Merchants of Death

Chapter 25



The image of Chrissy Lera was being broadcast to every television in the capital city of Neroka. The President and overlord of Iberia looked like her usual self, beautiful, black skinned, and dressed in immaculate white finery, her crimson eyes alight with the conviction that every word she said was right.



“People of Neroka our great city is under attack...unknown invaders have attacked the capital and killed every Iberian in their path...their intentions are unknown but they are obviously hostile...it is the duty of every citizen to oppose them however they can...above all do not collaborate with these foreigners in any way.”



Then the image of the President paused, seeming to smile faintly as she stared directly at the viewer. Saying in a confident tone “we shall triumph over this obstacle just as we have every other...united we are stronger than any foe...we must never forget that.”



The message ends, telling the people of Neroka just as much as its author wants them to know.



*****



“Sir...we just received word from the Palace...they are ordering us to move against the invaders immediately and coordinate with the Imperious Industries personnel already fighting them.”



Minister of Defense Alberto Francisco nodded as he got the news, relieved that the responsibility for the decision was no longer on his shoulders.



“Good...inform all local units that we are marching against the invaders now”

the Defense Minister replied.



*****



Imperious Dakar breathed deeply as he finished speaking to the office of the Minister of Defense.



Faking a broadcast from the official Iberian news channel (as well as creating a false image of Chrissy Lera to go with it) had been harder than he predicted. It was the first time Dakar had ever used his power over machines combined with magical illusions in that way. Fortunately sending the fake Presidential command to the Ministry of Defense had been more routine.



Dakar looked at the dozen Epsilon units he had brought, considering their full destructive potential in light of the current situation. Then he went back to doing what he had spent most of his time doing since coming to the Presidential Palace, using his magic to manipulate the electrical fields in and surrounding the room where Selene and her two servants were.



*****



The Phoenix was heading towards the world where her friend and lover had died. The last time she had gone there she had been able to use an already existing inter-dimensional portal.



But Jean Grey didn't have access to a dimensional gateway this time.



The Phoenix did not care. The awesomely powerful entity was simply battering through dimensional barriers to get to the world where Storm had died. Cosmic forces and physical laws stood in her path, but they were no match for her godlike rage.



*****



The Paladin of Silverymoon Arthur Honorus was feeling off balance. This was not the kind of warfare the paladin had been trained for, and his enemies were not fighting the way he thought they should.



Honorus was a master swordsman, and his gleaming enchanted armor could turn aside most blows from axes, swords, and similar weapons, but the people of Imperious Industries were not fighting Arthur and his comrades with swords or other melee weapons.



Hundreds of Arthur Honorus's fellow knights had already fallen. Most of them dying as a result of the poison gas Imperious Industries had used or thanks to the weapons of the enemy fortress itself. The rest had all been shot down by Angela and the building's other defenders (except for an unfortunate few who had died directly at the hands of the powerful cyborg).



Now that Honorus and his comrades were in the facility they were fighting from room to room. An experience that the heavily trained knights and mages had never been prepared for.



Arthur opened a door and saw a woman in an Imperious Industries uniform loading a rifle. The man and woman stared at each in shock for a moment, then the guard tried to aim her rifle just as Honorus swung his sword.



Honorus was faster and his fine blade slashed across her throat. Spraying blood in all directions and killing his opponent with one well practiced stroke.



Then Arthur Honorus saw something coming at him out of the corner of his eye. It was much taller than him, covered in thick gray fur, with a hulking muscular body and a wolf shaped head.



“Werewolf” Arthur breathed as the creature reached him. Ducking under a swipe of the werewolf's claws that would have taken off his head.



But the following kick from the werewolf hit, knocking the wind out of Arthur as he crashed into a vending machine. Before Honorus could get up the powerful creature ripped off his helmet.



The well trained paladin dodged aside just as the lycanthrope was about to slash open his throat, and then leapt to his feet. Assuming a classic dueling pose as he said “come on then beast...if you think you're hard enough.”



“Harder than you can imagine monkey” the werewolf growled back. Her sharp teeth gleaming as she grinned at the human.



The holy warrior uttered a silent prayer to his god as he attacked the werewolf, swinging the sword with all his strength and the full weight of his body. Completely focused on destroying the evil before him.



The female werewolf raised her arm just in time to block the strike aimed at her head. But more than human strength was behind the swing, the paladin's god had blessed Arthur's attack and momentarily granted his servant a tiny measure of divine power. Mere flesh and bone was no match for that (even a werewolf's) and Honorus's sword smoothly sliced through the creature's left arm just below the elbow.



The werewolf howled in shock and pain as blood pored from her stump. Reeling back to avoid the paladin's next strike.



For the first time since this battle began Arthur Honorus felt like he knew exactly what to do. Fight a monster and smite evil in the name of his god.



But then to his utter shock the monster laughed (a deep inhuman sound that made Arthur want to kill the beast all the more). Her blue eyes filled with hatred and madness as she growled “good job boy...you're the first damn knight to so much as scratch me.”



“You're beaten monster...surrender and our Lady may show mercy” Honorus righteously proclaimed. Though he was disturbed by the fact that the werewolf's stump had stopped bleeding and pink new flesh seemed to be growing out of it before his eyes.



The werewolf licked her lips as she stared at the knight, and then she held out her wounded arm. Whose forearm and hand had been restored, though they were still significantly smaller than the forearm and hand on the creature's right arm (but growing rapidly as Arthur watched).



“Fool...don't you realize what's going on?...were counterattacking now...you and your friends are all going to die” the werewolf snarled.



“Not while I live monster!” the paladin shot back as he charged at the beast. Trying to take her head with one powerful swing.



However his enemy was more cautious this time. Dodging away from the holy warrior to grab the nearby vending machine. Her furry arms flexing as she lifted the pop machine over her head and then heaved it at Arthur.



The big vending machine hit the knight squarely in the chest, smashing the paladin against a wall with crushing force. Killing Arthur Honorus instantly as his head cracked open on the plaster behind him.



Susan Zweller stared down at Honorus contemptuously, grinning like a wolf as she contemplated the paladin's corpse.



Susan had initially protested when Angelus had sent her down here to fight the knights and their mages, complaining that acting as front line infantry was beneath her (relenting only when the cyborg had pointed a weapon at her and said “you can either fight there or die here''). But there was a part of the werewolf that loved this kind of bloodletting, and seeing his enemy's corpse just inflamed his passions all the more.



~Lera is here so Marian will be too...she will come for us again...unless we kill her first~ Cain thought as the werewolf went off in search of the vampire that had almost killed him.



~NO CAIN!...Chrissy will kill us if we fight both her and Casta at the same time~ Lex protested, as she tried to take back control from the bestial persona. But Cain was stronger, and this time he refused to listen to his more clever counterpart.



~THE VAMPIRE DIES NOW...I'm sick of your orders...all your plotting did was make us first Selene's and now Dakar's BITCH...well I am NO ONE'S BITCH...SO SHUT UP~ Cain mentally growled.



Struggling wasn't working (and might get the werewolf killed if Susan got into another fight soon) so Lex stopped. Hoping that her more aggressive brother wouldn't get them all killed.



Susan ran into another room and slaughtered all the knights she found there (none of them could put up half the fight Honorus had). But her nostrils were flaring throughout the battle, as she tried to detect the distinctive scent of a vampire.



*****



Imperious Dakar had used his magic to trap Selene, Esme Cuckoo, and Gennifer Lera in the Presidential office. Employing the building's electrical system to cast spells to strengthen the walls of the office, weaken the magic inside it, keep any mystical or psychic forces from escaping the area, and do other things to weaken and trap the three women.



Now Dakar was in the boiler room in the Presidential Palace's basement. One of his Epsilon units partially disassembled as the technomancer turned the reactor of its radiation cannon into a small nuclear bomb.



~Its a pity...I was hoping to avoid this kind of messy disruption...but with most of the palace staff dead and the capital invaded that's no longer possible...I can blame the destruction of the Presidential Palace on the invaders then give the Iberians a nice distracting war while I solidify my control over the country...it might even be possible to do it without a Chrissy Lera figurehead assuming I can get the population angry enough and moving in the right direction~ Dakar thought as he worked on the bomb. Wanting to unleash a nuclear explosion big enough to utterly destroy the palace, but not so big that it wrecked the whole capital.



~Just how durable are you Selene?...can you survive being blown to small pieces AND utterly irradiated?...its worth exploring~ Dakar told himself. Perfectly aware of the fact that most people would consider using a nuke to kill just three women overkill.



*****



The invaders no doubt thought they were roaming the portal facility at will. But Angelus was doing his best to herd the enemy forces towards the positions Omega Squad had occupied. The cyborg soldier had always been a fan of using overwhelming firepower and lightning fast attacks, and that was exactly what he planned to unleash on his foes.



~The counterattack must happen now~ Angelus thought as he issued the necessary orders from the Command Center. Barely noticing as someone wearing what appeared to be a uniform of the Imperious Industries security forces escorted a handcuffed dark elf into the area.



But Angelus noticed when the dark elf drew two swords (showing that he had not really been bound at all) in one quick graceful move. The 'guard' who had escorted him in drew her gun, took aim, and shot the nearest technician in the head.



Drizzt Do'Urden and Mystique had been two of first dimensional outsiders to get inside the portal facility. Now the dark elf ranger and mutant shapeshifter were attempting to decapitate Imperious Industries.



Angelus electrified the surface of his armor just as Drizzt's enchanted blades struck him. The electrical charge traveling through the magic swords to the ranger's hands. Drizzt silently grimaced in pain and almost let go of his weapons (only the ranger's tremendous discipline and willpower allowing him to hold onto them).



“Fool...did you really think it would be that easy” Angelus said as he reached for the dark elf. Knowing that he could instantly kill the smaller male once the swordsman was in his grasp.



Mystique was busy killing the Command Center technicians. They tried to run away from or fight back against the mutant assassin, but none of them were front line soldiers and most of them weren't even armed.



“Stand still and fight” Angelus snarled in frustration as he fired a laser beam at the ranger, watching in annoyance as the ranger dodged the attack.



“Only if you take off your armored shell monster” Drizzt replied as he evaded the cyborg's next attack. The magical anklets the ranger wore giving him the speed he needed to dodge every laser beam, sonic burst, and gout of flame Angelus sent his way.



The dark elf's weapons seemed unable to penetrate his armor so Angelus decided to ignore Drizzt for the moment. Targeting Mystique instead.



The blue woman was advancing on the last two surviving technicians. Most of her attention was focused on them. Only combat skills honed over decades of experience allowed her to partially dodge the sonic burst Angelus fired at her.



If Angelus had scored a direct hit on Mystique it would have killed her instantly. Instead the burst of destructive sound merely grazed the mutant's back, but that still transferred enough force to fling Mystique against a wall.



One of surviving technicians was armed, and found his nerve now that the blue woman was apparently helpless. Walking over to Mystique (who was slumped on the floor) and placing his gun against her head.



Drizzt saw all this out of the corner of his eye and rushed to the aid of his fallen comrade. Then several things happened at once.



The technician with a gun to Mystique's head looked away from her to stare at the dark elf rapidly racing towards him. With his muscular build, blue black skin, long swords, and lavender eyes that glowed with merciless determination Drizzt was an intimidating sight, and the poor technician cringed as he realized the ranger was coming for him.



Mystique realized the danger she was in and made her move. Moving her limbs in ways that would have broken a normal human's bones as she got to her feet. Transforming her fingers into claws as she knocked away the distracted technician's weapon and slashed open his throat.



At that same instant Angelus fired the laser cannon and sonic weapon built into his right and left arms at Drizzt's unprotected back. Even with his enhanced speed the ranger had no hope of dodging, and the destructive bursts of light and sound tore through the dark elf's torso, spraying blood and other gore all over Mystique and the two technicians she was tangling with.



This left the one surviving technician stunned, but not the far more hardened and battle experienced Mystique. Who snapped the stunned woman's neck almost automatically.



Then Mystique considered the advancing cyborg. Factoring in his vast array of weapons, tough and apparently impenetrable armor, and the force field she guessed he could generate based on what she had seen Angela do.



This evaluation took the mutant spy and assassin only a moment, and its conclusions were inescapable.



“Sorry Drizzt...no point in us both dying” Mystique said just before transforming into a small bird. Her voice becoming tiny and distorted just as the transformation finished.



More than anything else Mystique was a survivor. None of Angelus's shots even came close as she fled the scene.



Drizzt borne her no resentment though. He even agreed with her, the ranger knew that he was dying and if Mystique had stayed she would have died too.



“Drizzt...I have heard of you...where is your cat ranger?” the cyborg said as he accessed the files he had on important people in the Silver Marches. Which told him that Drizzt Do'Urden usually traveled with a pet panther named Guenhwyvar.



“Where she will do the most good” Drizzt gasped. The skin and muscle between his ribs and groin was mostly gone, exposing ruined organs and trailing intestines, even a bit of spine was visible. The drow warrior obviously did not have long to live.



Angelus picked Drizzt up by the throat, hoping to wring some information out of the fellow elf before he expired. Knowing that his enemy had mere moments to live.



Drizzt had somehow retained a grip on his magic sword Twinkle throughout everything and now struck with all his remaining strength. Aiming straight for the glowing blue lense that covered the cyborg's left eye.



Drizzt's swords had been unable to pierce the armor covering the cybernetic soldier's torso, arms, and legs, but what covered Angelus's eyes was not as tough. Twinkle pierced right through it and stabbed directly into Angelus's organic eye.



For one timeless moment Drizzt thought that he had killed his enemy. Then a massive armored fist closed around both arm and sword and pulled them away, crushing Twinkle and Drizzt's arm as it did so. The shock was too much for the ranger's ruined body and his heart finally stopped.



Angelus dropped the corpse in disgust. Staring at the spot where Twinkle had fallen on the floor.



The magic sword was wet with Angelus's blood, and the sight infuriated the powerful cyborg. Angelus stomped on Twinkle with all his might, snapping the ancient elf-made blade beneath his armored heel. The act of destruction doing nothing to calm the security chief's anger over what had just happened.



The technicians he needed to staff the Command Center were all dead, and it appeared that most of the room's communications equipment had been destroyed by his own stray shots. Leaving him with no way to communicate effectively with his troops, this meant that the chief of security could not check on his soldiers status or give them orders.



On a more personal level, Angelus had been blinded in one eye, and he didn't know if his body could heal the damage or not.



Even though he had just killed one of their champions, Angelus thought that the invaders had won this round.



*****



~If I had known this was going to happen I wouldn't have sold the last of the nuclear bombs we had in stock to King Obould...then this clumsy makeshift would not be necessary~ Imperious Dakar thought as he finished the work on the nuclear bomb. Knowing that any mistakes he made at this stage were liable to quite literally blow up in his face.



Dakar had probably never been less well equipped to deal with any further distractions or complications than he was at that moment. Unfortunately for him that's just when Chrissy Lera found him.



“You're trapped monster...now you shall pay for your crimes” Chrissy Lera said as she burst into the boiler room. Her white clad form all but hidden behind the horde of pseudo-spirits she brought with her.



A spark of real fear coursed through Dakar before he could suppress it. Not fear so much of what Chrissy could do to him directly as much as fear of what would happen if Chrissy interrupted his work right now (not even his defenses would protect him against a direct strike from a nuke).



“Lera please think before you act...if you attack now you will kill us all” Dakar said in pleading tones as he continued to work on the torso of the Epsilon unit, which was now missing so much armor and other parts it was no longer recognizable as one of the fearsome robotic infantry units.



“I WILL NOT listen to your lies while you get ready to attack me with another machine Dakar” Chrissy replied imperiously. Then she spoke the words of a powerful spell.



Dakar stared as the Epsilon unit he had converted into a nuclear bomb disappeared before his eyes. Knowing it was likely to detonate as soon as it teleported somewhere else. Hoping that Lera had just sent it somewhere far from their current location.



The necromancer continued to threaten and curse at Dakar but he was not really listening. Instead he was analyzing this new variable and how it effected his situation.



Dakar considered trying to reason with Chrissy, telling her that they now had a common enemy, and that they should ally at least long enough to kill Selene. He was sure that together Chrissy and himself could defeat Selene and her two female minions.



~Reason with Lera?...no...nothing less than my death will satisfy her now~ Dakar concluded. Turning to the eleven Epsilon units still in the boiler room and crisply ordering “kill her.”



*****



“Dakar you disgusting limp shadow of a man you cannot do this to me...I AM SELENE” the ancient witch swore as she futilely pounded on the door leading out of the office.



Selene, Esme, and Gennifer had planned to kill Imperious Dakar in the office. Numerous wards and spells had already been set in place to weaken and attack the technomancer as soon as he entered the room. Selene had even used her magic to enhance Esme and Gennifer's strength and speed so that they could fight Dakar on more even terms.



Instead the demonic businessman had trapped them together, and Selene was smart and cunning enough to realize that something bad was about to happen to the office (if not the palace as a whole). But Selene could not accept defeat.



“Esme use your telepathy to get help” Selene said urgently.



“I tried...its no use” Esme moaned.



Esme Cuckoo had changed into her diamond form (an ability she had discovered after exploring the use of her full mutant powers with Selene). But Esme wasn't confident that her diamond hard flesh could withstand whatever Dakar was about to do. She had seen the technomancer hurt and destroy too many people before (many of whom had thought they were invulnerable).



“Lera DO SOMETHING” Selene demanded.



“My spells can't pierce the walls either...I am sorry but magic doesn't seem to be the answer” the false president said mournfully.



“What we really need is something strong enough and tough enough to break down the door...I think whatever Dakar did is mainly to stop energy not physical force” Esme thought aloud.



Selene and Gennifer stopped what they were doing to stare speculatively at Esme Cuckoo. Taking in the sight of her shiny, diamond hard body.



“Why are you two staring at me like that?” Esme said nervously. Not liking the thoughtful expression on her mistress's face.



*****



Just like the last time Imperious Dakar and Chrissy Lera fought, Chrissy was trying to eliminate Udragoth first. Knowing that the illithid familiar would be easier to kill than his master and that the loss of Udragoth would weaken Dakar.



But things were different this time.



This clone was protected by a far more powerful force field generator than the previous one (which he wore as a belt) and the eleven surviving Epsilon units were acting as his bodyguards. Ringing the Mind Flayer in a circle of protection that was supposed to make Udragoth safe. So that Dakar could concentrate on Chrissy without worrying about his familiar.



However, Lera refused to cooperate.



“DIE ABOMINATION” Chrissy shrieked as she unleashed a powerful spell. Sending a ball of lightning bigger than she was towards Udragoth and his bodyguards.



The Epsilon units fired their radiation cannons at the energy sphere before it could reach them. Destroying it in a fiery electrical burst, cracking the ceiling and floor.



Chrissy's crimson eyes narrowed as she concentrated. Then the horde of false ghosts surrounding her charged towards Udragoth like a breaking flood, intent on sweeping the Mind Flayer away.



Only a few of the necromancer's ghostly protectors stayed with her, leaving the beautiful sorceress completely visible again and apparently vulnerable. Dakar responded by sending a curse that should have peeled the flesh from someone's bones at Lera. But even as he did Chrissy cast a spell and an aura of black light surrounded her, which effortlessly absorbed and nullified the malignant magic when Dakar's curse struck it.



The technomancer studied his enemy as he tried to determine what she had done.



It appeared as though Lera was inside some sort of shadow creature whose shape and every movement mirrored her own. The necromancer's dark flesh seemed to fade into the background, so that the only spots of color were Chrissy's white robe, silky white hair, and her fiercely glowing red eyes.



~If only I knew more of necromancy...then I might be able to guess what protection Chrissy just gave herself~ Dakar thought.



“Your reign of terror ends now murderer...I will make you pay for each and every indignity me and mine have suffered...when I am through you and your company will be nothing more than a bad memory” Chrissy swore, watching as her pseudo-spirits began to destroy the Epsilon units, confident that Udragoth would die in mere moments.



Dakar responded by drawing a gun, aiming it in Lera's direction, and then shooting the furnace behind the necromancer. Destroying the furnace in an explosion of fire, fragmented metal, and superheated air.



Then while Lera was still distracted Dakar delivered the most powerful psychic blast he could to the sorceress through Udragoth. Knowing that there was a high probability that such an action would kill his familiar, but considering it worth the risk.



Lera shrieked as her mind was hit by the massive burst of psychic energy. Her mental shields no match for Dakar's attack. The necromancer's aura of protective magic fading as her concentration was shattered.



Udragoth collapsed immediately afterward. Acting as a conduit for such vast energy had been too much for the slavish creature, bleeding from the eyes and mouth as his brain shut down.



“Like I said before old girl...you talk too much” the technomancer said conversationally, as he shot Chrissy five times. Every bullet hitting soft elfin flesh.



*****



Esme Cuckoo screamed in fear as she flew through the air, after Gennifer Lera and Selene used all their magic and muscle power to throw the younger female as hard as they could. The Cuckoo's diamond hard body smashing through the office door like the magically reinforced wood and metal was cheap paper, crashing into (and through) the receptionist's desk to land on the floor with an audible thud.



Selene and Gennifer follow immediately afterwards, squeezing through the large hole in the door, and then breathing sighs of relief at escaping Dakar's trap. But the psychic vampire's relief lasted for only a moment.



~She's hurt...if I don't do something now Dakar will kill Chrissy and I will lose my most powerful servant~ Selene realized as she sensed the thoughts and feelings of the necromancer whose soul was bound to hers (Dakar's magic no longer blocking that magical and spiritual link).



“Get up” Selene said coldly as she pulled a groaning Esme to her feet.



“What” Esme said blearily as she was forced to stand up. Still recovering from being used as a battering ram.



“Its time to kill Dakar” Selene informed her two followers.



*****



Chrissy Lera's false ghosts had returned to her, clustering around their creator protectively. Hiding the wounded necromancer from Dakar's sight, as she attempted to recover from the damage he had inflicted on her.



Chrissy had been shot four times through the chest and once through the shoulder, one of the bullets had even nicked her heart. If the dark elf sorceress had been an ordinary mortal she would surely be dead by now.



Nevertheless the spells and enchantments the powerful necromancer had cast on herself were keeping her alive. The healing magic had already purged all the residue left by the bullets from her system, and now it was restoring her damaged organs, bones, and skin. Within a few minutes or less the necromancer would probably be healthy enough to fight again.



Assuming Lera lived that long.



~The artificial ghosts protect her from all sides and above...but Lera has no protection from below...a big enough explosion channeled through the wires in the floor directly beneath her should kill her~ Dakar calculated.



Lera moaned in pain as she lay on the floor. Knowing the danger she was in but too weak and distracted by pain to do anything about it now.



Dakar was in the process of using his technomancy to create a magical explosion beneath Chrissy Lera when Selene, Gennifer Lera, and Esme Cuckoo ran into the boiler room. Running straight into the seven surviving Epsilon units.



The three women appeared initially confused when the robots began firing on them, and Dakar stopped what he was doing to recalculate the variables. Considering which of the four women he could eliminate the most quickly and easily.



Dakar reluctantly stopped attacking Chrissy for a moment, as he mentally conceded the fact that she might have survived the attack he had planned anyway (besides Chrissy was no immediate threat). But not all of his female adversaries were so well protected.



Imperious Dakar used a spell to telekinetically pull Esme to his side. The diamond skinned telepath was still woozy from being used as a battering ram and fell to her knees when she was released from the telekinetic grip by Dakar. She was also slow to react when the taller male reached down to touch her face.



“NO!” Selene shrieked in denial, guessing what was about to happen. Knocking the Epsilon units around her away with violent bursts of magical power as she tried to get to her servant's side.



Esme's flesh was diamond hard, and in this form she was virtually impervious to most forms of physical damage. But it did nothing to protect her on the spiritual level.



The demonic Dakar drank down her soul, using the physical contact to establish a connection between predator and prey as he ripped her spirit from her body. A violation and desecration that made things like rape and murder look merely cheeky in comparison.



Esme screamed in pain and fear, her entire being recoiling in shock and horror over what was being done to it. Then it was over, though for some reason Esme's body remained in diamond form.



Lifeless and soulless but perfectly preserved. A beautiful yet grotesque statue, its face forever frozen in an expression of horror.



“SHE WAS MINE...THEY ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN MINE” Selene cried in outrage as she reached Dakar. Catching up to him mere moments after he touched the witch-in-training, and hitting him while he was too distracted to raise his force field or teleport away.



Selene hit him in the groin, using her magic, mutant abilities, and stored soul power to increase the force of the blow. The power of the strike going through the armor covering the area straight to his genitals, crushing his penis and testicles.



The big male made a weird groaning sound as he clutched his groin, and Selene smiled maliciously at his signs of pain. Then Dakar growled as he looked Selene straight in the eyes from only a few inches away. His gaze glowing with the fires of the Abyss.



*****



Consuming a soul allowed Imperious Dakar to temporarily use the full powers of the demon lord whose energy he had absorbed. But it also inflamed the passions of the technomancer, especially his anger and lust, because it brought his demonic nature to the surface.



Nevertheless Dakar's neural implants and willpower usually let him retain control even after consuming a soul. But his self-discipline was not absolute.



Dakar had never been in so much pain before in his life, and even his heavily augmented and demonically enhanced body had trouble dealing with the damage. His nano-machines working with an almost organic franticness to keep Dakar from going into shock and repair the grievous injury. All this made Imperious Dakar very angry, filling the hybrid being with a demonic fury.



Dakar punched Selene in the face with the full strength and rage of a balor, the force of the blow knocking the old witch's jaw off in a burst of gore. Then he grabbed her mutilated head, intent on simply crushing it in his large hands.



“GET AWAY FROM HER VILLAIN” Gennifer screamed as she cast a lightning bolt spell on Dakar. The electricity traveling from her black hands straight to Dakar's broad back.



Dakar yelled wordlessly in pain but didn't respond otherwise. Selene's skull cracking under his fingers, squeezing until he saw brain tissue.



Dakar let go of Selene's broken head, turning to face the frightened Gennifer Lera. Who watched fearfully as Selene's body fell to the floor. Backing away as the brutal creature stalked towards her.



As Dakar approached the sorceress he found his mind clearing, as the machines in his body suppressed his emotions and repaired the worst damage to his form. Yet the businessman was still much angrier than he would normally ever allow himself to be.



“Stupid old women...did you really think that it would be so easy to kill me?...Selene may be the oldest enemy I have ever had but she is also the most...” Dakar's angry rant trailed off as he noticed the flesh of Selene's head shifting and regrowing as the psychic vampire recovered from her injuries. Then he looked towards Chrissy and saw that the necromancer seemed almost fully recovered from what he had done to her.



Trying to push his anger aside and rationally determine the best course of action. Wasting precious seconds as he attempted to get his own emotions under control.



~Kill Gennifer then deal with the others~ Dakar decided, sending a burst of demonic energy straight at the sorceress, which looked like dark flames shooting from his hands.



The dark elf cast a protective spell just before the hellfire hit her, but the demon power was still potent enough to knock the sorceress aside like a rag doll when it struck her. She landed on the floor and looked up to stare straight at a strange gun Dakar was pointing at her head.



“Its a Blaster” Dakar explained, still feeling unusually talkative as he fired the gun at Gennifer. But the sorceress ducked and the energy bolt damaged nothing but wall.



Dakar heard an odd sound and looked towards Chrissy, watching in surprise as she appeared to inhale her pseudo-spirits, growing in size and stature as she breathed the ghostly creatures in. Leaning down and forward as she grew so that she wouldn't crack her head on the ceiling.



~Of course...Lera's specialty is vampires and non-corporeal undead...though she certainly couldn't do THAT the last time she was in Iberia~ Dakar thought as the giant dark elf reached for him, her hand now bigger than he was (and still growing). He generated a force field just as her huge fingers were surrounding him, but it made no difference.



Instead of mere muscle Lera's limbs were powered by necromantic energy now. The force of an army of ghostly creatures was behind each finger as it pressed against Dakar. The energy barrier couldn't resist, shorting out just as Chrissy's fingers closed around Dakar with crushing force.



“DIE LITTLE MAN” Chrissy screamed in a thunderous voice, her giant lungs producing enough sound to carry the words far beyond the boiler room.



Dakar's arms were pinned against his chest, and his nano-machines were telling him that his ribs were beginning to crack. Not even the strength of a balor was a match for this.



~Their too powerful and well prepared now...I cannot defeat both Chrissy and Selene...especially if I have to deal with Gennifer Lera too~ Dakar concluded. Teleporting away a moment later.



“NOOO!” Chrissy screamed in denial as her enemy escaped, the sound of her outraged shriek traveling throughout the Presidential Palace (Gennifer and Selene covering their ears as they winced at the noise).



Chrissy's Giant sized body was too big to properly fit in the boiler room, and she had to sit down with her knees pressed to her chest to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. But in her rage she began to smash her huge head and limbs against the ceiling and walls, making big holes and creating large cracks as she vented her fury.



~If she keeps carrying on like that Lera will bring the roof down~ Selene realized. Telling the giant sorceress “I am upset too dear...but whining solves nothing.”



“SELENE” Chrissy screamed as the ancient witch caught her attention. Glowering down at the woman with crimson eyes bigger than Selene's head.



The necromancer reached for Selene, intent on crushing the smaller woman like a piece of rotten fruit. Knowing that she was now strong enough to literally snap Selene like a twig.



“Stop.”



Selene spoke the word verbally but the command also seemed to come from the depths of Chrissy's soul. She could no more deny it than she could deny her own spirit. The necromancer was held fast, immobilized by a mere word of Selene's.



“Revert.”



The black skinned sorceress tried to resist the command, but it was futile. Soon she was using her own magic to reverse the transformation that had allowed her to defeat Dakar. Vomiting up her ghostly creations through her mouth and nose as she lost size and mass as quickly as a punctured water balloon. Before long the necromancer was back to normal size, breathing heavily as she swayed on her feet, her entire body seeming to ache thanks to what she had put it through.



Selene was now taller than Chrissy Lera again, and the witch grinned down at Chrissy as she asked “what was that?...how did you defeat Dakar?”



Chrissy didn't want to answer, but something seemed to press down on her mind and force the words out “a spell I created myself.”



“How long does it last?”



Words continued to pore from the necromancer's mouth, despite the fact that she didn't want them to, making her answer in a monotone “just a few minutes...any more than that is too much strain on my body...so much necromantic energy is toxic to any living creature.”



Selene nodded in understanding, the knowledgeable old witch pondering the effects such magic would have on a dark elf like Chrissy.



“How often can you cast the spell?”



“Not more than once a day...if I tried to cast it twice in one day it would probably kill me” Chrissy answered in that same monotone.



“A pity...but having a servant that can absorb an entire army of ghosts should prove useful...even if she can only do it once a day” Selene replied in a thoughtful tone.



Chrissy's beautiful features were twisted by a fearsome scowl, looking at Selene with murder in her eyes. But for all her fury Chrissy could do little more than glare.



Selene reached out and gently cupped Chrissy's chin, saying condescendingly “I missed my sweet little sorceress...did you and your pet vampire have fun in the other world?”



The mention of her friend seemed to give Chrissy new strength, and she forced her own words out of her mouth “Mary is my lover not my pet...but I wouldn't expect an ancient whore like you to understand.”



The reply seemed to anger Selene at first and she gripped Chrissy's face hard enough to hurt. Then she let go and laughed, saying merrily “still so stubborn...educating you shall be more entertaining than I thought.”



“What...did...you...do...to...me?” Chrissy stuttered, saying each word with visible effort. Doing her best to fight past Selene's control.



Imperious Dakar would not have told Chrissy in Selene's place, but the proud old witch seldom resisted an opportunity to gloat. Looking down at the necromancer (both literally and metaphorically) as she replied “I took a part of your soul child...your essence is now mingled with mine...and every fiber of your being belongs to me.”



Chrissy had never understood how she escaped from Imperious Dakar after her second confrontation with the technomancer, but it became all too clear as she blurted out “YOU...you are the one who saved me from Dakar.”



“Of course...he would have killed you otherwise...and all I ask in return is the tiniest piece of soul and your eternal service” Selene replied calmly.



“I WILL NEVER SERVE YOU” Chrissy shrieked, Selene's control over her seeming to get weaker the angrier she got.



Then pain coursed through the necromancer's entire body and soul, as Selene lost patience with her ranting. Using her connection to Chrissy to stimulate all the dark elf's pain centers.



The sorceress cried out in agony as she lost her balance and fell to the floor. The necromancer's ghostly creatures stirred uneasily as their mistress was hurt, but Selene's domination of the dark elf kept them from responding to Chrissy's distress.



“You will learn your place little girl otherwise I will catch that vampire you're so fond of and consume her before your eyes...and then wear her face every time I make you service me” Selene threatened.



The threat was dreadful enough that it got through to Chrissy, making the dark elf moan aloud “no..not Mary...you can't.”



“I have done far worse than that in my time child...and I won't hesitate to do so again if you continue to defy me” Selene promised.



The psychic vampire used her fragment of Chrissy's soul to dive into the heart of the necromancer's consciousness. Forcing the sorceress to her feet as she manipulated the elf woman's body like a puppet.



Chrissy found herself moving to strip off her clothes. Exerting all her considerable willpower to resist, but failing utterly.



Chrissy Lera was not a shy person, and she would ordinarily have no objection to baring her body in front of two beautiful women (even if one was a relative). However this was different.



If there was any desire or lust in Selene's expression it was only of the most cruel and degrading kind. The witch had no intention of making love to the beautiful black elf woman, or even fucking her, Selene was going to rape Chrissy's body and soul.



Chrissy was a perspective female (when not blinded by own her arrogance) and she suddenly understood that Selene felt compelled to make her pay for escaping from the witch, and worse, defeating Selene in battle. That the Black Queen could temporarily put aside her grudges and vengeance, but never truly give them up.



But this understanding just made Chrissy's situation seem more hopeless.



Selene reached out and painfully squeezed a firm black breast, her hand fondling Chrissy's chest in a cruel and possessive manner. When the beautiful old monster used her other hand to push an index finger into the elf's dry womanhood it was suddenly too much, and Chrissy began to cry at the pain and humiliation of it all, whimpering in denial “no no...please no.”



Her tears gave Selene an almost orgasmic pleasure. There was nothing she liked better than dominating, humiliating, and breaking an enemy or rival. Especially ones that had given her as much trouble as Chrissy Lera.



The ancient predator pulled the smaller woman to her bosom and whispered into her ear “my little elf slut...just like your son will be.”



It was exactly the wrong thing to say.



Although by no means an ideal mother (it would be more accurate to call her a bad one) Chrissy genuinely loved her son. The thought of Christopher being tormented, raped, humiliated, and most likely consumed by the vicious old witch filled the necromancer with a fury she had never felt before. This creature had threatened her family multiple times, and that was utterly unforgivable.



But Chrissy knew that any sort of direct attack was futile. With Selene gripping her very soul the cunning witch would detect and stop any conventional attack as soon as it started. So Chrissy decided to copy Selene's own tactics.



The necromancer turned her senses inward, looking for the (metaphysical) scar tissue on her soul. Where her spirit was tied to Selene.



The wounded area was small, but remarkably damaged. The old monster had literally ripped away a piece of Chrissy's soul when the necromancer was helpless (and wiped the dark elf's memory of the traumatic event). Now when Chrissy probed the area she could sense Selene.



Her first impulse was to attack or try to control Selene through the link (as the witch herself had done). However, Chrissy decided to do something far more vicious instead.



Selene had noticed that Chrissy was being unusually quiet. The necromancer didn't even react when Selene pinched her vaginal lips and squeezed down hard on the elf woman's right breast.



Selene was going to issue another command when her entire being seemed to shudder. The dark haired witch pulled away from the elf she had been tormenting. Wondering why she suddenly felt so awful.



Chrissy appeared aware of her surroundings again, and the necromancer was staring straight at Selene. The expression on the sorceress's face telling Selene who was responsible.



The witch reacted violently, slapping Chrissy across the face hard enough to knock the smaller female off her feet. Screaming hoarsely “what did you do to me?”



Even though her ass and shoulders hurt thanks to the way she had landed on the floor, and her cheek ached where Selene had hit her, Chrissy still laughed. Sneering as she replied “FOOL!...you used spirit magic on an epic necromancer...now our souls are linked...all our souls.”



“Oh...oh no” Selene whimpered as she began to understand the full implications of what Chrissy was saying.



“That's right ancient bitch...you always brag about how all your victims souls live inside you...thanks to you I am linked to them too...and I say its time for those poor souls to wake up and make their voices heard” Chrissy explained, as she used her connection to Selene to pump more and more necromantic energy into the souls existing inside the psychic vampire, trying to force them all out of dormancy and make them strong.



“But...I am alive...I have always been alive...a necromancer has no power over me” Selene muttered in denial as she was hit by the full scale of the approaching disaster.



“YOU are alive...but the souls of your victims are neither truly living or dead...undead...and I am the mistress of the undead” Chrissy gloated, her red eyes aglow with hate.



Selene could not attack, she could barely even think anymore. Her body felt as though liquid fire was running through her veins, and she could hear the voices of those she had consumed just on the edge of her mind.



The voices sounded angry.



“KILL HER” Selene shrieked desperately, commanding the only servant she had left.



The false Chrissy Lera (who had felt very confused and uncomfortable as her mistress interrogated another Chrissy) started to cast an offensive spell. But before she had even finished the real Chrissy's magic knocked her out.



“I will deal with you later pretender” the naked dark elf said as her opponent slumped to the floor.



It appeared as though creatures were crawling just underneath Selene's skin. Her flesh randomly bulging and stretching as the vengeful spirits inside her attacked the vessel they were trapped in.



Selene was too wracked by pain and disoriented to even walk anymore. Using all her willpower in an attempt to force the souls of her victims back into dormancy.



Chrissy Lera sat down beside Selene on the floor. The willowy dark elf was smaller, less well endowed, and much younger than the witch. She was also now the most terrifying being in the universe to Selene.



“Please no” Selene pleaded as she guessed what Chrissy was about to do. Tears of pain and fear running down her all too pale face.



“You lost the right to plead for mercy when you hurt my family parasite” Chrissy coldly replied. Then she put her hand on Selene's sweaty brow.



*****



When Selene consumed the soul and life force of a victim only a remnant of their original spirit remained. The rest of the soul and life energy was used up in order to maintain the psychic vampire's youth and magic.



These remnants were too weak to do anything on their own, and existed in a dormant state that was best described as sleep. At least until now.



Chrissy was forcing them to wake up, and the power she was channeling into Selene gave them strength they hadn't had since the witch had consumed them.



Millions of spirits were waking up, many of them who had been loyal to Selene in life. But all of them were angry, furious at the greedy predator that had reduced them to this. Ripping and clawing at her mind and soul.



Selene was vastly stronger than any of them, nourished and strengthened by millennium of feeding and practicing her magic, with a skill at psionics exceeding any of her victims. But their numbers seemed endless, attacking with the fury of the murdered, Selene could just barely hold them back.



Until Chrissy touched Selene, sending a massive surge of necromantic power into the witch. Temporarily giving each rebelling spirit mental power to rival Selene's own. Making the vengeful ghosts crash into the psychic vampire's mind like a tidal wave hitting a beach house.



Selene silently screamed in pain and terror as her mind tore in half. But the vengeful spirits were not content with that. Ripping and tearing at Selene's mind until nothing but fragments remained. All but disintegrating Selene's memories, skills, and personality.



*****



Selene's eyes stared ahead blankly as Chrissy removed her hand. Drool dripping out of her mouth as the necromancer watched.



~She's mindless now...no threat to anyone~ Chrissy thought as she stood up. The dark elf considered destroying Selene's body now that the witch was completely helpless. But the necromancer knew better than most that killing creatures like Selene often just made them more dangerous, so Chrissy resisted the violent impulse.



~Besides...even now her body might just regenerate~ Chrissy regretfully concluded as she glared down at her fallen enemy. Casting a spell on Selene to immobilize the witch and hold in her magic (just in case).



Then Chrissy went to examine the unconscious female that had impersonated her for over half a year. Her magic stripping away Selene's spells to reveal the truth within.



“MOTHER” Chrissy gasped in shock as she stared at the familiar face. Feeling a new surge of anger as she realized just how much Selene and Dakar had been manipulating her family.



The older dark elf sorceress didn't respond, still suffering from the effects of her daughter's offensive spell.



Chrissy cast a powerful healing spell on Gennifer to heal her mother of any wounds. Then the necromancer used her false ghosts to carry Gennifer, intent on finding on safe place to hide her mother before returning to the battle at the portal facility.



*****



The forces of Silverymoon had suffered heavy losses since entering the portal facility. Hundreds of lives had been lost to Imperious Industries bullets, explosives, mechanical fists, poisons, and the even more exotic weaponry that their enemy wielded. Nevertheless Lady Alustriel's soldiers and mages had rapidly gained ground since entering the building. As the badly outnumbered Imperious Industries security personnel retreated over and over again. But something had changed.



“The enemy is no longer retreating...more and more of their lightly armored warriors and powerful metal golems are appearing...one of my scouts even claims to have seen a Titan among them” the High Mage explained to her nearby advisers and allies.



“Imperious Industries is obviously getting reinforcements through the portal...if I were them I would counterattack as soon as possible” Emma Frost replied thoughtfully.



“That is all too likely what the fiends are doing...unfortunately is it not our only problem” Alustriel told her ally.



“Oh...what could be as important as fighting the people currently trying to kill us?” Emma asked in condescending tones.



The ruler of Silverymoon was not used to being addressed so rudely (at least by an ally) and answered coldly “another enemy trying to kill us...your companion She-Hulk has gone mad...smashing friend and foe alike as she rampages through this building...if she maintains her present course the bulk of my army shall soon be trapped between her and the murderers we came here to fight.”



Emma Frost had no ready response to that, and a quick telepathic scan immediately revealed the truth of the High Mage's words. She-Hulk was literally not in her right mind.



The Five-in-One had telepathically suppressed She-Hulk's more brutish and savage persona numerous times in the past. But its power had been reduced by at least three fifths. Emma honestly didn't know whether or not she and Sophie were strong enough to telepathically overcome the Savage She-Hulk on their own (though she doubted it).



Emma Frost was still trying to think of a way to answer Lady Alustriel when someone wearing an Imperious Industries uniform entered the room the High Mage and her entourage were occupying. The figure's face and form was hidden beneath a helmet and light body armor, but her intentions were obvious when a gun appeared in her hand and she opened fire.



Alita Impala had been watching the enemy forces long enough to figure out that the beautiful sorceress was their leader. The High Mage's almost tangible aura of power and charisma made it even more clear that she was the one in charge.



~I sent away too many of my personal guard...and I am still too weak to protect myself~ the horrified High Mage thought as the wizard standing directly between her and Impala was gunned down. Knowing that this time she wasn't powerful enough to save anyone (even herself).



Emma Frost was about to attack the dark elf telepathically, when some sixth sense or instinct for self preservation told her to change into her diamond form instead. A moment later some sort of energy pistol appeared in Alita's other hand and she shot Emma between the breasts, the blast of energy knocking the pregnant woman down.



~I don't usually like fighting this way...but properly sniping somebody is virtually impossible when you're fighting in a building like this...besides they were so obviously not ready for a fight~ the sniper thought as she shot down the last of Alustriel's defenders, the burst of energy burning through the Knight's armor and incinerating his internal organs.



Then Impala pointed the two Blasters she was holding directly at the High Mage as she said “any last words?” The dark elf's voice sounding distorted and muffled thanks to the helmet she wore.



The exhausted and virtually defenseless Lady of Silverymoon responded by holding up a cat shaped onyx figurine and saying “Guenhwyvar.” Which caused the figurine to emit a gray mist.



Emma Frost (who Impala had assumed that she had killed or at least seriously injured) tackled Alita just as the sniper was firing. Making the shots go wild and knocking Impala to the ground.



Emma tried to hold onto the sniper, but while her diamond form was very durable, it wasn't particularly strong. The smaller, stronger, and generally fitter dark elf managed to squirm out of the pregnant woman's grasp. Muttering as she did so “heavy bitch...no more playing around.”



Impala used her Weapons Encyclopedia to send away one of her Blasters and summon a diamond cutting tool to her right hand. Intent on boring a hole directly through the diamond woman's temple.



Impala heard growling and looked up just in time to see the gray mist that Alustriel's figurine had summoned finish forming into a large black panther. The surprised sniper was trying to both stand up and aim at this new enemy when the magical panther leaped on her.



Over half a ton of weight smashed directly down on Alita Impala when Guenhwyvar landed on her torso. Snapping Impala's spine and killing her instantly.



Once the beast was satisfied that female dark elf was dead she went over to Lady Alustriel. The one person nearby that the magical panther recognized as a friend.



“I have always been fond of you Guenhwyvar” Alustriel said as she petted the loyal beast. Glad that Drizzt had decided that his unusually weak and vulnerable friend needed Guenhwyvar more this time than he did.



*****



Kimie Li probably could have survived the poison gas Imperious Industries unleashed on the area to wipe out Alustriel's army. But the same was not true of the demonic businesswoman's companions. So Kimie Li, Christopher Lera, Marian Casta, and the Sinful Li Produced employees Kimie had brought with her had all sought shelter from the poison gas in the nearest building, which happened to be the portal facility.



The press of bodies as the High Mage's remaining troops practically stampeded into the facility forced the Li group deep into the building. With no real idea of where they were or what to do now, Marian, Christopher, and Kimie had decided that now was as good a time as any to catch up.



“All right so you and Christina created an army of vampires to fight Imperious Industries...but where is it now?...and how come you're human?” Kimie asked, as the demon tried to make sense of the explanations she had just been given.



“The army was more or less wiped out when Chrissy decided to attack the main enemy base on the other Earth...and when we escaped to the new world...Toril...Chrissy somehow pissed off some bitchy redheaded goddess that beat Chrissy, turned me human, and changed the other remaining vampires into half-fiends” Marian continued to explain.



“How's my mother doing now?” Christopher asked.



“She's...okay...but very angry and bitter about all the defeats our enemies have handed her...I'm afraid that's why she ran off earlier...to prove herself by killing Dakar or Selene personally” Marian replied hesitantly. Still feeling bad about the way that her lover had seemingly deserted her during battle.



Eager to change the topic, Marian said in teasing tones “but you look lovely Chris...I think you're even cuter as a girl...if you ever feel like a girls night with me just bring the rings.”



Thanks to her (currently) fair skin it was all too easy to see Christopher's embarrassed blush. As Marian's flirtatious words brought carnal memories to mind.



But the blonde woman didn't catch Christopher's reply, because she was distracted by an all too familiar form entering the room. Unable to react before Susan Zweller killed one of Kimie's people with one swipe of her claws, leaving the poor woman a bloody heap on the floor.



“Its different now...but I still recognize your scent vampire” the werewolf boasted as she licked blood off her claws. Savoring the looks and smells of fear coming from her most recent victim's companions.



~You can't afford to waste time gloating...their too dangerous...just kill Casta and her friends now~ Lex warned her savage counterpart. But Cain was in no mood to listen to reason.



“DIE” Marian shrieked as she charged the werewolf, intent on simply beating Susan with her fists. Hoping that her enchanted armor would give her the edge she needed.



Susan punched Marian as hard as she could, hitting the former vampire with enough force to shatter bones and rupture organs. But the magic infusing Marian's beautiful white armor harmlessly absorbed most of the force, and the hit barely slowed the angry woman down. Then Marian counterattacked.



Hitting Susan with the full force of her magically enhanced strength. Breaking a couple of Zweller's ribs and rupturing a lung as she knocked the werewolf on her back.



But the wounds didn't even slow the massive wolfwoman down. Susan immediately leaped back to her feet. Her internal injuries rapidly healing as she ran at Marian. The sight of the charging werewolf sending Li's employees (who were already shocked and horrified by the death of their comrade) fleeing.



Kimie and Christopher reluctantly stayed. Neither of them were warriors, but they weren't willing to leave Marian to face a monster like Zweller alone. Besides, Kimie doubted the werewolf could do her any permanent damage.



“Look for a gun or something” Kimie told Christopher just before she went to Marian's side. Knowing that Chrissy's son wouldn't stand a chance against an opponent like this in hand to hand combat.



The werewolf aimed her strike at her enemy's one unarmored area, Marian's head (for Casta had left her helmet outside). Trying to claw out the human's eyes.



Susan missed, but not by much, her claws cutting across Marian's forehead. Marring Casta's beautiful face and making blood run right into her eyes. Effectively blinding Marian, at least for a moment.



However a moment was all Susan needed, and the werewolf drew back her other hand to strike. Aiming for Marian's throat as the woman reflexively rubbed the blood out of her eyes.



“LEAVE HER ALONE BITCH” Kimie cried out as she tackled the werewolf. Her strength and momentum knocking the bigger female down, so that the demon and werewolf landed in a heap on the floor.



Kimie landed on top of Susan, and immediately started punching the wolfwoman. Hitting the werewolf's dog-like face over and over again, every punch bruising flesh and cracking bone. But while Li was much stronger than a human, she wasn't strong enough to simply beat a creature like Susan Zweller to death (the werewolf simply healed too fast).



Susan snarled and kicked Kimie away, then she jumped on the disoriented demon. Aiming her jaws directly for the statuesque female's throat. Her teeth sinking deep into the soft flesh, savoring the powerful taste of demon blood.



Li made odd gargling noises as her throat was ripped out. The light leaving her eyes as Susan pulled away from her, falling to the floor a lifeless heap.



“Whose next?” Susan said with a grin as she licked the blood off her lips.



Christopher seemed on the verge of tears over what had happened to Kimie, but Marian's reaction surprised the werewolf.



Casta looked grim but expectant. As though she were waiting for something to happen.



This puzzled Cain, and the werewolf looked around. Seeing to her shock that a baby demon had appeared next to Kimie Li's corpse.



The baby had the same coloring and basic features as Li, and as the werewolf watched the baby got bigger. Seemingly aging years in seconds.



This completely startled the werewolf, and gave Marian the time she needed.



~Where did I put it?...where is the bloody thing?~ Marian asked herself as she looked around the room.



The deadly cursed dagger Marian had used to take down Susan Zweller before was long gone. But the blonde woman had grabbed a regular silver dagger out of the High Mage's armory before coming back to Iberia. Guessing (correctly) that she might fight Zweller again soon.



~THERE IT IS~ Marian told herself as she saw where she had put down the silver dagger while talking to Kimie. Picking it up as she rushed the werewolf.



The furry beast had grabbed Kimie Li with both hands. Lifting the still growing demon up as she opened her fanged month wide, seemingly intent on devouring the child sized Kimie whole. Li struggled to escape Susan's grasp, but the werewolf was too strong.



“LEAVE HER ALONE MONSTER” Marian cried out as she stabbed Susan in the shoulder, the silver blade piercing flesh and scraping bone. The werewolf dropped Kimie (who immediately scampered away) and violently shoved Marian back, howling in anger and pain all the while. The silver dagger feeling as though it was burning her body from the inside.



Susan grasped the silver dagger and pulled it out of her body, snarling in anger as she held the bloody dagger in her hand. Growling as she advanced on Marian “let's see how you like it bitch.”



The werewolf grabbed Marian by her slender throat, easily lifting the woman off the ground with one hand. Using the other hand to hold the silver dagger as she got ready to stab Casta in the eye. The armored blonde already losing consciousness thanks to Susan's choke hold.



Everyone else was so focused on Susan they didn't notice Christopher Lera taking off her magic rings. Initiating the painful transformation back into a male dark elf.



Zweller cried out in pain as something attacked her right leg. Looking down to see that Kimie Li (who now had the size and figure of a well endowed teenager) was biting her with demonic fangs. When Li saw that she had Susan's attention she stopped biting the werewolf and rammed her horns into Zweller's muscular thigh.



Susan screamed wordlessly as she let go of Marian and the dagger, grasping Kimie by the horns as she pushed the demon away.



“AH...LET GO...GO LET” Li screamed as Susan shook her by the horns, seemingly trying to rip them from the demon's head. Only letting go when Marian punched her in the crotch with an armored fist. Striking the werewolf between the legs, to directly hit her hairy sex.



Susan Zweller groaned in pain, reminded of when she had done similar things to Casta. Not enjoying it so much now that the positions were reversed.



Marian and the now fully grown Kimie forced the bigger female to the floor. Susan started struggling again and the demon and magically strengthened human could barely hold the werewolf down. The savage creature was simply far stronger than either of them.



“I'M STRONGER THAN ANY OF YOU” Susan cried out defiantly from beneath Casta and Li (who were practically lying on top of her at this point). Wanting nothing more than to rip out all their throats.



“But you're not stronger than all of us” a masculine voice said.



All three women looked towards the speaker and saw a handsome male dark elf. Wearing a pretty dress that didn't really suit his current form.



“Christopher Lera?...where the hell did you come from?” Susan exclaimed in surprise.



Christopher ignored the question and leaned down to pick up the dagger, sharing a look with Marian and Kimie as he did so. Their expressions telling him to strike now.



Zweller struggled harder than ever as she realized the danger, but her sharp fangs and claws could reach nothing but Marian's magnificent (and extremely durable) armor, and Marian and Kimie were strong enough (together) to hold her down no matter how fiercely she fought against their grip on her.



Christopher placed the dagger against Susan's exposed throat, and hesitated. He was not a violent person, and he had never killed anyone before.



“You wouldn't DARE boy” Susan growled.



~Gods above and below this bitch is strong...I should have exercised some this century~ Li mentally complained. Knowing she was at the limits of her endurance, and that she couldn't hold the werewolf down much longer.



“Chris she tortured and raped me for fun...and she would have done the same to your mother if she had the chance” Marian softly confessed, hoping the youth (compared to her) would understand that this wasn't just about vengeance or blood lust.



Susan Zweller started to call Christopher's mother a whore, but the words were cut off as the silver dagger was jabbed into her jugular. Her lifeblood leaking away as the silver created a wound the werewolf's body could not regenerate. The blade sinking deep into Susan's flesh as Christopher put his full weight and strength into the act.



Cain died in disbelief, shocked that someone as 'weak' as Christopher had killed him. Taking the protesting Lex (who insisted this was not her fault at all) and the relatively innocent Mary and Susan to whatever afterlife awaited them all.



*****



Lady Alustriel Silverhand and Emma Frost (who was the closest thing the High Mage had to an adviser right now) had decided that the best way to deal with the problem of a rampaging She-Hulk was to let their enemies handle it.



The High Mage ordered all her remaining soldiers and mages to stay away from the berserking Jade Giantess. Effectively clearing a path in the portal facility between She-Hulk and the counterattacking Imperious Industries forces. It wasn't long before the savage green woman ran directly into Omega Squad.



It was in one of the large storage areas in the building (which was one of the few rooms big enough to easily accommodate Big Bertha). The storage room was full of crates containing weapons, Epsilon units, and of course the members of Omega Squad. All of whom were wearing (brown) body armor, heavily armed, and expecting trouble.



“Shoot da crazy bitch down” sergeant Boris ordered his squad.



Over thirty soldiers opened fire, hitting the muscular green woman with bullets, explosives, fire, and poison, all but annihilating what remained of her ragged clothing. But accomplishing little more than making the Savage She-Hulk even madder.



Steaming rose off the naked green woman's body, her hair wild and expression feral as she charged the attacking soldiers. Roaring with anger as she reached Angelus's elite.



“AHH...CRAZY GREEN BITCH...GET OFF LET GO OF ME” a Dwarf soldier screamed as She-Hulk picked up him. Hurling the poor Dwarf at a nearby comrade so hard that they both died on impact.



“Stand yer ground boys...she can't fight us all” sergeant Boris said confidently, though inside he was thinking ~I hope.~



But She-Hulk apparently could fight them all. Even though she was surrounded and being shot at from all sides the seven ft. tall berserker was still unhurt. Killing a soldier with every blow of her green fists, literally ripping them apart in some cases.



“ENOUGH...LEAVE THE LITTLE CUNT TO ME” Big Bertha thundered as she aimed her massive weapon. Firing on She-Hulk with her Giant sized radiation cannon a moment later.



The shot of radiative energy was wider than She-Hulk, smashing the brutish woman into the floor with a deafening impact. But the naked berserker started to get back up immediately.



“STAY DOWN” the Frost Giant yelled as she stomped on She-Hulk. Her massive armored boot landing on the green woman with enough force to pulverize virtually any human sized opponent.



Big Bertha grunted in surprised as something heaved her foot back, falling to the floor as she lost her balance. Accidentally crushing five of her comrades in the process.



She-Hulk screamed with fury as she leaped on the downed female Giant. Seeming almost to fly as she traveled through the air to land on Big Bertha's armored chest. Scurrying up the Giant torso with the speed of a madwoman to reach the head.



“GOT YOU” Big Bertha shouted as she grabbed She-Hulk before the berserker could get to her face. Trying to crush the life out of the much smaller female. But She-Hulk's size was deceptive, the gamma powered metahuman was the stronger one.



She-Hulk easily burst out of Big Bertha's grasp and landed directly on her head. Shrieking with fury as she struck with all her might.



She-Hulk's monstrously strong punch went through armor, flesh, and bone. Smashing through Big Bertha's skull directly into her brain. Killing the Giant soldier before she could react.



Sergeant Boris stared at the She-Hulk in disbelief.



There was nothing beautiful or erotic about the She-Hulk's nude form at this point. Big Bertha's blood and brain matter coated her right arm up to the shoulder, and the rest of her body was covered in blood and debris. Her long hair was a tangled mess stained by dust, blood, and fragments of metal, bone, plastic, and flesh. While her face and eyes were perhaps the most feral and angry things that sergeant Boris had ever seen (the Dwarf felt more like he was observing some sort of great beast than any kind of person).



~If that monster can take down poor Bertha so easily the rest of us don't stand a chance~ Boris thought. Burying the grief he felt at the loss of his friend and greatest military asset.



“Retreat...get away from that crazy bitch boys” sergeant Boris commanded. Trying to save what was left of Omega Squad.



*****



The Ministry of Defense forces in the capital had mobilized quickly once Minister Alberto Francisco had given the order. Now hundreds of human soldiers, thousands of cybernetically enhanced zombies, dozens of tanks, and about thirty military helicopters surrounded the Imperious Industries portal facility building. The building itself showed extensive battle damage, but the enemy that Minister Francisco and his people had come to fight was nowhere in sight.



The Defense Minister himself was near the rear of the military forces (along with most of his staff) trying to determine his next course of action. Wishing that there was someone to tell him what to do.



“And you say you can't contact Imperious Industries anymore?” Minister Francisco asked one of his people.



“No sir...all communications with chief Angelus and his people abruptly ceased...we suspect foul play on the part of the enemy” the soldier replied, inwardly adding ~you indecisive moron.~



“What do I do?...what do I do?” Francisco muttered, more to himself than anyone else.



“I think that I can help ya with that” a large man that seemed to appear out of nowhere replied.



The Minister and his staff whirled around to stare into the grinning face of Imperious Dakar. As the demonic businessman looked at the pathetic excuse for a leader and decided how best to use him and his forces.



*****



One last barrier stood in the path of The Phoenix. But this one was different.



It opposed The Phoenix Force with power approaching her own, and under other circumstances the mysterious force might have slowed her down, or perhaps even stopped the godlike Jean Grey.



However, these were not ordinary circumstances.



“NO ONE CAN STOP THE PHOENIX” Jean thundered with the voice of a god and the wrath of a demon lord. Using pure fury and raw power to knock aside the barrier. Too angry to notice the strain and pain she might otherwise have felt.



The Phoenix broke through the dimensional barrier and the thing that had strengthened it. To arrive directly on the Earth where Storm had died.