Issue #02

Ramblings
by Gary Jones

�I ain�t never gonna get used to seeing that one,� Abraham Whistler stood at the edge of the gravel topped roof waiting for the sun to rise. One of the many types of vampire had just flown past him and his companion; the large grey skinned Joe Fixit.

�Yep, the sight of a flying head pulling its guts along behind it in a glass jar is not something you�d forget in a hurry,� Fixit said in agreement �even when me and the Avengers took on the Daywalker, we saw nothing like that.�

�So,� Whistler took a cigar out of his jacket pocket, lit it and took a lungful of smoke before continuing �you�re really from another dimension?�

�Yep, charged with repairing the faults in other timelines before we can get home,� Fixit took the cigar which Whistler offered and took a deal drag, virtually exhausting the cigar �only problem is we don�t have a clue what we�re meant to do, although here I suppose it doesn�t really take much to figure out we have to smash some vampires.�

Whistler took back what remained of his cigar, just a small butt, and took a final puff before stubbing it out under the heel of his boot �come on inside and I�ll tell you how the suck-heads took over the country.�

�So do you want to tell me why you started muttering away in Russian back on that roof,� Sue asked Phoenix, as they walked around the inside of the Mall, closely watched by guards and magicians in case they were agents of the vampires.

�I made this body from the vacated body of the X-Man known as Colossus,� Phoenix replied �I chose to remake it into the image of a previous host because I felt more comfortable being female, however it appears that my recreation of the body of Jean Grey has been a little too accurate.�

The pair stopped at the top of a set of long dead escalators and took a look around the place that they had found sanctuary. All the stores on the ground floor had been converted into weapons caches and medical facilities and even though there was a mystical shield surrounding the Mall, there was a group of well armed guards on the main doors, all with wooden stakes strapped to various parts of their bodies.

�It appears when I made this body in her image I also duplicated the mental links that gift Jean Grey with the powers of telekinesis and telepathy; it is the latter that is causing me problems.�

�I don�t get it,� Sue replied, wishing not for the first time this all started that she had paid more attention to the descriptions of various superhuman powers that Reed always seemed to give when the team came into conflict with other super-humans.

�The telepathy is allowing me access to Colossus� memories which remain in this body; I am having a little trouble separating those memories from my own, I was taken by the Timebroker before being able to fully complete the joining.�

�And I guess being thrown into a battle with a bunch of blood crazed vampires didn�t help?�

�Well it certainly didn�t help matters,� Phoenix replied with a grin.

�Next time get bitten by a radioactive fly,� Stalker said as he shook the grogginess from his head. The side of his head where it had been hit was still throbbing but the swelling was almost gone, his Spider-Powers gave him enhanced healing, not as fast as SHIELD Director Howlett but faster than a normal person.

Stalker muttered another rather vocal curse, when he tried to move he discovered that he was fastened to the wall of the room he was in.

He could feel that his mask was still in place and around him he could hear other people moaning. What disturbed him was that it was the kind of moan people gave after a half hour alone with him.

Stalker forced his eyes open and was shocked and with the things he had seen and done himself he was a very difficult man to surprise.

The walls were plain and featureless; it had an antiseptic smell that even came though his mask.

There were other people in the room fastened to the wall in the same manner as Stalker, however unlike him they had an array of medical equipment fixed to their bodies. The vast majority of the equipment was dedicated to keeping the prisoners alive but several tubes were draining their blood �like cows in a milk shed� Stalker thought to himself as he strained at his restraints.

�So are you another clone,� a weak voice at Stalker�s left side asked.

�A clone of what,� Stalker snapped angrily in return as he turned his head and found himself looking into the drained face of Peter Parker.

�It first began when the President�s daughter was found murdered,� Whistler sat behind a desk in what had once been the Mall manager�s office �when they finally found her killer it turned out he was a vampire.�

Whistler pulled a half full bottle of scotch from one of the desk draws and poured himself a large glass, he went to pour one for the man who sat on the other side of the desk, thought for a moment, and then handed him the rest of the bottle.

�Little fishy that they all accepted he was a vamp wasn�t it,� Fixit asked after taking a slug from the scotch bottle.

�The government then passed a law that outlawed all supernatural beings. Special units were setup to take out everything from Vampires to Werewolves.�

�I fail to see how a purge of the super-natural could result in a takeover of the country,� Phoenix walked into the office and stood next to where Fixit was sitting �please continue,� she said to Whistler.

�The purges were all a sham. Instead of hunting down and killing the super-natural the units actually cut a deal with them. They would lie low and wait for the command to attack and one night everything came out to play; this Mall had the dubious benefit of having Dr. Steven Strange doing his shopping at the time of the attacks, he was able to throw up an enchantment around the building that prevented anything super-natural from entering, of course it was hastily thrown together spell, that�s why we need our mystics, Wanda and Jennifer, to top it up every now and then.�

�Now of course we know that there is more than one type of vampire,� the aged hunter continued �but there are three main broad varieties. The Lowly breed is those people that have been turned by an ancient virus, the other vamps treat them like dirt because they can actually be cured, and the ingredients for the cure though are damn hard to come by. The next up the ladder is those who have had their human souls replaced with a demon one, odd thing about those is that they all seem to rise from the grave with the fighting skills of a martial arts expert. Last but definitely not least is the top rank, the Draculas of the Vampire Nation, these ones have all the powers you�ve seen in movies, turning into animals, mind control and they have a real annoying habit of turning into mist when you are trying to stake them, basically if you don�t catch them in the day when they are sleeping you�re as good as dead.�

A man in a dirty Marine�s uniform appeared at the door of the office and informed Whistler that there was something wanted to enter the Mall, a something that needed Whistler�s permission to be allowed inside.

�To cut a long story short,� Whistler said getting to his feet �the Vampires then betrayed their allies and took sole control of the country, turning it into their own idea of a civilisation, one where human are kept like cattle and they can pop down the local store for a carton of blood instead of milk.�

�I�m guessing that you�ve told that story more than once,� Phoenix asked half laughing at the quick way that Whistler had condescend the story down.

�More times than you can know pretty lady,� the three of them walked down the Escalator that led to the main doors �every so often we get groups in from other parts of the world who try to help and just end up as dinner on a vampire�s plate.�

�Every now and then one of us dies from blood loss, then a day or two later they return as fresh as a daisy and ready to be drained again.�

Stalker was only half listening to his counterpart, he was far more focused on the room he was in and how he could escape.

The restraints that held him against the wall looked like normal chains and manacles, however even when he strained his muscles he couldn�t break them, it was likely that they were made from some kind of super tough metal like adamantium.

It was also puzzling that he had been imprisoned with a duplicate of himself, after all Uncle Ben and Aunt May had been a young couple, a pair of vampires admittedly but young ones.

�Why have I got the awful feeling that we�re not the first bunch of kidnapped %^&*ers that the Timebroker has dumped in this reality?�

Of the other nine people in the room, three raised their heads to look at Stalker.

�Let me guess he threw a lot of that �unstuck in time� garbage at you right,� a blonde haired man said from the opposite side of the room, a man who had the tattered remains of blue chain-mail draped on his body.

�Yeah he was all �gotta fix the timelines if you ever want to get home� and things like that to you right!� a naked woman was fixed on the wall to Stalker�s right, her dark blonde hair and was stained with blood and her face showed the signs of a recent beating.

�It gets me why the guy just doesn�t write this reality off instead of throwing more bodies at it, can�t they tell that this place is a lost cause,� the Peter to Stalker�s left said.

�Well rather than waiting around to get drained,� Stalker looked around at the others �or in your case, drained more! What do you say that we escape?�

�And just how do you suggest we do that, it�s not like we haven�t tried,� the man in chain-mail snapped �do you really think we want to be used like this.�

�You guys just don�t have the benefit of a costume supplied by the Kingpin,� Stalker closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his costume.

With a simple thought Stalker is able to morph the white segments of his costume, the white eye pieces and the white spider chest symbol, into the black of the rest of the outfit. If he concentrates hard however the costume can do a lot more.

�Will you look at that?� the blonde haired woman said in surprise.

The material at the end of Stalker�s fingers began to stretch and harden, slowly they formed themselves into the shape of lock picks which when formed began to seek out the manacle locks.

�And to think that I never thought that those sessions with Monroe in Cairo would come in useful,� Stalker said as he rubbed the stiffness out of his joints.

He looked at the three prisoners who had showed recognition of the Timebroker and asked �so anyone want to help me kill the bloke in charge.�

�Come on you buggers let me in,� standing at the edge of the barrier surrounding the Mall, a man with a blanket over his head cried out to the people inside.

�Why does that man have a blanket on his head,� Sue asked, looking uncomfortable in the grease stained overalls she was now wearing.

�Because that is a vampire and with the sun up I imagine he doesn�t want to burst into flames,� Whistler said as he arrived at the doors, followed close behind by Fixit and Phoenix.

�Given that everyone here is pretty much dedicated to killing vampires, why is one banging on the shield wanting to come in,� Sue asked puzzled.

�Because some of the vamps want to return to the old days of the hunt,� Falcon joined the group at the door �they like to taste the fear on what they eat, they just don�t get that from the processed blood they have to drink now.�

�Your always in the know ain�t ya Snap,� Fixit said to the Falcon who just shock his head and wondered why this Hulk would keep calling him Snap of all things.

�Do you think you can allow him to pass through without taking down the whole shield?� Whistler asked the woman with short red hair standing just in front of him.

�He is still in possession of the talisman that Jennifer created for him so it should be a simple task but I would recommend full security until he has passed through the barrier,� Wanda Maximoff began to gesture and mutters an incantation and moments later the barrier in front of the vampire began to shimmer.

�Well that�s a relief I can tell you,� the blonde women rubbed her wrists where the restraints had been holding her to the wall �but you should watch living costumes, they have a habit of turning on you when you least expect it.�

Stalker didn�t reply as he couldn�t be less interested in what the woman had to say if he tried. The only reason he had freed her and the others at all was even he was stubborn enough to think he could break out of a vampire stronghold alone.

�We�ll get no help from these others, they are just too far gone,� as soon as he had been freed the blonde man had identified himself as Steve Rogers, Captain America, and had begun to check on the others in the blood letting chamber.

Peter Parker had begun to work on the door and Stalker found that he was angrier about how quickly this version of him had been able to understand the foreign technology, than he was at being trapped in a vampire stronghold.

�Well if you guys don�t mind I�m going to slip into something a little more comfortable,� the blonde woman touched the right side of her face which was almost completely covered by a large purple bruise.

In seconds the slender blonde woman had changed into a short hairy man.

�Howlett,� Stalker exclaimed as he suddenly found himself looking into the face of the one man who had actually come close to catching him.

�Well that makes me regret all those fantasies I�ve been having about you,� Peter said before turning back to work on the electronic door locks.

�An explanation would certainly be appreciated,� Cap said, the tone of his voice betraying no surprise at the sudden change in his fellow prisoner.

�Back on my world I�m known as the Mimic, basically if I touch someone I gain the ability to change into a copy of their physical form and if they have a special power I get that at � of their level,� Mimic pointed to the bruise on his face which was slowly vanishing �and as any injury I sustain is carried across when I change forms, I find it useful to keep someone on my selection with a healing factor.�

�So are you really a chick,� Peter asked from where he was working.

�No I�m a guy. My real name is Alex Peterson, the woman I looked like before is the alter ego I use for the press, no-one has ever come close to working out who I really am yet,� Mimic smiled with Wolverine�s lips �and you wouldn�t believe how much Playboy paid me for a photo shoot.�

A laugh came from everyone in the room able to �yes! I�ve finally cracked it,� Peter exclaimed as he finally managed to trigger the electronic lock �ah crap!� when the door opened several sets of hands quickly grabbed onto Peter, his spider-sense had blared its warning but in his drained state Peter had just wrote it off as another headache.

�You humans are so pitiful,� a beautiful woman with short black hair and a tight leather outfit stood in the doorway, she glanced once at he soldiers who were looking up at her while holding on to the struggling Peter �ok you can drain him,� she smiled at them. Immediately they went to work sucking his blood from his veins.

She looked back at the others still in the room �did you really think we wouldn�t be monitoring this room, it amused me to allow you to think you could escape,� she had an evil grin on her face which told the people she was looking at they were going to die.

�You know something,� Mimic said to Stalker.

�What�s that,� he replied as he readied himself for the coming attack.

�There�s another reason I like using Wolverine�s body apart from the healing factor,� his arms spread and his forearm muscles flexed releasing his bone claws �actually there are six good reasons.�

�About bloody time,� the vampire with a blanket over his head ran through the doors of the Mall, smoke rising from his body �another soding minute and I would have been toast,� he threw the blanket off himself to reveal his features. He was wearing a red shirt over a black t-shirt and wore black leather trousers, his short cropped hair was dyed blonde and there was a tram line cut in his left eyebrow.

�Joe Fixit meet William the Bloody better known to his friends as Spike,� Whistler introduced the new arrival to the grey skinned Fixit �and one word of advice, never turn your back on him.�

�That�s not bloody fair,� Spike protested �I haven�t steered you blokes here wrong yet have I.�

�Oh no?� Falcon reared up �and I suppose our raiding team getting taken out last week was nothing to do with you.�

�Hey! If your team was stupid enough to walk straight into an ambush how can I take the blame?� Spike took great delight in winding up the Falcon.

�Why you lousy vampire punk,� Falcon lunged at Spike who easily dodged out of the way.

Off balance Falcon hit the ground but quickly sprang back to his feet.

�Care to try again pretty bird,� Spike smiled, his face now twisted into a mockery of what it had been. It now seemed like a combination between human and bat.

�Stop this all now,� Whistler interrupted before the fight could escalate �we don�t have time for these childish games. Spike go and wait for me in my office.�

�Of course Sir!� Spike threw Whistler a salute, his face morphed back to human as he left.

�And Sam you go and cool off, I�m surprised at you for getting so easily riled up,� Whistler shook his head in disappointment but he knew that Sam had a good reason to be upset, he had been the one to plan the raid on one of the main vampire weapons depots.

Mimic was lost in a rage

He used Wolverine�s claws to gut the nearest vampire; the return stroke severed another�s head.

His healing factor had his body pumped full of adrenaline to keep him going, at only a � strength it was still incredibly potent. It was Mimic�s stock of super human abilities that had made his blood such a favourite on the Vampire Leaderships dining tables.

Stalker was using his great strength to punch through the chests of vampires and pull out their hearts, it wasn�t often he got to let loose like this, the Kingpin didn�t like messy jobs, they brought down to much heat.

�We have to work together, there are too many of them for us to fight alone,� Cap shouted out to the other two but if they heard him they gave no indication.

This wasn�t the type of situation he was used to finding himself in. His whole body ached and it wasn�t from exhaustion, it had only been days since he had received the super-soldier serum and the effects of the vita-rays had not yet fully stabilised its effects on his body. He had only just received his new uniform when he was taken by the Timebroker and sent with his team into this reality, the Timebroker timing could have been better as they arrived in the middle of the night right in the centre of Manhattan.

The fight was taking place on a first floor walkway which went around a motor pool

In the motor pool at this moment in time were two milk tankers, although the liquid they were waiting to take away was not from cows.

Life had become so boring since all of the United States had fallen under the domination of the Vampire Nation, that these little diversions were all that kept Selene from going mad with boredom. They had not yet faced the full might of the forces under her command and in the spirit of �fair play� she was only sending the lowly vampires against them.

�Foul creatures,� she thought to herself �transformed into a vampire by a virus, they�re little better than the humans they drink� she smiled as the three escaped prisoner tore through the guards, the more of these filthy halflings they killed ,before falling themselves, the better.

�She�s letting us win,� Cap said as he ended up back to back with Stalker �we should have been overwhelmed by now,� Cap was almost dead on his feet but he was damned if he would fall to these creatures �almost as bad as the Nazis,� he thought as another powerful punch sent a vampire over the railings of the walkway.

�Why don�t we hotwire one of those tankers and get the hill out of here,� Stalker said as he used his webbing to create a shield around the three of them �that won�t hold them long, they�re nearly as strong as I am, so can anyone hotwire a truck.�

�And just where are we supposed to go bub!� Mimic growled, blood and gore dripping from his extended claws �this whole damn city is crawling with vampires, who knows how far the damn things have spread?�

�So gender bender what do you suggest?� as Stalker spoke the web shield began to break down.

�Buy me a couple of seconds to change into a new form and I�ll show you what I can do,� Mimic�s eyes rolled back in his head and he began to mumble �no�no�.no.�

�What the hell is he up to?�

�I usually only keep five people on tap but I retain the form and power of everyone I�ve ever touched, it�s like going through a mental rolodex to find the right person,� Mimic�s body began to change again. The body of Wolverine gave way to the even shorter and stockier body of Harvey Elder, known as the Mole Man.

�I don�t recall saying that you could help yourself to my scotch,� Whistler walked into his office to find Spike sitting behind his desk knocking back slugs from a freshly opened bottle.

�Hey old man you just remember who it was who brought the damn stuff here in the first place, if it wasn�t for the info I slip your little band of rebels you all would have been starved out years ago.�

Whistler hated to admit that the vampire in front of him was right. The supplies in the Mall hadn�t lasted three weeks and it was only the continued info on where the vampires kept the food for their human cattle that had allowed them to remain in the country at all.

�Now that all that little fuss is over I have some new information for you if you want it.�

�Spit it out Spike, if it�s any good I�ll let you hole up in the basement, if not you get to enjoy the sunny roof.�

�The news is that the top rank now has a captured a new super, one of her�s is it?� Spike took another slug from the bottle as he pointed behind Whistler to where Phoenix was standing.

�Where is our comrade being kept?�

�Most of the blood that keeps the Nation running is manufactured outside of the cities on big people farms but all the specials are kept in one city, right here in New York.�

Phoenix found that she was rubbing her neck as Spike looked at her �what an oddly human reaction� she thought to herself.

�Can you take us to this place?�

�Of course but the security is going to be tight and the punishment for me if I�m caught helping a bunch of humans would be bloody harsh, so gotta ask what is in it for me?�

�What $&^%ing use is that short $&^% going to be in a fight like this,� Stalker swore.

�Every now and then I would hear the technicians who came to check the blood machines talk about large creatures underground, I banking on one of them being�� in the motor pool below the floor began to split open beneath the tankers and suddenly it exploded outward �some of those.�

Pouring from the fresh hole were beasts of many shapes and sizes, the most numerous though were a short yellow skinned humanoid, though thin and gangly they moved large pieces of rubble aside with surprising ease. Around their eyes were dull grey goggles with only thin slits to see through.

�Gentlemen,� Mimic smiled �the cavalry has arrived.�

Next Issue

I learn pacing and how to follow my issue notes�.nah not likely to happen I�m afraid; I�m far too much of a rambling writer.