaught flies by overhead. Ah, yes - that would do it. 8-foot-tall, ton-plus blue robots that fought like boxers. Strong, fast, tough, often carrying extra weapons payloads, and with an AI that was usually rudimentary at best. Basically, a second-rate Sentinel with some more armor welded on in his humble opinion.<br><br>Speaking of Dumber, did that one just turn its head in Nightcrawler's direction?<br><br>"<strong>Ah, Sheisse.</strong>" he speaks under his breath. Ah, yes - who knows what Count Neferia put into the AIs of the things, but the obvious mutant was getting all sorts of the wrong kinds of attention. There's the temptation to start wrecking the things as a couple of them start changing course to head his way, but he doesn't give in. The Resistance is going to need what help it can get, so instead Kurt teleports away with a BAMF! before the weapon's systems come to bear.<br><br>Then he keeps moving around the complex with greater speed, hoping that its just the obvious mutants being targeted. Did the Count do this on purpose or just skimp on the programming?<br><br>Uh, oh - more Dreadnaughts. Must not attack them, the Resistance needs every bit of hardware they can get - disappear, move somewhere else. What other mutants were at this camp? He comes up blank trying to think of any that the Count's programming wouldn't of covered - the Director and anyone he brought himself. A crash overhead as a Dreadnaught actually tries to punch at him through a wall, but the wall slows it down enough that the fist would just hit air.<br><br>Moving, have to keep moving. Alright, need to find a man about a poorly program pack of attack robots. . .
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>bubby</strong> on <strong>28-02-2013, 23:10:11</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/64/Lucy-Lawless.jpg)</div><hr><br><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Selene Gallio<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Famine/Black Queen<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Sub-Villain<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; Cairo/ Private Barracks<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Loki<br><br></span></span><hr><br>Selene was no fool. As she sat in silence, allowing her cool gaze of ice blue to travel the form of the God prone upon her couch, she noted the glint of green from barely opened lids. So sly, wasn't he. <br><br>So deliciously sly. <br><br>Silence reigned as Loki decided his ruse was ended, raising himself to sit, continuing the farce that he was injured. The disdain remained etched upon the dark beauty of her visage, a slow blink given to hide the glint of her piercing eyes at his request. Moments that would seem like eternity would tick by as Selene continued her locked gaze with the Asgardian across from her, before finally she broke the spell with movement.<br><br>Long legs would unfold from beneath her, feline grace in her every move as she rose to her statuesque height, the barest click of her tongue against her teeth as she turned to sachet towards the small drink cart. When she finally decided to grace his ears with her speech, the tone would be sleek dark velvet, matter-of-fact and businesslike. As she stood at the drink cart, turned just enough away to allow Loki to see some of her movement, but hidden enough to allow the slight of hand used while pouring him a glass of water.<br><br><strong> “ Questions. Indeed I do have those. Why a God would allow himself to be shot down within the parameters of the One that could easily take that God out of the universal equation, being the first. But I have the answer to that question. You couldn't stay away from It.”</strong><br><br>Turning to make her way towards Loki, hips swaying beneath the leather that clung delightfully to her curves, the rise and fall of milky globes enticing, she would stop before him, raven tresses falling to shadow her face, her smoldering eyes, as finally a slow cool smile curled blood red lips. Offering the water to the God before her, the water now holding an added feature, she would purr low. <strong> “ You feel it beneath your feet even now. You want it, the Power He has. My lord, I am the conduit that you need to gain that what you desire. Questions for me now perhaps?”</strong>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>22-03-2013, 03:43:58</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Resistance?<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Cairo, Selene's Quarters</span></span><br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>Selene<br><hr><br>The long silence that passed between them was entrancing. His "captor" had the bearing of queen; for only a queen would dare hold his gaze with such elegant disdain. When had Midgard begun to spawn women of this caliber? Clearly he'd missed several important developments in recent centuries.<br><br>When she finally rose to fill his request, it was plain she acted from propriety rather than subservience. Her grace was enough to make him forget how desperately he needed that drink. Loki's emerald eyes enjoyed their slow journey up and down her curves before she spoke.<br>&nbsp;<br><em>Why a God...</em><br><br>A bemused grin brightened his dusty features. No more play-acting.<br><br><em>...would allow himself to be shot down within the parameters of the One that could easily take that God out of the universal equation, being the first. But I have the answer to that question... </em><br><br>He didn't disguise his snort of disbelief at the mention of "the One." Impressive and wasteful as the actions of this One had been, the idea that its earthly power could ever prove fatal to a god was ridiculous. He held his tongue as she continued, turning and approaching him in a painfully tempting display of flesh and insight.<br><br><em>You couldn't stay away from It. You feel it beneath your feet even now. You want it, the Power He has. My lord, I am the conduit that you need to gain that what you desire.</em><br><br>Loki accepted the offered glass, covering the woman's fingers with his own as he did so. "<strong>My thanks, darling hostess,</strong>" he said as they touched and parted. He leaned back with the glass poised.&nbsp; "<strong>It is gratifying to be recognized, even in this dismal little realm.</strong>"<br><br>His smile took on a salacious quality as he regarded her abundant charms. "<strong>Questions, questions. I confess, my curiosity is roused by the energies stirring below. If you were seeking the attentions of Asgard you assuredly have them, my Lady.</strong>" Even as he teased, he willed his hand not to shake. "<strong>But riddle me this: If your One is so powerful - and indeed, Midgard is in an impressively ruinous state - why would you risk his god-smiting wrath to give me anything at all?</strong>"<br><br>Loki regarded the drink. Dr. Doom had never failed to load his cup with poison during their occasional clandestine trysts. Nothing that could touch an Asgardian, of course; it was merely professional courtesy. The One had similar concoctions in store, no doubt. He stared into the woman's eyes as he drained the glass and set it on a low table at hand.<br><br>"<strong>As for what I desire-</strong>" He stopped short as the first needle of energy pierced his mind. "<strong>Ah. I see you have given me something, whether I desired it or not.</strong>"&nbsp; A shower of sparks filled his heart and began to light his blood on fire as he rose and stood tall, strong. "<strong>You are... most generous.</strong>"<br><br>The power below leaped up to meet him as he fell to the ground. They mingled, embraced. Loki was only dimly aware of being on his knees in front of the woman who had caused this sudden shift in energies but he was much too full of flame and void to change his position in the universe. Ancient magic of this magnitude burned as it froze him from the inside out. His tears were diamonds reflecting Odin's fall. His hands were black with ravens' blood. His song poured victory over sand and the lost son was wreathed in stars that... stars... black... tears...<br><br>The power ebbed as suddenly as it had flowed into him. No, no, no. Whatever it was, whatever the cost, he had to have it back. He had to have more. More. Now. "<strong>Now!</strong>" he roared, throwing his head back to bare sharp teeth at the agony of loss. Shadows of a jackal's face flickered at the edge of his vision as he looked desperately to the queen before him. She would return his power. She must.<br><br>Inwardly raging, he settled slowly back on his haunches and lowered his gaze. Loki's eyes were no longer green. They were obsidian orbs that glistened in the lamplight and his ragged whisper was dark as the desert.<br><br>"<strong>What have you done to me...?</strong>"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>04-04-2013, 19:42:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>SWORD Headquarters<br>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Port Said, Egypt<br></strong><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Tokoro had a bit of a slight limp as she resumed taking up her post in the command and control center they had set up in the Mosque. With most of the support personnel relegated to transporting as much stuff out of the city and to Alexandria in anticipation of the expected attack, she was almost left alone and yet, with very little to do as the preparations were already extensive. As a communications officer, she was naturally… in charge of overlooking communications but with a large blackout on anything but short wave radio due to Apocalypse’s penetration of long range comms, it meant she had little to do except sift through incoming transmissions which were being broadcasted in the clear, or otherwise often heavily corrupted. What she heard, outside of the impressive Stark broadcast earlier, wasn’t very good.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then it struck.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For little over a fraction of a second, one of SWORDs deep space satellites, meant to relay interplanetary communication from SWORD agents working light years away, suddenly blipped and immediately Agent Tokoro was wary. As far as anyone knew, communications with the SWORD satellites had been cut off early in the assaults and so, cautiously, she scanned the split second transmission only to realize it wasn’t a traditional signal, but a packet of data. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Worried it was another virus or Trojan style program, she immediately shunted it off in the network, downloading the data packet into an external hard drive and then physically pulling the hard drive off of the computer. Wary that deleting the transmission might trigger something, she left it isolated and grabbing the hard drive, looked around for an available workstation that was not connected to the rest of the network. Last thing she needed was some super computer bug somehow corrupting their radio network somehow and leaving them incapable of even receiving communications or talking to the ships offshore.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After plugging in the external hard drive to a random laptop, her eyes suddenly lit up as she got on her walkie. “Director Brand to command center immediately. I have something you’ll want to see immediately,” she then said.<br>---<br><br><strong>Ten Minutes Later...</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“It’s an MS Paint map,” Agent Marquez finally said as he and Agent Tokoro finally finished de-crypting the gigabyte sized data packet, only to realize almost all of the memory had been used in an elaborate encryption based in a Badoon computer programming code. That was one code that Apocalypse’ almost certainly didn’t have access to, but SWORD did. Nevertheless, whoever the sender was, still encrypted it heavily.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Director Brand gawked at it. It was a map of Egypt, simply but accurately drawn in MS Paint by an extremely steady hand, or more likely, a computer program. She looked at it and shook her head. “I don’t get it? Are you sure it’s not some sort of elaborate threat?” she asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Unless the MS Paint program has some sort of… mythical subliminal message, I doubt it,” Agent Marquez stated. “There’s no reason for it to be a virus, if it was, it’d of done something by now. Or else the entire attack is pointless. It’s isolated from the network, a network we’re abandoning soon.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Maybe it’s just meant as a waste of time,” Director Brand stated, already frustrated as she glanced at Tokoro warily. She seemed to shrink away a bit, when Marquez waved away the possibility. “Is there a way to… I don’t know… examine the art. Maybe if we deconstruct the stages it was drawn… there’s something.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Already did that,” Marquez replied. “Nothing hidden was revealed, as least to me.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“We should print it off. It could be like a treasure map in the movies.”&nbsp; Agent Tokoro then suggested. “Like we lay something over the map and suddenly, it points to where we’re supposed to go.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marquez shrugged. “It could be but what will we lay over it? No hints or anything,” he then said before glancing at Director Brand for permission to print it out. Abigail shrugged and nodded, figuring that would be harmless.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a push of a button, the nearby color printer started to spit out the MS paint image of Egypt when Abigail suddenly chuckled. The other two Agents turned and both of them literally blinked, as if unable to trust their eyes as to what they were seeing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“The code didn’t indicate there was a watermark embedded in the image,” Agent Marquez stated, apparently hurt that he missed it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Don’t tear yourself up about it too much Agent Marquez,” Abigail Brand said, holding up the printed MS paint map of Egypt and looking at the elaborate watermark. “Tony Stark is just way, way, way, way more smart then all of us combined when it comes to things like this.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“What does it say?” Agent Tokoro asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Not sure. It’s in wingdings… we’ll need a scanner and a copy of Microsoft Word to translate,” Director Brand said with a bemused face. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I’ll get right on that,” Agent Marquez said, letting out a chuckle, the first he had uttered in a long while. <br>---<br><em></em><div align="center"><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="bbc_size">To the Medusa it may concern. There is a Golden Fleece in Egypt but you can only find it by going directly to its source. Good luck Argonauts!</span> </strong></div>[/i]<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Medusa?” Agent Tokoro asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Hydra-hair,” Director Brand replied, knowing the unflattering euphemism she had amongst the superhero community for her green hair.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Golden fleece means a weapon or something we want I’m assuming. But that’s a Greek myth right?” Agent Marquez stated. “How does that translate to Egypt? As far as I know there is no Egyptian equivalent to Jason and the Argonauts. They didn’t even visit Egypt did they?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Director Brand confidently shook her head. “No I don’t believe so. Which makes going to the source all the more baffling,” she added when, glancing up from the computer, she noticed one of the Mosque’s imams walking past the doorway. “Excuse me… sir?” she asked politely, calling out to the Muslim priest equivalent.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Imam turned, curiously cocking his head towards the young man and two women crowded around a computer, clearly puzzled by what they wanted. “Yes?” he asked in a raspy, heavily accented English voice.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“You speak English? Great. We need your help… if you could be so kind,” Director Brand then said when Agent Marquez cleared his throat.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Ummm how can he help us? Last I checked Islam isn’t big on pagan mythology,” he whispered under breath, only to have Director Brand ignore him.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“How can I be of assistance?” the Imam asked, already glancing at the computer when Abigail asked him to read the riddle put on the screen. “I must apologize. I cannot read English.” Before anyone could even respond, Marquez had it translated onscreen to Arabic and blinking, the Imam pulled out his glasses and carefully read, then re-read it. “Ah yes… it means nothing I think?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“It’s a riddle,” Abigail explained. “I think it’s a metaphor pertaining to Egyptian mythology. I know that… it’s different but none of us are exactly experts on it, and Wikipedia seems to be down at the moment. We’re hoping your education might shed some light for us.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Imam smiled and glanced at it again, taking in the concept of it being a possible metaphor or symbolizing something parallel. “I am sorry, I still do not understand. I am not familiar with Golden Fleeces or Argonauts.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Marquez shrugged when Tokoro suddenly spoke up. “The origin of the fleece!” she then blurted out, causing all three heads to turn to her.&nbsp; “The fleece. It must’ve been made of of something. Cotton or wool right?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“A golden ram,” Agent Marquez answered<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Imam’s eyes suddenly lit up. “A ram is… like a bull yes?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marquez unhelpfully shrugged as Director Brand spoke. “It could be. What are you thinking?” she asked, rather preferring to hear out the Imam, regardless of whether his idea might be a dead end or not, since they were essentially grasping for straws at this moment.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Apis was a God of Ancient Egypt. He was… how would you say… symbolized by a Bull. A symbol of virility,” the Imam stated when Director Brand and Agent Tokoro exchanged knowing glances. That sounded like Tony. Clearly not getting the subtext, the Imam continued. “Apis was also the herald of Ptah, the Egyptian God of Craftsmen and Architects.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This time Agent Marquez joined in the knowing glances with the other two. “Thank you. You’ve been a great help. I have only one more question,” Director Brand then asked respectfully. “This riddle is meant to identify a location. Any ideas?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Imam paused. “Ptah, like many of the Ancient Deities, was focused around Memphis, south of Cairo. The Ancient Capital of Egypt,” he stated, eliciting frowns from everyone involved. “However… there are two towns named Apis in Egypt as well. Both are on this coast and to our West.”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Really?” Director Brand asked, as Tokoro, not needed any motivation, pulled up a map of Northern Egypt on another computer. “Where at?”<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Well, one is the ancient city of Yamu, but Greeks called it Apis. It lies on the coast halfway between us and Alexandria. It is all farmland now,” the Imam stated. Immediately the eyes of everyone lit up. That meant they might already have control of the town, if only for time being. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“And the other?” Director Brand asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“It is an ancient seaport farther to the West. It is no longer a city but is located near the city of Mersa Matruh which is a resort town with beaches and hotel-,” he started to explain when a flurry of talking and activity cut him off.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“That’s where Tony’s Golden Fleece is!” Director Abigail Brand stated with complete confidence. Digging up tombs wasn’t Tony’s style, and neither was visiting farmland on a vacation. If Tony had stashed one of his hidden armories in the Middle East, it would be far more damn likely he did it in a place not too far away from some sort of resort, if only to maintain his billionaire playboy image… and the fact that he was a billionaire playboy.” <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned to the Imam, a big smile on her face. “Thank you so much!” the Director said. “You have no idea what kind of help you have been to us,” she then said, before quickly beelining towards the exit, beckoning for Agent Tokoro to follow her out. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Should I get helicopter ready?” Agent Tokoro asked.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“No,” Director Brand stated. “I need this to be low key but I’m pretty sure I have to go. But I’m not going to put us all on a helicopter. We need every vehicle we have here, and furthermore, if Apocalypse attacks, that helicopter is a deathtrap. Agent Hariri will be in charge while I’m gone. You, me and Agent Kang are going to Apis another way,” she then said as they headed up the stairs and towards the exit of the mosque.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“How?” Agent Tokoro asked as they walked out of the mosque and inexplicably, Director Brand walked across the street to an abandoned tour office. Rifling through the travel brochures, she pulled one out for Mersa Matruh and pulled it open, noticing plenty of pictures and a map was inside. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Find Nightcrawler,” Director Brand said. “He can get there faster and safer than any of us, and if he can bring one of us along, all the better,” she explained. “Then us other two will follow him in one of the Italian Navies Harrier jets. They’re two seaters and in case we meet any trouble that’s too tough for a sword or gun to handle, an autocannon and a couple missiles should help,” she added before realizing Agent Tokoro was still standing there. “What are you waiting for Agent. Go find him!”<br><br>“Umm… yes… ma’am!” Agent Tokoro then said, running off in a random direction, still unsure of how she’d find Nightcrawler but knowing she’d have to and soon. She hoped he picked up a radio or someone gave him one. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>07-04-2013, 09:13:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br></strong><br><br>Dreadnaughts. Well, he did think they were just cheap knock-offs of Sentinels with slightly better armor. A little harder to hurt, sure but that's about all they had going for them versus Sentinels. They certainly were much dumber. Truth be told, this was getting kind of fun and the solution was so elegant to the problem they were causing.<br><br>He didn't want to break them because they could be used against Apocalypse, but they certainly had to be taken off his tail. So the solution was rather obvious. Purple gas clouds start to dot the landscape as the Acrobat managed to keep ahead of the deadly robots, but not too far ahead. Up ahead was his destination, and the master stroke.<br><br><strong>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Lobby</strong><br><br>The Purple Cloud that kicks up just outside the door is just about as startling as the mutant that steps out of it, though he was used to that himself. Walking into the Lobby of a Hotel being used as a HYDRA base like he hadn't a care in the world, the world has changed indeed. That was the secret of such things, look like you have every right to be there and they don't know what to make of you.<br><br>Nightcrawler has a smile on his face and a fencer's beginning stance - if his swords are still sheathed. Ah, costumed ones - if ones he didn't know personally. Looking out at the present, and now understandably surprised cadre of supervillains with the codenames of Ringer, Beetle, Spymaster, the Shocker, Bombshell, and Stilt-Man - truth be told he was coming up blank on all of their names except Stilt-Man. Though he certainly would like to get to know the blond that was absentmindedly juggling Grenades. He recognized them all to know that they were all villains, he was pretty sure of that. Newspaper articles and such. Still, Fortune favors the Bold.<br><br>"<strong>Ah, Stilt-Man - and deepest apologies to the rest of you but I don't seem to remember your names. And I certainly like to think I'd at least remember yours,</strong>" Nightcrawler introduces himself to the villains, with a bit of a flirt in Bombshell's direction.<br><br>"<strong>Can we help you?</strong>" Spymaster asks, with a hint of sarcasm but weighted with equal genuine curiosity. He was probably the one most fine with the idea of not being recognized. Goes against the whole idea after all.<br><br>"<strong>Yes, your Dreadnaughts seem to have a bit of a software issue. They seem to think I'm one of the Enemy. Now, surely this is just a programming error and not something the Count would do on purpose - but I really do have to complain.</strong>"<br><br>Which of course means Nightcrawler is accusing almost the exact opposite but being very polite about it and willing to give HYDRA an out about it. Carefully, of course. In Fencing, this would be a "Touché".<br><br>"<strong>Um, yeah - thanks.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>If it helps with fixing the problem, the Robots are headed this way. Fair Warning.</strong>" he chuckles, then disappears in a puff of smoke.<br><br>Of course the only one whose eyes don't immediately open and start to work deeper into the hotel is Stilt-Man.<br><br>"<strong>Someone remembered my name!</strong>"<br><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br></strong><br><br>BAMF!<br><br>Back in the Conference Room. Away from the Windows so the Robots can't get their lock back on. Yes, that would do for now - a nice and tidy plan that has been executed flawlessly it seems. Right? Well, he sticks to clinging to walls and ceilings to move around, for now - just in case.<br><br>The good news is that from there its hard to not get his hands on a radio, with all the SWORD agents around. He decides to go one better though as with the kindness of a stranger he lets them add SWORD frequencies to his X-Men Commlink in his ear. Simple and Handy.<br><br>"<strong>This is Nightcrawler, reporting back in. I'd like to state for the record that I am and still of the opinion that Dreadnaughts are just second-rate Sentinels.</strong>" he chuckles as his name is called for. The work of a superhero is never done.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>08-04-2013, 04:53:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>SWORD Headquarters<br>Al-Abassi Mosque<br><br>Agent Tokoro stumbled into the command center, literally exasperated only to find Nightcrawler was apparently there already and immediately the color drained from her face. “Don't worry Agent Tokoro, we found him,” Agent Kang stated as he tossed her a walkie. <br><br>“You called me? Why didn't you tell me you had him here?” she asked, barely catching the radio handset and then taking a moment to catch her breath.<br><br>“We needed you to key his communicator to our frequencies before we left,” Agent Kang then said. “We're heading to the safe house in Mersa Matruh remember. He'll need to communicate with us when we followup in the Harrier jump jet,” he then added, having already prepacked a field combat kit for the Communications agent.<br><br>“I'm not going with Kurt?” Agent Tokoro asked, giving Agent Kang a pause, before glancing between the two. <br><br>“You two are on a first name basis? We've known each other for four years and even on mandatory outings we still call each other by last names,” he said before pausing. “Well... family names anyways,” he then added, reminding her that he was in fact a Kazakhstani citizen of Korean ancestry. Agent Tokoro blinked as Agent Kang simply shook his head at her confusion. “Listen. Get that sorted out,” he said nodding to the communicator. “We're leaving in twenty. Director Brand will be going with Nightcrawler because she can kick everyone elses butt here, including yours... twice.” He paused. “And get that limp checked out with medical when we get back.”<br><br>“Limp?” she mouthed silently, before realizing it was from the sweet mutant elf loving she had earlier as she stared at Kurt blankly for a momet.<br><br>“Tokoro?” Kang then said, causing her to shake her head and get to work.<br><br>“Yes sir. Right away sir,” Agent Tokoro said before running off.<br>--------<br><br><strong>HYDRA/ Maggia Joint Headquarters<br>Lobby </strong><br><br>Spymaster smiled. “Am I good or am I good?” he then said to Count Nefaria as he sat behind the mahogany desk of the hotel managers office. With that said, the super sleuth tapped his finger on the datapad. <br><br>“Very impressive. You are certain that this tracker will follow Nightcrawlers movements?” the Count asked.<br><br>“Until his next shower. I hope he scrubs his fur vigorously,” he replied, the apocalypse having not made him lose his wit.<br><br>Count Nefaria offered a smoldering smile to his capable underling. Of everyone he had managed to recruit so far, Spymaster had proven the most capable and resourceful despite his lack of direct technique in gathering intelligence. “Good work. I want you to take the stealth copter and follow him in cases he leaves. I know that SWORD received a burst transmission. I want to know what was on it. They'll send their best and he is their best man.”<br><br>“Man?” Spymaster asked curiously.<br><br>“I could care less either way about mutant rights, but if the genocide of the mutant race will expedite my own control of the world, so be it. By and large, they created this problem. If the rest of their race reaps the whirlwind of what most of their ilk has sown, so be it,” Count Nefaria stated pragmatically. His casual remarks of genocide as being politically expedient even gave Spymaster pause, though it thankfully didn't show behind his masked facade.<br><br>Ignoring the subject, one he knew he would have no influence on anyways, Spymaster moved back to business. “I'll follow him. Don't worry,” he said, rather glad he'd be out of the city and the inevitable assault. If he was lucky, he'd miss the whole show.<br><br>“And take Crossfire and Mr. Fear with you,” Count Nefaria then said in an even, yet deep voice that gave Spymaster a momentary pause. In fact, he felt a bit disgusted at having to work with two crude men. Granted they were highly skilled professionals, but rape and torture wasn't even a last resort for him. It was never an option for someone like him. “Is there a problem?” Nefaria asked.<br><br>Spymaster turned to look at Nefaria as he stepped out of the office. “Not from me my Lord,” Spymaster said in flattery, but also with complete honesty. He was more then willing to work with those two, despite their unsavory proclivities.<br><br>As he exited, Count Nefaria smiled as well. Spymaster was his most capable operative. But Crossfire and Mr. Fear... they were more ruthless. And in this world, he needed ruthless, capable men as well. If Spymaster wasn't willing to do what had to be done, he knew those two would be able to and that Spymaster would be professional enough to not get in the way. Not like some of his other lackeys.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>08-04-2013, 07:36:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open, Abigail Brand<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque<br>Current SWORD Headquarters<br></strong><br><br>So that was the plan? He'd take Director Brand to a safehouse via his teleportation while some others followed in a Harrier? He could do that. Just a few questions he had before things really got going.<br><br>"<strong>For the record, if a pretty lady knows my first name and wants to use it I'm not going to argue.</strong>" he chuckles a bit before getting off the wall.<br><br>"<strong>Though I'm sure this mission briefing will be an interesting one.</strong>" he finishes as he heads down the corridor with Agent Tokoro. Of course, as they go down the hallway in semi-privacy he tries not to distract her too much as she gets to work on his communicator.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;Apologies, I should of warned you that the stereotypes about German lovemaking were laughably and enthusiastically false.&gt;</strong>" he says a bit low in volume in German. She was supposed to be the communications officer, right? Germans were said to be boring-if-efficiency-minded in the sack. Maybe not so much.<br><br>"<strong>Now, what was this I heard about a safehouse?</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>08-04-2013, 22:57:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>"Tony Stark contacted us about a safe house that contains something which should be of immediate benefit to our forces," Agent Tokoro explained in vague terms, though they were vague more due to the fact that the message itself didn't leave much else to say, as opposed to intentional omission. "We're not sure what it is, but if Tony Stark actually bothered to contact us, Director Brand feels it must be important. Enough that she herself is going and taking along you and a jet as well in the wake of the expected assault."<br><br>Agent Kang nodded as Director Brand arrived, brochure for the Mersa Matruh resort in hand and smirking at Nightcrawler, handed him the brochure. "Excellent summation Agent Tokoro, and good job finding him," she then added sarcastically, knowing Kurt showed up here instead. "And thank you for joining us Nightcrawler. I'm glad we can finally make sure of your unique talent set," she then added as she gave him a once over measuring glance. "Tony's safe house is located a few kilometers West of a resort in Mersa Matruh in an ancient seaport town. We shouldn't be expecting resistance, but just in case, I'll be going with you and Agents Kang and Tokoro will follow up in a Harrier jet in case we need some firepower," she added. "Since I certainly can't order you, I'm asking if you're willing to be my transport."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>09-04-2013, 09:55:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Kurt takes the brochure and gives it a look, liking part of this plan so far but seeing a snag that had to be shared.<br><br>"<strong>Well, if Herr Stark said it then I agree that we need to look into it as soon as possible. One problem. According to this, the safehouse is hundreds of kilometers from here. Definitely no way I can make it in one jump by myself, let alone with a passenger - and taking passengers with me can get tiring for the both of us.</strong>" he lays out, getting ready to get ready for this latest adventure.<br><br>"<strong>Which is to say, I may need a ride back. And a cup of coffee. Or 6.</strong>" he smirks. That far, eh? Well, SWORD doesn't ask for much, does it?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>10-04-2013, 14:17:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Director Brand nodded, realizing his concerns were practical and she shared them. "Truth is, we're not certain but if Stark is involved, it's fair to assume that there will be a form of transportation to get you back," she said with a wink. "Not sure about the coffee though," she then added before turning to Agents Kang and Tokoro. "You two can get on the Harrier at the airport," she then said before turning back to Kurt and taking a step closer to him, starting to smile as she realized some level of close contact would be needed. "Is there... anything else we need to cover before we go?" she asked. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>11-04-2013, 06:01:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Part Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>"<strong>Yes,</strong>" the Swashbuckler says to the Spy as the tail reaches out to pull her close to and holding up her arm to get that tracker in view. They line up with a window so he can see the next spot and he blinks thinking about what he has to do. Alright, this isn't going to be a smooth ride but she knows what she's doing. Maybe he can keep it all on himself? She was the boss-lady in charge after all.<br><br>"<strong>This is going to smell funny. Don't worry about holding your breath though.</strong>"<br><br>BAMF! A purple could parts, revealing that now they're not even in the camp any more but back among the city streets due west.<br><br>"<strong>It happens too quick for that to matter. Though you can try if it helps you feel better.</strong>"<br><br>BAMF! BAMF! BAMF! BAMF!BAMF!BAMF!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 03:23:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>With each BAMF following in rapid succession, Abigail couldn't help but overcome her initial surprise at his tail pulling her in unexpectedly, even though she knew well his capabilities, but soon found herself instinctively clinging tighter and tighter to him as the successive teleportations assaulted her senses to the point she just closed her eyes and kept her arms wrapped around the mutants surprisingly firm and well muscled body, feeling that despite his lean stature, he had a perfectly strong grip on her as well and thus leaving any possibility of him losing her in the middle of the sea, or the Sahara, to a minimum. "How much longer?" she finally asked, her words sounding stilted as they were punctuated by the repeated teleports and the fact she was speaking in a very loud voice, just short of yelling.<br><br>She didn't want to deafen him after all.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 05:35:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Part Said and on the Move<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>It was a good thing she was grabbing hard and so close, for multiple reasons. One might of been getting obvious, considering that he was certainly a man and Agent Brand may have had the personality of a carnivorous fish but she most certainly didn't have the body of one. That wasn't what he was thinking about in particular though.<br><br>He was telling the truth that taking a passenger so far and so fast tended to be tiring and a bit nauseating for everyone involved. For some reason though, holding her close, he could take most of that himself. He wasn't sure why that seemed to be working - maybe it was something about the alien atmosphere that he moves through when he teleports? The idea that maybe he was shielding her from that environment with his body occurs to him? Maybe he was just dreaming it entirely and Director Brand was made of sterner stuff then he was.<br><br>He just knew that the BAMF! sounds were coming so often that he almost missed that she had asked a question. Hundreds of Kilometers, being taken maybe 3 at a time, pushing himself harder then he has in a long time. BAMF!BAMF!BAMF!BAMF!BAMFBAMFBABAMBAMF! As the sounds sort of blend together as they barely have a moment in the world before slipping away with a purple cloud.<br><br>It takes a while to answer, but when he does. . .<br><br><div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>The landing was just beside a hotel swimming pool of what looked like a rather expensive hotel, when Kurt sort of lets go of Director Brand. Stumbling backwards, he wasn't going to say it out loud but at that moment the only thing keeping him from passing out was the urge to vomit. Oh, this would teach him to try and do a good deed. . .
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MaiMizzu</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 05:57:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d7/Siwa1.jpg) </div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Marhaban Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Tony Stark<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;The Desert<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Agent Brand, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br>Agent Brand and Nightcrawler suddenly appear, and the plan goes into action. <br><br>Somewhere in the desert, a bit away from them, an electronic system comes to life under the seeming endless sands of the desert. The systems have been continuously and discretely scanning the area around it, looking for the signal. <br><br>And now that signal has been attained. <br><br>Specifically Agent Brand’s communicator. It works on a very specific frequency, and that’s what the systems have been looking for. And now that it’s in range, the systems reach out to it. About 5 seconds after Agent Brand and Nightcrawler appear, Agent Brand’s communicator would start to beep softly. In actuality, it’s receiving a transmission from somewhere. If she walks in a specific direction, the beeping sound would gain in tempo. If she walks in a different direction, the beeping slows. Should she start towards the desert, the beeping would start to gain in intensity and tempo. As if trying to lead her somewhere… <br>&nbsp;<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 15:21:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>"Don't black out on me <em>hero</em>," Agent Brand then said with a light cough as she reached out, grabbing one of his forearms while her other hand reached for her pistol, just in case. Truth was, she was feeling rather drained and disoriented from the experience, but spending a lifetime doing deep space operations helped her cope a bit more then perhaps another traveler could've on the Nightcrawler express. Leading him to the nearest garbage bin, she waved away at the persistent flies futilely for a moment before leaving Nightcrawler there to recover as she looked around, finally allowing herself to grimace in discomfort from the trip itself. <br><br>Shaking off the cobwebs by running and jumping in place a bit, she finally shook her head before glancing at her SWORD communicator and realizing it was beeping inexplicably. Gun in one hand, she glanced down at her communicator and realized it couldn't be a coincidence. "Ready to move when you are," she said gruffly, taking note of the line of beachside resort hotels, all of which seemed to be mostly empty now if not completely abandoned. In fact it was exceptionally quiet as she wondered if the entire town had been evacuated... or culled. It was a pity, she realized, that she couldn't bring heavier firepower. But that could be rectified shortly. <br><br>Glancing at the pool, she realized it had some dust and dirt and dead flies in it, but the past few days had been easy on the resort. It looked like the worldwide devastation had somewhat overlooked these budget level (by Western standards) hotels and hopefully the town at large. Also there were very little immediate sights of battle or struggle, or anybody, which Abigail actually took as a good sign. "I think the safe house is nearby, my communicator is beeping and this place is a dead zone," she said, walking the perimeter of the swimming area to get attentuated to the beeping of her communicator before finally turning to Nightcrawler. "It's South of us," she then said, her ears perking up to the tempo of the beeps. "Which is good. There's a military airfield connected to the airport here which is Southwest of us. We're going to head there, make contact with any friendly forces if there are any or at least procure transport and supplies, then proceed to the safe house," she said, rattling off their itinerary when she started to make a move towards the hotel gate, when... almost as an afterthought, she glanced back at Nightcrawler.<br><br>"And good work," she said with a gruff nod before moving out. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 19:32:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>What Kurt does in that trashcan would of probably set back human-mutant relations anyway, so there's that little blessing of the lack of witnesses. He tries not to think of what the sheer emptiness of this area implies, praying a little bit that it just means they got away. There's the other small blessing too, that releasing such a startling amount of foul smelling vomit woke him up a bit.<br><br>"<strong>If you don't mind, Miss Brand - I appreciate that I could help but think it might do some good to walk to the airfield, for a while anyway.</strong>" he manages to get out as he properly gets to his feet if not the most stable he's ever been.<br><br>"<strong>I don't suppose we could grab some mouthwash on the way?</strong>" he then asks, rolling his shoulders to get back into the game. Thank God he didn't get anything on his uniform. His swords seem to have made the trip just fine, good. He falls in step next to Abigail Brand though, refusing to fall behind. Also refusing to make a joke about German willpower though that takes a bit of effort.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 21:09:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>She kicked open the patio style doors leading into the hotel proper, gun in hand when she heard his question and headed towards the hotel gift shop in the lobby. "Maybe you can find something there," she then suggested helpfully, though the tone of her voice remained gruff as she approached the hotels front doors from the side and then peeked out. "According to intelligence, the Egyptians were being evacuated west or across the sea. Hopefully there aren't too many civilians left here," she then said, dropping a hint of how she expected the next Battle of Port Said to unfold. "In fact if Apocalypse hasn't arrived here yet, our biggest threat might be looters or bandits or bedouins. Vagrants and criminal types," she added, her voice almost sounding like it was rising a bit in tone, as if she'd prefer it. <br><br>When Nightcrawler was finished, she pushed the door open and then, twirling about, pointed out a sign with several numbers scrawled in spraypaint next to the door. "This is an evacuation symbol. Means this area was already searched and evacuated," she said to Nightcrawler. Then keeping her eyes on what looked like a main road through the city, her communicator still beeping slightly more quickly now as she advanced down the side of the road. There were cars that were abandoned, shuttered storefronts and plenty of garbage had gathered along both sides of the street, with flies almost like clouds gathering around the piles of rubbish as she pulled out a length of cloth and wrapped it over her nose and mouth to help keep the bugs and stench away from assaulting her. As they passed down several more blocks, the only sound beyond the sea lapping against the beaches, and the buzz of insects or garbage blowing in the wind was the crunching of her combat boots on the asphalt until finally she slowed down a bit and glanced back at Nightcrawler, wondering if he heard it as well.<br><br>A feint scraping sounds that was slowly growing larger. <br><br>Raising her sidearm, she approached the side of the road, taking cover between the doorways and the parked, abandoned cars when a shadow loomed in the coming intersection. Raising her weapon, she paused, intending on identifying herself only after she could see what was coming up. <br><br>It was an ox attached to... an oxcart.<br><br>She lowered her weapon, leaning around the corner as if expected something more portentous but nothing came about. Heading further down the road, the commercial structures slowly gave way, as they passed by a Pizza Hut, and then saw the storefronts becoming smaller and mixing with apartment buildings and housing, all of the also with spray painted symbols on the doors. What was disconcerting was what looked like drag marks in the street, and a few of the doors and windows shattered as well as passing by a few cars that had burned up. Another block further down they could see the pockmarks of bulletholes in buildings and shell casings sparingly spread across the street. One of the houses they passed looked to be barricaded up, bricks looking like they were freshly laid out to wall off the storefront. Abigail made a point of walking on the opposite side of the street from that particular home. <br><br>Walking past a mosque, they could see the signs of an evacuation. The mosque and the square surrounding it were covered in paper, pamphlets, canvas and lots of torn open sacks of belongings and personal items scattered across the lawn. From the tent canvas, she could make out the International Red Crescent symbol on some of them. Though most of the paperwork was in Arabic, it looked to be some sort of evacuation marshaling area. Parked on one of the streets was an olive drab army cargo truck missing a wheel and its hood popped open, the car battery apparently taken out of it and its fluids drained. "Looters must've come through here after the evacuation," she then said, poking around, hoping against hope something useful, and preferably fully automatic, would be found there.<br><br>No such luck. <br><br>"We're almost to the airport," she then said as they kept moving along when as they passed the backside of the mosque, Abigail paused a moment as something more disturbing came into view. There were at least several dozen bodies wrapped up like mummies and laid out across the mosque's parking lot. Little red blobs could be seen staining some of the clothes around the head of a few of them as off to the side of the lot of corpses was a helmet that seemed to belong to one of Apocalypse's troops. Looking around even more, she saw the tell tale signs of what was likely some sort of public execution, perhaps one following a skirmish of some sort in which all of the bodies were dragged here. She glanced back at Nightcrawler, thought about being worried for his welfare, then decided he was big enough that he could handle himself. "Looks like they visited here already," she then said when they could hear what sounded like a native voice on a loudspeaker nearby, along with a feint mechanical whirr of machinery coming from the southwest. <br><br>Even from here she could see the airports control tower in the same direction. "The military base is in that direction. Maybe they should spot me first instead of you," she said, hoping the green hair wouldn't be too much of a bad first impression with whoever might've been at the airport.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>12-04-2013, 23:11:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Oh, thank goodness! The gift shop they pass through didn't have a whole lot, but travel size mouthwash bottles? Even some light snacks are still left behind on the shelves. Granted, it's sugary junk that he wouldn't even consider putting into his body in any other circumstances but he quickly wolves then down to help along getting some energy going.<br><br>The emptiness of the city is discomforting. Wasn't this supposed to be a busy resort town? The symbols might of been even worse for it, it gave the whole place a soulless feel to it that he didn't like. The smell was the worst part though at the beginning, when she sets up a quick mask he follows suit. The Spy was in her element it seems, catching hints before he did. He liked to think it was the taxing series of teleports were still slowing him down. Thankfully an Acrobat's physique bounces back from that rather quickly. He still felt like he'd gone rounds with multiple fencers at once but it would be getting harder to spot it.<br><br>The ox cart scraping had led to him drawing the fencing dagger, and while the source turns out to be harmless the dagger never quite goes back in its sheath. The bodies look like they'd felt this "Judgement" that was spoken of if he had to guess - but later he would ask if they were failed Judgement cases who was at the base?<br><br>"<strong>I'm not sure we can really do anything to lead to them accepting me if they're not for it. Best we can do is show that you're in charge. Take the lead, I'll fall behind. Just keep in mind you might be paying for what orders you give me later,</strong>" he replies, starting serious but ending it with a light-hearted joke. He must be feeling better after all.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>13-04-2013, 01:07:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>"Well. It could also be Apocalypti," Director Brand then said as he voiced his problems. "In which case I wish I had more then a pistol." With that said aloud, she led the way down another road, meandering down past a pair of scrawny looking dogs scurrying across the street, and a pair of abandoned cars that apparently crashed into each in one of the intersections. Heading closer to the airport, she then glanced up, noticing the control tower and realizing if they could see it, that meant if someone was in there, they could see them as well. She frowned, wishing she had realized that earlier.<br><br>But it had be a long week.<br><br>Almost as if confirming her realization, the sound of an automobile motor cut through the chilling quiet of the abandoned city as a moment later, Director Brand waved for Nightcrawler to move out of sight as she saw desert patterned Egyptian military humvee rumbling around the corner. It was an Avenger air defense vehicle, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/TWQ-1_Avenger) which had four surface to air missiles mounted in a launcher on the back. Hanging off of the passenger side was a policeman. Director Brand, without looking at Nightcrawler to reveal his position, simply holstered her pistol and waved at them while standing in the middle of the road. She hated being so trusting. But she did want to make contact. Just out of earshot, the Humvee Avenger vehicle, perhaps ironically named, parked about fifty meters short of Director Brand, as the police officer hopped off of the side of the vehicle and approached her. <br><br>As he did so, another vehicle pulled up behind the Avenger which looked like a simple militarized Jeep Wrangler 4x4 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Wrangler). There was a driver and a soldier manning a machine gun on the back, which looked to of been a recent addition to the jeep. <br><br>"Who the hell are you? British?" the police officer asked in accented, but good English.<br><br>"American. I'm with SWORD. We're an international agency... like SHIELD-," she started to explain when the driver of the Humvee peeked his head out of the window.<br><br>"You are Director Brand!" the driver stated excitedly, word of her apparently having reached here already.<br><br>"Why are you here?" the police officer asked, suddenly terrified. "The city has been evacuated! Are they coming here?" he asked, already trembling.<br><br>She blinked, then shook her head vigorously. "No. Not yet. Not yet anyways," she replied. "Listen my friend and I need some help-," she started to explain when the driver of the Humvee suddenly stepped out.<br><br>"Of course we will help you and your friend!" the army driver said, cutting off the police officer before he could even respond. "We would be glad to help our Sword of Port Said! Where is your friend?" he then asked, obviously not seeing him around here anywhere.<br><br>She frowned. Sword of Port Said? Clearly something was lost in translation. "Okay. Just... be careful," she then warned. "He's a mutant okay. But he's a good guy!" she then said, as the police officer almost immediately started to back away towards the Humvee Avenger, as the driver simply took off his sunglasses, wanted to get a good luck at whoever it could be that had the honor of being a traveling companion of the local legend that was Abigail Brand, Sword of Port Said. Realizing this was the best she could manage, she called out to her companion. "Kurt. Try not to give them a heart attack," she then said, actually feeling rather confident that they wouldn't shoot at him out of hand.<br><br>Well... 95% chance anyways. <br><br>The other 5% well, it's not like he's never been shot at before.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>13-04-2013, 13:11:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>When she had waved him off to a side he had gone to a particular dark spot between a dumpster and an alley wall. Apparently it had been dark enough to activate his invisibility power. Handy then, less so now. He could hear that she was trying to smooth things over and make the transition easier but there really wasn't any way to prove that.<br><br>Thank goodness he had the good sense to at least put away the dagger first. He steps out slowly, hands open, swords visible but away, and head down a little if smiling to try and show he didn't mean any harm.<br><br>Well, the good news was that he didn't give any of them heart attacks. Nope, the cardiac health of all the normal humans in the area was just fine. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the trigger discipline. Later, he wouldn't blame the police officer for it at all. Before the Apocalypse, the worst he had to deal with was traffic tickets and the occasional drunk, the closest he's ever been to anything like a superhero was the time Tony Stark visited the resort.<br><br>Going from "was somewhere in roughly to the same vicinity of Tony Stark once" to "mutant supervillain ends the world, demonic looking mutant superhero shows up" was a bit much for the guy, and he immediately pulls his piece to open fire. Years of training as an acrobat and X-Men piece together what was going on before he was even consciously aware of it.<br><br>Gun rising to be leveled, Kurt shifts his weight to the balls of his feet.<br>Gun leveled, Kurt jumps backwards.<br>Gun barks its first bullet, the backflip toward the dumpster for cover leads to the shot going wide.<br>Gun ejects the first shell, Kurt's hands start moving in together for what they'll do when the come in&nbsp; contact with the lid of a dumpster.<br>Gun barks its second bullet, this one would of hit him if he had stood still but his weight is moving quickly backwards and getting ready to go around the dumpster for . . .<br><br>"<strong>&lt;HOLD YOUR FIRE! WHO TOLD YOU TO SHOT?&gt;</strong>" the lead soldier demands in Arabic.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;But. . .Monster.&gt;</strong>" comes a meek reply in Arabic as well.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;Uniform! X-Men! Like Storm!&gt;</strong>" is the response, the word X-Men coming in clear as day even to the non-arabic speakers, "<strong>Sir! Do you need help?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Yeah, I'm fine.</strong>" Kurt calls back from behind the dumpster, checking. Looks like two misses. The Uniform supposedly can stop bullets anyway, but Kurt wasn't in any rush to check it.<br><br>"<strong>Um, Sorry.</strong>" the Policeman tries to offer, not really meaning it but figuring there should be a reason he was stopped from firing. Whether or not the X-Men were heroes or terrorists was a discussion he's had before, and not well. Kurt tries again. Stepping out - hands open, smile not showing teeth, a little bowed to show a bit of respect. This time, no shots are fired.<br><br>"<strong>Apology accepted,</strong>" he says cheerfully, if he can see the man's face. Ah well, no point in worrying about details at present.<br><br>"<strong>You keep unusual company, Sword of Port Said.</strong>" the Army Driver does speak, if indirectly, "<strong>He is very agile, though.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Before joining the X-Men, I was an Acrobat and Artist on the Trapeze in the Circus Bavaria as the Incredible Nightcrawler!</strong>" he introduces himself with a deeper bow and a joke, "<strong>Shows every Day, Twice on Sundays.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>15-04-2013, 23:37:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Driving in the back of the Jeep Wrangler, the machine gun being manned by another Egyptian Air Force soldier standing even further behind them, Abigail kept gawking at her communicator as they left the town behind them and started to simply head 'south' into the desert as the two military vehicles seemed more then prepared to navigate the rough rocky desert stretching south from the outskirts of town. After the little accidental shooting and Nightcrawler, as she expected, surviving any accidents unscathed, she and the driver had been busy exchanging confused glances as she occasionally gave only random directions of veering left, or veering right a bit as they kept a slow and steady drive south. "It would... I think... be easier if you told me an exact location?" the driver finally confessed.<br><br>"I will... as soon as we reach there," Director Brand replied equally as mysteriously.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MaiMizzu</strong> on <strong>16-04-2013, 01:52:24</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d7/Siwa1.jpg) </div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Marhaban Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Tony Stark<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;The Desert<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Agent Brand, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br><em>Scans continuing per orders. Sensor lock maintained on target, SHSW-01102 still in range. Target closing. </em><br><br>The sun begins to descend along the horizon, and the air begins to get colder. But luckily enough for these Argonauts, their goal is now within sight. Of course, they don’t know that, nor can they see that. Agent Brand’s communicator suddenly stops beeping, as if someone had just turned it off. <br><em><br>Target within proximity. Initializing bio scan. </em><br><br>The still of the desert now fills their ears. There is nothing around them, save for some stones and sand and dirt. The stars above seem so bright out here in the desert, almost making one forget the hell that this world is in. <br><br><em>Bio scan complete. Target verified Agent Abigail Brand, commanding officer of SWORD. Multiple variants in proximity to target. Verified Kurt Wagner, member of X-Men. Targets clear. Initiating Welcome Wagon protocols. </em><br><br>In the still of the desert, there is a sudden muffled sound from below feet. The sound of metal clanking on metal somewhere in the ground. Just about 20 feet in front of their current position, the sands seem to shift and swirl. As if a sandpit had suddenly opened, creating a sand ‘whirlpool’. The sand seems to drain away, and what’s left is a light brown panel, clearly metal. It’s about 30 feet long and 30 feet wide once the sand stops shifting and is drained from the surface. The panel makes another loud metallic clanking sound, and it seems to draw downwards. The middle of the panel then parts, and with the sound of large gears whirring under the sand and the panels slide open. They open completely, leading down to a metallic staircase. It leads down into darkness, but small lights flicker on at the sides of the steps. <br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>17-04-2013, 07:24:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;The Desert<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Kurt had watched with just as much enraptured attention as everyone else present as yet another technological marvel of Tony Stark makes its presence known. The swirling of sands revealing the metal platform, the opening of the metallic doorway to reveal the dramatic staircase spotted with lights - all very grand and worthy of an underscore!<br><br>Yes, he was just as enraptured of the attention as anyone else, but he's the first to break the enraptured attention with a smile and a twirl on his toes as he's the first to step forward.<br><br>"<strong>Ah, Agent Brand - remind me next time I see Herr Stark in person. Rare is the man who knows how to make an entrance without even being present, and from one Showman to another that deserves recognition.</strong>" he laughs. Tony Stark has opened up his weapon closet, that was worth celebrating in itself but the work was not done yet.<br><br>Kurt takes to the entrance in leaps, and when he reaches the edge he only pauses to pull his blades - just in case. The main blade in his right hand, a parrying dagger in his left, and a mid-length blade held by his tail. What fresh hell shall be brought onto this Earth today?<br><br>"<strong>If none of you mind though, just in case our enemy somehow got here first - or Stark forgot to turn off some security, I think I should go first. Director Brand, if you care to follow.</strong>" he starts, and it looks like he starts simply taking the stairs - though a trained eye would catch that he's balancing carefully on the balls of his feet and stepping as light as an Acrobat can manage.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>18-04-2013, 02:02:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Director Brand, figuring it might not be a good idea having anyone but themselves poking around a possible Stark safehouse, turned to their military escort as Nightcrawler started to approach the revealed facility and seemed to echo, and expand on Kurt's suggestion. "I think it might be best if you guys head out. Our intelligence suggests there might be a big attack in the Port Said area... but you all should be on guard as well," Director Brand said as she took some extra firepower from the jeep in the form of one of the Egyptian army assault rifles. "If I need you, I can contact you short range," she then said, tapping her communicator. "Thank you," she then added as the soldiers seemed satisfied, rather creeped from the looks on their faces at the appearance of the entrance in the middle of the desert as they piled into the Humvee Avenger. "Just leave us the Jeep and we'll be fine," she then added before thinking of one final thing to tell them. "And if a Harrier jet comes in, allow them to pass. They're our friends," she added before giving them an acknowledging nod as they waved their own Good byes to them before driving back whence they came, leaving them the Jeep Wrangler and to themselves.<br><br>Turning back to Nightcrawler Director Brand slung the rifle over her shoulder, figuring she'd know whether she needed it or not in advance. "I'll follow you... as best I can," she then added, knowing how nimble and agile the mutant was.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>MaiMizzu</strong> on <strong>19-04-2013, 03:33:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d7/Siwa1.jpg) </div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Marhaban Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Safehouse<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Tony Stark<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;The Desert<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Agent Brand, Nightcrawler<br></span></span><hr><br>Monitoring primary target and now secondary target. Sensors locked on bio signatures of Agent Abigail Brand and Kurt Wagner. Targets clear of main entrance. Initiating lockdown and cloak. <br><br>Agent Brand and Nightcrawler continue down the winding metallic staircase, and they would notice that not all the lights are on at once. The ones lining the stairs themselves, the lights would turn on as they approach that part of the twisting staircase, but then switch off once they have passed it. And above them, they would hear the entrance hatch close slowly, and then latch itself closed. On the surface the metal doors come to a close, and the sand that was once on them is pushed back up to the surface, once more masking the entrance to the safehouse. <br><br>After almost 2 minutes of traversing stairs, Agent Brand and Nightcrawler would come to the bottom of the steps. The area before them is dark, save for a small light at the foot of the stairs themselves. <br><br>Main workshop powerup. Initiating illumination and display cases. Begin playback of MessageStark001. <br><br>The lights of the room before them now slowly flicker on, and slowly they would see just what they are dealing with. A metal walled room almost a quarter of a mile long, and just as wide. It seems empty for the most part, save for what appear to be metallic cabinets strewn along the walls every few yards. Nothing out of the ordinary as yet. Another moment, and they would then hear the voice of Tony Stark echoing throughout the room. <br><br>“Abigail, I knew you’d be able to figure it out. I’d like to say I’m impressed, but I’m not surprised. Always said you had good head on your shoulders. And good things below your shoulders too. Sorry I can’t be here to welcome you. Been a little busy saving the world and all. Again. You know how it is. Anywho, welcome to the Marhaban Safehouse.”<br><br>Actuation cue alpha. Opening display cases. <br><br>The voice from nowhere falls silent, and now lights come on over some of the metal cabinets closest to them in the room. The sound of gears whirring is heard, and one by one the cabinets open themselves. And the cabinets, it turns out, are merely display stands. Displaying one of the things they came looking for… weapons. <br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/guns005.jpg)</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/guns003.jpg)</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/guns002.jpg)</div></div><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/guns001.png)</div></div><br>Begin playback MessageStark002<br><br>Once more Tony’s voice is heard from all around them.&nbsp; &nbsp;“So maybe you’re wondering just why I wanted you to come all the way out here. At first it was for a date, but turns out I’m still busy. So how about this.. I know you guys are having some issues in Port Said. Daddy’s been watchin. And you’re going to get more of the business handed to ya. So since I like you so much, you can have these.”<br><br>They’ll notice there’s about 6 of each gun type. <br><br>“I know it’s not what you were expecting maybe. Maybe you wanted more or something, I dunno. But it just so happens the last time I was there, it was to try and sell some arms to local magistrates. Long story. You’ll find ammunition for them in the display cases near them, which should all be open now.”<br><br>Indeed more of the display cases slide open, revealing an abundance of different ammunition, as well as light armor. Perhaps the kind the police would use. <br><br>Activation cue beta. <br><br>“But those are small potatoes compared to this. I wouldn’t do this for anyone, but you’re hot. So… well there ya go.”<br><br>Lights now come on in the floor below them, making a lighted path to the extreme end of the hall. The lights would pulse softly to lead them in that direction. And once they are there, a larger enclosed display case is there against the wall. <br><br>Begin power up procedures. Bio security measures deactivated. <br><br>From the display case, the sound of metallic locks latching and unlatching is heard. It almost sounds like someone is opening a very large safe door or something. The lights around the large display case come to life, and the outer doors of the display case slide open. A glass shell is under the metal case against that wall, but under the glass.. a suit of armor. It looks like Iron Man, alright. But with subtle differences.. the glass shielding slides apart and disappears into the wall, and there is the sudden and subtle sound of the suit itself powering up. The eyes of the armor flash to life, as does the triangular chest insignia. <br><br>“Abigail...meet Sandstorm.”<br>(http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc446/ffxivghost/ironmandesertarmour.jpg) (http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/ffxivghost/media/ironmandesertarmour.jpg.html)<br><br>Tony’s voice fades as the armor seems to unlatch itself at various points along the body, and the front of the armor folds outwards. It almost looks like one would just step into the armor, and it would fold itself around the wearer. <br><br>“Sandstorm’s one of my best boys. No, he’s not as powerful as most of my other brilliant innovations, but I figure you’ll get damn good use out of him. All you have to do is step into it, and it’ll do the rest. It’s a modular armor, so as long as you’re my approximate height… and you just about are.. it’ll mold itself to fit you. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t think of hurting that delicious body with my armor being to squeezy. Or, well if you want someone else to use him.. it’s your call. The anti-theft measures are deactivated, so anyone can use it that it’ll fit. Given that.. please don’t lose it.” <br><br>There is a few moments of silence, and then Tony’s voice is heard once more. <br><br>“I know I don’t have to tell you this.. but there’s more at stake here than our asses. Agent Brand, we’re the beginnings of the resistance. It’s to us now the fight comes. The world needs us, it needs it’s heroes. Take Sandstorm, take these weapons. Go out there and destroy this evil, at every turn. The whole of the human race is relying on you. I’m relying on you. End of speech. Stark out.”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>19-04-2013, 14:56:19</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Abigail was struggling to maintain a serious face in the face of Stark's prerecorded withering assaults upon her sense of humor, before finally succumbing just enough to shake her head before lifting a hand to her face, covering her mouth reflexively as she let out a bit of a smile before turning to Kurt briefly during an interlude in the recording. "Damn Stark is on the other side of the world and he still gets me," she said dryly when the weapons lockers suddenly opened up, with enough modern firearms and ammunition to fully equip at least a platoon of first world level military forces.<br><br>Another recording seemed to pick up and soon more displays were opening up, revealing even more munitions as Director Brand found herself literally becoming tense, realizing Tony Stark's sense for theatrics, and moreso, his love of the steady buildup. And with Stark, in situations like this, she knew the buildup would always payoff with a perfect climax so to speak. <br><br>As the followed a suddenly lighted pathway down to yet another area of the safe house, her ears perking up to the computerized voice, she soon realized that the climax was about to occur. Up ahead the lights around the large display case come to life, and the outer doors of the display case slide open. A glass shell is under the metal case against that wall, but under the glass.. a suit of armor. It looks like Iron Man, alright. But with subtle differences.. the glass shielding slides apart and disappears into the wall, and there is the sudden and subtle sound of the suit itself powering up. The eyes of the armor flash to life, as does the triangular chest insignia. <br><br>Her eyes grew wide as she then glanced over to Kurt, as if to confirm that there was corroboration to what she was bearing witness to. An actual IronMan modular variant suit of armor, here in Northern Egypt. "Ah..." she suddenly grunted, bringing her fingers to her nose and squeezing the bridge of it as Tony's recording made some general remarks on Sandstorm. "Oh man..." she finally said dryly, immediately wondering if she could even operate something like this, or if it was made for her, when almost as soon as she thought of what to ask, Stark's recorded message seemed to pre-empt her concerns and answer her questions.<br><br>Damn it he was smart.<br><br>She turned back to Kurt and then realized, fair was fair. "I ummm... did you want to wear the armor?" she suddenly asked, deciding to at least make the offer of being polite before seizing it for herself as she reached for her SWORD communicator. She needed to contact Agent Kang and Tokoro who were hopefully still en route. They needed to be appraised of what was discovered.<br><br>"Intrud-.... Intruduuuuuuuuuuuude."<br><br>The safe houses digital voice overhead suddenly slurred before cutting out completely, as immediately the SWORD Director grew wary, wondering if telling the Egpytian soldiers to go back to base was a good idea. Then again... she realized a few men with guns wouldn't of likely stopped anyone that was able to pursue them here.<br><br>"It's Nefaria," Abigail then deduced, figuring if it was Apocalypse, there'd be more of a bang and far less subtlety. Wishing she had actually grabbed one of the super nice assault rifles they had passed by earlier, but instead only had the Kalashnikov she got from the jeep as she started to move towards the side of the room, looking down the flickering lights of the pathway leading to Sandstorms display case. "If it's actually Nefaria, I'm going to need that armor," the Director then said, suddenly wondering if the armor would even make a difference in a showdown with him. Her eyes begged Kurt for an idea of what they should do as she glanced at the armor.<br><br>She didn't want to tell him to hold off what could've been one of the most powerful supervillains left on the planet while she got into the armor, but she kind of desired him to stumble upon that option himself. <br><br>Just a few dozen meters away, still descending down the stairs, three villains, albeit none of them Count Nefaria, gingerly made their way down into the safe house as Spymaster idly punched away at the keys on a wrist mounted computer as he hacked into the safe houses passive security systems, already somewhat compromised by the entrance of Abigail and Kurt earlier. Being the most familiar with Stark security systems, Spymaster found that the unique circumstances of the situation allowed him a far easier job of accessing and hacking into this safe house then would've been typical as he brought up the rear.<br><br>Crossfire and Mr. Fear though, clad in their respective armored costumes, led the way. "This guy is a teleporter," Crossfire stated as he activated his nightvision in his cybernetic eye, while amplifying the ambient sound in his similarly artificial ear implant while drawing out a pair of twin high capacity pistols. <br><br>"Maybe we should gas them out," Mr. Fear then said as he glanced back at Spymaster and realizing what was about to happen, Crossfire donned a gasmask as the other two seemed to already have air filtration equipment filtered. A submachine gun in one hand, Mr. Fear produced a gas grenade from her other and as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, he chucked one of them down the hallway, the fear gas immediately billowing out, cutting off this entrance from possible retreat. "It'd be more effective if we find a ventiliation port."<br><br>"I'm looking," Crossfire replied as they moved deeper into the facility, the three villain all apparently having the ability to see in the dark to various degrees thanks to the myriad of technology they were all utilizing. <br><br>Spymaster meanwhile brought up the rear and instead of using a gun, moved a hand to his electronically amplified nunchakus. If Nightcrawler was in fact a swordsman, might as well use a weapon that was designed to counter them. He'd already seen reports of gunmen trying to confront Nightcrawler. <br><br>Details aside, Nightcrawler was still around. He wasn't going to make the same mistake.<br><br>But then again, watching the methodical approach of his two sadistic companions as they moved into the safe house concerned him a bit. It was clear they had come as prepared as could be. If it was just Nightcrawler, maybe that poor mutant would be in trouble.<br><br>It mattered not. Spymaster had one advantage over both of these guys. <br><br>He knew Stark and Stark tech better then any of them. Nefaria's or Brand's faction. When the time was right, he'd be able to make a play of his own and if anyone got in his way, well Apocalypse would be the least of their immediate problems.<br><br><strong>Nefaria's Goon Squad:</strong><br><br>Crossfire (http://www.comicvine.com/crossfire/29-30800/)<br>Mr. Fear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Fear#Larry_Cranston)<br>Spymaster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spymaster_%28comics%29#Original_Spymaster)
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Madriv</strong> on <strong>19-04-2013, 19:26:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://24.media.tumblr.com/0a33374b876d11a83aaf488563aa5b65/tumblr_mikrxif13z1rm5ceao3_500.png)</div><hr>&nbsp; <span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name: </strong> Loki<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title: </strong>God of Mischief<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation: </strong>Not fond of anyone right now<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location: </strong>Elsewhere<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags: </strong>No one<br></span></span><hr> <br>To be so full of power and then emptied of it in the blink of an eye was, sadly, not an unfamiliar feeling. What made his head swim was the mystery of how it had happened without the hand of Odin lifted against him. There was someone else here now, someone besides himself and this strange enemy queen, who was suddenly demanding his attention.<br><br>Loki's black eyes sought the jackal in the shadows. No living person moved in the room, but the jackal beckoned his spirit from a flowing veil just behind the woman.<br><br>“Trickster, you don't remember me. How easily distracted you are by your ragged reality.”<br><br>“What are you, Midgardian dog? Why do you torment your betters?”<br><br>“<em>Nai</em>,” the jackal said softly. A needle pierced Loki's lip, dragging thread and stitches of darkness until the prodigal god was silenced. “Attend your lessons. You act like a wicked child and are treated as such. You forget your purpose. We would have you remember what it was to serve those who spoke your name with reverence. We would have you remember how to be a god in this realm.”<br><br>The Abyss began to swirl beneath them, its tendrils lapping at their feet. “Go serve the warrior queen, if you would regain your magic. She tells me that her daughter has need of your essence, immature as it is. Take your body and answer the call, forgetful one.” A gold-sandaled foot struck his chest and everything fell away, replaced by a flutter of black feathers against his skin and a bone-rattling crunch as the unmistakable floor of a cell suddenly met Loki's face.<br><br><br><em>Continued somewhere in South America (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=156522.msg8084318#msg8084318)</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>26-04-2013, 07:30:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;The Desert<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br><em>OOC: Sorry for the wait.</em><br><br>Stumble? Heck, he thinks he's the one who came up with the idea first as he puts a hand to Abigail's cheek.<br><br>"<strong>Director Brand, you are speaking to the only man in the world who would actually be worse off if he put on that armor.</strong>" he says quietly, and he honestly believes it's true. He definitely would have an issue taking that much extra mass with him.<br><br>"<strong>They're turning out the lights as they go, I'll use that to try and buy you some time. Go.</strong>" he adds quietly as the Acrobat start to get to work, Fingers against display cases as he climbs upward onto them. Or would, if not for the bouncing sound of something hitting the floor from the direction of the entrance. Oh, this was not good - but it was workable. If the lighting was bad enough, he turned completely invisible. Let's see how much of an advantage that was now, and try to find out who exactly was these guests of honor.<br><br>BAMF!<br><br>Into darkness. Trying to catch a glimpse but stay out of good angles for weapon's fire.<br><br>"<strong>And Tonight! Live and in Person!</strong>"<br><br>BAMF!<br><br>Somewhere else in darkness, and moving quickly at the sight of guns.<br><br>"<strong>From the Circus Bavaria and a Tour with the X-Men!</strong>"<br><br>BAMF!<br><br>A new angle, keep them guessing. Keep the distance until he can see who they are and gauge what they can do. At least by Abby a few seconds to bring the armor into play.<br><br>"<strong>The Incredible Nightcrawler!</strong>"<br><br>BAMF!
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>02-05-2013, 22:43:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Abigail could hear the sounds of commotion off onto the other side of the facility, followed by the telltale sounds of what was apparently gunfire as she simply stared at the suit of armor for a few seconds, wondering how straightforward or not one actually had to be to don the armor. "Sandstorm!" she then said aloud. "Dress me," she then ordered in a firm voice.<br><br>She paused, staring at the armor, seeing it do nothing except look pretty in the display case.<br><br>"Sandstorm! Activate!" she then ordered in a equally authoritative voice.<br><br>Again nothing.<br><br>"Sandstorm!" she then stated tersely again before pausing, trying to think of what else she could say. "Armor up?!"<br><br>She frowned, realizing every second was being wasted, not just here but back in Port Said as well. "Hell with this..." she finally growled, reaching over before pausing slightly, momentarily fearing she might somehow damage or sully the suit of armor before realizing how utterly ridiculous a thought that was. How could she scratch this armor with her bare hands? It wasn't like a mint condition comic book after all. Shaking her head, and tightening her face, she simply reached out and snatched the helmet of the Sandstorm armor and hoping Stark was right about the whole molding of armor to her body as she spun the rather light helmet in her head and then slid it onto her own head before letting out a bit of a grunt. "Fucking hair," she growled, lifting the helmet up again as she pushed her mane of green hair up a bit so it wouldn't be pulled on by the helmet. It was always the little things.<br><br>Then finally, she slammed the helmet down over her head, bracing herself for what was likely to happen. Some sort of barrage of heads up displays and virtual optical sensor suites or something. She figured she'd be prepared for it, having utilized SHIELD and SWORD mandroid armors before.<br><br>She wasn't.<br><br>"Whoa..." Abigail suddenly stammered, for as soon as the helmet locked in over her head, her eyes were lost in a deluge of readouts, specifications, displays and data points bombarding her visually. Overwhelmed by the visual stimulation, she stumbled backwards a few paces, not quite realizing it was merely the armors software suite adjusting to its new user and running its setup programs. While she found it dizzying and indecipherable, a genius like Tony Stark could read what was being displayed like a dime novel. And though it lasted for only several moments, it did nothing to prevent Abigail from tripping over her assault rifle and falling back flat on her backside, her now armored head bouncing off of the wall.<br><br>She wasn't concussed.<br><br>This armor was impressive.<br><br>Furthermore the heads up display seemed to simplify a great deal a moment later, showing something far more able for someone like her to adjust to as she slowly rose up to a sitting position and then slowly rose to her feet. "Sandstorm!" she then said, her voice automatically filtered out by the suit helmet. There was no response. So she tried giving it an order. "Sandstorm! Armor up!" she then ordered.<br><br>The armor literally flew off of the display mount and seemed to hurtle through the air towards her like she was a magnet. Naturally Abigail panicked a bit and recoiled, throwing up her arms protectively as she shirked away from the impending barrage of power armor pieces. The more then natural reaction to flinch paid painful dividends a moment later.<br><br>"OW!" she screamed a moment later as bright red lettering flashed an alert across her heads up display.<br><br><div align="center"><strong>REMAIN STATIONARY WHILE AUTOMATED ARMORING SEQUENCE IS ACTIVE</strong></div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>08-05-2013, 09:42:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Tony's Toybox near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Gunfire erupts from Crossfire and Mr. Fear, and in those fractions of a second Kurt's already learned three things.<br><br>The one with the Eye lost him every time he teleported but he picked him back up again quick.<br><br>The one with the Skull-Motiff was throwing around some sort of Gas he didn't want any part in from their gas masks.<br><br>The one in the back with the nunchuku was the smart one, at least when it comes to fighting.<br><br>"<strong>Crossfire, try to herd him into the Fear Gas.</strong>" Mr. Fear tries to order, and Crossfire doesn't say a word at that but grits his teeth under the mask.<br><br>"<strong>Now he knows why he needs to avoid it, dumbass.</strong>" Spymaster grunts under his breath. In the end, that was the tipping point. Sadism he could. . .well, "forgive" was the wrong word but he could be professional enough to pretend to not notice. Sadism and Stupidity, like stating the obvious AND giving away a major tactical advantage at the same time? No, time to save his own ass. That's what he'll tell himself forever. Besides, its not like he was just going to hand them to Kurt.<br><br>"<strong>Opening a Cabinet,</strong>" he says out loud in hopes that someone will take the bait. A cabinet with some very, very nice guns opens up. Crossfire pulls his attention away and goes for it, tries to grab an assault rifle.<br><br>BAMF! A sudden kick in the back of the head and the artificial eye hits the shelving, hard. The gas mask smashes and Kurt didn't know if the man was unconscious or not, but he had other ideas to push forward the attack, the Skull Man spreading around the Fear Gas was the next target.<br><br>And that's when Kurt made his big mistake. Sure, he had the momentum to just go through it quickly and between that, his fur, the quick idea he had to hold his breath, and his mutant biochemistry it wasn't hitting him as hard as it has other victims of Mr. Fear but the Fear Gas of Mr. Fear doesn't have to be breathed in, it can be absorbed through the skin.<br><br>All Kurt knows for sure is that his plan to take down his opponents is ripped to shreds when he reaches out to Mr. Fear to take him somewhere else to fight properly, and his skin crawls and he instinctively jumps just touching the man. . .<br><br>His careful plan to defeat Mr. Fear went up in Gas when he touched the man, so instead the Purple Cloud of Sulfar reappears far above the desert like instinct had tried to jump him away. He blindly kicks off something that came with him with the jaunt, he can't even process what it was. Screaming, he remembers the screaming - it takes a second of blind falling to realize that it's not just his voice in the air. Maybe it was mutant biochemistry fighting the pheromones, maybe it was the rushing of open air blowing the chemicals away, maybe it was both.<br><br>He just knew that at some point he had become more afraid of the sand rushing up toward them then the man in the Skull costume falling away from him. The acrobat isn't thinking clearly but is trying to do the right thing by getting back at the man and they disappear once again. . .<br><br>. . .If he had been thinking clearly, he would of thought of what would happen to the momentum. Instead he and Mr. Fear hurtle back through the air in Stark's bunker, moving as fast sideways as they were moving down outside. Mr. Fear takes the brunt of the impact, and he was wearing body a better class of body armor. Kurt doesn't know what was happening anymore, just trying to clear his head from the fear toxins and the pain he was feeling when he finally came to a stop next to the man with the skull costume.<br><br>The Spymaster whistles under his costume. A few seconds, one "teammate" is definitely down and possibly dead looking at Mr. Fear. Crossfire, hard to say. Probably just stunned but if any of those fancy cybernetics are broken he may as well be out of the fight too.<br><br>"<strong>No hard feelings, Nightcrawler. Hell, between you and me - I didn't even like those guys.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>09-05-2013, 19:20:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>"Fucker broke my optics," Crossfire grunted, still on his hands and knees, blood specked tears pooling inside his mask as his gloved hands spread across the floor, looking for his gun in the dim lighting. "Can't see shit... finish him off Spymaster!"<br><br>CLANG!<br><br>Crossfire was rendered unconscious with a twirling thud from Spymaster's electro-nunchakus before holstering one of them and then withdrawing some sort of exotic looking handgun from one of his many hidden pockets. "Thus reinforcing the point," he then added succintly as he aimed the barrel of the weapon at the mutant. Whether the weapon was lethal or merely stun inducing was left unsaid as the mercenary was about to dispatch of the disabled mutant before he could blink away.<br><br>Until his own heads up display alerted him to a new threat, the alarm inside his advanced suit being punctutated by the tell tale glow of a pair of slitted eyes advancing from the darkness, followed by the unmistakable thud of heavily armored feet plodding across the floor. Without even hesitating, Spymaster fired the gun, launching a miniaturized projectile that exploded outward as soon as it erupted from the barrel, revealing encased within was a spidersilk weaved net that shot out, enveloping and trapping Nightcrawler, limbs, body, tail and all so that even if he did teleport away, he'd still be disabled.<br><br>The telltale mechanical whirr of a repulsor emitter warming up suddenly erupted, it was a sound the mercenary was familiar with, but realized immediately came only from the older or modular versions of Stark's armor. Thus, Spymaster was ready as the repulsor beam shot outward, only to be intercepted by Spymasters own suit which absorbed the energy and in a split second focused and redirected out of his own hand, firing it right back at his mysterious armored foe.<br><br>Abigail staggered a bit, struck by her own repulsor beam as she cursed herself underbreath before stepping into full view of Spymaster who immediately aimed his own gun at Nightcrawler. "Make a move and the mutant dies!" Spymaster called out.<br><br>"He dies. You die," Abigail shot back, her helmet filtered voice sounding indistinguishable from any other voice as she took another step forward, facing down the infamous Iron Man adversary and wondering in the back of her head, if this was too great of a challenge too soon.<br><br>Then again... better Spymaster then Count Nefaria. <br><br>Spymaster smirked under his mask, realizing simply from the choice of words that there was no way this could be Tony Stark. "Do you even know how to use that thing? How about you get out of that armor and I show you what I can do... for you?" he then added, deducing that it must've been Abigail Brand in the suit, figuring Tony wouldn't trust anyone else on the continent. "Believe me, you want me in that suit."<br><br>"If you surrender, I won't kill you. If you don't, you will die. And it will be slow and painful..." Abigail promised.<br><br>Spymaster winced sarcastically. "Harsh..." he said, finding the threat both heavy handed and crude.<br><br>"Nothing against you, but you're right. I'm still figuring this out, and well, if you give me a reason, you'll be my test subject. Now let me see what this command does," Abigail then threatened when suddenly the generator in the center of her Sandstorm armor glowed briefly with a hum as suddenly Spymaster was ripped off of his feet, his gun and nunchakus ripping from his hand as Abigail apparently activated some sort of magnetic field that literally wrenched the weapons out of his hands, only to be caught by Abigail.<br><br>"I think I figured it out," she then said, aiming the same gun at Spymaster.<br><br>He sighed, slowly raising his hands above his head. "I... uh... guess... I surrender," he then said.<br><br>"Take off your belt" Abigail then ordered.<br><br>"Uhm sorry?" Spymaster then asked.<br><br>She wagged the gun at him and he shrugged, reaching down and unbuckling his belt. "Now grab your tool, drop the belt and cut Nightcrawler free," she then further ordered.<br><br>"As the lady commands," Spymaster replied, producing a very sharp knife and dropping the rest of his belt. Though there was the possibility of a threat, Abigail seemed unconcerned with the possibility of him trying anything threatening to Nightcrawler as he proceeded to cut the mutant free. "There we go... unharmed," Spymaster then stated, his work done.<br><br>"Now turn the power back on here including the ventilation systems," Abigail stated, lowering her weapon. "Don't give me a reason to not trust you. I'm only going to give it once," she then added as a warning as she glanced at Crossfire, noticing he was unconscious according to her suitssensors. She then turned back to the crumpled form of Mr. Fear and noticed he had less stable vital signs but didn't give it a second thought. "How are you fairing Kurt? Agents Kang and Tokoro should be arriving soon. If you want to go out and meet them, get some fresh air. I'll try and sweep Fear's body for an antitoxin," she then stated before giving Spymaster a wary glance as he approached a bunker console and after a few seconds, started to bring bunker systems back online. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>09-05-2013, 23:54:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Tony's Toybox near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>The Fear Toxin of Larry Cranston is based on the homo sapiens flight response. Victims are known to experience anything from anxiety, fear, terror, panic - and in some cases have even been known to have nightmarish hallucinations. Mr. Cranston has not been lightening on his formula since the end of the world. If anything, he's been making it hit even harder.<br><br>Kurt's saving grace is that he was a mutant and wasn't hit with a full dose. The tangler shot is most certainly noticed but by then the hallucination had started. That fact that it was just an audio-hallucination might of been a blessing, or might of just made it worse.<br><br><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote from: The Fear Toxin is Talking</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"<strong>Agent Tokoro, what's wrong with your stomach?</strong>" Kurt hears Agent Kang say over the commlink, starting to shake a bit.<br><br>"<strong>What are you - oh my god.</strong>" she replies, the sudden break just as jarring as the question.<br><br>"<strong>Medical Emergency, Agent Tokoro is's abdomen is expanding for unknown reasons, please advise.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>I had sex with Kurt, but that was just hours ago and he said that it was just a myth. . . Oh god, I'm going to die.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Tokoro, Stay with me. TOKORO!</strong>"<br><br>Then Kurt hears some sort of wet popping sound over the commlinks, then screaming and gunfire as some sort of inhuman creature shrieks and starts ripping through nameless SWORD agents like a monster. . .</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Kurt isn't really responding to the outside world at the moment, just sort of curling into the fetal position with faint murmurings of 'Ich wusste nicht' repeatedly escaping his lips. Spymaster doesn't say anything in response at first, but soon the ventilation system starts kicking back on to clear the Fear Toxin.<br><br>"<strong>Don't think there is an anti-Toxin, Lady. At least not one I ever saw. Don't think the effect is supposed to be permanent though, if that helps.</strong>" Spymaster speaks while bringing more systems back up.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>10-05-2013, 01:24:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Nightcrawler's psychosis was disconcerting, as was Spymasters revelation. So she turned to the still unconscious Mr. Fear and after a bit of searching the suits database, figured out that there was in fact a hypospray injector and loaded it with adrenaline. Knowing full well she could kill the supervillain via heart attack or other strain, she didn't hesitate as she jammed the injector into the villains heart and gave him a full dose of adrenaline to try and rouse him awake. Almost immediately there was a response as the supervillain suddenly seized up, his entire body tensing, then shuddering as she withdrew the needle from Mr. Fears chest, the injector needle itself apparently strong enough to punch through his light body armor.<br><br>His arms and legs locking up, trembling in mid air as his body seemed to arrest itself momentarily, gritting underneath the mask as Abigail leaned in close. "Is there an anti-toxin?" she then asked the supervillain as soon as she noticed the head under his mask finally shift, before falling upon her. He paused, then suddenly clutched at his wounded chest, before wheezing out an exhalation, his body staggering a bit as his breathing started to stagger, until after a moment passed and he gained more of his breath, she realized he was laughing at her. "Larry? Is there a cure?"<br><br>Still dryly chuckling he started to shake his head slowly from side to side, gritting through his teeth as he struggled to respond. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Matt after I poisoned his wife. You think you've won. I don't even know who you are and you're already a loser. There is no cure. No anti-toxin," he started to say with a chuckling laugh. But all he saw was the stoic armored face of Sandstorm staring down at him as she reached up and ripped off his mask, exposing him to the residue of the fear gas. <br><br>"And how about now?" she then growled icily, hoping he'd get a few lungfuls himself of his own medicine.<br><br>He coughed, loudly, specks of blood flickering across the collar of his jacket. "Sorry... doesn't work that way... I've already been vaccinated," he then replied with a big smile.<br><br>"Do you bleed Mr. Cranston?" she then asked, emptying her injector casing only to have it be replaced by a new one.<br><br>"Eh?" he asked, pausing just enough to shake his head incredulously. "What? You're going to torture me? I have no fear."<br><br>"Fear is just another form of anxiety. You can't be 'without' fear and still function as a normal human being Larry. Now I'm going to harvest your blood producing areas, and use the antibodies to synthesize an antitoxin to help pass your temporary immunity onto others. I guarantee you won't survive the process," she then said, aiming the fresh injector at his skull. "Now if I remember High School anatomy correctly, there's a lymph node in the cortex right?" she asked, waving it around his nose as she held him down with her other hand.<br><br>"Wait! You dumb fucking idiot. There's no cure! There's NO CURE! You can't synthesize a vaccine out of my BLOOD!" he suddenly screamed as she grazed the large needle point over his cheek, tracing it down around his larynx. <br><br>"Is there one here?" she then asked, tapping at his throat, before shifting the needle point to the armpit. "Are antibodies and lymph nodes even the same thing?" she then asked openly. "Maybe I'll hit all three."<br><br>"Okay! Okay! You can synthesize a vaccine!" he replied, his voice starting to sound frantic.<br><br>"Don't be afraid..." she cooed, tearing open the fabric of his sleeve with the needle.<br><br>"A blood based one. But it'll require testing. And a lab. The effects won't last that long! It won't matter!" he then screamed, showing that being without fear certainly wasn't meaning he was without anxiety.<br><br>"I don't have time Larry. You'll help me one way or another," Abigail then stated firmly, before pulling up the needle and leveling it with his skull again. "How can you help me?"<br>---<br><br><em>Half an hour later...</em><br><br>Agents Kang and Tokoro raced down the steps to the bunker, followed by a mixed Italian Navy and civilian Egyptian medical team from the airbase when Abigail walked towards the bottom of the staircase, her helmet off and face exposed, long green hair blowing in the wind. "Bring the hematologist?" Abigail asked dryly as the two SWORD Agents, weapons ready, raced down the stairs, not noticing until they were almost in front of her, that her brand new armor was speckled with droplets of dried blood.<br><br>"No. Closest we could find was an oncologist," Agent Tokoro replied with a smirk as the medics moved up behind them.<br><br>"No worries. We figured it out," Abigail then said, tossing one of the Doctors a glass milk bottle filled with a strange, off red liquid.<br><br>"And the prisoners?" Agent Kang then asked.<br><br>"Mr. Cross is being detained below. He's been disarmed. Mr.... Spymaster has had a change of heart. In exchange for our cooperation, I've promised him a full pardon, and a suit of Mandroid armor when hostilities are over for him to play with. While supplies last," Abigail stated as the Doctor examined the solution and shrugged, realizing this must've been the antitoxin they synthesized.<br><br>"And Mr. Fear? What about Larry Cranston?" Agent Kang asked as the medical team moved in to find Nightcrawler laying on a feather down pillow on an army cot.<br><br>"He was very helpful. When this is all over, I'm going to add the charge of rape to his record, post-mortem," she then stated dryly before turning to Kang and Tokoro. "Take care of Kurt. We need to head back to Port Said. If it's not burning already, it will be soon." Without another word, she started to march back up the stairs and into the sunlight.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>10-05-2013, 02:06:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Tony's Toybox near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Kurt felt himself getting loaded on the stretcher, unable to stop hearing the sounds of the creature born from his seed in Agent Tokoro's womb like their was a commlink in his ear - he'd thrown it out long ago but still it continued. Just hearing the growls and shrieks of a monster slaughtering and raping its way through SWORD agents, spawning more monsters on its path of total and savage slaughter.<br><br>But when Agent Tokoro comes into view he looks right at her. He blinks a few times - and for a woman whose body was just popped from the inside out by mutant spawn she's looking fantastic. When she's close enough to the stretcher to grab onto he does it without a second thought.<br><br>"<strong>You know, you look pretty good. For a dead woman.</strong>" he manages to croak out and tries to smile, meekly. Alright- something True to latch onto. If he was thinking rationally he would of figured that out long ago but now he knows its all in his mind. All. In. His. Mind. He lets her go with a resolute look on his face as he looks straight ahead. All. In. His. Mind. He'll burn it out, piece by piece if he has to.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>12-05-2013, 00:36:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>While Agent Tokoro and Nightcrawler were reacquainting with each other under the observation of the medical team, Director Brand was just outside the bunker, watching as the Egyptian Air Force personnel were hauling out the crates of weapons and ammunition while Agent Kang and Director Brand were going for a stroll in the middle of the desert, walking past the Harrier jump jet that Kang and Tokoro and had used to fly to the bunker from Port Said when they finally came upon it. "Nice ride isn't it?" Spymaster said as he pressed a button to deactivate the alarm systems on the far more advanced green and gold HYDRA jet the trio had used to follow them to Mersa Matruh. <br><br>"Very nice. Could use more green though," Agent Kang said, eliciting a smirk from Abigail's icy demeanor. <br><br>"We should upgrade the local firepower here, put teams together and prepare to head back to Port Said. Apocalypse could be be striking the city as we speak and we wouldn't know about it until it's too late," Director Brand then stated. "Worse case scenario, Apocalypse's forces have already overrun the port by the time we arrive, in which case they'll be disorganized, not expecting a counterattack in strength. Hit them hard enough, we might be able to facilitate a withdrawal under fire."<br><br>"Where's the rally point again?" Agent Kang then asked. "In case Port Said does fall," he added, trying not to make it sound like it was inevitable, which almost everyone seemed to agree it was.<br><br>"Europe," Director Brand said with a shrug. "Cyprus is still intact right?"<br><br>"Rome's been nuked. Count Nefaria literally walked out of blast zone to assemble the resistance," Spymaster said. "It was rather inspiring."<br><br>"I bet," Abigail replied with a frown. "That's the other possibility of course," she then said. "Maybe Count Nefaria kills Apocalypse."<br><br>Spymaster knew he shouldn't ask, but felt compelled to do so. He just had to know. "What's your plan for that?" the supervillain asked.<br><br>Director Brand grunted, then quite literally spat on the ground as they inspected the large, hoverjet transport. Turning to the spy, she simply shook her head. "Seriously?"<br><br>He just shrugged sheepishly. "I had to ask."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>12-05-2013, 21:24:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Tony's Toybox near Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Open<br></span></span><hr><br>The screaming, battle, and splashes of blood continue to ring in his ears but with visual proof that they're not real as a rallying point he's fighting back and it sounds less and less real. Whether that will stay that way is hard to say. At some point he heard someone mention that the Mr. Fear file on the database said that usually if there was a hallucinations it was over in 15 minutes, tops. Now it was nearing an hour.<br><br>"<strong>New Formula. Shit.</strong>" someone says around him, he missed who.<br><br>"<strong>It just means I have to beat it the old-fashioned way, ja?</strong>" Kurt states simply, but he's clearly sweating as he sits up in the med-cot. For now the sound he's hearing is a slightly subdued sound of the monster eating <em>something</em>, strongly implied to be someone's corpse.<br><br>"<strong>Can you describe what you are sensing?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>It sounds like there is. . .a commlink in my ear, picking up the sounds of a monster raping and killing its way though the Port Said base.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>I see, and why is Agent Tokoro helping you overcome this?</strong>"<br><br>A look slips from Kurt to Agent Tokoro but only for a little bit. He'd hate to lie, but politics and all that.<br><br>"<strong>She was one of the first to die. And it wasn't a good death. At least it was all in my head, ja?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>. . .Mr. Wagner, you realize that vast majority of the employees of SWORD and the vast majority of the resistance are baseline humans?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>What does that have to do with anything?</strong>" Tokoro is the first to ask, only because her head is clearer.<br><br>"<strong>Mutant power fantasy, large numbers of normal humans kill gruesomely - normal real-</strong>"<br><br>Kurt missed it, but he tells himself that the med-type person in question had decided to leave on their own mid-sentence. Who, exactly, punched the guy he honestly doesn't know - but he sweats and at some point lied back down on the cot. Just need to power through this.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>20-05-2013, 20:15:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr>Abigail Brand was busy switching the communication frequencies from HYDRA/Maggia channels to SWORD utilized ones when the report came over the aircrafts radio on a secure line. Before she could even glance over at the planes radio, trying to tune the signal to make it sharper, her face was already turning a shade more pale as she recognized Agent Marquez's voice over the secure transmission. His voice was clear, but it there was so much background noise and interference that she still had to strain to hear his words clearly.<br><em>"Saber Actual. Do you copy? This is Scabbard. Situation is urgent! Over!"</em> came the voice of Marquez over a thick din of explosions, and the occasionally retort of gunfire. <em>"Saber Actual. Do you copy? This is Scabbard. Situation is-,"</em> Marquez started to repeat when a thunderous crash eclipsed his own voice followed by the south of air blasts and a stream of curses and shouts in the background.<br><br>"Affirmative. This is Saber Actual. Reading you five by two," she said, pointing out the signal was strong but the background noise was still heavy and transmitted over her end. "Can you displace? Over!"<br><br><em>"Negative! Negative Saber!"</em> Marquez replied, his voice staggering a bit as another thunderous eruption of noise could be heard in the background, like something solid being blasted apart followed by a chorus of sounds of rubble crashing to the ground, shattering and breaking upon the ground. <em>"Scabbard is compromised. Final delay line in danger of being over-."</em><br><br>The booming sound of heavy machine gun fire, seemingly erupting right next to the receiver drowned out his voice, before the sounds of shouting and jingling of equipment rapidly faded away.<br><br><em>"...Final protective fire! Pour it all into them!"</em> shouted a voice in the background.<br><em><br>"...critical. We have sightings of Apocalyse!" </em>Agent Marquez then stated, his voice then returning. <em>"We need reinforcements now! Over!"</em><br><br>Abigail started to speak, when a literaly barrage of fire seemed to overcome the other end of the line, followed by a series of loud explosions in the background, sounding like the sky was on fire while the ground itself was erupting. There was a barrage of missiles or rockets going on in the background as Abigail recomposed herself and practically shouted into the receiver. "Is Nefaria engaged? Over!" she then asked, wanting to know that final question before giving her orders. She was already gearing up to go, with or without Nightcrawler.<br><br><em>"Ummm I can't.... wait... Yeah... no... wait we have him on monitor three-,"</em> Marquez then started to state when a near defeaning shockwave erupted and in the background another chorus of shouts and screams could be heard before a sizzling sound suddenly rose up, followed by a deluge of static feedback overcoming the line.<br>"Scabbard. Do you copy! Scabbard do you copy? Over!" Abigail then shouted only to get silence and static on the other end and it remained that way for a solid minute when suddenly the receiver flared up to life again.<br><br><em>"...those fires out..."</em><br><br><em>"... aid station overrun..."</em><br><br><em>"... boat is sinking..."</em><br><span style="font-size: 18pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong><br>"YOU WILL FIND NO MORE SUCCESS WITH YOUR GUNS AND MISSILES THEN THE NUBIANS DID WITH THEIR SPEARS AND CLUBS"</strong></span><br><br>A literal chill suddenly rippled throug Abigail's body, as she realized whose voice that was. She had never heard his voice before, hell she had never even seen Apocalypse before, but the mere sounding of his voice seemed to drown out all other noise. Even through the radio it seemed to command its own authority, denying everything else. For what seemed like several beats afterwards, it was as if the entire world as it sounded on the radio fell silent.<br><em><br>"...drown that fucker in fire! Pour it on him!"</em> suddenly screamed a familiar voice in the background. It was Agent Duchamp. Before Abigail could speak though, a suddenly rising crescendo of automatic and heavy weapons fire literally drowned out all other noise. Then, without any warning, the radio just went dead.<br><br>Abigail glanced back, and saw both Agent Kang and Spymaster already crowding around behind her. "Orders Director?" Kang asked.<br><br>"Tell the Egyptians to scramble every plane they got. Have Tokoro get on the radio. See if we can get any assistance. Check every station from Copenhagan to Cape Town. I don't care. We need to hit this guy while we have the chance to do it," Director Brand stated. <br><br>"I thought we were evacuating if the perimeter was overrun," Agent Kang then offered, not disagreeing, just bringing up the other option.<br><br>"There's still people fighting there. We're not leaving any of them behind unless we have to. And I'm taking his head if I get the chance," Abigail then stated, already grabbing the helmet of her Sandstorm armor. "I want us ready in... twenty minutes," she then said, turning to Spymaster. "You coming?"<br><br>Spymaster shrugged and then casually nodded. "Sure why not. As far as I know, it's you, Apocalypse, Stark and Nefaria. And Stark doesn't exactly like me... God knows why. And Apocalypse isn't really an option. Everyone else... is either going to Port Said or already there. I'd hate that if I have to die, I'd do it alone."<br><br>"Not interested in saving your own skin?" Agent Kang asked.<br><br>Spymaster laughed. "Oh... I still am. But living for the sake of living in Apocalypse's world doesn't appeal to me in the least. I thought the world was just fine the way it was before. So yeah... I'm with you all." <br><br>"Good. Let's get ready," Abigail then said, heading back to the bunker. <br><br>"And Kurt?" Agent Kang asked.<br><br>"He can join us when he's ready," Abigail replied, not showing much concern for him it seemed.<br><br>"When?"<br><br>"He's too strong to be just an 'if' Agent Kang," she then said. "Rally point is either here or Cyprus."<br><br>"And then?" Agent Kang asked as she started to trudge across the desert back towards the bunker.<br><br>"We go north. To Europe. More population. More resources. I know most of the fleet pulled back to their respective countries because the Apocalypti are running rampant up there, but we have to hope that it's not completely overrun. If not.. we'll just have to run them back off somewhere," she then said, with a grim finality.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>21-05-2013, 06:53:16</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>They say that Courage isn't not feeling fear, that's just silly. Courage is about being afraid, accepting that, and doing what you have to do anyway. Case and point - Kurt in that cot trying to shot out the sounds as Agent Tokoro sat nearby. At least some of the uniform had come off so they could monitor his vitals, he was sweating threw the sheet on the cot otherwise. Willpower, forcing the hallucination to die off bit by bit.<br><br>Then they come for Agent Tokoro and give her orders for the radio, he gripped her hand but in the end let her go to let her get to work as he has a cold sweat. Kurt curses himself to fight the toxin a little longer, a little harder.<br><br>Admittedly, he doesn't know how exactly he heard Apocalypse’s voice. He's thinking someone played it too him to rub in the mutant bit - but it has an effect on him. Courage is being afraid, and doing it anyway. He doesn't just lie down anymore, he starts up - the cold sweats still coming but he fights them harder and harder as he puts his uniform right then picks up his blades to move toward the cockpit of the craft. He's getting up, he's moving, and maybe that'll be enough.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>13-06-2013, 23:18:18</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Egyptian Air Force Base South of Mersa Matruh</strong><br><br>Director Brand didn’t feel nice about ripping Agent Tokoro from Nightcrawler’s bedside while he was enduring his traumatic episode, but to be honest, regardless of whatever feelings the two of them had, the needs of the war far outweighed them. From what she had just received in transmission, Port Said was in preparation for being overrun by a force of mutants led by the head honcho Apocalypse himself. But like with every disaster, there was a silver lining.<br><br>Apocalypse was going to be there.<br><br>Unfortunately she didn’t have a nuclear weapon to drop on his big dumb genocidal head. But what she did have, was a new armada. And Agent Tokoro had helped bring it together in a short period of time. Already Port Said was too far away for a ground offensive to be of any relief and to be honest, she doubted that a bunch of Egyptian police officers, militia and Air Force security would be anything but throwing warm bodies at the problem.<br><br>But they did have an air force. Nothing like the Independence Day esque air armada that Count Nefaria had summoned in the First Battle of Port Said, but enough to make a deep impression she hoped, even if only for a short period of time. Most of the Egyptians front line aircraft were either blasted apart in the opening hours and days of the conflict but there were still plenty of jet powered trainers available, and planes bordering on obsolescence still reigning as hangar queens. Thanks to Agent Tokoro, she had them assembled here for fueling, arming and finding pilots. The nice thing about jet trainers was that they were easier to operate then the mind boggling complex modern day fighters.<br><br>“We got a lot of Mig-21’s. Most of the pilots are familiar with them but they’re trying to work out the kinks,” Agent Kang stated.<br><br>“As long as they can takeoff, fly, and shoot missiles and guns, that’s all we need,” Director Brand stated. “Most of the Apocalypti are wearing light power armor suits. Should be a match for them, all superpowers not being considered.”<br><br>“With this force we won’t have a staying power though,” Agent Kang then stated as they approached the assembled pilots assembled on the tarmac, all of them looking rather impressed at the now famous Director Brand, now looking even more imposing in her Sandstorm armor as she approached them. <br><br>“Once they run out of ordinance, tell them to fall back either to the rally point on Cyprus or back here,” Director Brand stated. “Pilots are more important than planes at this point. And our main objective is to kill Apocalypse, and save the lives of our friendlies,” Director Brand then stated as she scrolled over whoever else had been assembled. <br><br>“Most of our European reinforcements that Nefaria brought in, as you well know, have withdrawn North. But Agent Tokoro, using the communication facilities in the bunker, has managed to assemble contingents both here and in the Middle East. We can coordinate a double envelopment attack from the air that should knock them off balance, if only for a short period of time.”<br><br>“Good. I want you in the Harrier. We’ll divide our own forces. You’ll lead half of our aircraft that we have here over the Med. Cover any seaborne retreat we might have in place. Protect the ships at all costs. I’ll lead the second half and fly low over the Sahara. The Middle East contingent will come in from the East. We’ll loop in from the Southwest. At the moment of impact, we shoot off our missiles as soon as possible.&nbsp; Hit them from all sides at long range. Then we plow the field with bombs and gunfire. Intelligence reports Apocalypse is big, blue and hard to miss. So look for a giant angry smurf or something,” she then said.<br><br>Agent Kang nodded, taking down the orders and then bringing up the final thing on his agenda before takeoff. “I know you hate speeches but… the pilots might want some inspirational words. Speeches are kind of a big deal in this part of the country,” he advised as the two found themselves standing in front of dozens of pilots from a half dozen different nations. Most were Egyptians, but there were still smaller numbers of Algerians who had flown all the way over here in their own planes, as well as Libyans and a smattering of Italians from the NATO fleet and even some Russian mercenaries who were originally here as military instructors and advisors. Needless to say, Director Brand felt uncomfortable, hero or not.<br><br>Still standing before them, she just took a deep breath, realizing she had to simply swallow her nerves and try and say something inspirational and hope that the Dunning-Kruger Effect wasn’t going to take place as she spoke.<br><br>“Listen up everyone,” she then started to say, clearing her throat. “I don’t need to tell you what’s happening. Millions of our countrymen are dead. All of their deaths are on the head of one man. One mutant. His name is Apocalypse. He’s in Port Said right now killing our brothers and sisters in arms. This coward has had great success in murdering tens of thousands of men, and women and children and unarmed civilians. He thinks he’s superior to us, but he was only able to attack us with such cruelty through deception and brutality and surprise. When we got his forces in a fair fight, they went scurrying back to their Daddy and asked him for help. So now Apocalypse himself has shown up. He means to walk right over us.”<br><br>“This… villain… is the biggest butcher in human history. He’s racked up a huge bill. It’s time he pays up. Today, we’re going to catch him by surprise. He thinks he’s superior. He thinks he’s immortal. We’re going to put that to the test today. When you’re flying towards Port Said, and you pick up some giant, blue lipped smurf on the field of battle. You lock your missiles on his big mutated head and you unload every missile, rocket and cannon round into it. I’m not going to lie, we might not win this fight. But we’re going to bring down the vengeance of the millions that he’s murdered down upon him. We will show him today, win or lose, who is superior. Who is the better man in the end,” Director Brand then said before the Sandstorm armor she was wearing suddenly had its facemask slip over her face and she literally blasted off into the air, spurring on a surge of cheers and screams and even a few rather excessive discharges of gunfire into the air. <br><br>“Pilots! Report to your planes and prepare for takeoff,” Agent Kang then barked.<br><br>“Allahu Akbar!” came the resounding chants from many of the pilots as they immediately raced to their planes. It was a hodgepodge mix of old Egyptian Air Force Mig-21’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG_21), as well as just as large numbers of Alpha Jets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault-Breguet/Dornier_Alpha_Jet), and Karakorums (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hongdu_JL-8) light jet trainers. And not all of the pilots were even Egyptians, as some Italians, Russians and Libyans with flight experience were recruited to pilot the planes. The Algerians had brought in a squadron of Mig-29’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-29) and Su-24’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-24) as well, and thankfully had their original pilots with them. And then there was Agent Kang in the Harrier jump jet they had borrowed from earlier, and Director Brand in her own Sandstorm armor who would lead the divided force.<br><br>Then, in order to coordinate the three pronged aerial attack, Agent Tokoro and Spymaster would be utilizing the HYDRA stealth VTOL that had brought the Nefaria supervillains here originally as a sort of airborne command center. They would only take off after everyone else, as Director Brand made it known she wanted to wait just as long as possible for Nightcrawler to hopefully recover. He wasn’t exactly a superhuman heavyweight, but he had plenty of experience and abilities that made him a very useful asset… if he was anything approaching combat capable. <br><br>And beyond all that, Director Brand had one more ace up her sleeve. One she planned to use, once the time was right.<br><br>Within fifteen minutes, planes were already taxing towards the runway and taking off, fuel tanks full, hardpoints loaded with missiles, rockets and bombs, cannons loaded and ready to fire and each pilot knowing what was expected of them, and how long the odds were. “Radio silence until we get missile locks,” Director Brand stated as the Mersa Matruh task force took to the air and divided into two aerial battle groups. <br><br>“Acknowledged,” Agent Kang replied. Combined with the strike force hopefully coming in from the Middle East, they’d catch the force of Apocalypti, rumored to be more powerful but a smaller task force, by something hopefully approaching surprise. If not, it might be the shortest offensive in recent history. <br>---<br><br><strong>Forty Five Minutes later… <br>Over Port Said<br></strong><br>Director Brand wasn’t a religious woman, not even in the least, but she, like many of those with no attachment to any particular faith, was still prone to religious verbiage when faced with events of literally biblical proportions. “Good God…” she murmured as they came upon Port Said and literally saw the city looking like a charnel house exploding in a cacophony of flames, embers and lights. It was almost like a ground level explosion of fireworks, a perpetual grand finale as dozens, if not hundreds of weapons and superhumans were engaging in a titanic clash of forces.<br><br>But even in the midst of the lethal light show that was growing over the horizon, Abigail Brand, encased in her super advanced power armor, despite being miles and miles away, had essentially a front row seat to the titanic struggle unfolding just as she arrived. She could detect, through the radar alone, who this Apocalypse even without seeing him optically was but even that reading was eclipsed by a signature signal that literally lit up every IR and thermal sensor in her suit. It was Count Nefaria. <br><br>And if the light show was any indication, it looked like he was singlehandedly… everywhere in Port Said at the same time.<br>---<br><br><strong>Suez Canal Authority Building</strong><br><br>The tanks were flying in the air. That was the last thought one SWORD agent had before an Egyptian Abrams literally flipped through the air, and crushed her upon impact. “NOTHING STOPS THE JUGGERNAUT!” the powerful, dome helmeted monstrosity roared as he seemed to literally be hosed down by weapons fire. Machine guns. Grenades. Explosives. Nothing had even the slightest effect upon the man himself, even if his armor was looking slightly the worse for wear with the helmet dented by the various explosives and cannon shells that had impacted against it while the man underneath was unharmed.&nbsp; With a single swipe of a massive, tree trunk sized limb, he chopped down a corner building, causing the anti-aircraft cannon mounted on the rooftop of the five story structure to come crumbling down, its hapless operators crushed in the rubble.<br><br>“UNSTOPPABLE!” he roared as a single energy blast sizzled against his helmet and the massively build villain turned his head to see who dared irk him ever so slightly. <br><br>Stilt-Man frowned, realizing even on full power, his energy pistol was woefully inadequate and immediately realized, Stilt-Man versus Juggernaut might be one of the shortest fights in history. SO he did the only thing he could. He made his stilts extend higher as Juggernaut, effortlessly ripping a tank main gun from the turret of one of the nearby Abrams, then charged forward and swinging it about like a baseball bat, easily sliced through both of Wilbur’s armored legs and causing the D-grade villain to start to take a tumble down towards the corpse and rubble filled street below. <br><br>“Oh well,” he thought. “At least he died fighting.” Those were the last thoughts echoing through his mind when a blur of unmistakable ionic energy suddenly blasted past him to the point he almost felt like his skin was burning through his armor a moment before he hit the ground. <br><br>Count Nefaria had spent the entire opening stage of the battle in preparation. Wilbur knew that Count Nefaria had a plan, but didn’t realize just what it was. He had seen the AIM scientists worked, preparing something. He deduced it was some sort of nuclear bomb, likely one they had stolen from the Israelis before ‘rescuing Port Said,’ the same one that Abigail Brand wanted to of used earlier. It had all been part of Nefaria’s calculations. Instead of Director Brand saving the day, it would be Nefaria.<br><br>But he never used it on Cairo. And now Wilbur, the often mocked Stilt-Man suddenly realized why. The AIM scientists weren’t needed to prepare or deliver the nuclear bomb. They were needed in order to convert the nuclear bomb to another purpose.<br><br>Convert it into ionic energy.<br><br>Ionic energy that Count Nefaria had spent most of the morning absorbing.<br><br>Juggernaut, his power mystically fueled by ancient powers that were far beyond the comprehension of mere mortals or their sciences, found himself blinded by the ribbon like trail of ruby red fire that was Count Nefaria now, his eyes literally burning, and weeping at the sight of the nuclear powered Count burning a path through the air itself and aimed right at Juggernaut. <br><br>In a fraction of a second, Juggernaut’s helmet was reduced to molten metal as with the rest of his armor, it seemed to literally drip from his unyielding skin. But as one who had molten lead dropped on him by the vat load and yet remained unharmed, it was of no consequence.&nbsp; In fact, Juggernaut had even formed his massive hands into fists, intent on pummeling what Nefaria had become into submission only to suddenly find himself weightless as in a flash of time, he realized he was literally falling from the air.<br><br>Just like that, the heat was gone.<br><br>From several thousand meters up in the upper atmosphere, the Juggernaut, completely naked, redefined himself as an unstoppable force and would soon have a birds eye view of what was to come.<br>---<br><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque</strong><br><br>“Ggghhhh!”&nbsp; Agent DuChamp groaned, as the life crushing tendrils of Omega Red were about to finish him off when a hand grenade literally exploded off of the back of his head. The mosques floor was literally covered in dead Kurdish peshmerga and SWORD agents, as well as a few lesser armored Apocalypti when Omega Red and Deacon turned to find a new force had come to interfere.<br><br>“Who wishes to expedite their judgment,” Deacon, a hulking brute of a superhuman, his fundamentalist will now corrupted to bend to Apocalypse’s desire, intoned in a deep, grave voice. The two supervillains turned to see a less then compelling force facing them down. <br><br>Bombshell and the Shocker turned to each other and gave each other knowing nods of farewell and then, handfuls of explosives and vibro-blasters at the ready, unleashed their best shots against the two corrupted villains. Omega Red and Deacon charged forward, the Russian supervillain tossing aside his latest victims as he pursued the far juicier new ones. Apocalypse had found the SWORD agents and their puny human Peshmerga defenders as unworthy of direct battle and thus ignoring their pathetically conventional assaults, had Omega Red and Deacon lead a squad to kill the lot of them. <br><br>They had succeeded.<br><br>And now it looked like two unjudged supervillains would be joining their number. Wading through the fragments of grenade explosions, and vibro-blasts the two supervillains closed distance, intent on skewering, stabbing and ripping apart their lesser foes in a gory display of violence and bloodlust. But Bombshell and the Shocker proved that even though they were far from A-listers, they had their own assets as Bombshell backflipped over the mystical golden swords of the Deacon, leaving a gift of a white phosphorous grenade in her wake as she landed behind a metal desk. The Shocker meanwhile slipped through the tentacles of Omega Red, unleashing at point blank ranges his own vibro-blasts to the face of the Russian villain. His vibro-suit, able to shrug off Spider-Man’s webbing, found avoiding the death pheromone laced tendrils of Omega Red more hazardous, but still easier to avoid.<br><br>Even though, his proximity with the death pheromones was already making him feel weak, even lethargic, within seconds of indirect exposure as he realized they would have to find a way to eliminate their foes quickly or else attrition alone would finish them off.&nbsp; <br><br>As the Willy Pete grenade went off with a blast of smoke, and a blinding flash of light, the caustic burning phosphorous splattered across the two villains though causing barely anything of an irritant, beyond temporarily deafening and blinding the duo. <br><br>But it was enough for the Shocker. <br><br>Realizing this was his chance, he unloaded a full blast of his vibro-blasters, aiming them at the Omega Red’s feet and causing the mosque’s floor to collapse around the Russians feet. Within a fraction of a second, he had toppled through the floor into the mosques basement levels as without missing a beat, Bombshell tossed a high explosive grenade against a nearby support pillar base before diving for cover yet again.<br><br>“Heathenous profligates! You deny judgment!” Deacon roared, the phosphorous burning his face still before sizzling into nothing. He lashed out with his golden swords blindly, catching nothing but furniture and air when suddenly he felt the Shocker leap onto his back and without hesitation, he jammed his vibro-blasters against the ears of the powerful villain and unloaded a full blast of his gauntlets. These gauntlets could knock over armored vehicles, or cause the She-Hulk to be rattled. But on full power, focused on such an exposed point, they could do even far more damage.<br><br>His brain literally rattling inside his skull, the fundamentalist villain started to bleed from his nose and ears within a split second of the blast, his entire body spasming as one of the golden swords suddenly feel from his grasp, skittering across the floor as he seemed to lose all motor control. Then his eyes turned red as, in his last second of instinctive thought, the Deacon clutched his remain sword tightly and then, to the Shockers surprise, flipped it around in his grasp as he realized Deacon intended to fall upon his own sword. <br><br>“Suicide is a sin!” the Shocker, not truly religious himself, suddenly screamed, realizing if he let go, Deacon might recover yet.<br><br>“I am a zealot for my Lord!” the Deacon replied almost immediately before falling forward and driving his remaining blade through his own chest. The sword point struck through his heart, killing him instantly before slicing clean through the Shockers abdomen, suit and all, like butter. \<br><br>“NO!” Bombshell screamed, not wanting to lose yet another friend and ally as she raced out from behind her hiding spot, just as the explosive she placed against the pillar detonated, and buried Omega Red under a literal ton of stone and granite. She raced across the corpse and rubble strewn mosque, towards the slumped form of the Deacon, and the Shocker, neither of them moving now as they were both impaled on the golden blade. “Jesus Christ… what should I do?” Bombshell said, sliding to her knees as she wondered how she could start to extricate the Shocker from the blade or even if she could.<br><br>Amazingly, the Shocker slowly turned his quilt masked head towards her. “I immediately regret being a hero,” the Shocker groaned weakly. Bombshell would’ve uttered a laugh if she wasn’t already crying when the Shocker’s eyes suddenly widened. “Look out…” he then murmured in a hoarse voice. <br><br>Bombshell turned around just as she saw the pillar she had collapsed onto Omega Red be literally torn apart by the carbonadium tendrils of Omega Red, reducing the massive pillar to powder in seconds. Bombshell immediately reached for the other golden sword lying on the ground when one of the death pheromone laced tentacles suddenly reached around her neck and she was effortlessly ripped away from the Shocker and suspended before Omega Red.<br><br>A cruel grin crossed the savage Russians face as he pulled her pretty blonde face to his, close enough to feel his cold breath upon her, sapping her of life itself. “With Deacon’s death, the greater share of glory is now mine. I thank you whore and in compensation I will practice every of exquisite torture and sadism upon your body,” he then said, his other tendril already snaking up her leg, slithering up towards her inner thighs. “I will bring you to the point of death over and over again, after you watch your friends butchered before your eyes. You will be debased. And tortured. And used. And when your mind finally breaks, you will be judged. And then, only if you are lucky, will you die.”<br><br>His villainous monologue was suddenly interrupted by the Shocker audibly clearing his throat, which was already filling with blood. Bombshell, wide eyed with terror, turned her deathly pale face to the side and saw the Shocker extending his vibro-gauntlet one last time and aiming it a golden sword on the ground.<br><br>He fired a blast.<br><br>The golden sword of the Deacon suddenly flew up into the air.<br><br>Bombshell had great hands. <br><br>She caught it.<br><br>And before Omega Red could put a period on the Russian curse word about to escape his mouth, Bombshell made him eat that same sword.<br><br>Pointy end first.<br><br>The tendrils dropped her, as she ripped the sword from Omega Red’s throat and without delay, swung it around in a roundhouse fashion, slashing at Omega Red’s knees. The divinely enchanted blade cut deep into the Russians legs, severing them clean off as with a roar of pain, Omega Red collapsed to the ground. He wasn’t speaking English anymore. His rage wouldn’t allow him to speak in anything but his native tongue as he launched his tendrils outward, intent on crushing Bombshell as he unloaded a litany of Russian curses upon her.<br><br>“Like I care. I don’t speak Russian,” she growled weakly in response as she felt the tendrils wrapping around her legs, snapping her foot and ankle bones like twigs as she started to jab downward with the sword, ripping deep lacerations into the now crawling supervillains face. “Heal from this!” she spat spitefully, realizing from stories she had heard about Wolverine and Omega Red back in the day, he just might but pushed those thoughts out of mind.<br><br>She summoned up the last of her strength, and drove the point of the golden blade deep into Omega Red’s neck, hoping against all hope that she could slice the Russian mutants head clean off. But she failed, the last of her strength failing her and then, even with his neck half severed, Omega Red crawled upon Bombshell, ready to deliver a final blow of death. A twistedly cruel smile crossed the Russians face.<br><br>Then suddenly his head was removed from his body.<br><br>Bombshell blinked as a split second later, the headless body of the mutant was tossed aside into a nearby wall and Bombshell looked up at a brilliant red light standing over her, as an almost luminous being looked down upon her. She immediately realized who it was.<br><br>“Count Nefaria,” Bombshell groaned weakly.<br><br>“Herman. Wendy. If it is any consolation,” Count Nefaria stated, referring to them by their actual names, his voice almost sounding ethereal now as he clutched the severed head of Omega Red almost casually in one hand. “You’re contributions to my ascension will be long remembered and memorialized. If either of you are still alive when I am finished, I will spare no expense in assisting in your respective recoveries. If not…. thank you… and good bye.”<br><br>With that said, Count Nefaria simply flew off for his final confrontation.<br><br>Bombshell and the Shocker turned to each other, neither having the strength to even speak anymore as they realized that was quite likely the most sympathetic Count Nefaria had ever been to anyone that wasn’t his own flesh and blood. <br><br>To the two of them, approaching deaths door, it was a still a very small consolation. <br>---<br><br><strong>Suez Canal Authority Building</strong><br><br>The Suez Canal Authority building, the headquarters of the Port Said resistance, was literally blasted into ruin with a single gesture as Apocalypse waded into the rubble, crushing any and all that stood in his way, underfoot. All around him, the pathetic forces of humanity and their misguided allies, were scurrying away as behind him, all that remained was death and devastation. All that could be mustered against him had barely lasted more than an hour and this coward that was supposed to be their champion, this petty human Count, was nowhere to be seen.<br><br>Then a quartet of heads suddenly landed right before his eyes. <br><br>He recognized them immediately.<br><br>It was Abraham Kreios, Deacon, and Omega Red,&nbsp; three of his most capable Lieutenants.<br><br>And then, in a display of extravagance that even made Apocalypse’s blue lips curl upwards slightly, he saw the good Count wasn’t a coward after all.<br><br>Merely a fool.<br><br>Literally glowing with ionic energy, the Count, no longer even identifiably human, as his energy based form hovered in the air before Apocalypse, stared down the mutant mastermind. “I’m collecting&nbsp; heads Apocalypse. I need one more for my headless horsemen I’m creating,” Nefaria bellowed, clearly not intimidated in the least.<br><br>The slight smile remained etched upon Apocalypse’s lips. “You are a fool Count. Guilty of hubris and vanity,” Apocalypse calmly responded.<br><br>“If we are to think on sins, the one you will soon be guilty of is envy,” the well learned Count responded with bravado, unafraid to mock Apocalypse, regardless of his supposed power. <br><br>Apocalypse simply remained bemused. “Well said Count Nefaria! Let us see what mettle you mortals have finally conjured to challenge me!” <br>---<br><br><strong>Several dozen miles to the Southwest</strong><br><br><br>For a brief moment, still miles away, Director Brands’ sensors were literally blinded by the spike in energy levels. It appears, the real battle had finally been joined.<br>----<br><br><strong>NPC Cast of Characters:</strong><br><br>Apocalypti:<br>Venom (http://marvel.wikia.com/Venom)<br>Deacon (http://www.comicvine.com/deacon/4005-10248/)<br>Omega Red (http://marvel.com/universe/Omega_Red)<br>Juggernaut (http://marvel.com/universe/Juggernaut_%28Cain_Marko%29)<br>Southpaw (http://www.comicvine.com/southpaw/4005-4945/)<br><br>HYDRA/Maggia: (Beggars can't be choosers)<br>Count Nefaria (http://www.comicvine.com/count-nefaria/29-3229/)<br>Spymaster (http://www.comicvine.com/spymaster/29-10222/)<br>The Shocker (http://www.comicvine.com/shocker/29-4825/)<br>Stilt-Man (http://www.comicvine.com/stilt-man/29-2474/)<br>Bombshell (http://www.comicvine.com/bombshell/29-27882/)<br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/29-14046/)<br>&nbsp;Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Dreadnoughts (http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dreadnought.htm)<br><br>SWORD:<br>Agent Hariri (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaulaGarces.jpg) (Lebanon): Linguistics and Diplomacy.<br>Agent Marquez (http://i.imgur.com/xmUcy.jpg) (Philippines): Intelligence Analysis.<br>Agent Duchamp (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Guys/PatrickCote.jpg) (Canada): Weapons Specialist.<br>Agent Fisher (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/PaigeWyatt2.jpg) (United States of America): Reconnaissance Marksman<br>Agent Tokoro (http://i1001.photobucket.com/albums/af134/MNBlend/Class/AmiTokito.jpg) (Japan): Communications Technician<br>Agent Kang (http://i.imgur.com/fzF5tH7.jpg) (Kazakhstan): Weapons Specialist.<br>Provisional Agent Austen (http://i.imgur.com/4vP6csw.jpg) (United States): Underwater Demolitions.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>15-06-2013, 04:05:29</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Mersa Matruh<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Kurt collapsed on the floor again as the toxin kept burning in his blood. He was standing up to it now, but it was taking so much out of him. It doesn't matter though, he grunts and just gets back up again.<br><br><em>You're just going to fail.</em><br><br>Azazel? No, more hallucinating. The demon tries to claim Kurt was his son with Mystique to make him do evil, but Kurt has no part of it. Mystique sometimes take male forms that actually work - that's his story and he's sticking to it.<br><br><em>Alright, so I'm just an hallucination. Doesn't mean I wouldn't be right. Just grab a few women and disappear. Bet real Azazel would even take you back if you asked nicely,</em><br><br>"<strong>No</strong>" Kurt quietly protests, whether to Azazel-Hallucination or to the SWORD agent trying to help him up not even he knows.<br><br><em>And honestly, what he says makes WAY more sense. If Mystique was your father, where did you get a y-gene?</em><br><br>Kurt doesn't pretend to know the answer to that. Dr. Hank McCoy tried to explain it once but it went right over Kurt's head. He trusts Hank, or did trust him as he's probably dead. Another friend gone, now that he thinks about it. That little emotional kick reopens him to something else.<br><br>In front of him, floating, is the visage of the man who gassed him like some sort of demonic being complete with eyes that glowed red. Mr. Fear's voice was mostly a guess, he knew that but that didn't stop him.<br><br><em>You really think you can beat this? The Fear?</em><br><br>Kurt collapses again, colliding with the handrail beside him - but it reminds him of something. Something he can use.<br><br>"<strong>You really think I've never had to overcome terror before?</strong>" he replies, determined. His memories reach back, back - back to the first time he truly overcame sheer unmitigated terror. Back, back to when he was barely a man - back with Amanda and the Circus.<br><br>He goes back, in his mind, back when he was first the Incredible Nightcrawler, a 15 year old trapeze artist performing with more skill and style them acrobats a decade older with more experience. He'd teleported only a few times before, always alone but now wasn't the time to think about it. In the audience was his first love, Amanda - and this would be his first show without using a net. Or so he thought. So wrapped up in his thoughts of his teleports he hadn't noticed that one of his normal partners had called in sick.<br><br>Amanda had suited up to take her place. A combination of the teenage belief in their own invincibility, a desire to be near her lover, the knowledge that Kurt was more then ready to take this leap, and the confidence that comes with having some bit of training but not nearly enough. He'd later learn that she's gotten her fortune read by Kurt's foster mother Margali, the circus's fortune teller, and she believed that it wasn't her fate to die that day. So she climbed up that later and took the the trapeze to keep the show going.<br><br>And Kurt, young and in love, embraced the idea of sharing the air with her - until she missed a queue and began to fall. The scream that left her lips, the utter dismay of the moment he knew that he was going to watch his first love die -<br><br>Or by all rights he should of. Kurt had took a leap of faith to save Amanda, high above that Circus crowd trusting in God and his Momentum to save her - and when they touch there's a puff of purple smoke, and they reappear just a few meters away but close enough that Kurt can grab onto the ladder and stop their fall. In his mind the memory continues, young Kurt had wrenched his shoulder but Amanda was safe and in his arms - the kiss convinced the crowd that it was an illusion and part of the show.<br><br>However, above the young lovers, the older Kurt and the image of Mr. Fear take their places at the opposite sides of the trapeze.<br><br><em>You can't get rid of Fear, Kurt.</em><br><br><em>&lt;Shut up, Idiot.&gt;</em> Kurt starts, grabbing the loose trapeze bar and beginning to cross the space, just like in old times, <em>&lt;Fear keeps you alive, Fear keeps you safe, Fear keeps your loved ones alive - I'm not trying to get rid of Fear.&gt;</em><br><br>The transfer to the next trapeze bar is smoothed as if he never stopped practising.<br><br>"<strong>&lt;Just need to put it back in its place.&gt;</strong>"<br><br>In his mind, Kurt propels from the trapeze bar and adds a spin to his momentum as he does it so that when he is back in line with the figment of his insane hallucination his leg is sweeping the man off his feet and off the trapeze platform, then he grabs onto the ledge so he can watch "Mr. Fear" fall down onto the Circus rings below. . .<br><br>In the real world, Kurt Wagner stands back up. The cold sweating has stopped, the hallucinations gone, and he takes a moment to put his uniform right and set his commlink back in properly. The Incredible Nightcrawler, ready for his next performance, heads for the cockpit of the Harrier.<br><br>--------<br><br>Abigail Brand wasn't the only one at a loss for words seeing the second battle of Port Said. In the cockpit, tiny parts of Agent Kang and Agent Tokoro were grateful that they were in the back away from - that. It was like Hell on Earth opened in Port Said, and the Devil had fallen in love with fireworks as jets and burst along a whole rainbow of colors over the landscape. This was a smaller force, but what they could do - the mind boggled. Was that a new active Volcano open in the City Hall?<br><br>When Kurt enters, the Agents look back not even looking for hope - just some validation for what they're feeling, like they're tiny ants that got exposed when a sadistic 4 year old turned over a rock, the kid just happened to be looking somewhere else for now.<br><br>And in a way, their feelings are validated. Kurt looks out the front window and knows - he knows there's no way he can have any lasting effect on anything that happens down there, not in the grand scheme of things. He's too small, his powers just minor parlor tricks compared to Apocalypse and Lord Nefaria, battle joined according to the sensors on the Harrier.<br><br>But there's a difference between being unable to make a noticable difference and a meaningful difference. Maybe he couldn't do anything on his own to save the world, but he could do something to save someone's whole world. For now, that would have to be enough.<br><br>"<strong>Agent Tokoro, can you lead me toward confirmed wounded?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>You're going out into that?</strong>" Agent Kang is the first to ask.<br><br>"<strong>Mutant Heroes, Vowed to Protect a World that Fears and Hates us. I don't think I can do something spectacular, but I can do something. Besides, maybe God has a miracle of his sleeves. Heh.</strong>"<br><br>Agent Tokoro is the one that taps into the layout of the Harrier first and points to an area on the screen toward the back of the plane.<br><br>"<strong>There's a couple encounter suits in here, you just need one of the helmets. They have built-in HUDs, I can highlight where the medical evac teams and areas are, and SWORD suits have sensors that can detect lifesigns.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Everyone SWORD who is wounded but not dead, and where to take them. Understood.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>And anyone else near them if the sensors in the helmets are working.</strong>" Agent Tokoro adds, and funny thing - there's that glimmer of hope. Maybe they're just tiny bugs, but things are never hopeless. Not completely.<br><br>"<strong>Good Luck, 'Crawler. I'll put some cold non-alcoholic ones in the Fridge.</strong>" Agent Kang calls back as he types away to open up some data streams.<br><br>"<strong>Wherever we end up.</strong>" Kurt smiles. In case they die, sure - but nobody was planning on it anymore. He turns to leave and just about flips a mental switch in his head when a hand stops him. Agent Tokoro leans in motions that what's next will come in a whisper.<br><br>"<strong>And I'm glad we got to fuck. If we both survive, look me up.</strong>" she giggled.<br><br>Kurt winks, then disappears. . .<br><br>----------<br><br><strong>Above Port Said</strong><br><br>The Helmet over Kurt's head completely covered him down past his jawline but the front was practically all glass with images and lights on his view. A cloud of purple smoke high above the city and he starts to fall out over the cityscape that's starting to look like it's a Van Gogh painting of a War Zone.<br><br>SWORD Icons appear, then a smaller number of Red Cross signs. Some Green, quite a few Yellow, and a lot of Red. Only a little wounded, pretty badly, and potentially lethally.<br><br>"<strong>Mein Gott, there's Hundreds.</strong>" he says quietly at first, but just at first. Men and Women that were Wounded but not Dead. That was how he could help. Med-Evac, like only a Teleporter can.<br><br>"<strong>Director Brand, this is Nightcrawler.</strong>" He speaks into the commlink, looking around as he falls to figure out where to start. When he sees it though its rather obvious. 3 Red SWORDS, 3 SWORD Agents that are critically wounded but still alive, at the Al-Abassi Mosque. When he looks at it directly it tells him that it was also the locations of the last confirmed sighting of the Deacon and Omega Red. That's where he's going.<br><br>"<strong>I've entered the Field, and I'll be working Medical Evac for as long as I can.</strong>"<br><br>And with that, a BAMF and a purple cloud mark him disappearing. . .<br><br><hr><br><strong>Al-Abassi Mosque</strong><br><br>BAMF!<br><br>He pulls his swords, that's all the hesitation he allows himself before he enters the Mosque and even then it's too much as the helmet tells him that one of the Red SWORDS has gone out. He curses under his breath and breaks into an open run. He doesn't analyze it, doesn't think about if he could of saved that one if he was a little faster - there's going to be a lot of those tonight.<br><br>He tells himself that he isn't really rejoicing in the death of another, but the first good news he has he gives right away.<br><br>"<strong>I think I found the Deacon. He's quite dead, though without a head I suppose I could be wrong. Moving on.</strong>"<br><br>Come on, where were they? Another Red SWORD starts to dim when he finally gets past a mound of rubble enough to see people. It's hard to mistake the one with the tendrils coming out of him but he doesn't get closer. Someone else needed him first. BAMF!<br><br>The Red SWORD he comes across first is under rubble, but the blood pooling around the woman isn't good - it only takes a second to see that the only reason she's still alive is because the rocks and rebar that pierce her body are slowing the blood flow. If he removes her, she'll just die instantly.<br><br>He makes a choice. At least she was unconscious and not feeling any pain. A quick crucifix on her forehead and a quick prayer, and he moves on. Agent Mkombo dies about 30 seconds later anyway.<br><br>The last Red SWORD comes up as Agent Duchamp, and he's not a doctor but it looks like Omega Red got to him - but something interrupted him. Good, maybe he's got a chance. Then the helmet picks up something else.<br><br>Nearby there's two more people, the Helmet picks them up - also critically wounded, just now SWORD Agents. Looking a little longer and some data comes up.<br><br>The Shocker.<br><br>Bombshell.<br><br>Their arrest records start showing but aren't needed, villains. Another choice. But this choice is much easier to make. Kurt looks up, finds the nearest medical evac point, and puts his hands on Agent Duchamp's chest - the two of them disappear in a BAMF and puff of smoke.<br><br>Herman has it easy, with his blood loss he passed out first. Wendy's pulverized leg gets the blood in doesn't have the strength to even speak but she was still conscious but she saw him, and for a split second she thought that he'd left her to die in this mosque, far from home and alone next to a man who was probably already dead - <br><br>Then he reappears, next to the Shocker - just taking a moment to put his hand on Herman's chest then they both disappear. He was. . .he was. . .<br><br>When its her turn he must of caught her eyes darting around or something because he looks her in the eyes. She tries not to shed a tear as the demonic looking mutant suddenly looks like an angel in her vision. He came back. He came back for Them, too.<br><br>"<strong>It's going to be alright Wendy, I got you.</strong>"<br><br>And with that the Mosque is empty of anything alive.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Neysha</strong> on <strong>23-06-2013, 01:57:08</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/1w6Sw.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>&nbsp; Name:</strong> Abigail Brand<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong> Agent Brand or Ma'am or Miss. Not 'Hydra-Hair.'<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Northern Egypt, Near Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br><strong>Suez Canal Authority Building </strong><br><br>"All of my screens turned to snow!" Agent Kang suddenly shouted, breaking radio silence as his air battle group swept in from the North, over the Mediterranean Sea.<br><br>"Do you have a missile lock?" Agent Brand then asked, as she led her own task force over the Nile Delta. <br><br>Between them, a literal quarter of Port Said had seemingly been engulfed in a brilliant globe of ever expanding ruby red energy centered wholly on Count Nefaria and Apocalypse. It was a visually stunning sight, but on her own sensors, it was magnified as energies and particles only theoretically known to science seemed to erupt on her scanners readouts, as if suddenly spontaneously generating. She paused a moment, then realized that was likely exactly what was happening as a dust cloud rose from the epicenter of the presistant globule of crimson brilliance, while a shockwave erupted, billowing outward through the port city with enough force it kicked up an even thicker wave of dust, sand and dirt that spread throughout the city and even rattled Abigail as she flew towards the city inside her armored Sandstorm suit.<br><br>As soon as the wave of dust and concussive force washed over her though, she gave her command just as the city came into view once again. This time, there was no expanding, nigh impenetrable globe of light however. Instead, just as suddenly as they had been engulfed, the self described and self titled Apocalypse was standing almost&nbsp; in the exact same place as before, only now he was in the midst ofn what looked like a blasted hellscape easily several hundred meters wide. The surrounding terrain wasn't just demolished, it looked like everything had been stripped and scoured from the very rock of the Earth. No rubble. No garbage. No detritus. Just dirt and sand charred black, the temperatures having grown so hot that the sunlight reflected off what was the blackened glass Apocalypse was now standing up.<br><br>Apocalypse hadn't budged, though she could detect a thick, billowing steam rising from his body as the mutants massive arms were extended outward, impossibly so as Abigail realized this mutant leader or whatever, could manipulate his body mass to some unspecified extent. <br><br>His other ability that was revealed was that he seemed to be able of taking Count Neferia's best without looking any worse for the wear, besides looking like a giant steam cushion.<br><br>But Abigail didn't spot Count Neferia anymore, though the ionic reading were still strong, albeit rapidly fading until she suddenly focused on the mutant lords extended arms and realized his massive hands had transformed into a giant round capsule of which glittering streaks and rays of ionic energy were barely melting through for fractions of a second, before sealing up all over again, thanks to Apocalypse's amazing apparent healing factor, or ability to modify his own body. Then another crack would occur in the containment, and a split second later be sealed up again. Somehow, this mutant was able to contain the powerful supervillain literally within his grasp.<br><br>Then, in barely a fraction of a second, the flesh globe that Apocalypse had encapsulated Count Nefaria in suddenly collapsed inward, almost like an implosion. <br><br>In an instant, the ionic readings reduced to a mere flicker, as Abigail Brand realized Apocalypse had literally snuffed Count Nefaria into oblivion.<br><br>"OPEN FIRE! All units fire!" Abigail then screamed, lifting her arms ahead of her as panels lifted up from her shoulders, and a salvo of miniature rockets led the barrage as behind her, dozens of aircraft unleashed their own barrage, most of the missiles directed at Apocalypse but others spread among other targets of opportunity nearby.<br><br>Apocalypse turned to face the interlopers led by the woman in the iron suit coming in from the southwest, his hands transforming from half circles, as the charred red remnants of Count Nefaria simply shook free from his palms and fluttered to the ground, barely a wisp of humanoid ionic energy now it seemed. In an instant, those same hands transformed into massive rectangular barriers curved outward to deflect the incoming missile barrage. <br><br>"All units open fire!" Agent Kang then ordered as he led his air group coming in from the North, when just as they passed over, the remaining Naval vessels also unleashed a scattered barrage of missiles of their own.<br><br>Apocalypse paused and then suddenly the barriers that were his hands grew twice as wide as he pointed one barrier to the southwest, and another to the north.<br><br>Then three voices cut into the SWORD channel, as from the East, a pilot speaking in Arabic, another in Farsi and a third in Hebrew, all gave their commands to fire.<br><br>Apocalypse seemed unperturbed as the massive barriers that were his hands started to glow with some unidentifiable energy, and Abigail Brand started to order evasive maneuvers when, out of nowhere, a giant naked man literally crashed on top of Apocalypse from high above. <br><br>Juggernaut had finally finished his descent to Earths surface, and colliding with the top of the mutant lords skull as irresistable force met an immovable object.&nbsp; Juggernaut was stopped cold. But the object in question was staggered a moment before it was engulfed in a near constant barrage of missiles and rockets continuously slamming into his form, and any mutants or other servants that dare try to assist him second after second. <br><br>"Keep pouring on the fire," Abigail Brand then ordered as she saw the powerful Mutant Lord literally disappear in a barrage of flames, smoke and explosions from a near constant stream of ordinance striking him. "Keep him off balance! Don't let him recover!" Abigail screamed as she left a sonic boom in her wake as her Sandstorm armor punched through the sound barrier while streaking low across the ruined city at near rooftop level. Missiles were streaking over her armored form, still crashing into the smoke and ember covered form of the would be destroyer of the human race, as she then spotted the ionic energy signal that remained and dropped down even lower, cutting her way through the city into one of its narrow alleyways, doing everything she could to avoid the curiosity of Apocalypse, even as he was wreathed in explosions.<br><br>Emerging into the several block wide circle of destruction that Nefaria had unleashed, and found short of being capable of eliminating Apocalypse, Abigail made a beeline for the ionic readings she detected and saw Count Nefaria, or what was left of him, sprawled across the blackened glass in the center of the crater, his once luminous ruby red ionic form reduced to literal tatters, looking almost like a ghost.<br><br>Soaring under the shadow of Apocalypse himself, Abigail lowered her arms and scooped up what remained of Count Nefaria up into her arms. A moment later a spiked ball of blue organic flesh slammed into the spot where Nefaria had just been as proximity alarms started to blare within her Sandstorm armor. Not needing to glance back, an optical feed popped up on her heads up display, showing the Mutant Lord had unfortunately taken notice of her and even as missiles and rockets, joined by actual gunfire now almost uselessly skittering across his armored hide, he was able to notice the little armored woman trying to steal away his prize.<br><br>"Shit!" she finally cursed, glancing down at Nefaria, clinging him tightly to her arms and then realizing, rather to her shock, a pair of glowing red eyes feintly glaring back at him as she kicked in the afterburners to escape northward. "You're still with me Count?" she asked before suddenly banking to the side, narrowly avoided a lunging tendril that tapered off into a monomolecular armor piercing tip. <br><br>"Not for long I'm afraid..." the Count stated weakly, in a wispy and now... all too human and frail voice as the afterburners finally kicked in and the Sandstorm armor literally rocketed away, leaving Port Said, and Apocalypse, in the dust as she cleared over the beach and headed to safety.<br><br>"We still need you Luchiano. So does the rest of the world. This is your time to shine!" she suddenly found herself saying, literally trying to inspire one of the worlds greatest supervillains, and actually give him a peptalk. She realized only after the fact what she was saying, and how utterly ridiculous it must've sounded, yet she continued. "You have to stay with me Luchiano. Humanity needs you." She paused. "I know you stole the nuke. Where is it? We can still detonate it. You can be the savior of humanity."<br><br>For a moment, it sounded like he was choking on air, but it turned out to be a chuckle. "I absorbed the nuclear weapon and I used it all on him. That was the light show you see. There's nothing left. Nothing," he said. "You need to start recording this."<br><br>"What? Why?" Abigail asked, already doing what he said, and recording what he was about to say both on video and in audio as she landed on the Italian amphibious carrier, the flagship of the fleet Nefaria had brought to Port Said only a day ago.<br><br>"Because I want you to extend the same offer to my people that you offered to me," he then said.<br><br>"Amnesty for past crimes? Who for?" she asked as she landed on the flight deck of the vessel and gently laid him out.<br><br>"All of them. In exchange for Amnesty for everyone who joins you, I'm going to make you my heir. The Big M of the Nefaria branch of the Maggia. Supreme Hydra of Europe. You already have the hair for it," he then added in a surprisingly dry delivery, one that brought a smile to her face under her armored mask. "And one more thing."<br><br>She was still reeling from her sudden promotion when he made his last request. "And my daughter. Whitney. Please find her for me."<br><br>She stopped the recording. "Where is she? Do you know?" she asked, already doubting the chances of finding Madame Masque of all people, even if she was alive.<br><br>"New York," he replied. "She was always a Daddy's Girl. I want her to know how I died in the end," he then said, before the red orbs slowly slid shut and the ionic energy seemed to trickle away from the emaciated mortal coil that remained.<br><br>Abigail Brand rose to her feet and glanced back at Port Said. The air forces were pulling back, having run through their ordinance all in an effort to take down Apocalypse once and for all. It was a constant barrage of missiles, rockets, cannons and even bombs dropped directly upon him. But as the planes pulled away and the smoke cleared, a single plume of dark smoke remained rising from Apocalypse himself standing tall amidst the ruin of an entire city.<br><br>"God damned mutant took a half hour of our best shots. Wish we had some nukes," one of the sailors spat as others covered Nefaria's form with a tarp nearby.<br><br>"We did. Didn't work," Abigail spat back in disgust. "We bought our friends in town a half hour. Keep up the barrage as best we can until our search and rescue teams withdraw. Cyprus will be our rally point. If a ship can't make it, head down the coast to Mersa Matruh," she then said to the highest ranking officer on the deck nearby before checking her radar.<br><br>Agent Tokoro was still in the HYDRA stealth transport with Spymaster and Nightcrawler. She planned on joining them, and plan their next move. <br><br>Count their losses. Remember the fallen. Then what?<br><br>Truth was, she had no idea what that would be. 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: MARVEL - A New Fate: CAIRO - The Middle East &amp; Africa</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>25-06-2013, 07:31:56</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(http://images.wikia.com/xmenmovies/images/b/b4/Nightcrawler_creepy_smile.jpg)</div><hr><span style="font-family: arial;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Name:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Kurt Wagner<br>&nbsp; <strong>Title:</strong>&nbsp; Nightcrawler<br>&nbsp; <strong>Affiliation:</strong>&nbsp; The Resistance<br>&nbsp; <strong>Location:</strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;Port Said<br>&nbsp; <strong>Tags:</strong> Open<br></span></span><hr><br>Half of an hour. Half an hour from when Count Neferia and Apocalypse unleashed what was the closest thing to Hell on Earth that he could imagine, then man tried to swat the man left standing like a fly from God's Earth - except the Fly didn't swat. If anything he swatted back with more then Kurt could imagine.<br><br>The most horrifying part was when Neferia and Apocalypse unleashed their shockwave he saw the wave of signals get snuffed out. There was a large swath of the city, and everyone who had been fighting in it, now just <em>gone.</em><br><br>---<br><em>"<strong>. . .holy shit. . .</strong>" Kurt hears over the comms in the helmet, it sounded like Spymaster but he couldn't be entirely sure. He just knows it was certainly a male voice, leaving Agent Kang. BAMF! A wounded member of one of the local militias makes it to a stretcher on an evacuating ship.<br><br>"<strong>'Crawler, strap into a seat - we're bringing the rain on this ugly bastard.</strong>" he remembered Agent Kang then saying.<br><br>"<strong>Negative - I'm still seeing some surviving fighters down there.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Thought you'd say that, feeding data into that helmet as fast as I can put it there.</strong>" Agent Tokoro said with a smirk in her voice and more symbols start popping up. Known locations of wounded allies, at least the ones that shared their comm frequencies.<br><br>"<strong>Seriously? You're going back down there?</strong>" the Spymaster definitely had asked, "<strong>You're not even sure your own ass is going to make it, let alone anyone else's. You can't save everybody.</strong>"<br><br>BAMF! The Israelis had tried to make an impromptu med station in a library for an evac truck that never came, and it was the first thing they fed to Tokoro.<br><br>"<strong>I'm sorry, I can't here you over the shooting outside.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>. . .You willing to grab our guys too?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Nobody gets left behind. Not if I have anything to say about it.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Alright, you're the one risking his life for supervillains. Sucker.</strong>" Spymaster shot back, but with no bite behind it. Of course a villain can't ask for help from a hero, they have to be tricked. Both men in strange costumes inwardly chuckle to keep from going mad from fear and grief - and a battle is joined against time and Death itself.</em><br>---<br><br>When the order came to rain down Havoc upon Apocalypse they'd tell the tale in terms of nations and air forces raining missles from the sky onto the master of this madness, but sometimes smaller people helped too.<br><br>Ringer and Beetle couldn't help but feel like they were at the end of a movie about Bonnie and Clyde, if Bonnie was wearing powerful body armor so bulky she looked like a man that could fire missles at Apocalypse right there with the fighter jets while Ringer watched her back. When it started, Ringer only regretted that she looked like a man while joining in the Rain. By the time her armaments were half depleted he had decided that she looked good doing it anyway.<br><br>When the official orders to evacuate came Beetle immediately grabbed her husband and flew back toward the coast as fast as his suit would allow. Thank the Count for the Commlinks.<br><br>"<strong>Have I told you I love you today, babe?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Just let me drive, dear. This isn't good. The king freak is still standing.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Even with all the Dreadnaughts?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Even with a lot of the Dreadnaughts programmed to kamikaze the big guy and set off their power cores when they ran out of armaments.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Shit! And the guys?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>They're saying Plantman, Porcupine, and Unicorn were in the blast radius. Eel got run through with a metal pole, died before anyone could get to his. Cyclone - man, they're saying he was just eaten by something big.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Oh man. We're dropping like flies here. Leila, I love you.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Don't talk like that Tony. We're going to make it.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Just saying, if it comes down to a situation where you need to leave me behind to save your own ass - do it.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Back at you, Mr. Davis.</strong>" she tries to be cute about it while not thinking about it or the list of confirmed dead she's seeing. Paste-Pot Pete? What was he even doing out here? What was Tony even doing out here - at least she was using fully functi-<br><br>The boulder the knocks her out of the sky smashed into the Beetle armor like a missile on its own and sends the pair smashing into a wall, only an instinctual grab of her husband and tuck into a sort of ball prevents Ringer from being smashed into paste. More boulders fly through the air at where they went down - most miss. One doesn't, smashing Ringer free of Beetle's grasp and landing him on the other side of that alley - and it doesn't even take a good look to tell him that one of his arms are broken.<br><br>"<strong>Babe, you alright?</strong>" he manages to croak out as he tries to get back up.<br><br>"<strong>No.</strong>" she responds, and he looks up. The rock has smashed the armor hard. It's not flattened enough to crush Leila inside but a boulder the size of a pick up truck has smashed the armor to visibly make it flatter.<br><br>"<strong>Can you get out?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Hatch is on the back. Tony. . .I'm stuck. You know what you said about leaving you behind if it means saving my own ass?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>. . .No.</strong>"<br><br>Around the corner the minion of Apocalypse came. Some sort of terrakinetic, standing on a stone hovering about the ground while other stones orbit her like planets.<br><br>"<strong>Tony, please - don't make me watch you die.</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Then close your eyes, honey - because I'm not leaving you for this bitch.</strong>" he speaks resolute. The Ringer versus a Terrakinetic throwing boulders the size of trucks at least - but for her? The Ringer pulls out a Freezing ring with his good arm. He might be a villain, but for Leila, he could be a hero - Not even a question.<br><br>"<strong>Got back-up heading your way.</strong>" Spymaster's voice comes over the commlinks, not even finishing ringing in their ears when a BAMF! sounds nearby. A Roof? Maybe?<br><br>Ringer only barely catches a glimpse of the indigo demon leaping from the rooftop with three swords drawn that then disappears in a puff of smoke, the Terrakinetic only begins to wonder what's going on when Kurt appears on a stone over her shoulder and makes a slash with the blade at his tail. He tells himself it wasn't a kill shot but knows he's lying, she just managed to react quick enough that instead of stabbing her through the head he just put a deep and nasty cut above her eyes - but it bleeds hard and fast enough that she has to back off a bit for her vision's sake.<br><br>"<strong>Herr Davis, can you make a hole in your wife's armor? Big enough that I can grab hold of her?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>Time Me.</strong>" Tony Davis smiles as he switches out with an Expanding Ring produced. For Leila, she could be a Hero - but not an Idiot.<br><br>---<br><br>Leila Davis stayed in the medical transport ship next to Anthony Davis. Now, she was just Leila Davis - the Beetle Armor smashed to pieces back in the city. Tony's arm was broken in at least 4 places but he still some of his Rings.<br><br>"<strong>So, Lady Ringer? I bet you could get good with these things?</strong>"<br><br>"<strong>In your dreams, Tony. The Beetle may be squished but I'm finding new Armor. Count on it.</strong>"<br><br>---<br><br>When even he couldn't justify continuing his ignoring of the official evacuation order, Kurt had made one last jump - back to the Hydra Stealth Transport with Agent Tokoro, Agent Kang, and Spymaster. He pushed himself, hard, in multiple ways today - and now he finally allows himself to feel it. Sitting in a chair on the bridge, he finally lets himself relax and sleep quickly overtakes him.<br><br><strong>NPCs</strong><br><br>Ringer (http://www.comicvine.com/ringer/4005-14046/)<br>Beetle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Davis)<br>Plantman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantman)<br>Porcupine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_(comics)#Alexander_Gentry)<br>Unicorn (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn_(comics)#Milos_Masaryk)<br>Cyclone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_(Marvel_Comics)#Andr.C3.A9_Gerard)<br>Eel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_(comics)#Eel_.28Leopold_Stryke.29)<br>Paste-Pot Pete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapster#Peter_Petruski)
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