Tick, Tock - The Tank Awaits

[Joshua Kincaid]

"Oh this keeps getting better and better. Guy is mute!" the archer shouted as he saw two more of his companions enter the tunnel. "I need a scanner! Mine got fried!"

"We saw Kilduff and his friend the earth mover two streets over, so we better get the redhead out of here," a short, muscular man with a scruffy beard said as he handed the archer his scanner. "That Carlos is a freaking maniac."

"Shut it," the archer growled as he turned on the scanner and ran it past the guy who had been hidden. "No wonder he's mute. He's an android. Bet his vocal processor got short circuited. We can fix that up and sell him. Abaddon won't want him, but I'm sure we can make some quick cash off him."

"I think this one is dead," one of the group said as she kicked a blue skinned girl in the side. "And that baldy back there may be, too." 

"Numb nuts, you moron," the archer said as he turned the scanner on again. "Scan. Do not break the merchandise. The blue one and the bald one are both alive. They all are, you goofball. Now, move them onto the pallets and let's get them out of here," he added as two electric hover-pallets moved into position. "And let me see if I can figure out how to shut off the android."

As the archer reached down to find an off switch on Major Domo, there was a rumbling at the rear of the tunnel. "Ah shit, Kilduff."
  

[Gareth Kilduff]

"Kincaid! You muthaf...Britt! If she's dead, I am going to kill you!" Gar yelled as he ran down the tunnel toward his girlfriend, only to be stopped by a mystic barrier set up by the woman the archer had called "numb nuts" only moments before. She was a small brunette who had some sort of Viking markings on her gear. Gar thought her name was Freyja, but he wasn't sure.

"Sorry, Gar, but you know the rules. Britt has been a very bad girl, and there is a price on her head. Now, get your ass out of here before I haul you in, too!"

Kilduff looked at the group being tossed onto the pallets. Tech armored soldiers. People who were very obviously mutants. This was sick and twisted, even for Kincaid.

"I can't let you take them," Gar said as he motioned for Carlos to let loose. "Pinpoint. Act like a laser, you crazy mutha."

The ground started to shake as Carlos, Gar's running buddy and the biggest asset anybody had when it came to being a bounty hunter, started to use his own mutant powers to make the building rock. He was aiming at the girl causing the barrier, but so far she was blocking his moves.

"Buddy!' Gar yelled at Major Domo. "Before they haul you off! Shake a tail feather! Get over here!" Gar was losing it fast, and even one more ally in this would be a godsend. "Josh! You used to be my friend! Stop the shit now!" Kilduff yelled at the archer as he waited for the barrier to fall or for the one free person--Major Domo--to make it to him.

[Major Domo]

Major Domo scowled after the arrival assumed he was mute. His eyes widened at the sight of a scanner. He gasped after he was discovered to be an android. Major Domo trembled at the thought of being sold. *Not even Mojo tried to sell me!* Major Domo thought. His jaw dropped after he was about to be switched off.

[Carlos Ramirez]

Carlos wanted to pound Gar and Kincaid. They were in such a damned "Mine is bigger than yours" moment that they were just going to get everyone killed. "OK, you really want me to kill everyone? Nope. Nada. Ain't gonna happen." Carlos cut his powers and just sort of steamrolled up to Kincaid. "You hate everyone! We get it. Your sister died, and they turned your brother Jerry into a demon. Blah blah blah. My whole family died. Do you see me acting like a jackass? But you? Now you think working for Ronan or Abaddon or whoever pays your way is the way to go? And you call pretty girls numb nuts? You are the biggest friggin numb nut in the universe!"

By now the Viking gal had dropped the barrier, because, as Carlos figured, she was pissed. He'd heard about her from some dopey young merc she dated.  She was a bit of a hot head. But this gave Gar enough of an opening to go to the one guy not trussed up like a turkey. They had heard Kincaid say he was an android.

"Let me and Gar take Britt and these folks and get out of here," Carlos said as he stared at the archer Kincaid. "You don't need an android anyway, and you know you'd get better money for that Tepes bunch in Wallachia. And if the rumors are true, you can nab them and the Harada kid with the fire hair, too. Ronan always wanted them more than he cared about Britt. She was never in line for the throne anyway. Nobody gives a crap about her."

Carlos then moved closer to Major Domo, looking at Gar and shaking his head. "Hey, mister, think you can help us get your friends out of here?" he asked the android. "I promise no one will turn you off. Just a lot of people don't trust mechanized beings. Long story there. Me?  Doesn't matter. I just want to get out of here. How the heck did you get in this fix anyway?"    

[Major Domo]

Major Domo tilted his head to one side in confusion. *I won't be sold?* he thought. He saw Carlos as his eyes became bigger. His companions had just been wounded in front of him. *Am I going to suffer a worse fate?* Major Domo thought. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to help Carlos get everyone out.

Major Domo frowned after the most recent question from Carlos. How did he know Carlos wasn't going to take him to a place where he would be tortured or worse? ''To answer your most recent question, it's a long story as to how I got here,'' Major Domo said. He glanced at Erinyes. ''It's my turn to ask something. Will Erinyes be OK?''

[Carlos Ramirez]

"OK, which one of your friends is Erinyes?" Carlos asked as he started to look around at all the fallen taken down by the archer and his crew. "And I think they were all hit with tranquilizer darts. We should be able to get them moving once we get them awake."

By now Gar and Kincaid were in some sort of shoving match, so Carlos placed his hand on the floor of the tunnel and sent a tremor under their feet, causing them to fall back on their backsides. "Those two are a couple of boneheads. Here, let's check on your friend," he said as he turned toward where Erinyes had fallen. "This the one?"

[Major Domo]

''Tranquilizer darts?'' Major Domo muttered under his breath. His eyes widened after Carlos touched the tunnel floor and sent a tremor under the feet of other men. He viewed Carlos near Erinyes prior to a frown. ''Yes. She is Erinyes,'' Major Domo said.

[The Red Guard]

A group of Red Guard commandos had moved into the mouth of the tunnel with their cloaking spell runes on their armor working, so they were not visible to the group already inside when they entered. The 10 member team started to fan out just as the floor started to rock. One of the rookies fell, causing the markings for his cloaking spell to be smudged. He was starting to become visible as the bounty hunter Carlos Ramirez spun and sent another tremor at the Red Guard.

"Take down the earth mover!" the captain shouted as the group opened fire on the people in the tunnel.

[Carlos Ramirez]

"I thought those tin can heads would just go away once Ronan croaked!" Carlos yelled as he looked down at Erinyes, scooped her up and looked to see an easy way out of this mess. "OK, mister, I am going to get you two out of here," he said to Major Domo. "All of you if I can."

Carlos then looked at the girl in the Viking gear and smiled. "Hey, you went out with a merc once. Big buff dude named Tyler Sparks. He was a doofus to let you go, and I told him that. But he said you had mad skills. Any way to get us out of this mess?" 

Before the girl named Freyja could speak, a pink bolt went flying past Carlos and straight at a Red Guard soldier. He vanished in a blink of pink light.

"That works, too," Carlos said as he tried to think of a way to get this Erinyes girl awake. "Come on pretty lady. I need you to say something so your friend knows you are OK." The girl started to groan because, as much as Carlos wanted to help, he was a bit ham-handed about it. He was not a finesse kind of guy, and he was likely crushing her a bit as he held her.

"Your breath smells like fish,"  Erinyes groaned as she started to open her eyes. "Get this collar off me. Major Domo, are you OK?" Erinyes asked as Carlos tried to get the collar off.

[Major Domo]

Major Domo watched as Carlos lifted Erinyes. He gasped after a pink bolt went by Carlos. ''What?!'' he exclaimed while his eyes became bigger. Major Domo saw Carlos as he tried to wake Erinyes up. ''Be careful with Erinyes,'' he said. He grinned after Erinyes woke up.

''Erinyes! I am so happy you are awake now,'' Major Domo said. He continued to grin. ''I am indeed OK, Erinyes,'' Major Domo said. He faced Carlos for a minute. ''Thank you for helping us, my friend. If there is anything I can do to repay you, name it.''

[Erinyes]

A second pink energy lance whizzed past Erinyes, Major Domo and Carlos. "They didn't get the collar on Blink!  That is very good news. Now, please get this one off me."

Carlos looked at Major Domo as he worked on Erinyes' collar. "Listen, Major Domo, is it? I just want you all to be safe. That is payment enough. I can tell you guys are not exactly from around here. Bad enough those of us living here are in this fix."

"I come from this world," Erinyes said quietly as Carlos finally dug in his pocket for a small knife and pried the collar from around her neck. "Thank you. Now, let's get these crazies out of here."

Erinyes looked at Major Domo and smiled a tiny bit. "All this insanity has gotten my powers working without the usual slapping business. Maybe it's because I'm close to my family? I'm not sure." After that, Erinyes' eyes clouded over black, and a chain of lightning erupted from her hands. It sent the soldiers scrambling back down the tunnel. "Keep them running. Then we can take care of the archer and his crew."

[Major Domo]

Another energy lance whizzing by caused Major Domo to gasp. He turned to Erinyes prior to a frown. ''I wish I could remove the collar, Erinyes.'' He faced Carlos until he nodded. ''Yes. It is Major Domo,'' he said. One eyebrow raised after Erinyes attacked with lightning.

[Erinyes]

As Erinyes kept up her attack, she heard the man named Gar yelling at the archer instead of taking care of these red-clad buffoons. "Wait, did he call that archer Joshua? Major Domo, did you hear Carlos' friend call the archer Joshua?"

By now Carlos had moved up the tunnel and was working on making an earthen wall until the rest of Erinyes and Major Domo's friends could be roused from their tranquilizer-induced slumber. The girl Carlos had been talking to was trying to get Nocturne to wake up, and Cybercide member Arsenal was trying to get her teammates to their feet.

"That can't be him. My brother was a poet. Kind to everyone. That can't be my brother," Erinyes said as she saw more of the X-Men team getting to their feet. Britt was still down, though, and that made Erinyes very, very nervous. "I hope she isn't dead. She might be as nasty as Spiral, but at least she wanted to help." 

[Major Domo]

A frown formed on Major Domo's face after Erinyes's question about Joshua. He touched his chin while he looked thoughtful. ''I remember him being called Josh. I believe he tried to sell me,'' Major Domo said. His eyes widened as he gasped. ''The archer who tried to sell me? He is your sibling?!'' Major Domo noticed Britt. ''I am certain Britt will be OK.''

[AoA Blink]

Blink was less than thrilled to see the army of Star Wars wannabes at the back of the tunnel, but her energy lances seemed to be doing their job as another soldier blinked out of the battlefield. "TJ!" she shouted as the girl marked in runes finally got Nocturne to her feet. "TJ, I hate to do this..."

"I can't possess anyone yet," Nocturne said as she got to her feet. "Those tranquilizers did a number on me."

"Then we have to find a way out of here, and since I have no idea where I'm going..." Blink started to say as Carlos started to wave at her. "Do you know where to go?" she asked before she saw a man with a laser lance running at the earth mover. "Duck!"

As Carlos ducked, Blink sent an energy lance at the soldier and teleported him who knows where.

[Major Domo]

Major Domo shook his head in absolute disbelief. *The archer is the sibling of Erinyes?* he thought. He glanced at Erinyes. *Are we going to confront the archer? Are we going to have to end his life?* ''Maybe we can talk some sense into the archer.''

[Erinyes]

"He wanted to what? Sell you?" Erinyes yelped as she listened to what Major Domo said about the archer. "That can't be by brother. My brother would never do that!"

"Erinyes, people here do a lot of crappy things just to stay alive," Carlos said as he looked at Gar and Kincaid still be morons about all this. "Anybody who was really a hero died a long, long time ago. Ronan killed all the X-Men, and in the end his own grandkids became X-Men. Ichigo Harada, the demon prince, was an X-Man. Taro MacFeorais, that freaky kitsune kid with the bad temper. Eddie MacFeorais, the metal alchemist."

"Ichigo? And Eddie?" Erinyes asked as she looked back at Major Domo. "They're from here?"

"You know them? Oh good grief," Carlos said as he shook his head. "Wait. Ichigo was in...never mind. If you guys are here, then he could be anywhere. And here we told Kincaid there to go find him in Wallachia."

"Oh no," Erinyes said as she looked at the archer again. "Joshua Kincaid. My big brother. Major Domo, we'll figure this out. I promise. Now we have to find Jericho." Erinyes saw Carlos turn pale when she mentioned her other brother. "What?"

"Abaddon merged him with a demon. I'm sorry," Carlos said as Erinyes screamed and sent a fiery blast down the tunnel.

"Major Domo, hang on to me. We are getting to Blink, and we are getting my brother out of here!" Erinyes yelled as she used her powers to lift the android off the ground and floated him toward Blink. "Joshua! Joshua Kincaid! We are leaving now! And you are going to listen to me because our mother would still spank you for being such a jerk! You, Gar, get Britt. Blink, get us to the other side of that wall!"

"What the fu..." the archer started to say as Carlos ran and grabbed his arm. "Everyone, fall in on the teleporter!"

Erinyes smiled as she helped Major Domo hover above the ground. "We will figure this all out once we are away from those soldiers. And no one is selling anyone! I promise!"  

[Major Domo]

''Yes. The archer wished to sell me. He said he could make some quick cash off me,'' Major Domo said as he shook his head in disbelief. He frowned another time. *I thought those with spines were mistreated in Mojoworld! Mojo never tried to sell me at all. That was only because I always complimented him. Well, Mojo never noticed my sarcastic tone!* Major Domo began to roll his eyes.

The sight of Erinyes releasing a fiery blast down the tunnel caused him to gasp. ''Remind me to never get on your nasty side, Erinyes!'' He didn't seem to mind being lifted. Major Domo smiled at Erinyes after her vow about him never being sold.   

[Erinyes]

"You could never, ever get me angry, Major Domo," Erinyes said as she saw Blink pull a lance and send it flying toward the wall. A bright pink portal opened, and the X-Men started to make their way through. The group that had been with the archer moved toward it next, and the group near Erinyes prepared to exit the tunnel last. "Blink, help Major Domo through, please!"

"I've got him!" Hiro, the tengu demon swordsman yelled as he took Major Domo's arm and started to pull him into the portal. "But you better move! Those soldiers are not giving up!"

"I know!" Erinyes yelled back before looking up at her brother Joshua. "Look, we will fix this. All of it. But you have to trust me. I am your sister!"

Erinyes grabbed a knife out of the archer's boot and cut open the sleeve of her shirt. She had a birthmark that she always tried to hide from others, so no one--not even Major Domo--had seen it. It was a small sunburst, and it was positioned on her left shoulder.

"Bethany?" the archer asked as she nodded to him. "You...you died. We were told you were killed..."

"I will explain later! Now, just get through the portal!" Erinyes shouted as she and Carlos shoved Joshua through, and Gar carried the still unconscious Britt.

TBC in this forum in the thread Hell is what you make it

[Major Domo]

*I could never anger Erinyes at all? Would she be enraged if Mojo ordered me to guard her siblings if Spiral captured them for Mojo? No. I am no longer with Mojo* Major Domo thought. He snapped out of his thoughts after Hiro took his arm.

Major Domo's eyes widened after Bethany revealed a birthmark. *How come I never saw the birthmark?* He found himself going through the portal.

*Exit Major Domo to Hell Is What You Make It*