Death of Bishop part 1: King Takes Bishop feat. Wither

King Takes Bishop feat. Wither
Japan was gorgeous, he couldn’t make it over to the island in 2299 so he took the first chance he got… several years after landing in the 21st century. He was a busy man, the team needed him when they didn’t have an isolated sanctuary to call home. Now that Krakoa was in existence and skeeving Lucas the-hell-out, he had some more time. Figures he caught the SHIELD gig not long after leaving the paradise behind, life was funny like that sometimes. Lucas was suiting up every other night, hitting the town in the metallic purple and black, battering the sh*t out of any threat to the city. He did his best to keep to uptown, he respected The Defenders too much to interfere with their well-oiled machine. Two years, two years straight of dedicated heroics without fail all thanks to his mutant abilities backing him up. It was a rough adjustment, being a mask held a completely different code of conduct that came with it. Nevermind being contracted by SHIELD and helping with black ops missions when he wasn’t being Missulena. His biggest bust came when he took down Chameleon’s latest plot to take over both Fisk Industries and Roxxon simultaneously. Later that week, he assisted Clint and Natasha in a covert recon mission on Latverian soil; it was the first time in a long time Lucas felt comfortable. It had been far too long since he held a firearm in his hands. Though it was nice to be in the comfortable shoes of a potential firefight, he was really taking to hero work. 

 His Fury-sanctioned reprieve was only a couple days so there would be no waiting for a flight, not a commercial one anyway. Taking off with his bag over his arm, a hot pink streak shooting across the sky with a confident speed he never thought he’d attain considering how uneasy flying used to make him feel. Now, even at these high speeds, the wind didn’t bother his eyes anymore. The trip didn’t even take that long, half an hour wasn’t bad for the novice. Touching down on a rooftop of Kushori port, he smiled brightly. He still had a little bit to go before he hit his first city but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy his first moments on the faraway land.

 Lucas didn’t get to do so much as touch the ground before he heard a massive explosion in the distance. "Bloody f***ing hell, I haven’t even seen my first arcade yet." He took a charged leap from his landing point to an adjacent roof. Skipping a building here or there with a massive powered jump. Coming up on the commotion, there was a shipment being interrupted and potentially absconded with. He wasn't on the clock or have his costume, but what the hell, when's the next time he'll get to fight crime in Japan right? So Lucas sighed, dropping his bag on the warehouse roof and stretching momentarily. Tossing himself off the roof he landed not far from the epicenter of the issue.

 Landing just before the imploded cab of the freight truck, he didn't need to do much of an inspection to know the driver was dead. “Goddammit,” he sighed and turned to the only other living person at the incident site. “(What the bloody hell is goin on here exactly?)” Lucas’ cerebral implant assisted Lucas in the phonetic translation. The words and phrasing were correct, it just came out much slower than the pace of a fluid speaker. A long shadow casting down the pavement by the flaming wreckage, the stranger’s silhouette was strange, it was a rather unique costume choice, to say the least. That was when the energy of the man stole his attention away from the scene itself. “(Mate, what are you?)” Lucas had never encountered someone with a ‘quirk’ before, and Shigaraki was about to leave one hell of a first impression. 

Deceptively quick was the stranger, before Lucas knew it, he was staring down the projectile part of the RPG. Ripping the energy from the wreck’s flames, fueling a burst of speed Lucas used to close the distance between him and Mr. Hands. Irises and hands glowing wildly with neon orchid, the powered punch connected with the chin of the pale assailant. The weapon clattered to the ground and Lucas ignored it entirely, focussing on the strange man. “So what’s your gimmick, hand fetish? Is touch your strongest sense?” Lucas was kidding, the dry and bothersome sense of wit still dripping off him. Kneeling down to inspect the stranger, he let his guard down and caught a hand himself. “Yeah. It is.” The stranger said as he grasped the fabric cladding the mutant soldier. “I have a killer grip.” The hold on his shirt wasn’t impressive, its effect however was surprising. Fading into dead flakes, the homemade X-men shirt peeling away into nothing. “AGH!” Lucas pulled his arm away, the skin deteriorating and flaking until muscle and tendon were revealed. “That-...that’s not good.” His body was desperately trying to counter the effect of the man’s touch crawling up his arm. 

 Launching himself backward in an attempt to create distant, searing pain ripping up his arm. The uncorrupted arm extended, an open palm firing in the direction of the assailant. *VORMM VORMM VORMM* the projectiles blasted forth with a loud distorted sound with every neon pink orb launched. The situation was slipping from his grasp, but Lucas had a couple of plans brewing in the back of his mind. All the while trying to negate whatever effect was taking place across his left arm. Nothing was working and if he wasn’t quick he’d lose the whole damn thing. Lucas would take no chances, after the devastating effect of just one touch he knew that distance would be a welcome ally. Rocketing into the air, his vision blurring as focus became a resource his body couldn’t afford. Before he knew it, the sound of the launching warhead caused Lucas to turn, dreadfully familiar energy emitting from the missile as it drew dangerously close. It was an anti-matter payload, a volatile material that when made explosive had energy-zapping properties. There was no time to react, no time to think, the flash of white light was all Lucas could perceive. He didn’t even hear the blast. 

 It's funny, Bishop had died before, three times if he remembered correctly. The first time, his ability of energy absorption was entirely overwhelmed in a fight with Bastion. All to save Gambit and Cable, worth it, but it was by far the worst pain he had ever endured. It felt like being ripped from the inside out, while being on fire. Definitely the worst.

 The second time… the second time is a long story. Cliff notes, his quest to keep the timeline from reaching his future drove him to insanity. Chasing Cable and baby Hope across time. Would you kill a child to save millions? Lucas tried to, died trying. Alone on an Earth with a red sun, 6700 AD. Hacked tech infecting his brain, like lightning combing through his skull. He really hoped he could just rest after that. No such luck.

 This wasn't so bad all things considered. Oh, it was agony, unadulterated anguish that seemed to exist inside him as well as all around. It was instant at least, reducing him to atoms without so little as the smallest trace left. Anti-matter was quite effective on Lucas, it was the high powered magnet to his body's hard drive. They just didn't mix.

 The sound explosion was meager, everything else not so much. With a sky-covering light from the blast was a bright, hot red hue. The aftershock was absolutely monumental, with a clap strong enough to warp the metal of every nearby structure. The crack of the sound barrier being broken was so loud it quieted the immediate area long after it passed. Everything immediately underneath the explosion buckled with its force and split the docks with a small army of immense fissures. 

 And just like that, Lucas Bishop was wiped from the face of the planet.

 || I want to thank Wither (1624593) for co-writing this with me, I had so much fun working on this with them. I have wanted to kill Bishop for so long, to see how I would do that old comic troupe of the death and return of a character. Check out the events from his perspective in his drabble. Give him an add maybe to seek revenge, maybe to buy him a drink as a token of appreciation. Regardless he’s talented and deserves the love. 
Part 2 will be coming soon, whenever it’s ready.