Sewers under Battery Park, New York
Maggie struggled to keep up with Lugh as he charged through the sewers after chasing the fleeing human shaped flame. Despite being in good shape through years of martial arts training and stunt work, she was falling behind, it was almost as if wading through the knee high sewage meant nothing to the people in front of her. Fortunately the pipes were getting wider, and there was more light leaking in from some place up ahead. Rounding the next bend in the tunnel, Maggie came to a stop as she saw Lugh standing at the mouth of the hole.
“By the pail of Bres!!” Lugh swore as he stepped aside to reveal a hollowed out chamber lit by multiple flaming humanoid figures. In the middle of the chamber was a massive tower like structure formed of living rock, its flanks supporting crystalline pods that glowed a dull red. Stepping forward Lugh dropped down into the chamber, followed by Maggie, the thump of feet on cooled magma attracting the attention of the people in the area.
“Intruders!!” Hissed the nearest burning figure. “Burn them, they must not stop the lord’s ascension!” It added, as it swiped at Lugh, a burning palm print appearing on the god’s face, as the others lobbed fireballs down at the two humans.
“Battle is begun!!” Lugh bellowed in a voice so loud that the earth seemed to shake as he grabbed the nearest enemy and threw him into the wall of the chamber, his body shattering into molten stone.
“Right behind you.” Maggie replied as she clenched her fists and summoned up a group of golems, the lumbering clay men engaging the enemies on the ground. “Not to mention above you!” She added as she took to the air, her long hair flowing behind her as she landed next to a group of the defenders, before delivering a swift volley of kicks that sent the burning men falling to the floor below.
“These warriors are of truly inferior stock!” Lugh snorted as he grabbed one of the figures in a bear hug and used him to block a fireball thrown by one of his fellows at close range. Smoke was now filling the area around him as the piles of slag on the floor quivered and began to reform into the figures they had once been. “By the Adder’s Fork they reform!!” Lugh bellowed, as one of Maggie’s golems was desiccated by the figure it was grappling with before being smashed apart.
“The Ascension begins now!!” One of the figures chanted as the crystals on the towers flanks lit up and a column of flame lanced through the earth above. At the same time tiny eruptions of lava lapped at the edge of the chamber, and with a sudden tremble the entire chamber rocketed upwards with enough force to knock Lugh and Maggie off their feet, Advancing on them the burning defenders threw fireballs at their prone foes, only for a last minute dome of earth to cover their targets.
“Okay so maybe we should have left this to SHIELD or the Avengers.” Maggie wheezed as cracks appeared in the earthen dome above them. “I mean if the Avengers still existed, after Captain Rogers died the Avengers simply disbanded and disappeared.”
“Then we must avenge for ourselves.” Lugh stated as he removed a pocket knife from his cloak. “Spring forth Fragarach, there is an adventure to have!!” He commanded as the dome cracked and crumbled to reveal the mocking faces of their attackers. With a hissing snort the burning figures laughed at the god and his merger tool until he swung it at the nearest of them, the blade extending and forming into a gleaming long-sword with an ivy weaved hilt, his target’s head wobbling for a few seconds before falling to the floor and shattering into molten slag. “Come now, to battle once more!!” Lugh roared as he swung the sword again, the blade scything through the stomachs of two of his opponents.
“Behind you!” Maggie yelled as she kicked the head of the decapitated enemy, preventing him from reforming. Turning Lugh saw a fireball headed his way and dropped into a defensive position, only for a gust of wind to extinguish the projectile and knock its thrower away.
“Ho another joins the fight.” Lugh stated as the rest of the attackers were blow away by the figure in silver and black armour. “What is your name friend?”
“It’s Derecho and any enemy of the Flame Men is a friend of mine.” Derecho answered as he landed on the ground and eyed Maggie and Lugh.
“I’m Veda and this is Lugh.” Maggie gasped as she whipped the sweat of her brow. “And Flame Men? It’s just, it sounds like a laughable name.”
“They chose it.” Robert told her. “I was always afraid that they would return.”
“So you have faced these ‘Flame Men’ before?” Lugh asked as the Flame Men began to pick themselves up and reignite the very thing that gave them their name.
“Yes, although these ones seem to be smarter than the ones I fought.” Robert told them as he blasted them with another gust of wind and extinguishing their flames once again. “They definitely couldn’t build towers like that. I suspect they still can’t and stole it from the Mole Man or maybe Jinku, Witch Doctor of the Lava Man, there are elements of both their designs in the structure. I suspect that we should destroy it before whatever it is they want to do with it happens, I’m sure Battery Park doesn’t need a new volcano.” He added as the Flame Men rushed to the base of the tower and formed a burning wall between the humans and the tower.
“Master the destroyer is here, we hear his voice, ascend and reclaim this world in our people’s name.” One of the Flame Men hissed as Lugh and Maggie looked at Robert.
“Ah yes they were led by a…”
“Beware the Bag Man!!” A new voice hissed as two more figures dropped into the park.
“What the hell is that?” Maggie asked as she pointed to the speaker, a muscular bare footed, bare chested man wearing a pair of trousers and a bag over his head and little else.
“I’m Bagman, fear me!!” Bagman hissed.
“And I’m Noir and we are not together.” Noir replied as she looked over at the tower. “Oh…that is…what is that?”
“Something that needs to be destroyed.” Robert stated as he summoned up a powerful gust of wind and blasted the burning wall. Seconds later it was joined by a tidal wave of mud rising up from the ground, the combined efforts of both himself and Maggie blasting a hole through the barrier and smashing into the crystal behind it, the outer shell cracking to reveal a man in an yellow and red jumpsuit and mask, his back supporting a fuel tank with tubes linked up to his wrists. Even more tubes, these ones seemingly formed of volcanic glass, seemingly connected his body to the tower.
“That’s Pyro, he was on TV recently when he and his cronies in ‘the Hot Shots’ attacked the X-Men in Detroit!” Maggie stated as tiny flickers of flame ran down the glass stands into the tower. “Maybe this is why they took Firefight when he attacked us.”
“Enough talking.” Robert stated as he blasted the tower again, only for the Flame Men to reform their wall and make it to spin until it became a burning tornado blocking access even more effectively. “No…no!!” He bellowed as he opened fire again, his gust of wind getting sucked by the tornado and spitting cinders down on the heroes gather there, with one spark landing on Bagman’s adhoc mask, the flame going out almost immediately.
“Can you slow the funnel?” Noir asked. “Give me a few clear shots?” She stopped as the others looked at her guns. “They fire dark-force rounds that disrupt biological energy.”
“Aye a shot may help Lassie.” Lugh stated as he picked up a stone from the ground. “Once you take yours I will take mine.”
“And I can stop the storm spinning.” Maggie added, as she clenched her fists so tight that the colour drained out of them, a wave of earth slithering up the base of the storm to form massive mud hands that slowed the spinning of the fire tornado. “Now!!” She ordered as a burning spider web patter of damage began to spread up her arms. Calmly Noir fired three shots at the fire, dark energy punching a hole in the revolving flames. Seconds later Lugh’s thrown stone, glistening with a mystical blue energy punched through the living stone and out the other side, the crystals on the side of the structure turning jet black before collapsing, their occupants falling to the floor.
“We did it?” Bagman gasped as the thunder of engines sounded and a massive flying aircraft carrier flew low over the ocean towards the park and the inactive tower.
“You did nothing.” Noir replied snidely.
“Yes you all did nothing except stir my wrath!!!” A booming voice announced from somewhere inside the tower as the burning tornado exploded downwards, scorching the earth around the base of the structure, the Flame Men standing there blazing brightly, evil looks of triumph spread across their rock hewn faces.
“What or who is that?” Bagman asked as the SHIELD Helicarrier hovered over the tower.
“The Flame Men, they have a leader known as the…”
“I am the Sub-Earth-Man!! I am the new ruler of this planet!!” The figure inside the tower boomed. “We were the first race to rule this world, we were here before the plants and animals, we will be here after the inferior life on this earth burns!” He roared as the earth around the tower cracked and jets of steam erupting from the ground, and showers of cinders showering down on the park. “In moments the earth’s core will erupt and blanket the world with the seeds for my new Empire!!!” As he finished speaking the SHIELD Helicarrier opened fire on the tower with a set of fore mounted cannons, chunks of molten stone chipping off the structure before the Sub-Earth-Man returned fire with an array of volcanic bombs that smashed through the port fore engine, sending the craft spinning into the bay.
“We have to bring down that tower!!” Robert yelled as Lugh picked up another stone and threw it at the tower. Seconds later the volcanic activity increased as the outer shell of the structure shattered and exploded open, showers of volcanic rock and lava bombs showering down onto the park and even further afield. With an earth shaking roar a figure three stories tall emerged from the debris, its skin covered in scales of volcanic stone.
“You destroyer, you will live to see the others die, and this world burn to perfection!!” The Sub-Earth-Man bellowed as he stomped forward, volcanic explosions erupting around his feet as he moved. “I will take everything from you!!” He boomed as his Flame Man followers formed up around him, their hands gleaming with fire, whilst their master grabbed a section of tower and set it alight. “The world burns now!!”
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