Forge made a straight line for his intricate security system. Created by him in order to protect the many sophisticated weapons and technological wonders he had invented, there was probably no greater security in a private home in the entire country. Motion detectors, bio-heat detectors, and metal detectors, combined with a super-intelligence computer system, to make sure that nothing not indigenous to this New Mexico soil toiled within a mile of his home. Forge began to press buttons, checking for any activity during the three days he had been absent, but the computer yielded no information. Still, his uneasy feelings would not abate, something in the air just didn’t feel right to him. This was the native, spiritual-side intuition telling him to beware, and he knew to heed the call.

Satisfied momentarily that the problem was neither burglars or unwanted guests, Forge made his way across the house to hie video-phone and hit the button to receive messages left for him during the past three days. As the machine began to tally the messages, Forge pulled the water bottle from his pocket and looked out the giant glass windows which covered the eastern wall of his living room. The scenery was simply magnificent. Just rising dawn, the sky was awash with deep purples and reds. Panning down, he looked at the vast expanse of cacti and scrubs which covered the miles of desert between him and his closest neighbor.

Forge turned as the machine bleeped, announcing the first message, and was unpleasantly surprised to see the red hair and glasses of one Henry Gyrich.

“Forge, it is me, Henry. The President is considering reorganizing Checkmate and he want…”

Forge quickly hit the delete button and erased that message. Whatever Henry was selling, right now Forge wanted no part of. He watched the screen as the next face elicited a much warmer feeling within him.

“Hi darling, it is me Carol. The donation you made to the Danvers Foundation was way to generous…but we’ll take it. There is a dinner here to honor all our patrons next Friday here in Los Angeles, and a certain someone promised they would be my date. The dinner is at seven, so I’ll expect you here in town by four. The guest quarters is already set-up, so don’t even think about renting a hotel room or jetting back home immediately after the dinner. No excuses! Call me. Bye darling.”

Forge smiled for the first time since he had entered his home, and almost forgot his uneasy feeling. He stared at Carol Danver’s face, admiring the beauty of it, despite all the hardships she had endured. Years as a super-heroine, followed by raising a son by herself, breast cancer, and now the running of a huge charity organization. It was hardly a wonder why she had been known as ‘Ms. Marvel’ in the olden days. She was one of Forge’s closest friends, and had been for nearly to two decades now.

Forge hit the save button and reminded himself mentally to call Carol later and tell her how beautiful she was. Then he was shocked to see his next message contained his second beautiful blonde caller in a row.

“Hello Forge, Valerie Cooper here. The boys have been going over your modifications to the new Vault designs and have a slew on questions they want to grill you with. I assume you are out communing with the coyotes so as soon as you return would you PLEASE call me so we can set up a meeting.

Oh, and I saw Ollie on Friday and he told me to tell you hello and to offer you a job at SHIELD whenever you get tired of playing your ‘lone indian game’. Hahahaha. Anyways, I have got to go, please call me SOON. Bye.”

Forge made another mental note to call Val as soon as he took a shower and changed into some clean clothes. He then pressed the machine for his final message. As the last face graced the screen, the color left his face and his heart jumped to his throat. Trouble had arrived, and it’s name was Raven Darkholme. Worse still, her face appeared to be a combination of exhaustion and worry, and that alone was another to send fear into his heart.

“Forge, honey, I hope you show up at home soon. Listen to me carefully please. Irene has become very ill as of late. I have taken her to a barrage of doctors, and none seem to know what the cause is. She is unconscious most of the time, but when she wakes she speaks nonstop of prophecies and of merging worlds and changing pathways. This morning, she awoke with a start, and began talking about you.

She said you are in great danger. She said unseen enemies plot your destruction from the shadows. She said they fear your knowledge and ability and that you must be stopped before you can expose their agenda. She said you need to go to Las Vegas and ally yourself with friends, only then will you survive the coming war with those who would hunt you.

You know I trust Irene, but please call me ASAP. Come here to New York for awhile please. Val saiys SHIELD wants you and…”

As if on cue, like a bad action movie, the home security seems suddenly starts to sound.

“Four unidentified intruders have appeared outside. Due east, fifty feet from this structure.”

Forge reacted swiftly and switched the video-phone to security visuals. He also grabbed the pistol from beneath the table. ‘Appeared’ was always a bad side, denoted teleportation or some other power, which announced trouble. As soon as the visual arose he knew he was right. The fourth person Forge didn’t know, a tall ‘man’, dressed in all white, with nothing but a black circle on his chest. The other three intruders Forge recognized from SHIELD criminal files. The one with the cracked skull mask and cybernetic arms was Skullbuster. The one that looked all handsome was Pretty Boy. The one with a tank as the lower portion of the body and carrying a missile launcher was Bonebreaker. Together, they were known as the Reavers, cyborg thieves and mercenaries of the worst type.

To make matters worse, Skullbuster was pointing towards the direction where Forge was standing, and Bonebreaker was raising his launcher, preparing to fire.

BOOOOM!!!!

Forge quickly leaped behind a nearby wall as his living room exploded into a fiery mass, searing him with heat as it crawled around the corners. Forge started to make a run down the corridor as the amplified voice of Pretty Boy filled the sickly warm area.

“Hello? Hello? Bio-reader says you’re still alive mate. Why don’t ya make it easy an jus’ give ya’self up? This ain’t nuthin personal ya understand, but we owe our benefactors a debt for these fine gadgets they gave us, and that debt turned out to be you. Some be a luv and die quickly, k?”

As Forge ran towards the stairs, leading to the basement where both his weapon’s lab and skyjet are located, he suddenly wished he had come home early from his journey, instead of late this time. Having hiked home several miles, despite the fact that he was in peak shape, he was quickly becoming tired in the repressive heat that surrounded him. As he turned to hit the stairs, a laser blast hit the wall next to him, narrowly missing his head. From the corner of his eye he saw the form of Skullbuster standing at the end of the hallway behind him.

“Don’t listen to Pretty Boy, I enjoy the hunt. Run, rabbit, run.”

Forge fired several shots from the pistol and quickly made his way down the stairs. He knew the bullets in this gun, even it they hit the target, would be little more than an annoyance, and some stronger firepower would be needed.

Forge quickly made his way down the corridor and into his ‘red room’, where he housed most of his military and high-tech invention. First he grabbed a set of infra-red goggles and quickly stammered “voice ID: Forge. Total blackout.” Suddenly, the entire basement, without the benefit of natural lighting, was bathed in complete darkness. Next, as he quickly moved amongst his gadgets, he found a belt, which would shield his personal self from any machines, which detect motion or ‘living’ heat. As he scrambled to find the weapon he was thinking would be most effective against his enemies, he heard something small roll down the stairs and settle before the door to the lab.

BOOOOM!!!

The doors to the lab were melted to piles of goo as the vicious heat grenade stuck them, leaving the room exposed. As Forge found the weapon he was looking for amidst the chaos, a familiar voice immerged in the hallway.

“Be a good man and let me…”

Skullbuster never finished his message as Forge fired his weapon. Instinctively dodging behind the wall, Skullbuster was surprised to see the fist-sized profectile fly around the corner and firmly attach itself to one of his metallic arms. Suddenly a massive surge of electricity surged through his body and ‘buster fell to the ground, unconscious and smoking.

Seeing this as his best chance to escape, Forge made his way into the hallway and attempted to make his way to the launching room which contained his personal skyjet. Almost there, he was rocked by an explosion, as a laser blast tore most of his robotic arm from his body, burying shrapnel into his abdomen and nearly ending his flight right there.

Moving on pure adrenaline, Forge didn’t wait for whichever Reaver was behind him to fire another shot. Quickly, he leaped into the launching room and sealed the thick metal doors behind him. Knowing he only had seconds to spare, he quickly leaped upon his skyjet and opened the doors to the outside, hoping that none of his enemies were standing outside.

As the jet took off to the sky, Forge became aware that his home contained too many gadgets that the reavers could exploit in their evil ways, and sadly, made the following decree to his remote computers.

“Voice ID; Forge. Total Destruction. Code 8375309”

BBBOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Forge’s home was suddenly nothing but a giant fiery ball in the middle of the New Mexico desert. He hoped that the Reavers were trapped inside, but considering that the fourth member of their team was probably some sort-of teleporter, he doubted he had such good fortune today.

As the mind-numbing pain began to throb on the side of his body Forge had several thought come to his head. First, he needed to build an even better security system next time. Second, this was sure gonna put a crimp in some pretty ladies’ plans for him. Third, after he got some medical attention, it looked like he would be making a trip the the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas.

The End