Merchants of Death

Epilogue



The first few days after Imperious Dakar died and his company was kicked out of

Iberia were very busy ones for Marian Casta.



The ruling elite in the Iberian capital of Neroka had been terrified and

confused by the foreign invasion, and most of them frankly just wanted someone

to restore order. Chrissy Lera was in no position to do that herself, so Casta

filled the vacuum.



Marian found to her pleasant surprise that she actually wielded a great deal of

power and influence in Iberia. Though the general populace knew little about

her the military and governmental elite in Neroka were used to thinking of

Marian as the President's closest confidant and constant companion. So when

Marian told an Iberian general or minister to that she was relaying an order on

behalf of President Lera, that official believed her and obeyed.



Of course it helped that Marian Casta had someone she could utterly rely on and

trust to help her. Who also happened to be one of the few people who knew what

really happened when the capital was invaded.



"All of our neighbors are nervous about Iberia right now...they don't believe

our explanations for what occurred three days ago and they don't trust mother

not to do something crazy...however no one seems to be on the verge of declaring

war on us so its better than I expected" the Minister of Foreign Relations

Christopher Lera explained.



Marian Casta nodded and looked around the Presidential office, which was still

full of the black furnishings Selene had brought in. Thinking ~that's about all

we could reasonably hope for.~



"What about your grandmother?...any word of her?" Marian asked.



"No...it appears that she's gone into hiding" Christopher replied.



Christopher Lera had found his grandmother the night his mother had returned.

Gennifer Lera had woken up shortly after that and said that she wanted nothing

further to do with her daughter and the country Chrissy ruled. When Christopher

had tried to reason with Gennifer the older elf had cursed at him and stormed

off. Under the circumstances neither Marian nor Christopher blamed her for

hiding from them.



"What about mother?...how is she doing Mary?"



Marian looked away, as far as she was concerned there was nothing good to say.



Chrissy Lera had been lying in bed since they had moved back into the

Presidential Palace. The elf woman had said no more than a few words since then

and refused to eat or drink. Her own self-loathing easily overcoming the pangs

of hunger and thirst.



Christopher Lera was a smart male, so he could figure out what Marian's silence

signified. Saying in a heavy tone "if she doesn't start eating on her own soon

we will have to have her force fed...that or magically nourish her on a regular

basis which amounts to the same thing."



"I know" Marian whispered.



With heavy hearts Marian and Christopher went to check on the elf woman that

they loved.



Chrissy was in her bedroom, laying in bed under heavy blankets. Wearing a

mournful expression and a light nightgown. She looked up as her son and oldest

friend entered the room, but said nothing in response.



~Has she slept at all since we came back?...she looks terrible...how long can

she torment herself like this?" Marian thought as she entered the room.



The blonde woman put down the plate of food she was carrying and moved to a

chair right next to Chrissy's bed. Then she grabbed the plate again and sat

down.



"You need to eat Sweetie" Marian said as she held out the plate of food.



"I'm not hungry" Chrissy whispered.



"You need to eat mother...otherwise you will starve" Christopher said as he

reached out to gently lay a comforting hand on his mother's brow.



Chrissy had not bathed or changed her clothes in days. The truth was, she

stank, and as Christopher got close enough to smell her the male was amazed that

his usually well groomed mother had let herself reach such a state.



Christopher was so focused on his own gloomy thoughts he didn't hear Chrissy's

reply to him. But Marian did, and judging by her expression Christopher was

sure it was nothing good.



"Chrissy please...you must eat" the former vampire pleaded.



"Why?...I am responsible for so much death so much pain...wouldn't the world be

better without me in it?" Chrissy said bitterly, the self-loathing in her words

so strong that her lover and son had no trouble detecting it.



"Not for me Chrissy...I want you I need you...without you the world would be a

dull and pointless place for me" Marian whispered.



Chrissy began to silently weep, her tearful crimson eyes wide as she whispered

"but what if I hurt someone else?"



"I won't let you...now eat" Marian said sternly.



Chrissy was actually quite hungry and thirsty. Depression had dulled her

appetite and thirst, but the insistence of her friends and family that she eat

and drink seemed to remind her body of how hungry and thirsty she really was.

When Marian grabbed a pastry of the type Chrissy liked and gently pressed the

tasty treat against Lera's lips, Chrissy seriously considered just opening her

mouth and biting down.



"Please Chrissy...don't abandon me...don't desert me...I need you" Marian

pleaded, looking as though she was about to cry herself.



Chrissy couldn't stand the thought of making someone else cry, especially

Marian. Her son said something else too, but Chrissy didn't hear it. For her

attention was focused entirely on the woman who had been her friend and lover

longer than most people had been alive.



Chrissy opened her mouth and then bit down on the pastry, savoring its sweetness

and texture. The elf woman had started eating more to please Marian than

anything else, but that first bite seemed to fully awaken her appetite. Chrissy

finished the pastry in two more big bites, then obediently opened her mouth when

Marian hand fed her another one.



Christopher watched Marian feed his mother with a relief and a tiny bit of

resentment. Relief because his mother was eating again, but resentment because

she had started eating again for Marian, instead of her own son.



~She loves me but she loves Mary more~ Christopher thought. Then he mentally

shrugged and told himself to stop being an idiot. That his mother was eating

again, and that was the important thing.



"Take care of her Mary...I will make sure nobody bothers you for a few hours"

Christopher told Marian, then he left the room. But Marian barely noticed, all

of her attention firmly on her little lover.



Marian fed Chrissy everything on the plate, watching with satisfaction as the

dark elf ravenously consumed it all. Then she got Chrissy a glass of water,

holding the glass to Chrissy's mouth so that the smaller woman could drink the

water continuously.



Marian spent the next several hours helping Chrissy bathe, get dressed, brush

her hair, and even put on some make up. Looking after the smaller and less

confident female like a loving spouse or worried parent. Showing Chrissy that

she was valued.



Many people would assume that the former vampire was incapable of acting so

unselfishly. But Chrissy had been taking care of Marian for most of their

lives, Marian refused to do any less now that Chrissy needed her so much.



After all the bathing, dressing, and grooming Chrissy looked and felt more like

her old self (though she would probably never regain her old self-confidence).

Cuddling up to Marian on the bed, feeling trust in and dependence on the bigger

woman in a way that she hadn't for centuries.



Chrissy thought of those centuries together, the way that Casta had always been

her friend, confidant, and lover. The way that the blonde woman had always

stayed beside her regardless of how arrogant or strange she acted.



Chrissy moved so that she was staring directly into Marian's deep blue eyes,

their faces only inches apart. Blurting out "Mary...will you marry me?"



The words seemed to come out of nowhere to Marian, and she replied in surprise

"Why...why are you asking now?"



"I have taken too much for granted for too long Mary...I love you and I want the

whole world to know it...if...if you will have me" Chrissy answered sincerely.



"What about the scars?" Marian whispered.



"What scars?" Chrissy said in honest confusion.



"On my face...you have to look carefully their very faint" Marian explained.



There were indeed faint scars on Marian's face, barely visible reminders of the

wounds the werewolf Susan Zweller had inflicted on her during their final

battle. Scars that had resisted several attempts at magical healing already.



"What happened Mary?" Chrissy said, outraged that someone had hurt her lover

again.



"It was the werewolf Zweller...she died during the battle...but the point is

that the wounds can't be magically healed...I won't know for sure until the full

moon but..." Marian's words trailed off, not wanting to think about having

anything in common with the unlamented Susan Zweller.



Chrissy was silent as she mentally digested what she had been told. Imagining

life with a werewolf.



"I stayed beside you when you were a vampire...why would I abandon you

now?...claws or fangs all that matters to me is that you're Mary" Chrissy said,

speaking so confidently and firmly that there was an echo of her arrogant old

self in her tone.



Marian passionately kissed her in response, then gushed "yes...of course I'll

marry you you crazy wonderful little elf."



Chrissy giggled in a surprisingly girlish way and then said with a trace of her

old devilishness "and after the wedding we can shop for dog collars."



"Someone's asking for a spanking" Marian said mock sternly as she playfully

swatted her lover on the fanny.



Chrissy just giggled again in response, and for that moment at least, everything

was right in their world.



*****



Alita Impala woke up very slowly. The dark elf female groaned aloud as she

flexed muscles that felt stiff and unused.



"How are you feeling?...the doctors told me that it would take a while for you

to recover."



The words seemed to come from very far away. Impala opened her eyes to stare to

stare at another female elf.



But unlike her, this one was fair skinned and very tall, with an athletic figure

and long blonde hair. One of her eyes appeared normal and organic, while the

other one was obviously artificial and glowed with a bluish light.



"Angela?...what what happened?...where am I?" Impala asked in confusion.



"You're at the main Imperious Industries headquarters in Brazil...you were in

pretty bad shape after the battle so we brought you here" the cybernetically

enhanced clone explained.



"That stupid cat...he must have landed right on me...did we win?" the female

dark elf said somewhat incoherently. Taking stock of her surroundings as she

talked. Noticing that she appeared to be in a hospital room.



"No...I was severely wounded but Dakar and Angelus died...we were forced to

abandon all our Iberian facilities" Angela grimly told her friend. Resisting

the urge to finger her left arm, which had been ravaged in the battle and had

only recently been repaired.



"Angelus and Dakar dead?...then whose in charge?" Impala replied in shock.



"I am...Dakar left everything in his will to Angelus and Angelus left everything

to his daughter...me" Angela proudly explained.



~Okay...I can imagine Dakar leaving everything to Angelus...they were best

buddies for a long time...but Angelus didn't even like Angela...why would he

leave everything to his clone?~ Impala thought. Though all that came out of her

mouth was "huh...that doesn't sound right."



"You have been...recovering for a long time...Dakar and Angelus died over three

weeks ago" Angela said somewhat truthfully.



~Three weeks?...what happened to me?~ Impala worried, tossing aside the blankets

covering her to get a better look at her own body. The elf woman's lean and

muscular form was naked underneath, but that was not what made a shocked Impala

scream "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME!"



It was the fact that all of Alita Impala's many tattoos and scars were gone.

Her black skin was as smooth and unmarred as a healthy newborn baby's.



"You were in pretty bad shape when we got to you...so the doctors had to resort

to extreme measures to keep you alive...I am afraid that that's not even your

original skin" Angela explained as she thought ~and I think only one of those

statements is a lie.~



Impala HAD been in very bad shape when Imperious Industries recovered her body.

The dark elf mercenary's body was so badly damaged that reviving her had proved

impossible. But the new head of Imperious Industries hadn't been willing to

give up her first friend just because she was dead. Cloning Impala had seemed

like the natural solution to Angela.



"But I'm still me right?...you didn't replace my bones with metal or my brain

with a computer right?" A worried Impala asked, knowing the kind of radical body

modifications that Imperious Industries scientists were ready, willing, and able

to perform.



Angela hesitated for a micro-second, as her cybernetically enhanced brain

processed the question. A question that was difficult for her to answer due to

the factors involved.



Because it had also seemed perfectly natural for Angela to order her scientists

to give the Alita clone some of the enhancements she herself had. Though all of

Impala's machines were internal and the scientists had assured Angela that they

would not prevent Alita from doing any normal elf activities (such as eating,

sleeping, breeding, etc.).



"Of course you are yourself...the doctors just gave you a few...minor

modifications so your less likely to get so injured in the future" Angela lied.



~She's still too weak to handle the truth...I will tell her when she's stronger~

Angela rationalized.



"Its not all bad news though...my silent partner figured out that we don't need

to be in Iberia to open up dimensional portals anymore...normal off world

business can resume soon" Angela explained.



"Silent partner?" Alita said questioningly as she got up and got dressed. Happy

to see that someone had laid out a bra, panties, pants, shirt, and shoes. As

well as a small pistol (because Impala frankly felt naked without some sort of

weapon on her person).



"Yes...he's one of Dakar's old friends...he helped me straighten out that

business with the wills" Angela told the ignorant elf.



"Old friends...Dakar didn't have any old friends...except maybe Angelus" Impala

replied.



"Its hard to explain...follow me outside and I'll show me" Angela said.



Alita Impala followed, and they left the building. As soon as Impala walked

through the exit she was confronted with a face bigger than she was.



It was black, reptilian, and horned, with features that were vaguely reminiscent

of a humanoid skull. Gleaming eyes bigger than Impala's face stared down at

her, and the normally fearless Alita became uncomfortably aware of how tiny she

was compared to the gigantic creature.



"Great Wyrm" Impala breathed.



The dragon stretched like a cat, his massive winged form blocking out the sun

and leaving Angela and Alita in shadow. His huge fangs showing as he grinned.



"This is Magnus...my partner and the new co-owner of Imperious Industries"

Angela explained proudly, showing no fear towards the huge and powerful

creature.



"And with the death of my teacher the most powerful technomancer

alive...although I suspect I am the only one here who cares about that...I have

heard good things about you Miss Impala...I am sure that we shall all have a

very profitable relationship" the dragon boomed, his jaded old spirit excited by

the prospect of gaining access to the riches of the multiverse.



*****



Mystique and She-Hulk were sick of fighting and running from place to place.

Moreover, now that she had found a new obsession Emma Frost was less interested

than ever in helping them deal with their various psychological issues. So

She-Hulk and Mystique decided to separate from Frost.



However they didn't have that many other options.



Neither woman felt welcome back in her home dimension, and the same applied to

most of the places they had visited since beginning their multiversal journey.

So Raven Darkholme and Jennifer Walters had said yes when the businesswoman

Kimie Li had offered them a job as actresses in one of her films. In retrospect

it was becoming clear that they should have asked more questions about what kind

of movies Kimie's company made.



"You can't be serious" Mystique said indignantly.



It was She-Hulk and Mystique's first day on the set of a Sinful Li Produced

movie. Many of their co-stars were already naked, getting ready to act out the

orgy that was in the opening scene of the movie, Conquests of the Demon Queen:

Part Two (Kimie was of course playing the part of the Demon Queen herself). But

the mutant and the metahuman were showing a reluctance to take off their

clothes.



"I told you there would be sex scenes" Kimie replied.



"This movie is nothing but sex scenes" She-Hulk added angrily as she stood

beside Mystique. Twin expressions of outrage on their faces.



"What's the big deal?...I never figured you girls for prudes" the demon said in

exasperation.



"We may not be sexually repressed but that doesn't mean were common whores"

Mystique shot back.



"Darling I may be a whore but certainly never a common one...neither are the

people who work for me" Kimie said with a laugh, as she pulled a piece of paper

out of her skimpy clothes and handed it to Mystique.



Mystique looked at the check in shock, then wordlessly handed it to She-Hulk.

Then said in amazement "we would make that much for the movie?"



"No my dear...per scene" Kimie answered with a toothy grin.



"How can you afford to pay us that much?" She-Hulk blurted out.



Sensing that their resistance was weakening, Li put an arm around She-Hulk and

Mystique. Hugging them to her in a companionable way as she said "because girls

porn is a growth industry...now let's discuss what else Sinful Li Produced can

offer you."



*****



Even with the extensive records Selene had left behind it had taken Emma Frost

over a month to track down the 'birthplace' of her daughters. Now she was

entering a place hostile to all mutantkind, accompanied only by baby Sophie

(resting comfortably in her arms) and her newest ally.



The place was on Emma Frost's Earth, and looked a bit like a huge high-tech

greenhouse. Its purpose was something Emma Frost was all too familiar with.

The creation of powerful living weapons designed to kill mutants.



The facility was known as The World, and the name fit. In The World the

temperature, air, and even time itself were all controlled and artificial. The

perfect setting for the ambitious scientists employed there to create ever more

sophisticated and powerful killing machines.



But Emma Frost and her ally had no trouble entering The World. The World's

controller saw them as no threat. Moreover it had been expecting Emma Frost and

the Stepford Cuckoos to come for a long time.



Emma disagreed with such a threat assessment. Partially due to what Selene had

known or pierced together about The World. Nevertheless what Emma saw inside

truly shocked her.



"Are you all right Frost" the plain looking man who was Emma's ally asked. His

tone one of concern.



"I knew there would be some...but but so many" Emma mumbled.



"Yes...there are more than I was expecting as well" her ally replied.



The room was vast, and filled with seemingly endless rows of incubation

chambers. Each chamber was transparent, and filled with a naked woman. And

every woman had the (identically) distinctive features of the Stepford Cuckoos.



As Emma Frost continued to stare at her many artificially produced daughters, a

view screen near her turned on. Showing the image of a handsome, professional

looking Caucasian male.



"Greetings Emma Frost...we have been expecting you for a long time...and thank

you for bringing Sophie...we wondered what happened to her" a voice coming out

of the view screen said.



"A.I" Emma's ally told her, as he used his abilities to analyze the speaker.



"As Selene suspected" Frost replied.



"I am Doctor John Sublime...not a mere machine" the machine said in apparent

annoyance.



~Does it really think its human or is it just lying~ Emma wondered. Then

decided that it didn't matter.



"I am impressed doctor...but tell me...how did you collect enough genetic

material from me to create so many Cuckoos?" Emma asked in a seductive tone. No

trace of the outrage and loathing she felt towards the machine and its creators

showing in her expression.



"I suppose there's no harm in telling you now...I harvested a number of your

eggs while you were in a coma" the artificial intelligence answered.



Frost's companion was silent during this exchange. Using his abilities to scan

and analyze his surroundings. Preparing for the pivotal moment that was sure to

come soon.



"Let me guess dear...my girls were created to destroy all mutants" Emma said in

a bored tone. As though bored by such a predictable action.



"Of course...the combined psychic power of the Thousand-in-One is more than

enough to destroy all of you aberrant lifeforms...it simply needed refining" the

pseudo Sublime replied.



"That's why you sent the Five-in-One out into the world...you needed them to

learn how to use their powers and then come back to share that knowledge with

their sisters" Emma realized.



"Yes...however the devices in their brains do allow me some crude control over

their power even now...enough for the Thousand-in-One to easily kill such close

targets" the A.I. gloated.



"I will not allow that" Emma's ally said firmly.



"I assume you are Magneto in disguise...or at least a mutant with similar

abilities...unfortunately for you we anticipated such an eventuality...my

machines are designed to be immune to such powers" the A.I. confidently

announced.



The man grinned toothily, his teeth looking oddly like fangs. Saying "a master

of magnetism...no nothing so common...I am a technomancer."



The A.I didn't know what that term meant, but it didn't like unknown variables.

So it activated the Thousand-in-One, trying to use the vast power of the

hundreds of telepathic girls to obliterate the minds of the two intruders. But

it could not send the Thousand-in-One the necessary commands.



Something unseen was blocking the channels of communication. A type of energy

the program known as Doctor John Sublime neither recognized nor understood.



The A.I. never had time to understand, milliseconds later the stranger's magic

coursed through its program. Destroying data with brutal efficiency, striking

at the very core of Sublime. The defenses built to protect it against Magneto

and his like were no protection at all against the alien abilities of

technomancy.



The view screen Emma and her ally had been looking at simply went blank as the

Doctor John Sublime program was erased. An anticlimactic ending for an

artificial intelligence with such power and potential for destruction.



~Thank you~ Sophie telepathically told the one responsible. Still finding

telepathic communication easier than speech even after a month out of the womb.



"You're welcome" said Magnus, dragon in human form, and greatest technomancer

alive. Satisfied that circumstances were showing him to be as powerful as he

had assumed he was.



"You will get your payment as soon as I can safely leave here" Emma assured the

dragon.



"Excellent...would you like me to give you manual control...I destroyed the

Doctor Sublime program but the methods it used for controlling the girls still

exist...then you could just-"



"NO" Emma said harshly as she interrupted the dragon, then continued in a more

civil tone "no...my girls shall not be slaves...not even mine."



"As you wish" the dragon replied. He thought that the telepathic girls would be

more useful, and certainly easier to manage, if they were manually controlled.

But it really made little difference to him.



Emma ignored the dragon and telepathically reached out to her many daughters

(except Sophie). Making contact with their inexperienced and infantile minds.

Telling them in a soothing mental voice "its okay...you're free of him

now...mother's here...mama will take care of you."



The telepathic girls responded to their mother's telepathic touch, feeling

maternal love for the first time in their sheltered lives. Replying in hundreds

of similar mental voices "Mother?...Miss

Frost...mama...Emma...mother...mama...mother...mother."



Tears ran down the cheeks of the normally frosty Emma, and neither Sophie nor

the dragon understood exactly why.



*****



In the Abyss the the principal of survival of the fittest ruled. The weak were

usually enslaved or simply eaten by the strong. Unfortunately for most of the

damned souls condemned to this plane, they fell into the weak category.



A lowly Dretch demon found what appeared to be just another damned soul near it.

The brutish demon was always happy to find something even lower on the food

chain than itself, and stalked towards the puny creature. Intent on devouring

the pale spirit whole.



The simpleminded Dretch grasped the damned soul in its disproportionately large

hands. Opening its mouth to bite down, its grotesque form quivering with hunger

and anticipation as it prepared to feed. Then it stared into the eyes of its

intended prey.



Even in the Abyss the Dretch had never seen such madness, mere damnation was

nothing compared to the hateful chaos already inside this soul. Its horrible

gaze literally burning the poor beast.



The Dretch shrieked, letting go of the creature and trying flee. But it was

already too late for the demon.



The body of the damned morphed, becoming large and hairy as it developed fangs

and claws. Reaching out and grasping the terrified Dretch even as it

transformed.



If the Dretch was smarter, it would have appreciated the fact that not all

damned souls were weaklings after they were pulled into the Abyss. That

exceptionally strong and wicked spirits were often exceptionally strong in the

land of the damned, and that it had made the mistake of offending such a spirit.

But the Dretch was too stupid and scared to have such thoughts, squealing like a

pig until its monstrous foe tore out its throat.



The furry creature threw down the corpse of the Dretch in disgust. Spitting out

of the vile taste of Dretch blood.



The damned felt a familiar presence inside it, and made a conscious effort to

let the presence out.



Ice seemed to rapidly grow from the bestial creature's right hand, quickly

taking on a humanoid form. In mere moments what appeared to be slightly built

young woman stood hand in hand with the monster. Her icy flesh glinting in the

light of the Abyss.



"So this is Hell...it doesn't seem so bad" Lex said as she studied the barren,

shifting landscape that surrounded them. Wondering how they could get on the

good side (and of course manipulate) the powers that be in a place like this.



"Yess...prey surrounds us...and I am finally free of that girl's body" Cain

growled back.



Lex simply nodded, then hand in hand, the pair walked off to explore their new

home.



*****



On the surface of it, Jean Grey had achieved little when she went to Chrissy

Lera and Imperious Dakar's Earth to avenge Storm's death. But that surface

impression was misleading.



The Phoenix had torn down most of the dimensional barriers surrounding that

universe in order to enter it. Opening that long sheltered dimension to the

multiverse. A fact that gods, demons, and creatures even more powerful and

strange were becoming aware of. Thanks to the late god-woman, life was about to

get more interesting for everyone.







THE END.