Castle Zemo

Baron Zemo held his sword firmly in place as he locked his eyes with Frank Hall, the man called Graviton. Hall floated above the ground, chin resting on his fist with his legs in the lotus position and a smile playing on his features.

“Well, well, well, look who finally found the stones to stand up to me,” said Graviton. “Like the way I redecorated your place, Baron?”

“Hall,” said Zemo. “Why the fates chose to bestow such incredible power on such a small-minded individual is a question which vexes even me.”

“As if your opinion matters,” said Graviton. “I defeated your lackeys single-handedly. Not one of them lasted more than ten minutes, not even the infamous Abomination. Don’t worry, I let them live—for now. Depending on how long you last against me, that may or may not change.”

“I’ve had quite a few changes of my own,” said Zemo. “You, on the other hand, lately seem to find yourself working for others. First the Crimson Cowl and now Strucker. I thought you were above all that?”

“Means to an end, Baron, that’s all,” said Graviton. “Strucker has something I want and if that means I have to go through you to get it, well…let’s just call that a bonus.”

“You are welcome to try.”

Graviton threw out his hand and unleashed a gravitational force blast. Zemo stood his ground, using the moonstones to shift to intangibility, the blast passing harmlessly through him. “I should remind you, I am powered by three moonstones. That means the two of us—”

Zemo raised his sword and thrust forward, a powerful burst of photons emitting from the blade and striking Graviton, knocking him back just slightly. Zemo lowered the blade, grinning beneath his mask.

“—are on even ground.”

“That so, Baron?” asked Graviton. “Guess there’s something else you should know about us ‘small-minded individuals.’”

“What might that be?” asked Zemo, his blade glowing with the energy of the moonstones. Catching the Baron unawares, the Eel leapt from his hiding position, wrapping his arms around Zemo’s body and sending an electric charge from his suit into Zemo.

“We cheat,” said Graviton.

Helmut convulsed before the pair of them fell to the ground, with the Eel jumping off and standing upright. Zemo recovered from the attack quickly, but before he could claim the Eel’s head as his trophy, Graviton caught him in a powerful force field.

“Not so fast.” Graviton cocked his head slightly to the side. “Oh, what’s that, Baron? Seems like there’s something inside of you…something…alien. Might be dangerous to leave it in there. But don’t worry, I’m a professional.”

Zemo made no sound as Graviton latched onto one of the moonstones inside the Baron’s body. Slowly, painfully, Graviton used his powers to pull the stone out, tearing through Zemo’s abdomen, leaving a hole in its wake. The moonstone hovered above Graviton’s palm, and he grinned as he viewed it, its brilliant glow not even dulled by the blood present on its surface.

“…Jesus H. Christ…”

Graviton turned to the newly-arrived Speed Demon. “No, Franklin H. Hall.”

Speed Demon stuttered a little as he spoke, his eyes fixed on Zemo’s body. “Umm…I-I found what you were looking for. The-there’s a hidden level underneath the Castle, don’t think anyone but Zemo and the Fixer knew about it. Lots of security though, I couldn’t get into it.”

“Don’t worry, I have a key,” said Graviton. He pointed his palm at the ground and fired a massive energy blast, then lowered himself into it, creating more holes as he descended further and further down.

Speed Demon looked up at the Eel. “D-did you see that?”

The Eel just nodded. “That’s Baron fucking Zemo. And Graviton just tore that thing out of him.”

“Yeah, which is why we should get out of here,” said Speed Demon. “Because once Zemo recovers, he’s gonna be pissed. And I don’t wanna be around for that.”

“Didn’t Strucker say he wanted Zemo’s head?” asked the Eel.

“Fuck that, let someone else play the golden boy,” said Speed Demon. “I’ll settle for one of the lesser T-Bolts. C’mon, let’s go find someone we can hit.”

MASTERS AND SLAVES

Part VIII

By Steve Seinberg and Dino Pollard

Hawkeye leapt over Bulldozer for what felt like the umpteenth time. Nothing he threw at the man seemed to have any real effect. At this point, all his trick arrows may as well have been toothpicks.

Carnage lunged towards him, his alien body completely surrounding Bulldozer with tendrils. Carnage cackled because whenever Bulldozer tore a hole in his body, it reformed almost instantly.

“Gonna tear you apart, Bulldozer! Gonna slice you up an’ make you my new bed! Gonna sleep on your worthless carcass, you piece of shit!”

“Yeah, like to see you try, ya freak!” shouted Bulldozer as he tore through Carnage’s body once again, this time enough to pull his body free. He tried to get a grip on the serial killer’s head so he could crush it, but Carnage seemed to seep through his fingers.

“Great, I don’t know who to root for…” muttered Hawkeye.

“Clint!”

He looked over his shoulder to see Songbird flying towards him. “Nice to see someone who’s not insane around here. Where’s Abe?”

“Something’s strange here,” said Songbird. “We saw the Swordsman, Blizzard and Wizard disappear into a portal together. Don’t know if they were following the Wizard or going with him.”

“And Abe?”

“He decided to go after them.”

Hawkeye shook his head. “Hope he knows what he’s doing…” He looked back to Bulldozer and Carnage. “Say Mel, wanna help me out here?”

“Gladly,” said Songbird. She generated a sonic claw and used it to pluck Carnage off of Bulldozer, encasing the violent killer in a sonic bubble that kept him immobilized and screaming in pain. As for Bulldozer, she surrounded him in a sonic box that he began pummeling.

“Open that box just wide enough,” said Hawkeye as he affixed a head to one of his arrow. He fired inside a small opening Songbird made and then she shut it once the arrow was in. A powerful gas began to fill the box and within a few moments, Bulldozer collapsed on the ground.

MACH-IV flew through the air, getting closer to the teleportation gate. Before he could move on any further, his sensors picked up two new lifeforms. As he did, he was struck with a burst of electricity that mucked with his armor’s instrumentation. MACH-IV threw his arm in an arc, unleashing an array of repulsor bursts but they hit nothing.

Something blurred past him, striking him at superhuman speed. MACH-IV finally had a moment to look up and saw both Speed Demon and the Eel standing over him. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Something funny, Beetle?” asked the Eel. “Think you’re so much better than us just ’cause you got a fancy new suit?”

“Shit man, I remember the days when you had suction cups for fingers,” said Speed Demon. “We always used to sit around the poker table and laugh about you.”

“A guy who wore all yellow and called himself the Whizzer really has no business laughing at anyone,” said MACH-IV. Two compartments on his shoulders opened and two small, round objects fell out, which began spraying tear gas. The Eel and Speed Demon both began coughing as they fell to their knees and MACH-IV stood above Sanders.

“Who’s laughing now, jackass?” He brought his heavy fist down on the back of Speed Demon’s skull, who grunted as he struck the ground and fell unconscious.

Abe’s sensors went off and he looked off in the distance. The portal had closed. “Dammit…” He looked down at the Eel. “Well, if you’re still awake, I could definitely use something to hit.”

“Baron Strucker! We’ve just received word that a teleport gate to Castle Zemo has opened.”

“What?” Strucker rose from his chair, moving towards the Hydra technician who had been the bearer of bad news. “I gave no order of retreat. Which of those fools would dare disobey me? Who would risk inciting the wrath of Wolfgang Von—”

As he continued his rant, the Hydra agents all around him, one by one, collapsed to the ground. The Baron looked at them in surprise. “—Strucker?”

“That would be us, Baron,” said the Wizard as he approached Strucker with the Swordsman by his side and the Crimson Dynamo towering behind them. The Swordsman, however, remained unshackled and in fact brandished one of his weapons freely.

“Dynamo, kill this Thunderbolt,” said Strucker.

The Crimson Dynamo stood his ground and crossed his arms, making no sound and no further movement.

“Wittman, I order you to—”

“Oh shut up, Wolfgang,” said the Wizard. “Do you have any idea how annoying you are without the Shakespearian speeches? I mean, who the hell do you think fried your guards’ synapses? Helping you is definitely not on my to-do list.”

“It’s been a long time,” said the Swordsman.

“And who might you be?” asked Strucker. “Other than one of Zemo’s pathetic lackeys?”

The Swordsman reached up with his free hand and removed his helmet, pulling it off and dropping it to the ground. Revealing the face of Andreas Von Strucker.

“You would side with my enemies?” asked Strucker.

“Only because it gave me the chance to get this close to you,” said Andreas. “So I could use the gift my sister and I shared to avenge her death and claim my birthright in one, fell swoop.”

The blade crackled in Andreas’ grip and Strucker backed off slightly. “That’s not possible…without Andrea, you have no powers. You are—”

“Our Fenris powers required us to be in physical contact with each other,” said Andreas as he raised the sword. He opened his palm just enough so his father could see the leather-wrapped hilt. “I cured her skin and used it on my weapons. This way, she could always remain with me.”

“You’re sick, the both of you,” spat Strucker. “You’re just as demented and insane as she was!”

Andreas swung the blade forward and fired a burst of energy through the sword. Strucker defended himself with the Satan Claw affixed to his wrist. In that instant, Andreas had leapt closer, the blade connecting with the Satan Claw with a loud clang.

“You’re mad!” shouted Strucker. “I gave you both everything you could ever want!”

“You gave us nothing but hatred!” said Andreas. He kicked Strucker in the chest and the older man fell back against the console. Strucker raised his claw once more but Andreas, the blade charged with energy, brought the sword down on his father’s elbow, severing the Satan Claw completely and cauterizing the wound as well.

Wolfgang Von Strucker fell to his knees, staring at the stump where his artificial hand had once been. He could feel the heat from his son’s charged blade as it was brought to rest on the back of his neck.

“This is for Andrea,” said the Swordsman and then he raised the sword and severed his father’s head.

The Wizard cringed slightly as he witnessed this event. “What is it with this family and beheadings…?” he mumbled.

“Bentley,” said the Swordsman, sheathing his blade and picking up his discarded helmet. “I want you to recall someone specific from Castle Zemo immediately, there is still work to be done.”

“You’re the boss,” said the Wizard.

“I know.” The Swordsman replaced his helmet and faced his companions. “This is the end of an era for Hydra, as well as the dawn of a new age.”

Castle Zemo

MACH-IV delivered a final punch to the Eel. The villain collapsed on the ground. He shook his head and then looked at Speed Demon, who still remained unconscious. “You know, you never were any fun, Sanders. Even the Eel held out longer than you.”

His sensors perked up once more. The gate had been reopened. MACH-IV rocketed towards it, his sensors guiding the way. Just as he approached, he saw someone else vanish into the gate. Who it was, he couldn’t tell, but the sensors notified him it was already beginning to shut. Abe kicked his thrusters into high gear and shot through the gate, just before it closed.

The Wrecker now had the Radioactive Man on his knees and the Asgardian-powered criminal raised his crowbar into the air. “Gonna show you what happens when you mess with the Big Dog, ya Chink!”

Before he could attack, the Wrecker heard the voice of the Wizard bellowing into his earpiece, as did the rest of Strucker’s men.

{By order of the Supreme Leader of Hydra, you are to cease all hostilities and return to base immediately.}

“Retreat? That don’t sound like Wolfie,” said the Wrecker. “He was all gung-ho about this.”

{I don’t remember saying anything about Wolfgang, I said the Supreme Leader of Hydra. Now you are to follow orders immediately and prepare for teleportation.}

The Wrecker knelt down by Radioactive Man’s side and whispered into his ear. “Y’got lucky this time, chump. Next time, yer ass is mine.”

He slammed the Radioactive Man’s head into the ground and stood up. He joined the rest of his team as they began to glow as they were transported out by the Wizard. The Thunderbolts who were still conscious looked around in surprise.

{We’ve got a problem,} came the Fixer’s voice over the Castle’s intercom. {Zemo’s near-death right now, get the med-lab set up and operational immediately!}

Zemo lay on the gurney, the Fixer’s version of the Ultra Rejuvenator already working on mending his wound. He was awake now, with the Fixer, Radioactive Man, Hawkeye, and Songbird standing over him.

“The good news is that Strucker’s men retreated,” said the Fixer. “Bad news is that Graviton nearly killed you by removing one of those moonstones. If it wasn’t for the other two, you may not have survived long enough for me to save your life.”

“We’re also missing some people,” said Hawkeye. “Abe, Swordsman and Gill are unaccounted for.”

“What of our casualties?” asked Zemo.

“None that we know of,” said the Radioactive Man. “Several unconscious but the most serious injury was you.”

“What was Graviton after?” asked Songbird. “There had to be a reason why he went through the Castle the way he did.”

“Hall was never much of a planner,” said Zemo. “I imagine he just wanted to cause some destruction to make himself feel big.”

“Wait…” The Fixer looked at Zemo. “We’ve got an incoming transmission. From a Hydra frequency.”

Zemo struggled to sit up in bed. He was shirtless, his side bandaged, but kept his mask on. “Patch it through.”

The Fixer’s tech-pack generated a holographic image of the man placing the call. Andreas Von Strucker appeared before the Thunderbolts and the Fixer had a skeptic look on his face.

“Guess we know where he went…”

{I apologize for leaving the Castle so abruptly, but an opportunity to settle my differences with my father presented itself and I took it. Wolfgang is dead and Hydra is now under my command. There is a lot of work to be done, to weed out those still loyal to my father and to fully take control of Hydra. But I am confident I can make it work.}

“What about Donnie and the Wizard? I saw you leave with both of them,” said Songbird.

{The Wizard was my agent inside of Hydra. Donald was also instrumental in the execution of my plan. The two of them are with me now.}

“And Abe?” asked Songbird. “Where’s Abe? He said he was going after you and we haven’t found any trace of him.”

The Swordsman sighed. {I have other matters to attend to at the moment, Melissa.}

“You know where he is, tell me what happened,” said Songbird.

{I’m sorry, Melissa. But Abner Jenkins is dead.}