Ghost Riders: Spirit's of Vengeance
A Tale of the AoA
by
Ben Church b_church@yahoo.com

Everybody in this story except Necromancer, Medic, and Hotshot belong
to Marvel.  This chapter contains some obscure Marvel characters.  If
you're not sure who someone is, e-mail me.

Chapter 3

	Ghost Rider looked at the gathered warriors.  They were as
ready as they would ever be.  Hotshot, Cloak, Penance, Alchemy, 
Rhapsody, Dr. Strange, Psylocke, Namorita, Medic; their 
powers would be a great asset in the battle to come, while Captain
America, Flash Thompson, Mary Jane, Felicia, Jameson, and Yukio had
been supplied with the best weapons and armor at their disposal.
	Everyone was going, and there would be no retreat.
	"All right," Ghost Rider said.  "Let's do it."

	The portal opened into the courtyard of Apocalypse's Palace.
Much to everyone's surprise, the area was not filled with the sounds of
battle.
	"I thought you said this place would be crawling with X-Men."
Yukio quipped.
	"It seems I made a small miscalculation." Strange allowed.
	"If we live through this," Alchemy said.  "Remind me to get
you a calculator."
	"Every one be on your toes." Cap. said.  "I'd be surprised if
Apocalypse's forces didn't-"  A laser blast scored the earth beside 
him.  "Know we were here." he finished.
	The air was filled with Infinites.
	"Work your way to Beast's Lab!" Ghost Rider said.  "We'll start
with the lower echelons and start up from there!"
	"Which way Cloak?" Rhapsody asked.  "You've been here before!"
	"Follow me." he said quietly.
	"Think they'll give us a chance to surrender?" Penance asked 
leaping to attack.  Two Infinites fell immediately to her razor sharp 
claws.
	Penance jerked as she was struck full on by an energy blast.
Hissing in pain, she retaliated and three more Infinites were dead.
But there were plenty more where they came from.

	Alchemy stood his ground as several Infinite's charged him.  
He dodged the blasts from their weapons, then lashed out with both 
hands, concentrating.  Every Infinite his fingers touched turned to 
stone.  Then his stomach exploded in pain.

	Medic whirled from her hiding place at the sound of Alchemy's
agonized scream.  She'd been hiding, as her power did not help her in 
a fight.  Racing to Alchemy's side, she gagged at the sight.  He'd been
struck in the stomach by a shrapnel cannon, his guts were shredded.
	Closing her eyes to the sight, she placed her hands on the 
wound, and concentrated.  Not knowing that Alchemy was already beyond
her reach.  She tried harder and harder to coax life into his body so
his wound could heal.  She poured more and more energy into him, 
until, silently, she collapsed on top of his body, her life energy 
spent in trying to save his life.

	Hotshot spied Medic out of the corner of his eye, taking care
of Alchemy.  "Good." he thought.  Then he saw her collapse.
	"NOT good!" he thought, rushing to her side.  He knelt by her 
and pressed his fingers to her neck, there was no pulse.  "God DAMN 
it!" he cried.
	*Grieve later!* Psylocke thought to him.  "AFTER we've made 
these bastards pay for what they've done!"
	His first instinct was to turn on the PSI, but he realized the
truth of her words.  "I will have vengeance." he swore, the oath all of
them had taken.
	Rhapsody drew her flute from the sheath at her waist, and 
brought it to her mouth.  "I'll end this fight." she thought.  With 
that, she began to play.  The other Ghost Riders, not being the focus
of her attack, were immune, but not so the Infinites.
	Each and every one stopped in it's tracks, entranced by the 
music.  Rhapsody's power was capable of creating states of pure 
pleasure and joy in her targets.  But she was also capable of creating
exactly the opposite.
	As one, the Infinites all experienced their worst fears, 
compounded by a hundred times.  They did not survive the experience.  
And in her distraction, neither did Rhapsody.
	The explosion caught everyone by surprise.  Later, Hotshot 
would be grateful that Ms. Rachel Argosy had gone quickly.
	"The music sucked." quipped the new arrival on the field.  
Tabitha Smith, a.k.a. Meltdown.  One of Apocalypse's minions.  She, 
and the others with her, Adam X, and Necromancer were just strong 
enough to make the cut, and survive, but too weak to advance in the 
ranks.
	"It seems I've been given another chance to own you." 
Necromancer smiled at Ghost Rider.
	"Not in this lifetime." Ghost Rider snarled.
	Necromancer laughed.  "Oh that's good!" he said.  "I love your
sense of irony Ghost Rider."  Then he gritted his teeth and clenched his 
eyes shut.  Ghost Rider's grunt revealed that, that battle was joined.
	Meltdown formed another bomb in her hand, but before she 
could throw it, she felt a hand clamp over her own.
	"I don't think so bitch." Jameson growled.  He held her hand 
tightly, keeping the bomb in place.
	In another world, Meltdown might have been able to diffuse 
the bomb as well as create it.  But in this one she'd never had need 
to.  Meltdown and Jameson disappeared in the explosion.
	Cloak spread wide his portal, intending to catch Adam X 
inside.  But Adam was too fast.  He leapt at Cloak, but just before 
he would have plunged into the darkness, he jumped up, cutting 
Cloak's face, just slightly.
	"I have made you bleed, and so I have already won." Adam 
grinned.  "Now burn!"  And Cloak did.  His blood burned, killing him 
with agony.
	"You son of a bitch!" Flash growled and went for the speedy 
mutant.  But Adam was too fast, running the athlete through before 
he'd taken two steps.
	"Now," Adam said.  "Who's next?"
	"No one." Strange said, gesturing towards the mutant.  His 
hands forming symbols in the air before him, he began chanting.  Adam,
realizing immediately what Strange was up to paled and launched himself
at the mage.  He drew back his sword to attack, just as Strange 
finished his spell.  A huge fireball flew at Adam, blowing him apart.
	The battle was over for most of them.  But two soldiers fought
on.  Blood trickled from Necromancer's nose as he struggled to gain 
control of Ghost Rider.  No expression showed on the Skull of their 
leader, but somehow they could all tell that the battle was a draw.
	Suddenly, the fire surrounding Ghost Rider's skull went out.
	His nose gushing blood, Necromancer cried out in agony.  
"Begone from this plane Blaze Allen!"  A black portal opened behind the
undead man and he began to be pulled backwards towards it.  An eerie 
keening sounded from within the darkness of the portal.
	"I'll take you with me!" Ghost Rider cried.  He swung his 
chain, entangling Necromancer, as with an unearthly wail, he was sucked
into the Nether World, dragging his struggling opponent with him.
	An eerie calm fell over the now deserted courtyard.
	"My God," Yukio said.  "He's gone."
	For a brief moment, the survivors of the fight allowed 
themselves to mourn their dead.
	"This isn't over." Strange said finally.  "We have to finish 
this, once and for all."
	Before they could flee the scene however, more Infinites arrived.  
"Go on!" Cap shouted, leaping to the fore.  "I'll hold them off!"  The 
weapons of the Infinites had no effect on his shield.  The others didn't 
bother to argue.

	Soon enough they found the remains of Beast's lab.  The room 
was a mess, the cages had been broken, and the bodies of many of 
Beast's experiments lay on the floor.  The gene pool had been 
destroyed.
	"Looks like some one beat us to the punch." Penance said.  
Beast was nowhere to be seen.  "The lab's been trashed, looks like his
experiments have escaped.  One way or the other."
	"No all of them." Mary Jane remarked.
	One chamber remained closed.  Mary Jane approached the vault.
"I'm going to let them out."
	Hotshot glimpsed a still working terminal and did a double 
take.  VAULT 12: ACOLYTES: PROGRAMMING COMPLETE.
	"Uh, Mary Jane, I don't think that would be a good idea-"
	Too late.
	Mary Jane pressed her hand against the scanner, not really 
expecting anything to happen, as, she was certain her handprint was not
authorized.
	But an alarm sounded.
	WARNING, HUMAN DNA DETECTED.  AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING IN SUBJECTS
1-12 ACTIVATED.
	"That don't sound good." Yukio said, assuming a defensive 
posture.
	The door opened, revealing nothing but darkness.  Mary Jane 
sighed with relief.  At that moment a blast of some sort of acidic 
fluid struck her full force, eating away her heart and lungs.
	"Christ!" Namorita cried, the first time anyone had ever use a
Christian swear.  "Everyone get back!"  She heeded her own advice as
twelve creatures, who had once been human swarmed from the cell.
	One man's skin had been turned gray, and he resembled nothing
less than some sort of Human/Rhino hybrid.  Another Man's skin had been
laced with metal, and his arms were pure metal.  Yet another 
seemed to be made of plantlife, while one seemed to be made of sand.  A
Frog Man, some sort of Rabbit Mutation, a vampire, a man who dripped
acid, a short, stocky man, and one with a fishbowl for a head.  
	A shot through the head from Felicia's gun ended quickly the
life of the Acid Man, who also wore a patch over his eye.  Hotshot was
struck head on by the Rhino Man and propelled by the still running man
through several walls.  Penance dodged a blow from the metal armed man,
returning one of her own.  Strange locked gazes with the blank stare of
the plant man.  The Vampire launched itself at Felicia.  Psylocke 
jumped to the attack, the first target she came to was the man with a
fishbowl on his head.  Namorita flew at the Sandman, leaving Yukio to 
deal with the rest.

	"It's a good thing I'm immune to impact with blunt objects." 
Hotshot said.  "Otherwise I could be in real trouble here."
	The Rhino man stopped short, momentum carrying Hotshot at least 
a foot further.  The man looked slightly uneasy when confronted with 
the psychotic grinning Hotshot.
	"Now let's party." Hotshot said, his grin changing to a grimace
of homicidal rage.  It was a facade, but he had a reputation to 
maintain.
	He blasted the Rhino with heat, barely singing the man.  "Ha!"
is that the best you got?"  He lowered his head and charged at Hotshot.
	Hotshot, so amazed the man hadn't learned from the man's 
previous attack that he couldn't be harmed this way, didn't bother 
to move.  Almost too late he saw the horn that was working it's way
from the Rhino's forehead.
	"Oops!"  Hotshot cried, leaping to one side.
	 Red hot pain shot through him as the horn pierced his 
shoulder.  Then the horn tore at his flesh at the Rhino kept going 
until the mutant was pinned to a wall by the man's horn.

	"Come get some Cyborg!" Penance cried, slashing at the huge 
metal coated man.  To her horror, her claws barely even scratched him.
	"Don't feel bad girlie," the man said, smashing a fist into the
side of her head.  "I don't know of a single substance that can hurt
Adamantium.  Another blow laid her out, one final one ended her life.
	The plant-man shuffled towards Strange.  Strange could sense 
the human intelligence buried deep within, dormant.  Perhaps...he made
signs in the air about him and chanted, bringing the submerged 
personality to the surface.
	The creature stopped short.  Though no expression showed on 
it's face, Strange could sense the horror the thing felt at itself, and
it immediately burst into flames.  It seemed that whatever knew fear, 
burned at it's touch.
	"Don't take this personally," Felicia told the Vampire 
approaching her.  "But you are really ugly."
	"You're taunts mean nothing to me." the undead thing said in 
heavily accented English.  "Soon you will literally be an empty shell,
for I hunger!"  The man leaped at her, but the agile woman dodged 
easily.
	"How do I kill this guy?" she thought, he most likely wasn't a
real Vampire, but why take chances?  "A stake through the heart would 
do it," but there was no wood to be seen.  "Maybe fire, or 
decapitation."  First she decided to slow him down.  A barrage from her
gun felled him, and he did not rise again, to make sure, she 
obliterated his head with the rest of her ammo.
	The Fishbowl headed man before Betsy vanished.  She whirled 
around, knowing that most teleporters liked to attack from behind.  She
guessed right.  His attack met with empty air, as she ducked the spray
of acid from his fingers.  
	Clenching her fist, she formed a Psi blade and punched it 
through his round head.  Her lobotomized foe fell to the ground.
	Namorita flew at the Sand man, punching a hole in his chest.  
Too late, she realized her mistake.  The man was made completely out
of sand.  He shifted around her fist and completely enveloped her in
sand, filling her nose with it, suffocating her.  Vainly, she tried
to fight her way free, but he merely shifted his mass with her.  Her
struggles grew weaker, then finally ceased altogether.
	Yukio grinned.  "Great, they left me the rejects!"
	The Frog Man sprung at her, all the jumping power of a frog at 
his disposal.  Yukio however had all the training of the Hand at her 
disposal.  She evaded the attack and quickly put him down with a slash
of her katana.  Like wise the White Rabbit, who ran at her, and the 
Human Hockey Puck.
	"Next-" She did not finish her sentence as the Lizard's tail 
slammed into her midsection, knocking the air from her lungs.  She 
lay gasping, till the reptile closed his jaws on her neck, and began
to feed.

	Hotshot grimaced in pain as the Rhino turned his head, twisting
his horn in Hotshot's wound.  "I," Hotshot gasped.  "Have pretty much
had enough of this."
	"So you surrender?" Rhino asked incredulously.
	"Yeah, sure, why not."  The Rhino backed up in surprise, 
dropping Hotshot to the ground.
	"You surrender?" he asked.  "But, no one ever surrenders!"
	"Oh well when you put it that way,"  Hotshot poured it on, wave
upon wave of heat, finally overwhelming The Rhino.  He fell to the 
ground with a thud that shook the floor.  Exhausted, Hotshot felt for 
a pulse.  He found none.
	"Whew." he said.  "That were not easy."
	He headed back to the main battle.
	The sight that greeted his eyes was a horrible one.  Many of 
their foes lay dead, but so did Penance and Yukio, or what was left of 
her.
	And then he saw Namorita's lifeless body sliding from the mass
that was the Sand Man.
	Pure fury and hatred lent him strength and power.  One 
concentrated blast reduced the Man of Sand, to one of Glass, an 
expression of horror and pain fixed on his unmoving face.
	Dr. Strange could sense that Namorita's soul had not yet fled 
the plane.  He quickly recalled a spell that could save her.  But 
before he could begin it, the Metal Armed Man crushed his skull with
one blow.  Then he quickly snapped Felicia's back.
	Psylocke plunged a PSI blade into the Lizard's head, while it 
was still feeding, lobotomizing it.  Then with a quick twist, she broke
it's neck.  Turning, she was faced with a sight that filled her with 
sorrow.  Only her, and Hotshot still lived, two out of thirteen.
	Briefly, grief and pain flooded her mind, but she quickly 
repressed it.  There was still one more enemy to deal with.
	"Well, well well." the man said.  "Looks like the strong really
do survive.  You know it's a shame that you guys are on the wrong side,
you coulda gone far in Apocalypse's ranks."
	"Yeah well," Hotshot grinned angrily.  "We had a better job 
offer from Disney."
	"That's where you guys were hiding out?" the man laughed.  "Oh
Man!  That's a good-"
	Psylocke removed the blade from his skull.  "Nice distraction."
	"Thanks." Hotshot said.  "Betsy, I don't know about you, but
I have just about had enough of all this.  Let's finish it.  One way or
the other."
	"Agreed." she said.  "Agreed."
	The ground suddenly shook from a distant explosion.
	"Well," Hotshot said.  "Guess the party finally started."

To Be Continued in X-Tremes #0!