MCU: Skull and Bones

Chapter 49: Swift Bedlam

2012

Houston, Texas

Friends of Humanity (FoH) Compound

One week Later

(Omniscient POV)

Graydon Creed, Field Commander for the FoH, was standing on the firing range beside the main entrance to the compound, overlooking the new batch of recruits practicing with live ammunition. He watched as the group of armed men practiced with their rifles, shooting at targets placed on the ground around them.

"Take your shots!" He shouts as the squad takes aim, and each man fires a shot at the target.

The sound of gunfire echoes throughout the compound as the bullets hit their mark and send pieces of paper flying out of the center of the targets.

"Not bad," Graydon says as he watches the men reload their weapons. "But there's still some room for improvement. Keep practicing."

The men nod and continue to fire their weapons at the target as Paul Stacy, Strategic Operations Commander for the FoH, approaches him from the side.

"The new recruits are looking good."

"Yeah," Graydon replies as he nods. "Not really much I can teach, the Scouter said a few of them came from military backgrounds.

"Good," Paul replies with a smile. "Any favorites?"

"All of them are good men for answering the call to defend their race from extinction," Graydon replies. "But if I had to pick..."

Graydon's eyes move to the end of the firing line and Paul follows his gaze toward one of the recruits. He was a tall young man with mid-length dark black hair that was shaved on the sides and fair skin. Dressed in black tactical gear similar to the others who stand beside him, nothing really stood out about him but for the bizarre-looking black tribal tattoos running down both his toned arms.

"The kid with the tattoos?" Paul asks and gives his partner a curious look.

"Yep," Graydon says thoughtfully. "His name's Mark Gruenwald. He's been outpacing all the rest of them since day one."

"Interesting." Paul agrees as he continues to watch the recruit practice. "Anyway, I gotta head back to HQ, expecting a call from Senator Krane to finalize the details of the attack."

"Good Luck," Graydon says as he returns his attention back to the recruits. "Alright! That's enough for today. Hit the mess hall and grab something to eat. Then meet me back here for more training!"

The recruits disperse from the firing range and start heading towards the mess hall while the ones who aren't part of the drill team go back to their barracks or tents. As they walk past him, Graydon notices the tall tattooed boy staring at him intently.

"Hey," Graydon calls out to him as he catches his eye. "You alright?"

'Mark' doesn't answer him, instead, he stares at Graydon with cold hazel eyes and opens his mouth slightly as he mouths something under his breath.

*BOOM!*

Before he can say anything, Several loud explosions and gunshots ring through the air followed by the sounds of screaming. All at once, the entire camp erupts into chaos as several gunshots ring out in rapid succession. Men scream and shout as they run around frantically, searching for the source of the commotion.

"What happened?!" One of the guards cries as he runs past Graydon, pointing toward the direction of the noise. "Shots incoming! We're under attack!!"

Men panic as they rush towards the gates as fast as they can, only to discover that they've been blown apart by explosives.

*Boom!*

Graydon watches as another explosion engulfs the building closest to him, sending debris raining down onto the compound grounds below. Several more explosions follow suit and the compound begins to shake violently.

As Graydon tries to make sense of the situation, a loud bang resounds nearby. Looking over his shoulder, he spots an enemy sprinting towards him, carrying a heavy machine gun slung across his chest. Before he can react, however, a bullet slams into his leg from behind and sends him sprawling forward onto his knees. He quickly rolls to the side but the feeling of a cold barrel against his neck halts him from moving further.

"Stop." A cold voice barks from behind him.

Graydon slowly turns around, only to see 'Mark' standing above him with a rifle pointed directly at his head. Panic fills him as he looks around for help but only the dead bodies of the other new recruits lay around them, while the rest of the FoH forces try to fend off the soldiers attacking their base.

"Who are you?" Graydon asks gruffly.

'Mark' keeps his finger on the trigger as he looks down at Graydon indifferently.

"Just a guy doing his job." He whispers as he lowers his weapon slightly and, without warning, pulls the trigger. Causing a spray of bullets to rain down on Graydon's body. The rounds pierce his torso, leaving deep holes in his flesh.

Graydon collapses onto the ground in a pool of his own blood. His vision blurs and fades away as he falls unconscious.

*CRASH!!*

An explosion rocks the compound as walls collapse into piles of rubble. Screams fill the air as men scramble to escape the collapsing structures. Some manage to get clear before the wall caves in completely, crushing dozens beneath its weight. Others weren't so fortunate.

"Get back to cover!" Someone shouts from somewhere near the entrance to the compound as a barrage of bullets riddles the outside perimeter.

Gunfire rings out again and this time hits home, causing the person speaking to fall backward into the mud.

Several minutes pass as the battle rages on, the sound of gunfire filling the air with every passing second.

*BOOM BOOM!!*

Another series of explosions rock the compound, knocking people off their feet and sending dust rising from the earth. Another wave of screams echoes throughout the compound as yet another structure crumbles to the ground. More than half of the buildings in the compound have collapsed into ruins by now, while many others remain intact but damaged. Smoke rises from several places within the compound where fires have broken out due to explosions and gunfire.

"What's going on?!" Paul yells as he rushes towards a specific building. "Where's Graydon!?"

"Sir! Their coming!!"

Paul whirls around to face his subordinate, surprised to hear that.

"Where?!"

"There! Over there!" A guard points toward the direction of the entrance. "Three men! Armed with assault rifles!"

Paul immediately tries to sprint harder and orders the guards stationed with him to hold position outside as he moves towards the inside of the building. The inside looked to be an armory as rows upon rows of shelves lined up along the walls, filled with various types of guns and ammo. But Paul ignored the sight as he franticly rushed towards a large metal crate that sat in the corner of the room.

A few seconds later, three figures appear outside at the entrance of the building. All of them wearing solid black combat armor with a silver S.H.I.E.L.D logo emblazoned on their shoulders. Each man carries a modified FN F2000 rifle in their hands and each also has a grenade launcher strapped to their back. They begin advancing upon the FoH troops guarding the gate, preparing themselves for an ambush.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers guarding the entrance drops to his knees as a stream of bullets tears through his upper body, killing him instantly.

"Outta my way!" Paul yells as he bursts through the walls of the building, clad in a thin silver-plated full-body exosuit that faintly pulsed with purple energy and brandishing a large hi-tech-looking rifle.

"The fuck are you supposed to be!" One of the enemy soldiers laughs as he raises his rifle. "Some knockoff Iron Man! We'll blow you away like-" *POOF!* An intense blast of purple lightning strikes him square in the chest. His body disintegrates into ash mere moments after being struck and disappears entirely from view.

"Major! We got a problem!!" One of the remaining soldiers cries out over the comlink as they raise their weapons and fire.

*Tink Tink Tink!*

The bullets smash harmlessly against Paul's exosuit as he fires another bolt of lightning at the two soldiers left standing before him, blowing them away just as easily as the first.

"Regroup on me!" Paul commands over the radio to the remaining FoH soldiers as he scans the surrounding area for any sign of movement. "We'll kill them all! Don't let any escape!"

************

Houston, Texas

Friends of Humanity (FoH) Compound

(Brock POV)

"That suit kind of sucks," I muttered as I stood atop one of the destroyed walls overlooking the compound, watching as the small team that I brought with me continued fighting for their lives.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Paul crackled madly as he rampaged throughout the compound and, while he was in the exosuit, It didn't take long for most of my men to die, either getting shot by lightning or crushed by falling debris when the buildings fell down on top of them. Only a handful survived the carnage.

"I mean it makes him a little bit stronger and faster, but not by much," I murmured as I watched my soldiers being slaughtered one by one. "He's still way more powerful than normal humans should be able to handle. I guess I should probably help-"

*Bang! Bang!*

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of distant gunfire and the cries of panic from inside a building off to the side of the compound. Focusing my sight, I could make out several men running out of the building, firing guns and throwing grenades behind them.

As the panicked group ran to Paul, I concentrated my enhanced hearing on them.

"Help!! The freak got out!!" One of the men yelled as he flees to Paul's side.

"You Idiots!" Paul screams angrily. "The last thing we need right now is a pissed-off mutant!!"

*Crash!*

As if to enunciate his words, a section of the wall of the building explodes outward, sending chunks of concrete flying everywhere. My gaze shifts over toward the building as a small figure emerge from the rubble and dust.

"Watch out! It's coming!!" A man warns the others as he ducks behind Paul. "Get away from it!"

The figure strides confidently out of the building and onto the compound grounds.

"...huh?!" I exclaim in shock and stare at the figure in disbelief as a small silver teddy bear with glowing purple eyes emerges onto the battlefield.

"Kill it!!!" Paul growls as he raises his gun and fires a burst of purple bolts at the newcomer.

************

A/n: Hey Guys, so...Mutants. Yes, they exist in this world but are not as widely known as they are in the movies or comics. I won't go into too much detail about this as it will unfold within the story. Hope you are enjoying and as always thanks for reading!

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