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Secret Wars: Ashes to Ashes #2 “Ambush” Previously: Brought to the far side of the universe by the seemingly omnipotent Beyonder, two armies of heroes and villains must fight in order to obtain their fondest desires. As night falls on the first day of conflict, the heroes take stock of themselves and their incredible situation, not knowing that Doctor Doom is about to stage a sneak attack via one of his most powerful allies: Super Skrull!!
"Well, I'm going to call it a day," Daredevil stretched, and a small yawn escaped, "Have to be on my toes tomorrow. Never know when Doom and his buddies will drop by for tea. How about you, Peter?" Peter shrugged, "I'm not tired yet. I think I'll stay out here awhile longer." "You really should get some sleep. We have to be extra sharp out there, especially under these circumstances. One slip. . ." He didn't feel he had to finish the statement. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto . "I know, I know. It's just that, well, I don't think I'm going to get much sleep anyway," He shook his head angrily, "I haven't slept. . . alone . . . in a long time." Emotional tension welled up inside him suddenly. Fists clenched in helpless rage, Peter Parker shouted at the sky, "God damn you! You took me from my wife, you bastard!!" Daredevil winced slightly as his hypersensitive ear drums exploded, "Hey, take it easy! I know you miss your wife, but beating yourself over the head about it isn't going to help matters. Or increase your chances of seeing her again. You've got to keep it together." The young man in the blue and red Spider-man costume sighed. Daredevil's radar-sense picked up the slight movement as his friend's posture slumped. "It's just not fair." The voice was soft and full of emotion. "He had no right, Matt. . .to take me from my wife. . .to yank me here to the other side of the universe and force me into his private little war. He's playing with our lives, as if we were lab rats or insects!" The radar-sense rippled with each little shudder. Hyper-acute hearing brought in the sound of tiny sniffles. He didn't need sight to know his friend was crying. "Hey, take it easy, Peter." He wasn't sure what to do, so he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It will be okay. With Cap leading us, how can we lose? The man's a living legend, after all." "Yeah. . ." Radar flashed as his form straightened up, "Yeah. He's been playing this game decades before we were born. If anyone will get us out of this in one piece, it's Cap." "Great, so take Cap's advice and get some sleep tonight, okay?" "Yes, mother." "All right. I'll see you in the morning. . .in a manner of speaking." Peter laughed. This time it was natural. Surprisingly, it made him feel better. He watched Daredevil leave the balcony and disappear into the building. Then he turned and looking back into the black, empty sky. I love you, Mary Jane. I love you, and I'm going to get out of this alive. I promise. * * * * * The Super skrull was close to the base now, and still there was no response. He was beginning to believe he'd caught them off guard. From here it would be easy to enter the base. There were plenty of options, including burning a hole through the wall. But getting in wasn't the problem. He had to try and find the detention area. It would take him hours unless he could find someone to get information from, and that meant going inside since no one would be outside at this time of night. He veered towards what looked like a docking bay. He had just started to generate enough heat to melt through when he spied movement above him and to the left. A solitary figure leaning against a railing. He flew backwards and arced up to see if he could identify it. When he saw the blue and red costume, he smiled. Spider-man. He had found his source of information. * * * * * Peter finished his silent oath to his wife. He reached into his pants and pulled out the mask. Inside and during the day he had worn it constantly. But here outside, he felt it was safe enough to take off. Of course, Daredevil had snuck up--no, he merely joined me, he reminded himself--but he didn't care. He and Matt had known each other's identities for years. But he'd be more careful from now on. Not that he had anything against his allies, but the fewer who saw his real face, the better. Both for him and Mary Jane. He slid it over his face. It fit snugly and comfortably. Time to put Peter Parker on the back burner and become your friendly, neighborhood - Spider-sense screamed inside his head. He jumped instinctively and stuck to the wall over the entrance way. He saw a gout of flame engulf the part of the balcony he had been standing on. The railing he had recently repaired melted into a puddle of molten metal. He looked upwards in the direction the flame had come from. There was nothing there. Spider-sense exploded once again, and he had barely leaped to one side as an indentation roughly the size of his head suddenly appeared on the wall where he had been. I'm under attack! I have warn the others-- He ducked and jumped back down to the balcony, avoiding what had to be an invisible fist. He figured he had to take the offensive and try to get his opponent off guard for a few seconds so he could escape. He leaped out into the night air, shot a web line high up on the opposing wall, and swung right into where he thought his enemy was. He hit something solid and heard a grunt. He also felt a sharp pain in his feet and nearly screamed. He completed his arc and landed on the wall. He held on with just his hands because his feet were--he looked down--his feet were burned? Who-ever it was, he was invisible and on fire?! Realization caused his eyes to widen behind the mask. The Super skrull!!
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The alien was becoming annoyed. He could not afford an extended melee. He remembered that the spider-human was very adept at avoiding blows, but how could he possibly dodge what he couldn't see? The skrull let loose with another flame blast. Once again Spider-man was able to avoid it, although he got closer that time. Was he tiring? The Super skrull watched his foe, and noticed that his opponent was favoring his hands both on the wall and during movement. Of course! He injured himself when he kicked my flaming body! If he could somehow use the flame to effect the human indirectly. . . The Super skrull began to turn up the heat. Spider-man climbed the wall as quickly as he could, gingerly using his feet as little as possible. If I can get to the roof maybe I can put some distance between me and him and somehow escape. As he neared the edge of the roof, a sudden blast of heat struck him. Spider-sense screamed a warning, but unlike a blast or fist, the heat was everywhere. There was no where to escape to. The temperature seared his body and almost instantly brought about heatstroke. The hero became dizzy and nauseous. The heat sapping his strength, and Spider-man began to lose his grip on the vertical surface. Instinctively, he brought his feet up to reinforce his position. Sharp pain arced through him as nerve cells screamed a protest from his feet, and Spider-man found himself falling. The walls spun crazily, and his stomach released its contents into his mask. Blind and weak, the young man passed out in free fall. * * * * * Daredevil knew he only had one chance at this. He fired the cable part of his billy club at the man-shaped image his radar-sense indicated was floating above the balcony and dove over the side. The cable wrapped itself around the surprised skrull and became taunt as Daredevil used his unwilling anchor to allow himself to swing outward and intercept the limp form which was plummeting to the ground. The Super skrull quickly burned through the wire, but it was too late. Daredevil's momentum carried the two heroes to the top of the opposing wall, and he began to run across the roof, tossing Spider-man over one shoulder. The skrull flew after them. A billy club slammed into the alien's face, breaking his nose and stunning him. How can he see me when I'm invisible? Holding one hand to his face in an attempt to ward off the pain, the skrull directed a huge blast of fire toward the fleeing form with the other. Daredevil's radar and super sensitive skin felt the wave of flame coming. He dove behind one of the many pieces of alien machinery which dotted the entire roof. A second later his cover was engulfed by the flame and quickly incinerated. As he struggled back to his feet, he realized the powerful blast had melted through the surface beneath the former apparatus as well. Deciding the roof was too open, Daredevil jumped through the hole with his unconscious passenger as another blast passed overhead. He hit the floor a few seconds later. He estimated the drop was about 20 feet. Radar sense indicated several boxes of various shapes and sizes; a store room of some kind. Better still, his senses showed no indication of temperature change in the chamber beyond that from the slag above, which meant no lights. Daredevil smiled. He liked the dark.
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