Captain America managed to free himself from his attackers again, momentarily, only to
see Ms. Marvel, across the room, confronted by a man with the face of Adolph Hitler!
Worse-- Carol was freezing up, caught totally unprepared. Cap had to do something.
"NO!" he shouted to her, "It's not him-- it's a fake!"
The man with Hitler's face, the man who called himself Xenocide, whirled, about to bark
a reply at Cap. At that moment, three gunshots sounded from the shadows.
Ms. Marvel looked on in disbelief.
Xenocide's eyes widened, and he collapsed in a heap on the floor, punctured by three
bullet holes.
From out of those same shadows strode another figure, this one's face uncovered. He was
a tall, attractive man, with wavy blond hair, and wearing a dark, well-cut Armani suit. In
his hand he carried a smoking pistol. He gazed down at Hitler/Xenocide momentarily, his
face twisting with contempt, and then he stepped over the corpse to peer at Ms. Marvel and
Moonstone.
"This-- you--" Ms. Marvel fought for words. She was suddenly extremely
conscious of the fact that most of her costume had been torn away in the earlier fighting,
leaving her in little more than her undergarments. Recovering her thoughts, she gestured
at the man on the floor. "That wasn't Hitler, was it? It's been you-- you all
along!"
"Indeed. How perceptive, Ms. Marvel." The big man smiled warmly at her, but
his handsome features were tinged all about with the taint of evil-- pure evil. It struck
Carol then that this was the living embodiment of Hitler's Germanic "master
race" ideal.
"I know you," came a voice from across the room. "I know who you
are."
The big man turned, his eyes narrowing. "Ah, yes, the good Captain. You know me,
you say?"
Cap had wedged himself into a corner, besieged by the horde of murderous
mind-controlled attackers. As he fended them off, he replied, "You're Heydrich. Or
his clone."
"Most perceptive indeed, Captain." The big man smiled coldly, appearing like
nothing so much as the angel of death itself. "I am the living clone of SS
master Reinhard Heydrich." He gazed down at the man he'd just shot, prodding the body
with his boot. "Unswervingly loyal lieutenant to Adolph Hitler--" and he smiled
at Ms. Marvel again, "--and, should anything
unfortunate
befall
the beloved Fuhrer, or his clone
" and his smile broadened, "--
designated heir to the mastery of the Third Reich!"
"And somehow, you've gained the powers of the Hate Monger," Ms. Marvel
stated.
"Indeed. Right again, Ms. Marvel." He shrugged. "You were expecting
perhaps Killgrave? Sorry-- I've never looked my best in purple."
"But-- but why all this? What does Moonstone have to do with--?"
Heydrich grinned. " I've narrowed my search for the perfect Aryan superwoman down
to you and the lovely Moonstone. One of you will sit at my side as the Third Reich rises
again!"
Ms. Marvel's eyes could have melted steel. "Are you kidding me?" She glanced
at Karla. "You probably could have just asked her, and she'd have done it
willingly."
Heydrich shrugged. "I want the best. Only one of you will survive, and that one
will be mine!" He nodded to himself, satisfied. "So now you know." He
gestured at Moonstone. "Too bad it will avail you so little. Moonstone-- KILL!"
Moonstone clutched her head, her thick hair flying about madly. She cried out in anger
and rage. And then, she lunged at Ms. Marvel.
The sense of anger, of rage, of hatred washed over Carol again, as well. She grasped
Karla by the throat, and matched the villainess's cry: "KILLLLL!!!"
*****
Captain America at last managed to free himself from the horde of murderous attackers,
though his shield remained lost within the mass of humanity in the other room. He squared
off, repelling individual assailants as best he could, while doing as little permanent
damage as possible, all the while casting glances over his shoulder. He could see that Ms.
Marvel and Moonstone were now battling once again, even as Heydrich looked on, leering at
the two lithe blondes as they grappled before him.
Across the room, Ms. Marvel continued to struggle with Moonstone, and Carol's own head
had cleared a bit, though apparently Karla was having less luck escaping the mind control.
Mainly, Carol could not figure out how the villainess could find the energy to go on.
Karla was by now down to her peach-colored bra and bikini panties, and both of those were
in immediate danger of becoming casualties of the clash, as well. Carol wasn't faring much
better, either in terms of wardrobe or battle. She had been reduced to jet-black thong
panties, and half of her own bra had been ripped to the point that it did very little good
to even have it on. I'm glad the media isn't here to cover this, she thought to
herself, then immediately realized that much more serious stakes were on the line here.
At that moment, Captain America sprung from where he'd been fighting, over Carol's
head, to land beside Heydrich. The Nazi recoiled in surprise, but seemed to recover
quickly, and gestured at Cap.
"Ms. Marvel is your true enemy, Captain! Help Moonstone to finish her off!"
Cap blinked, hesitated, then whirled and stalked savagely towards Carol.
Carol swallowed hard. She was having a hard enough time with Moonstone alone-- and
after the pounding she'd taken, she wasn't exactly in the best of shape any longer. If Cap
were to join in--!
But Cap walked right past her. "Need
shield
" he muttered.
"Very good," Heydrich replied. "Whatever it takes to get the job
done."
Through the horde of now-dormant civilians he walked, stiffly. Reaching down, he
retrieved his shield, and in one smooth motion, straightened and hurled it --straight at
Carol!
"NO!" Ms. Marvel ducked. The shield sailed an inch above her head--
--and smashed into Heydrich! The Nazi clone cried out and staggered back, his
concentration broken.
Things moved very quickly then:
Ms. Marvel shoved past Moonstone and lashed out, her fist smashing into Heydrich's
chin.
As he dropped to the floor, the dark-clad villain managed to gesture.
At that moment, Ms. Marvel realized that Cap had raced up behind her.
She whirled, just as Heydrich once again seized control of Cap.
Cap's fist swung out, just missing her, and she responded by launching herself into the
air, over Heydrich's
head, to land behind him.
Cap swung his fist out at her again, but this time, Heydrich's face intervened, and the
villain collapsed as the red-gloved fist smacked him in the nose.
Cap lashed out with his shield at Carol, and again Heydrich's body intervened. This
blow broke the villain's concentration, and he relinquished control of Cap.
It all took mere seconds.
"Amazing!" Ms. Marvel shouted to Cap as she launched into the attack herself.
"You did exactly as he commanded-- attack me-- yet managed to hit him
every time!"
Heydrich fell back as the two assaulted him from different directions. Now fully aware
of his powers, and actively resisting, neither Cap nor Ms. Marvel could be fully
controlled, certainly not both at the same time, even as both were attacking him and
disrupting his concentration. With a final shout of anger, Heydrich whirled and dashed for
the exit.
"A true Nazi to the core," Cap observed as he raced after the villain.
"Fleeing like a rat once he knows his ship is sinking."
Before Cap could catch him, however, Ms. Marvel used her flight powers to reach
Heydrich first. She landed between him and the door, and greeted his startled expression
with a towering punch that nearly ripped his head off.
Cap caught him by the collar before he hit the ground, and held him aloft, glaring at
him, daring him. "Let's have some more of your hate, Heydrich! Give me the incentive
to beat you beyond what I'd normally do!"
Heydrich, eyes wide, shook his head. "No-- NO! I-- I will surrender!"
Ms. Marvel sighed. It was over. It-- wait! She glanced back, looking for
Moonstone.
Karla sat on the floor, hugging herself. One bra strap hung limply to the side; her
panties seemed to have vanished entirely. As she came to her senses, she glared at Ms.
Marvel.
"You'd better enjoy this moment, Avenger," Karla growled, "because it's
the last time you'll EVER see Moonstone humbled and humiliated!" And with that,
Moonstone phased through the floor, and vanished.
Carol sighed. She turned to Cap. "Ahh, let her go. She was just a pawn in
this, anyway--and she knows it. And I think that knowledge is at least as much a
punishment for her as anything we could do to her now."
Cap nodded. "And to think," he replied dryly, "I always figured she'd
make a good lingerie model
"
Carol socked him in the ribs.
*****
It was over.
Carol was back in her own bed in Avengers Mansion, safe and sound, not too much the
worse for wear. Some bruises still throbbed along her hips and upper arms, and her nose
hurt a little, but her lip had already healed, and she felt much, much better than she had
mere hours earlier.
She thought back to the end of the battle with Heydrich, and remembered Moonstone's
escape. "That woman was in worse shape even than me," she muttered to herself.
"I hope she wasn't hurt too badly. I would just hate that," Carol
sighed. And then, "Oops-- poor choice of words there. I'd very much dislike
that. I don't want to think about 'hate' again for a while."
And with that, she reached up, pulled the cord, and switched out the lights.