APOCALYPSE NEXT Chapter 7 UGLY MUSIC OF THE NERVES: What happened between chapters 5 and 6 WRONG, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Her smell is still in me nose... still tastin' her... The floor is cold under me bare feet as I put distance between myself and Kitty. I'll apologize as soon as I can face her... Wot was that dream? Wot was that last thing, a flashback? The image was so powerful that I can still feel wot was being done to that boy... to me... oh fuckin' 'ell! Wot do I do now? I was never raped...I don't remember anythin' of the sort and... the boy wasn't me... residue of the dream I'd had... guilt over tryin' to shag a minor. I can convince meself that that twisted image of me childhood is all wrong... it never happened... me feelin's tell me another story as well as that numb weight sittin' under me skull. I'll deal with it later... shite! Seen worse anyway. "...ere like this, sir... You need to stop... Stop, sir... Now!" "Eh!" A SHIELD drone... boy looks young, new to his uniform and determined to prove 'imself. 'Es holdin' a weapon, standin' in me way. His badge identifies 'im as Agent Hewlett: security. "This is a secure area -- deadly force is authorized. Now, I know who you are, Agent Wisdom, so I'll overlook your state of undress, but you need to turn and leave this area -- now, please." Hewlett. I look down at myself... bare feet, black trousers and black coat, nothin' but my paleness underneath. "I didn't realize, Hewlett... let me mind wander." "Can I get you some assistance? You look kinda shaky." Hewlett. "I'll manage... tell me where I can get somethin' to drink." "Deck six, foreward dining hall -- but, if it's alcohol you're asking for, you won't find any. All the liquor has been put up for the duration. The helicarrier becomes a 'dry base' whenever we go tactical." Hewlett. Bollocks! "Fags, then -- they allowed during tactical?" "Sir? ...well... um, I guess... I mean, I don't think that SHIELD would discriminate... don't ask, don't tell... you know." Hewlett. Red eared and confused. Oh right! The poofter thing. "Sorry, wot I mean is, is smokin' also on the proscribed activities list? I need a trip to Marlboro country, pilgrim." "Yes, Sir! Smoking is permitted. Just turn around and follow the blue line on the deck 'til you reach the main elevator bank and then just take one of the 'lifts' to the deck six dining hall. You'll find the smoking lounge there." Hewlett. I follow the blue line to the lifts... see no one else. Must be the quiet hour... only a skeleton crew on duty. I light up and am well into me second fag when I reach the lounge. It's brilliant... Clearly set up to indulge Fury's cigar habit, the lounge is separated from the rest of the dining facility by -- this is good -- smoked glass panels. The d‚cor is all leather and polished wood, like a high end cigar club but reduced to fit into the confines of the Helicarrier. I find a chair at the farthest point from the door and sink meself into it... This day 'as been entirely too long. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Outside, on the grounds of Xavier's school, the girl -- Kitty -- walks ahead of me to the hoverin' race car waitin' to take us to the SHIELD Helicarrier. This particular vehicle looks like a Lamborghini Countach, but larger and brutish. In contrast to the car is its driver, a black woman with closely cropped red hair... willowy and strong, she stands beside her car, confident -- wot Kitty may grow to be in a few years. Kitty reaches our ride before I do... A few more steps and... I stop. Xavier pops in on me brain for a quick chat. "Peter, before you leave, I want to say something to you. This intrusion is necessary..." Xavier. "Best make it quick then, you fuckin' arrogant..." "I have vehicles in my hangar that could take you directly to Wolverine much faster than anything that SHIELD has and they know it. I am making them take you in the Helicarrier. It will make for a slower trip. Use the extra time to study the files I have given you. Kitty will be of great assistance to you; she has my full confidence. And, Peter -- Wolverine is my friend and I regret that his death may be the only way to stop him but killing him will only forestall the inevitable. Others will try to fill the void left by the king of a nation of super powered zealots. If reaching Wolverine and leading him back to reason fails in the attempt, kill him... and then kill everyone else. What he represents will only die when no one is left alive to believe. I know you have the power to do this... I know you've done worse." Xavier. Xavier leaves me 'ead and I'm... abandoned for just a moment... a sudden instant of being empty and utterly unsupported. Kitty's been chattin' with our driver. We're about to land on the Helicarrier's flight deck... Kitty takes me 'and, leadin' me out into the open... She 'ands me somethin' -- a disk... I've done worse... he knows... would 'ave me do so again... The girl leads me to a slaughter and she smiles at me... Her last boyfriend was named Peter... She giggled when she compared 'is body to mine...'e has the power to turn into a huge man of steel but he's stupid and weak... 'e betrayed 'er with some alien bint... Wotever Xavier took with 'im when 'e left me 'ead finds its way back in... forcefed back into myself in an onrush of clarity. The great rotors that lift the helicarrier beat hurricanes a kilometer in the air and yet, out 'ere in the open, the smoke of me fag is 'ardly disturbed. Kitty is still holdin' me 'and, pullin' me after our driver, who leads us to a lift. We descend into the Helicarrier and are soon met by a SHIELD officer and a guard. "Agent Wisdom... Miss Pride. Welcome aboard, I'm Assistant Director of PsiOps, Madding. A.D. Madding is an easier mouthful, I think. I'll show you to your quarters. Please don't hesitate to ask anything of me -- I am here to help you prepare for your mission in any way I can." A.D. Madding. Madding takes us to the Officer's quarters; Kitty and I are placed in adjoining cells... rooms... The guard's name is Hewlett. "Please make yourselves comfortable... I must leave you for a couple of hours, but I'll be back in time for lunch. We'll have a bite and I'll take you to get equipped. There will also be a brief orientation, strictly so SHIELD can say that we have a proper briefing on record." Madding. Madding walks back toward the lift, takin our driver and leavin' the guard... The man leaves, not 'avin made the slightest impression, as if all 'e was was a name and a function, invisible in a crowd or an empty room. "Creepy." Kitty. "Huh, wot?" "That Madding guy -- he gave me the creeps. And what's PsiOps? I think I've heard Wolverine mention that before." Kitty. "Psychological Operations. Callin' PsiOps creepy is like callin' Galactus a bit peckish. I take it you and Wolverine are close." "We have a pretty close bond -- we've been through a lot together. I really hope the Professor's plan works. No more people should have to die. You know what really sucks about all this? Magneto started this whole mess and now he's dead and that should have been the end of it!" Kitty. "Magneto sought to exploit a bad situation but 'e didn't start any of this. 'e was just being a cheap opportunist. I may 'ave to kill your friend. I'll let you play out Xavier's plan but I've the final say as to when you'll need to take cover so I can do me job." "Okay, but you have to give me a real shot at it. I want to be sure that killing him... there has to be no other option left." Kitty. "Let's leave it up to Wolverine. I see claws, I burn him." Kitty walks to the bed and takes a seat... She looks at me, and chuckles. "You don't even think about how much you smoke, do you?" Kitty, changing the subject. "Wot do you mean?" "You haven't stopped smoking all morning but I notice you don't really pause between cigarettes -- it's more like an unconscious thing. Do you have a healing factor or something?" Kitty. Healin' factor. "You mean like Wolverine? No, I just 'ave an 'abit that I've been nursing since I was younger than you." "Aren't you afraid of getting cancer? Wolverine smokes worse than you -- these big smelly cigars -- but he doesn't have to worry about getting ill." Kitty. "I really don't think I'll live long enough to get cancer, pet." The girl makes a move that's part stretch and part wiggle with her arms above 'er 'ead. I was isolated in Santo Puton for too long... just a li'l girl, Pete, move on to thoughts less carnal. "Not exactly the optimist are you? So, why do you smoke so much, do you even get any pleasure from it? Wolverine's healing factor fights any poison you can imagine so he doesn't really get a buzz from smoking or drinking unless he really throws himself into it. I've only seen him drunk one time when he was all depressed about his girlfriend. I can't begin to calculate the amounts he had to have drank to get as falling down sloppy as he was that night. And don't go telling me that it tastes good. I've tried some stuff and it doesn't taste good." Kitty, puttin' 'er finger to 'er mouth, tongue stuck out as if to gag. Mmm, pink tongue... nice mouth... I'm a right old perv... take yourself as far from your lust as possible... "'avin somethin' burnin' under your nose keeps out a lot of other more offensive odors, pet. In my case -- personally, I tend to spend much time surrounded with carnage... do you know the smell of death?" "Yeah, I do." Kitty. "So when you remember that stench... somethin' burnin' under your pretty nose would do much to cover the rot and burnin' bodies, right?" "I guess it would. I see your point... you really think I have a pretty nose?" Kitty. "Now that's just you and I with our normal noses. Wolverine, 'e's got 'is enhanced senses that I don't think 'e can turn on and off as 'e pleases. He's stuck 'avin' to smell everything... every stench humanity can produce. A smelly cigar must do much to dull 'is sense of smell. That's me theory." "That's a neat theory, Mr. Wisdom, but how do you apply it to yourself? You're not surrounded in carnage now, and I happen to be a very sweet scented girl." Kitty, beamin' like a cheshire cat. "You're right, Miss Pryde... I'm not now surrounded by carnage but soon enough I will be." Kitty's smile wilts and I realize she was tryin' to keep it light... She's still just a girl and probably scared... I fucked up. "Wot say we try to get some rest before that poofter, Madding, returns to upset us with 'is presence? I'd like to 'ave a look at Xavier's files." "Sounds good, Mr. Wisdom... I have some things I need to do also." Kitty. "Callin' me 'Mr. Wisdom' sounds all wrong... call me Pete, pet." "Petepet? Ookay, if you say so." Kitty. "No, I mean, Pete comma p... "I know what you mean, Pete... I'm just messin wit'cha, dude... please try to relax, okay?... what a maroon." Kitty, walkin' through the wall to her quarters...whisperin' somethin'. With self conscious awareness, I light meself another fag and bring out Xavier's files -- a plastic binder with some photos and hard copy dossiers, a notebook computer with a disk already in the drive and, in me pocket, the disk that Kitty handed to me earlier. I look through the papers first. Wolverine's biography, every documented bit of the man's life datin' back to the mid 1930's. World War Two is where he first gets into the system, officially. Before that... nothin', absolutely bugger all. Wolverine's file is exceedingly fat... contradictions... lots of contradictory, let's call them facts for lack of a better word. Wolverine reminds me of wot me old man would tell me of Lee Harvey Oswald. "There were just too fuckin' many Oswald sightin's spread too far apart around the time o' the assassination for just one Oswald t' 'ave done all the shit he wos claimed t' do... too many photos of Oswald where the faces don't match...just too much of a life lived for one man. Me guess is that either we had an army of Oswald clones in those days or wot we know of him is a trifle of truth with mass amounts of lies to fill the gaps." My old man. I wonder if Wolverine 'as any knowledge of this... Part of his file cites severe memory loss. The Professor notes the possibility of Post Traumatic Stress as bein' in part responsable. I get the idea that some sort of tamperin' was done to 'is mind... So many of 'is military an' black ops activities are too close and, in some cases, seem to overlap 'is private adventures... There's also all the missin' time to sort out. Time... Scorzaney's story of time travel comes to mind... bouncin' agents around in time... Could 'is perceived longevity be nothin' more than a brainwashed man bein' seen in different time periods without 'avin actually lived in any of them? Odd thought... Fuckin' 'ell! Xavier could 'ave sorted all o' this out with 'is scary great brain powers... My 'ead feels sodden... been too long without a proper rest... I put away the files and get in bed for a bit. Knockin' at the door... wakin' me... didn't even get me shoes off... I open the fuckin' door to find Kitty and Madding. "Afternoon, Agent Wisdom -- are you ready? I hope you don't mind if we eat as we go -- I'm afraid something big has come up." Madding, 'andin' me a box lunch and a soda can... Kitty 'as one as well. "It's huge -- bigger than Captain America." Kitty, chewing a bit of fried chicken. Madding leads us through corridors and doors as we follow a series of colored lines on the floor... red takes us to our final destination... Parameters, or as Madding calls it... "Global Situations Tracking -- this is where we see all and hear all, Agents Pryde and Wisdom." Madding, as 'e call the room to attention. "All monitors and speakers please! Last hour, U.N. Assembly... All cameras... Superman." Madding, and we are surrounded by Superman's image. First... I would like to thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the General Assembly, for agreeing to meet on such short notice. In my capacity as Ambassador of the planet Krypton, I have often been invited to speak before you on a number of issues but the privilige of calling for an assembly was something I'd always wanted to save doing until I had something truly important to say -- announcing world peace for example... Such is not the case today. My initial reaction to Captain America's renouncement of his duty was one of great disappointment. I thought he was wrong -- that he needed to show more patience. I was the one who was wrong -- what happened in Harlem this morning opened my eyes to how naive I have been. My power has afforded me a particular status of leadership among my peers -- 'superheroes'. In reality, it is Captain America who once again has shown us what true leadership is all about -- true courage and daring. I speak only for myself with what I am about to say -- though I was raised on this planet as a human, I have always considered my actions as 'Superman' to be those of a visitor in your world and, as such, I never tried to interfere with the natural progression of your history and your right of self determination. Instead, I concerned myself with the larger threats to Earth from alien invasions, criminal madmen and some things that defy description, all the while trying not to interfere with your social development... and, thereby, leaving you to destroy yourselves. Forgive me... for not being more coddling with you, for not teaching you right from wrong, and not telling you that killing one another over who gets to pray on which rock or that razing your forests for the sake of nicer furniture and having more cattleland for raising your burgers is wrong! Forgive me, people of Earth. My bad. I plan to interfere a lot more from now on, and I begin now with the first and, I hope, only law of your new ruler: Me. In five years you will be well on your way to reversing all the damage you have done to yourselves and our planet. I will be off planet during that time isolating us from the rest of the Galaxy. If, when I return, I am not satisfied with your progress compared to what I think you are capable of accomplishing, I will simply do it for you. I'll take over the planet and drag you all, kicking and screaming if I have to, into a better world. I am leaving you with instructions on how you will bring about a better tomorrow. The people who will be disseminating my instructions to you are Perry White and his staff at the Daily Planet. I trust Perry to do a good job and put the betterment of of humanity above all. Also, Captain America is among you, as frail and annonymous as the rest of you, to demonstrate what great things mere humans can accomplish. Earth: I know that I leave you in safe hands. Hands that know what a great Kryptonian power can accomplish when controlled by a Human nature. I hope that, when I return, the horrors of Genosha, Panama, the destruction of an insignificant place called Santo Puton -- its people all burned alive -- will be a thing of the past. And just like that, 'e walks away toward the exit... after 'Sorry, you big fuckin' babies, but if the world ain't clean when I get home from work, I'll spank your lame fuckin' asses!'... Shite! That self-righteous bastard! Kitty takes me own trembling hand in her small hand and squeezes my attention to 'er. "Calm down, Pete, please!" Kitty, failing at whisperin'. After that, I didn't pay too much attention, I suppose. Seems I wos present at a debriefing and a briefing... equipment was issued, dinner eaten. "Listen, Pete, go straight to bed, and sleep. Try to get some sleep... I'm getting in the shower, so I'll be up for a while in case you need me." Kitty, leadin' me to me bed, it's dark out. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Then that strange dream, and now here I find myself meltin' the lock to Nick Fury's personal humidor... success! I reward myself with a fat, tasty Cuban. Wot a strange day... I am joined in the room by a SHIELD agent, 'er limp body flyin' through the glass doors and hittin' the wall, hard! Outside the lounge, agents and crewmen alike are fightin' for their lives against a variety of powered gits. One of them is a large, gray-skinned tosser in a bandana. His arm turns into a cannon and he fires indiscriminately into the thickest of the fight -- he kills 'is own as well as SHIELD's. I stalk toward him, through broken glass and over broken bodies... 'e doesn't see me. I feel me 'ands burnin'.