Kings of Hell

Ariel’s POV

I take an invite from my big brother to visit him in FC – he asked for Wade and I, so I was waiting for the Zenith Alpha to arrive at the Transpendiser.

He was ten minutes late.

Wade had a thing about looking good in front of my family.

So he actually ditched the soldier’s gear and appears now, wearing a navy suit.

“Did you receive the intel from Casey, Wade?” I ask him, “Aren’t Louis and Sammy hunkered down somewhere in Atlantis?”

“Yeah, they went into hiding,” Wade is smiling at me, looking me over, since I decided to wear a skin tight complete covering over all my skin, to hide all the bite marks and bruises from the Zenith’s rough fucking. I was in all black, my hair tied back with a specially made tie, and high heels, just for the look, “I can’t see skin, that’s new,” Wade growls at me, “Hiding our love bites, you cute little bitch.”

“Don’t talk with that language around my family,” I growl at him, “You’ve been requested because you have the skills Casey needs.”

“For rigging the car?” Wade asks, “I can do more than that… but I’ll settle this time out of respect for your big brother.”

Now I smirk, “You and I both know, Casey can put you down with words alone,” I am only being light about it, but Wade still gets irritated, his brow twitching.

“Whatever, bitch, let’s go visit,” Wade steps closer to me and places a hand on the small of my back. He grasps my hip and pulls me in close, walking me forward.

Through the portal, we step straight out into Casey’s club mansion, where Viola and Casey sit at the dinner table with a small lookalike. The moment Wade realises there’s eyes on us from Casey, his hands slips from my back and he steps away from me, giving me a wide berth as he pretends to not be fazed by Casey’s direct glare.

Casey stands, “You came,” he motions to two seats, while I skip around the table to embrace him tight.

We didn’t usually interact like this, but I missed my big brother.

We had all been through so much and had gone our separate ways since we Ultimates now controlled the globe.

I hold Casey tight and let go with a smile.

“Good to see you, Ariel,” Casey awkwardly laughs for a second and then motions to a seat.

I take it next to him.

Opposite us, is a familiar looking girl.

She sits awkwardly next to Wade, who dwarfs everyone except Casey as he takes a seat next to her.

“I have their location,” Viola skips the awkward reunion and passes a scrappy piece of paper across the table to the girl, “You’ll do it.”

“I will,” she answers.

“This is an orphan girl, Wendy,” Casey explains to me.

“Yeah, I remember you,” Wade looks directly at her sideways, “I thought you might be… like dating?”

“Casey turned out to be my father,” Wendy snaps, “…they don’t believe it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Casey rolls his eyes, “Anyways.”

Wade and I lock gazes, then we both turn to Wendy.

Actually… she does have Casey’s eyes and Viola’s perpetual pout.

“Ahuh… Wendy looks just like you two combined and spat back out,” Wade murmurs.

“Even if she was engineered to be so, it’s just that… genetic manipulation, we have no bond, I wasn’t pregnant,” Viola says, carefully looking to the teenage girl, “…I see you, Wendy but… it’s just DNA.”

“Yeah,” Wendy seems hurt by that statement, “Your son is running rogue,” Wendy speaks into the silence by changing the topic entirely.

I immediately lose my smile.

My… my son.

We had never met.

I know she speaks of him.

Wade also shifts uncomfortably.

“Speaking of Armageddon,” Casey looks straight to Wade with a cruel look, then glances to me with a more gentle stare, “He’s helping out. He is going with Wendy.”

“You can’t just orchestrate what my son will do,” I speak on his behalf anyway, “He had accelerated growth, but his maturity must still by behind… Armageddon should stay out of this, Casey.”

“How about you wait for me to enter the fucking room, before you fucking talk about me?”

A door slams shut across the mansion after being opened silently.

Wade immediately jumps to his feet, grinning.

“Son!” he growls out a welcome.

I turn, feeling faint.

There he is.

My baby boy that I miscarried.

Now my giant handsome son – a dead-ring of Wade, he has a snarl on his face.

I just have the breath and soul knocked out of me.

“Dale is the only father I recognise, he taught me everything I know, you are strangers,” Armageddon looks over Wade with an arrogance that mirrors his father, “Let’s get to work,” he doesn’t even look at me, not until he has pulled out the chair next to Wendy, and sat down to finally acknowledge me… and it’s a tiny, fleeting glance.

A second that never ends.

My heart rips in two with his dismissal of me.

But I… I cannot blame him.

I had shied away from raising Armageddon.

Dale had accelerated his growth, and I had been waiting for the right moment… perhaps I had waited too long.

“Armageddon,” I whisper his name, finally being brave enough to address him directly.

“Say hello to your mother, be civil,” Casey suggests of Armageddon, “Try it, you won’t die.”

“Hi,” he says it, gulps and won’t even look at me.

But I can tell he is devastated with emotion, even as he hides it.

Wade has sat back down, but now he reaches over Wendy’s head, as she slouches out of the way, Wade grabs our son by the ear and forces him to turn his head to look at me.

“Obey,” Wade growls low.

Armageddon jerks out of his hold and then turns his eyes to me.

Armageddon is on fire inside – his emotions are a combination of my sensitivity and Wade’s inferno of ever burning Alpha Zenith energy.

He looks wild.

“Hi,” Armageddon snaps again, “Mum,” he turns to Wade, “Hi. Dad,” he then turns to glare back at me, “Why the long face, mum? We’re all one big happy family, right?” the sarcasm cuts deep.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt, “You…”

“I was an accident. A problem baby. I get it,” Armageddon forces on a gentle tone, “It’s totally fucking fine,” he whispers.

“Yeah, you are so not fine,” Wendy rolls her eyes.

“Shut up, cous,” Armageddon snaps by her ear.

“And I heard you head up a police patrol force in this city?” Wade snaps now, “Fucking ridiculous. What training do you have?”

“Dale taught me everything,” Armageddon snarls.

“I’ve beat Dale to a bloody pulp, he’s lucky to have survived,” Wade boasts, “If you want real lessons in combat, come to Atlantis.”

Armageddon doesn’t respond.

“Everyone, please,” Viola interrupts the tension, clearly annoyed by the distractions, “Let’s be real. We’re all fucked up genetic freaks, with fucked up relationships and fucked up stubborn abilities to deny even our own children – because we are soldiers and assassins and we have no idea how to be parents… both of you were raised in test tubes, Wendy… Arma… it’s all fucked, all of it, so put it to bed, let’s get down to business. Something we can all agree we’re good at.”

“You acknowledge it,” Wendy sits up, her eyes wide with shock and happiness.

Casey blushes but shrugs. Viola glares but doesn’t want to say it again.

I just relate through and through.

I have no idea how to be a mother, V clearly has no idea either.

“You two nearly dated,” Armageddon has to make it worse, “Your own father –”

“Don’t make me puke, I had admiration for him, that’s all!” Wendy cries, “Fuck you. Shut up.”

“Fuck you. Shut up,” Armageddon mimics her and pretends to whine like her, and they almost start a physical fight, so Wade grabs Wendy around the waist and tosses her over the table before that escalates.

She slides across and ends up next to Viola, where she angrily sits next to her and clasps her hands tightly together.

In the awkward silence that a seat is now emptied between Wade and his son, I try not to cry with happiness when Wade moves himself over closer to sit right next to Armageddon.

“Relax,” Wade growls, as our son stares hard at the table, tensing at the proximity.

“Let’s begin,” Casey snaps, “Wendy and Armageddon are going to pretend to double cross us, putting on a show that they want to throw the Ultimates into disarray, they are going to ‘steal’ the old STR1KE war vehicle, then they will visit and convince Louis and Sammy that the Ultimates and Alyssa need to die… Wendy will give co-ordinates of the car they park on the street, which Wade will rig while it’s on the road. Ariel, I want you to film it for mum and dad. Wade, you need to rig the car in a way that nothing but ash is left – I don’t want chunks that can be sowed back together by Kane. Turn Hacksaw and Sammy to piles of dust and ash or the mission won’t be complete.”

“I can do that,” Wade explains, simply, “So why isn’t your mummy and daddy doing this? Why us?”

“Alyssa has been through enough, her brain was operated on – Sammy and Louis didn’t want to kill her, they wanted her to suffer. They wanted all of us to suffer. They’re sadists. Serge broke his legs catching Alyssa after she fell off a building from a seizure. She’s healed and the memories are back and they don’t know that… so… simply put, we have the advantage, we have the skills… the… co-ordination…” Casey glares between Armageddon and Wendy, “Right?”

“Can Al come too?” Wendy asks.

“Why Aldo?” Viola asks and Wendy blushes.

“She’s been crushing on my best friend,” Armageddon says, slowly smirking.

“NO, I’m NOT!” Wendy screams, then realises she sounds guilty as all hell.

She immediately goes quiet and turns very, very red.

“No Al,” Wade suggests, “No distractions on missions.”

“Is that why you always leave me behind?” I ask, smiling. Wade just winks at me, I’m instantly wet, fuck, he had that strong effect on me, “Uh… back up… the b-back up plan,” I stutter, “What’s the back up?”

“Kill them yourself,” Casey says to our son and their daughter.

“Um… no?” I squeak, “They’re ours.”

“Sammy and Louis don’t know them,” Casey murmurs, “That’s the biggest advantage we’ll ever have. Armageddon and Wendy are both Ultimates… and they have no idea.”

“Armageddon is massive,” I complain, “They’ll know immediately.”

“Wendy is doing the talking, he is the body guard, standing at a distance, he’ll shoot if they don’t comply,” Casey waits for any more questions.

We have none.

“Son, good luck,” Wade gives light encouragement.

Wendy and Armageddon both stand up to walk off and get ready.

“I’ll go with them in the car, and film everything from a rooftop,” I stand up too.

“If all else fails, we all go in to save your asses,” Casey adds, “But let’s just make plan A work, shall we – trick them into the car, burn it to hell.”

“Orchestrated by the Kings of Hell,” Wade smiles at Casey.

“Damn straight,” Casey actually smiles back.

Bond forming, now everything else has to work according to plan.

“For mum,” I murmur, looking at Casey. He nods.

“For Alyssa,” Casey agrees.

We all look to Wendy and Armageddon, who have walked over to a case full of weapons for them to choose between.

They’re already sniping at each other with low toned insults.

Casey, Wade, V and I, all share worried looks.

This will work… or it will fail… hopefully the latter.