Post by Drake on Oct 6, 2013 19:19:10 GMT -5
#5: Assemble
Additionally, the Masters of Evil had another peculiarity: their sixth member, a glowing green man everyone recognized.
“Go ahead and head out whenever, Captain,” Johnny shouted from the pilot’s seat.
Captain America shouted back thanks, then paused to address his fellow men-at-arms. “Alright, people, this is it. And if you plan on surviving this fight, I want you to listen to and follow every single one of my commands.”
“First off, keep moving. Don’t stay engaged with one target for too long. Confuse them and work together. They out power us without a doubt, but if we keep them on their toes then our chances of living to see another day double.”
“That being said, Captain Marvel, I want you to spend most of your time containing Boreman. You’re the only one powerful enough to slow him down consistently.” Carol nodded in response.
“Stark, I want you starting on Dr. Doom. You both use technology as your weapon of choice, so it should be easiest for you to predict and react to his moves. That being said, remember, don’t stay locked up with him for too long.”
“Aye aye, Cap’n,” Tony agreed.
“Pym, take David Cannon. Find out what he’s doing here and if he’s on our side. If he’s not…well, you know what to do.” Cap ordered. He paused, and then turned to Janet, “I don’t want you anywhere near David. This is too personal for you. If certain calls need to be made…well, I don’t want you making them.” Janet nodded solemnly.
“Storm, pick your battles wisely,” Cap finished.
“With that being said…” He motioned to Captain Marvel, who grabbed ahold of the back of his costume and flew out of the jet, “…Avengers GO!”
“We need to work on the battle cry,” Stark quipped as he flew after the captains. The rest of the Avengers followed, Janet flying Hank downwards. The two were left in the dust as the other Avengers flew speedily towards the battlefield. Janet’s wings just couldn’t move the two of them that quickly. But it worked to Janet’s favor. She needed to talk to Hank.
“Hank, I’m coming with you to talk to David,” Janet said.
“What?” Hank exclaimed, struggling to not move, lest he cause Janet to drop him, “That goes strictly against Captain America’s…”
“Captain America is an old blow hard. He doesn’t get it,” Janet grimaced. She believed her words too.
“Janet…”
“Hank, don’t,” Janet warned. Hank sighed, but didn’t say another word. At least this way he could protect Janet. But with that thought, Hank realized he needed to warn her about something.
“Janet, I have a theory about our powers…the Pym Particles,” Hank began.
“Is this really the time for that?” Janet growled, her mind focused on the confrontation ahead.
“Yes, it is. I…I need to warn you. I think David might want to kill you. And me,” Hank finished.
“What?” Janet exclaimed.
Hank explained, “The Pym Particles…I think, when we interact with them, when we get our powers, they take whatever emotion it is that we’re experiencing during that moment and heighten it. Make it a major part of who we are. David…I don’t know what he was feeling at the time of his mutation, but more than likely it wasn’t good. With what you told me about what happened…your fight…”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Janet argued, “It’ll be fine. I mean, it’s just a theory, right? You haven’t proved it.”
“Janet…” But it was no use. The woman wouldn’t have it. Hank sighed. He’d been testing and theorizing about his powers since he’d gotten them. And the more he thought, and the more he tested, the more he realized he always was driven by one prevalent desire: to survive. And that was precisely how he had felt before he mutated. It was more than likely why he had adapted an ability that allowed him to hide. Due to Janet’s similarities in abilities, he could only assume she had felt the same. And Brian…well, his appearance explained enough. But David…Hank had to admit he didn’t know enough about his mutation to judge him accordingly, but still…
Meanwhile, Captain America was caught in mortal combat with the Mandarin. Dodge left. Then right. He had no opening for an attack. But what was worse…Mandarin seemed to be toying with him, as if he had more tricks than just explosive elemental blasts hidden up his sleeve.
“You are weak, patriot,” Mandarin called, “No fun at all.”
“I’ll show you fun,” Cap growled, using his shield to block one of the Mandarin’s ice blasts. From his shield to his shoulder ice covered all it contacted, but it gave Cap time to charge the Mandarin, landing a vicious kick to the groin. Without his rings, he had nothing, no combat experience at all. Cap could use that to his advantage.
“That…hurt…” Mandarin admitted, rising to his feet. Cap tried to keep him from standing, but found himself unable to move. He struggled, but he couldn’t bring himself to even take a step. “That would be my doing,” The Mandarin explained. He pointed to a ring on his left ring finger, “The Mind Ring. One of ten devices so advanced even your friend Stark wouldn’t be able to understand the most basic technologies inside.”
The Mandarin had made his point. Steve was way outgunned and outsmarted. But that only drove Steve to anger. His entire life people had tried to put him down, calling him names, calling him stupid. And since he’d come to this time, 2013, he couldn’t help but feel stupid AND useless. He knew nothing of the morals, the technology, or the people of this time. BUT he did know one thing. He knew an overly proud villain when he saw one.
“You’re nothing, Mandarin,” Cap growled, discovering speech was the only movement the Mandarin appeared to allow with the ring.
“What?”
“You heard me. You’re nothing. A weakling. If you didn’t have me frozen like this, there’s no way you could beat me, and you know that!” Cap yelled.
“How dare you say that?” Mandarin roared. Cap felt his body loosen. He could move. But that wasn’t the extent of his plan. And it was about to come to fruition.
“Let’s fight, one on one, man to man,” Cap declared.
“Agreed,” Mandarin growled. He raised his hand, beginning to unleash his next ring: the Disintegration Ring.
And that’s when he was hit by a five hundred pound monster. Devil Hulk, precisely.
“Ooh, I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Iron Man looked at his handy work, dusting off his hands (or, rather, gauntlets). It was simple enough after he discovered Cap’s plight: he had engaged Devil Hulk from behind, and blasted him towards the Mandarin. And now he had an unconscious Mandarin and a…shit! Iron Man flew away to dodge an incoming angry hulk.
Luckily, he was saved by the timely intervention of Captain Marvel, who, after briefly switching opponents with Stark, tackled Devil Hulk out of the air. “Down, boy,” Marvel quipped after they came to a stop inside a china shop.
“Shut up, bitch!” Devil Hulk kicked Marvel off of him, launching the hero through two buildings.
But, miraculously Captain Marvel wasn’t seriously hurt. Things seemed to be going well, in their favor even. Carol’s hopes strengthened.
And then she noticed the villain standing over her.
“Hello, Carol,” Moonstone grinned wickedly.
Elsewhere, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne had just landed in front of David Cannon, who, until this point, had looked down onto the fight with apathy. Only then did the duo notice David’s armor, which was colored the same sickly neon green as his body. Both wondered why he wore it.
“It keeps my power contained,” David explained, as if reading their minds. “Otherwise, it would go out of control and shortly afterwards I would cease to be anything other than a trillion scattered molecules in the air.”
“David…” Janet held her hand over her heart, and then ran towards David. She reached out to him, about to embrace him when he roared, “DON’T!”
“…Don’t.” David sighed, and looked into Janet’s eyes. What Janet saw would stick with her forever. Empty sockets, glowing green with power, stared emptily back at her, judging her as if she was in front of the gates of heaven. But this man was by no means heavenly.
“You betrayed me, Janet…” David began to walk away, crossing his arms behind his back. “And now I’m going to kill you and your old boy toy for it.”
“David, please,” Janet begged, tears threatening to come bursting out, “I never meant to hurt you. And…and…I still love you.”
“LOVE ME!” David cracked again, “Love me? Janet, you never really loved me. It was all an act. I know that now. He showed me.”
“What? Who showed you?” Janet asked.
“The Man From the Future. The Savior. Kang.” David emotionlessly replied. But before Janet could reply, he began again, “You know, Janet, at the time of our mutation, seconds before we were born again, I wanted nothing more than to save you. And the miracle particles that Pym so aptly named after himself…they gave me the ability to. Now,” David held his hand up and tightened it into a fist. Energy erupted around him, swirling like a tornado. “Now, Janet, I am a being of pure energy, a god among men. And I have discovered my true calling to save the world. Just as I desired to protect you, I now desire to protect every single living being on Earth.”
He paused and then turned to Hank and Janet. Both began to sweat. The sheer power emanating from David was unlike anything either of them had felt before. It brought forth one emotion and one emotion only: fear.
“To do that I must kill you both.” David unleashed two whirlwinds of energy upon the heroes, but he never had a chance to hit them. They had both instinctively shrunk down and run away.
“Of course! How apt! You run away like the bugs you are!” David laughed maniacally as he floated into the sky. His whirlwinds below exploded. This only caused his laughter to grow, “You know, I can see in all the different spectrums. I can find you no matter how small you are!”
And he unleashed one single whirlwind upon the ground, but it was giant.
And it was right on target.
A
Meanwhile, the battle was leaning away from the Avengers’ favor. Carol had been beaten senseless by Moonstone and Devil Hulk, and now lay near unconscious in the side of a building. Iron Man and Human Torch stood in front of her protectively, but they were quickly being surrounded by Captain Marvel’s assailants and Dr. Doom. However, things weren’t a total failure. Captain America had subdued the Red Skull. From his position a couple dozen yards away, Cap saw what was happening. He ran towards his comrades.
“Not on my watch,” Cap whispered, throwing his shield at Dr. Doom. The projectile launched the unsuspecting Doom into Moonstone, who fell over onto Devil Hulk’s feet. Before any of the villains had a chance to counter attack Iron Man unleashed a volley of explosives, hitting them all. Devil Hulk and Moonstone came out of it virtually unscathed, but Doom did not. His armor was near inoperable. This gave the Human Torch the perfect opportunity to unleash a torrential fire blast, driving the two invincible villains back, and Doom to unconsciousness, physically incapable of taking any more pain.
By this point, Cap had reached the group. He launched himself at Moonstone, picking up his shield as he did so. He slammed the shield into her face, knocking her a dozen feet away. However, before he had a chance to move, Devil Hulk punched him in the stomach, launching him directly into Carol, who grunted at the sudden contact..
“Sorry,” Cap whispered, standing up to reenter the battle. Carol mumbled inaudibly in response.
Meanwhile, Devil Hulk and Iron Man were going at it, while Human Torch and Moonstone flew through the air, exchanging fire and energy blasts.
“This time you don’t get away alive, Stark,” Devil Hulk grunted. He smashed the ground, causing a huge crack to open up between Iron Man’s feet.
“VISION, thrusters.” The Iron Avenger launched into the sky at the last second, circling around Devil Hulk. He unleashed a torrent of explosives but they didn’t slow the monster-man in the slightest. Devil Hulk swatted the air around him, attempting to hit Iron Man, however he was unsuccessful. Stark always managed to stay just a little out of his reach.
That’s when Cap rejoined the battle, slamming his shield onto Devil Hulk’s head. The monster roared, swinging his fists chaotically. Cap flipped down and rolled under his legs, swinging his shield upwards and hitting Devil Hulk in the crotch.
“RRRRAAAGGGHHH!” Devil Hulk cried, only to get a mouthful of repulsor beams. This seemed to affect him. He collapsed to the ground and threw up sickly green-blue blood. This weakness did not go unnoticed.
“Stark…” Cap began.
“Don’t even have to tell me,” Iron Man said. He flew down and under Devil Hulk, attempting to reach his mouth. The monstrous mutate knocked away Iron Man with a quick swipe of his hand.
“Cap, I need a hand. Or two,” Iron Man quipped, pushing himself out of some debris.
“On it,” Cap ran up to Devil Hulk, picking up a piece of a broken light post as he did so. Devil Hulk roared and slammed his fists towards where Cap was running. The Star Spangled Patriot hopped over his fists, carrying the metal rod like the flag on Iwo Jima.
“BBIIIITTTT-“ Devil Hulk’s crude words were interrupted by Cap, who shoved the rod into his mouth, forcing it open. Iron Man flew down and hovered before the mutate.
“Unibeam, 100%.”
“Yes, sir,” VISION responded.
Iron Man’s central core lit up as an explosive burst of energy erupted down Devil Hulk’s throat. It did not pierce the other side, but it caused enough pain for Boreman’s brain to temporarily shut down, knocking him unconscious.
“Eat laser, asshole,” Stark grunted.
A
Elsewhere, right as Captain America had entered the battle with Devil Hulk, Carol Danvers had managed to force herself off the ground, shake off the concussion rocking her head and join the fight with Moonstone. The Human Torch had been unsuccessful up until this point in damaging the villainess, as she simply absorbed any flames he sent at her into her moonstone.
“Storm, out of the way,” Captain Marvel called out as she flew past Torch and into Moonstone, knocking her into the roof of a building. The roof collapsed under the force, crumbling down into the room below. Cries rang out through the night. There were people inside!
“Oh God, no!” Carol whispered, throwing Moonstone away before she could react. She pulled out some of the debris, where she found half a dozen people, presumably a family, waiting for her.
“Madre de dios! Por favor, ayudale! Ayudale!” The eldest woman cried as she looked over her son, who had a long gash over his chest.
“Whoa, hold on,” Carol rocked her brain for what little Spanish she knew, “Ayudo you. I mean…I. Will. Help. You.” She covered the boy’s wound with her hands and called out, “Storm, get over here now!”
“Here,” Johnny answered, as he hovered down next to her.
“Close the wound,” Carol cried out, as the entire rest of the family huddled together, crying and praying.
“What?” Johnny exclaimed.
“Just…just make a firebeam…smaller! I don’t know! Close the damn wound! You’re the expert!” Carol silently prayed, something she hadn’t done since Walter and the baby had died.
“Oh God…” Johnny was nearly hyperventilating. He slowed his breathing, forcing his hands to steady. He raised it over the boy’s chest, the smallest bit of fire flowing from his hand.
And then the building shook and the floor fell out from under them. Everyone fell to the ground, including Carol and Johnny, who were too shocked to fly away quickly enough.
Once the debris cleared, Carol made out one clear silhouette: Moonstone. But she didn’t have time to spend glaring at the woman. Carol turned to the family. Miraculously, Johnny had managed to pull them away from the falling debris while they fell. Nobody appeared hurt. But…
“No…nonononono!”
The injured boy, no more than ten years old, lay on the ground, not breathing.
“No! Felipe! Dios!” the father cried.
“That’s what happens when you get in my way, Carol,” Moonstone grinned wickedly.
Carol slowly turned back to the villain, shaking with anger, her face cherry red. Not another one…not another child…NO!
Carol erupted from the ground and slammed her fists into Moonstone’s chest. “YOU KILLED HIM!” The two went soaring over the street and into the side of a vending machine. “YOU KILLED HIM!” Carol cried again.
Moonstone coughed. She’d never been hit that hard…what the hell?
“You want my fucking powers?” Carol screamed, raising her fists glowing yellow with power, “TAKE THEM!” Carol slammed her hands down onto Moonstone’s chest and energy erupted into the woman. Power coursed effortlessly into her moonstone, but this time something was wrong. The moonstone was cracked. Broken.
“Stop…the power…I can’t…AAIIIEEE!!” Karla Sofen let out one final cry of pain before the moonstone on her chest exploded in a burst of golden light and she fainted.
Only after she gave out one final burst of energy, Carol stopped. And then, slowly, she stood up over Sofen’s unconscious body and cried.
“Carol!”
The rambunctious heroine whipped around, tears rushing down her face, “Storm, don’t! Don’t…”
“Oh my God.” Carol dropped down to her knees. Johnny walked over to her, carrying in his arms a very hurt, very alive unconscious child.
“He was still alive. I sealed the wound and he…he’s going to be fine. I-I think,” Johnny smiled. The family of the boy walked up after him, smiling.
“Thank God,” Carol looked down over the boy’s peaceful expression, “Thank God…”
“Then thank me!”
Carol was knocked down to the ground by a force that felt like a thousand tons. Iron Man and Captain America had both been launched onto the hero by the quite powerful, quite angry David Cannon.
Both male heroes groaned as Carol shoved them off of her, standing up to meet the high-powered individual. “You think you’re a god? What sort of tool did Janet date?!” Carol cried out rhetorically. She paused briefly to turn to the family and motion them away. They did as was intended, the father carrying his injured son carefully in his arms.
“I assure you, Miss Danvers, I am not overstating my power. I am a god, and thus it is my quest to protect my children from harm. The greatest harm to ever befall my children will come at the Avengers’ hands, so it goes without saying that I need to kill you,” David explained, already building a whirlwind of energy in his hand.
“Asshole,” Johnny muttered. Iron Man and Captain America stood up to meet their comrades.
“This is the guy Janet was obsessed with?” Stark muttered incredulously.
“Where is Janet?” Captain America finally noticed her absence, “And Pym?”
“That would be my doing,” David Cannon lifted his other hand up to show the two unconscious bodies of Ant Man and the Wasp. “My savior, Kang, wants to see Hank before he kills him, and Janet…well…” David paused to look at the woman, his expression unreadable.
Captain America began, “David…please, you don’t have to do this. You’ve been lied to. Whatever this Kang fellow has told you…”
“SHUT UP!” David roared, launching his whirlwind at Captain America. The super soldier was saved by his wartime instincts, barely managing to dive out of the way of the explosion.
“You know nothing of Kang or the message he brings! He has come from the future to save our world, not to destroy it, and to do that he…we must kill the Avengers!” David seemed to disappear suddenly, Pym and Janet left to fall to the ground. Johnny ran up and caught them. And then David appeared again and this time he did not miss.
Both Captain America and Captain Marvel were caught in two of his whirlwinds, knocked effortlessly into cars on opposing sides of the street. Johnny gently put the two unconscious shrunken heroes on the ground before turning to confront Cannon, but the posthuman energy generator teleported in front of him and slammed him into the side of a building. Spots filled Johnny’s vision as he slumped into Cannon’s grip.
Until this point, everything had happened too quickly for Iron Man to even process what had occurred. But now, Cannon gave him enough of an opening to attack. He unleashed a volley of repulsor blasts at the villain. Cannon simply raised his hand, still holding Johnny, and absorbed the energy.
“I am untouchable, unstoppable, more powerful than even Kang. What hope then would you have Tony Stark?” David mused, throwing Johnny to the side.
“What does that mean?” Tony asked.
“If only you knew…” David chuckled, approaching Stark. The Iron Avenger unleashed every weapon in his arsenal. David simply took it all. Nothing could hurt him.
“You never give up, do you…? I suppose it makes sense. He is quite stubborn too,” David wrapped his hand around Tony’s metallic throat and lifted him off the ground, “You’re lucky, Tony, Kang wants you alive.”
“What? Why?!” Tony wondered out loud.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” David cryptically said. He dropped Stark to the ground, who crumpled down hopelessly. For once, Tony Stark was speechless.
“Now excuse me as I go kill the rest of your friends. Well, most of them any….”
“HULK SMASH!”
Out of nowhere, soaring down from the sky above, Hulk slammed down into David Cannon. And he was not alone, Spider-Man followed him down to the ground, swinging on his weblines.
“Whoowee. I’m glad I was not on the receiving end of that one,” Spider-Man quipped, landing beside Iron Man.
“Spider-Man…?” Stark muttered.
“The one and only. Well…the second and, uh, second, but you know…” Spider-Man rubbed his head embarrassedly.
And then Hulk was launched off the thought-defeated David Cannon.
“YOU IDIOT MONSTER!” David Cannon floated into the air, metal crumbling down to the ground, “What have you done?! My armor…it’s broken! Without it…”
He didn’t need to say another word. The energy exploding from his body spoke for him. Suddenly, all at once, emerald green energy burst from the ground and erupted randomly in a one block radius. Spider-Man leaped away right before one exploded at his feet.
“AAAGGGGHHH!!!” David cried as energy leaked from his body.
Hulk leaped through the air and slammed his fists down upon Cannon’s head, who crumpled under the force. “Shut up, you god damned loud fuck,” Hulk grumbled.
By this point, everyone but Pym and Janet had awoken and managed to get to their feet. Cap trudged towards the Hulk. “Spider-Man, why…”
“It’s cool, guys. He’s on our side. For now,” Spider-Man cheerfully said.
“RRRrrgghhh…Enemy of my enemy shit,” Hulk growled, “But get in my way and Hulk’ll smash ya, hear me?”
“Yes, sir,” Cap said incredulously. He turned to look at David Cannon’s unconscious body. It still leaked energy, albeit much less explosively now. “Stark, what do we do about Cannon?”
“Leave him to the proper authorities, once they get here,” Stark replied.
“I’m assuming you mean me.”
All eyes diverted to the sky. Hulk growled. High above, Kang, the armored warrior from the future, floated to the ground.
“It seems you defeated my Masters of Evil. Not surprising there. They were never very tough in my time,” Kang admitted.
“Your time…? What does that mean? What is this about?” Carol got to the point.
“Tell us now or Hulk smashes your brains out,” Hulk grunted.
“Heh,” Kang dryly laughed, “Same old, same old. Oh, these were the days. The team together, happy and kicking ass. Except…” Kang looked towards Johnny Storm and Spider-Man, “There are a few differences.”
“DAVID!” All attention was diverted to the sudden awakening of Janet van Dyne, who ran to her unconscious boyfriend’s side. “Oh God!”
“Janet, wait, he’s unstable. You need to stay away from him!” Hank slid to the ground next to Janet, pulling her away. She struggled against him. They both seemed oblivious to anything other than each other and the unconscious powerhouse in front of them.
“Ah, and the oh-so-adorable couple. The gorgeous, intelligent Janet van Dyne and the despicably horrible, stupid, ignorant, irrational little shit that is Hank Pym,” Kang mused, the smallest hint of anger expressed.
Their names being said seemed to draw Hank and Janet’s attention towards Kang.
“Who are you?” Hank asked, repeating what Carol had said just a bit earlier.
“That is the question, isn’t it, oh traitor of mankind,” Kang acknowledged.
“What do you mean ‘traitor of mankind’? I’ve done nothing but create things that help. I would never…” Hank was interrupted by Kang, who seemed only to be amused.
“Oh yes, Mr. Perfect. You’ve never ever done anything wrong in your perfect little life. Not even in the slightest, But, Mr. Perfect, not matter how good you think you are, it will come. And if not out of you, then someone else,” Kang turned to the rest of the Avengers.
“Shut up!” Janet cried out, throwing a rock at Kang, which bounced harmlessly off a forcefield around his armor, “Ever since you came…ever since Hank had these damned dreams about you, everything’s fallen apart!”
“She ain’t lying,” Carol agreed, “How do we know you aren’t here to kill off humanity or take over the world.”
“Once I’m done with you all, I won’t exist to ‘take over the world.’ But I do love the speculating, Carol. Still quite aggressive. Makes me feel so nostalgic,” Kang mused.
“Stop with this cryptic riddle nonsense and be straight with us,” Captain America spoke up.
“Yeah!” Spider-Man cried supportively. Cap shook his head, quieting him.
“You want to know who I am? Why I am here?” Kang asked.
“Hell yeah we do,” Tony began, “We’ve heard nothing but messianic bullshit from you and David over there. What is this about? What apocalypse are we supposed to bring to the World? And why can’t we just avoid it without dying?”
Kang paused briefly, the shortest second of silence ripping up everyone’s insides, before saying, “I know you, Tony. I know all of you. I know that no matter what I tell you, no matter what I say, one of you will find a way to bring on the apocalypse. It’s an important part of the timeline directly linked to your lives. It will happen as long as all of you exist. I’ve witnessed it multiple times, more than I care to even think about. But that is over. The times of death will end, and a day of new life and new hopes will begin.”
“How the hell do you know us?” Tony roared, “What the hell happened? Who are you?”
“You want to know who I am? How I know you? Well, Tony, it’s quite simple…” Kang’s helmet slid away to expose a face all of the Avengers recognized. It was different. Older, scarred, but still all too recognizable. The dark hair, the smooth beard, the face any actor would die for. It all belonged to one person and one person alone.
“I know you because I am you, Tony Stark.”
Kang’s helmet slid back up to hide his scarred face, “Wasn’t it obvious? The suit? The knowledge? The pride? My God, Steve, we were best friends. I’d have thought that at least you would have guessed it.”
“You’re right,” Captain America crossed his arms, “your pretentious attitude should have given it away.”
“It damn well should have!” present Stark agreed. And then Tony made a decision that would change the face of the earth forever. He stood up and declared, “Fuck you, Kang and fuck your god damned beautiful face!” He nodded towards Cap. “Let’s kick his ass…”
Kang struggled to understand the brash thinking. He would never have been so bold… “Are you joking, Tony, you have no…”
“AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!” Cap declared, and on that day so unlike any other the Avengers did just that. They fought together as one against a common threat. On that day, finally, truly, the Avengers were born, and until the day they died they would combat evil no single hero could withstand alone.
But in that moment, that short, brief moment, they could not succeed. Not against the man with the power to freely move through time.
The Captains teamed together, Marvel throwing America towards Kang. His vibranium shield bounced harmlessly off Kang’s forcefield. The warlord blasted the oh-so helpless Captain to the ground, where he lay beaten. Or should have, anyway. Captain America never truly gave up, and when the hand of the also injured Spider-Man was held out towards him, he took it, and the two rejoined a battle fought not over the world, but their own personal freedom and lives.
“You know, I’d thought I’d seen it all: monsters, powers, the like, but man! Freaking time traveling Tony! It’s like something out of Doctor Who!” Spider-Man quipped as he swung around Kang. The warlord swatted him out of the sky.
“Do you all not see how helpless you are against me? I have ten times the power of all of you combined,” Kang laughed.
“Is this really how I sound?” Iron Man asked.
“Every damn second,” Hank Pym noted, before being shot to the ground by an energy blast.
“God, I’m an ass. In other news, the sky is blue.” Before Stark could make another quip, his suit shut down. Literally in half a second he could do nothing but fall to the ground, helpless.
“I control your suit now, Tony,” Kang flinched slightly as Hulk punched his forcefield. “Let’s see how your friends like it when they have to fight you.”
Iron Man’s suit lit up again, and as Kang said, Tony had no control. He rocketed towards Hulk, knocking him into a thankfully abandoned building.
“Tin Man is no friend of Hulk! Hulk has no friends!” The Green Goliath pulled the armor off his chest and smashed it into the ground. He did it again. And again.
“AGH!” Tony cried from inside. The suit had already shut down, broken beyond repair. Hulk didn’t seem to care.
“Way I see it, you die, Kang dies, right?” Hulk explained, “Sucks to be you.”
“Hulk, stop it!” Janet cried out, hovering in front of the brute’s face.
“Shut up, whore,” Hulk tried to flick Janet away. She flew around his hand and towards his head.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” Janet mumbled as she flew hands first into the Hulk’s ear. Once inside, she began to pound on his eardrum. The Hulk roared, scratching at his ears.
“GET THE HELL OUT!” Hulk pinched his nose and took a deep breath, before popping his ears, unleashing a torrent of air that blew the Wasp out.
“AAAIIEEE!!” Janet screamed, as she rocketed to the ground, moving too quickly to stop by flying. Suddenly, her movement stopped. For half a second, she thought she’d been squashed to a pulp, but when she looked up, she knew that wasn’t even close to the truth. Hank Pym held her in his hand, grinning down towards her.
“I’ve got you,” Hank assured her. Janet just smiled in response.
“Uh, guys, not the time!” Spider-Man swung overhead. He landed atop Hulk’s head, the beast raging like never before. “We’ve got a REALLY angry Hulk he-AH!”
Hulk threw Spider-Man into a building. The webbed wonder didn’t get back up.
“Look at how they kill each other for me!” Kang mused, as he punched Captain America into the ground, “Look at my power! My strength! I am the strongest being alive!”
“Rrr!” Hulk suddenly turned to Kang.
Cap looked between Kang and Hulk as he lay sprawled on the ground, “Big mistake, son,” he said to Kang, “Hulk doesn’t take competition well.”
As if on queue, Hulk spread his arms out wide and roared, “Kang thinks he’s the strongest there is! Wrong!” Hulk jumped towards Kang.
“Beast, you think you can hurt me! My forcefield is invinci…” Kang was silenced as Hulk slammed his fists down atop him. His invisible shield cracked and broke. Hulk wrapped his arms around Kang’s throat, as the warlord wailed, “No…no! You don’t know what you’re doing! We need to…”
“HULK IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS!” And with a swift movement, Kang’s neck was broken and he fell to the ground, dead and defeated.
But trouble was far from gone. Hulk turned to his next target: the Avengers.
“Damn…” Cap cursed. Carol met the other Captain, followed by Pym, Wasp, and Storm.
“Avengers…” Captain America raised his shield. Hulk roared.
“ASSEMBLE!”
But before a step could be taken, before damage could be done, the battle ended.
Hulk fell to the ground with a thump, a purple arrow stuck in his neck. Within a few seconds, he returned to the weakly form of Bruce Banner.
“What the hell?” Captain Marvel wondered.
“Just take it as a token of friendship…and recompense.”
All of the remaining Avengers turned around simultaneously, only to meet the gaze of one Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD.
“Fury…” Captain Marvel whispered wickedly.
“What do you want, Director?” Captain America asked.
“Nothing, Captain,” Fury held his hand up. A nearly invisible black line plummeted to the ground and met his hand. Fury took hold of the rope and headed up to a helicopter high above the city, “Just doing my job: saving the world.”
Captain America just stood by idly, watching the helicopter fly off into the new dawn. But his peace was not to last.
“Um…Captain,” Hank Pym drew the war hero’s attention, “The villains are gone.”
“What?” Captain America scanned the battlefield, and surely enough they were nowhere in sight.
With that final word, the Battle of New York ended, and so began a new age.
An age of heroes.
A
The sun rose slowly over the Manhattan skyline as two men stood on the porch of a large, antique mansion overlooking the gates just a hundred yards away. Reporters filed about just beyond the gates, waiting to be let in.
“Are you sure about this? Stark Mansion was your childhood home,” Steve Rogers turned to one Tony Stark, who held a glass of gin in his hands.
“Absolutely, Steve,” Tony took a swig of his drink, “The Mansion hasn’t been used in a decade. It was about time I put it to a good use.”
Tony paused, before grinning and saying, “And remember what I told you? Call it by its new name…”
“Avengers Mansion,” Steve nodded, before dryly replying, “I thought our codenames were…old-fashioned, but ‘Avengers Mansion’? That’s…”
“Awesome,” Tony laughed, “It’ll grow on you.”
“We’ll see,” Cap chuckled.
The door behind the two opened up. Janet van Dyne poked her head out, “Hey, guys, are we doing the press conference or not?”
“Of course, beautiful,” Tony beamed, “Just give us a second to get dressed.”
Janet scowled, before heading back inside. Steve and Tony followed her back into the house. The star spangled hero managed to whisper, “You sure you should be doing that? Jan and Hank have…”
“I know, I know, Steve,” Tony admitted, “Just having a little fun. I mean, what’s the point of having a beautiful woman in the house if you can’t flirt with her.”
“Mhm,” Steve responded sarcastically.
Tony grinned, nudging the larger man, “I know what beautiful woman is on your mind.”
Steve gave Tony a look of exasperation and confusion, “What are you…?” Tony’s grin grew larger. “Carol? No, I just…I was wondering if she’d make it to the Mansion on time. She chose not to live here, so…”
“Whatever you say, Steve,” Tony walked upstairs to their newly christened War Room, where his latest suit of high tech armor awaited him.
Steve sighed, ignoring Tony’s remarks. He’d already changed, dressed in his standard red, white and blue uniform, so he had nothing to do till the others got ready. He might as well check on the last…unstable member of the team.
Steve made his way to Banner’s room, hidden on the far corner of the Mansion. He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Bruce called from inside. Steve opened the door and peeked in.
“I was just checking to see if everything’s alright,” Steve explained.
Bruce frowned, looking away back to his computer. He’d been researching something; Cap wasn’t sure what. “You think I’m going to…let the Other Guy out just because I’m not invited to the press conference? Give me more credit than that, Steve. Living in secret isn’t a problem for me. I’ve done it for a while now. Difference is this time…”
Bruce swiveled around and met Steve’s gaze, “I have hope.”
Steve grinned. Despite what he may keep repressed, the monster on the inside, Bruce Banner was a good man. “Bruce, that’s the whole point of the Avengers. We’re here to give people hope.”
“Anytime, anyday, when trouble’s around…we’ll be there.”
THE END
Epilogue 1
It hadn’t been easy. None of it had. Getting used to the idea of being a hero. Living in the same house as Janet. Or…or sneaking in his…old work. After the Kang incident, the others had demanded that all old projects be destroyed, finished. They couldn’t risk the future Kang had discovered. What they didn’t understand was his old project could save them from that future.
Hank Pym leaned over his laptop, typing frantically into the computer. It had to have survived. Just leaving it alone for a while couldn’t destroy its data, right?
“No. No no no no,” Hank muttered, “Come on.”
And then his screen lit up, showing a face he recognized all too well. It was bright silver, shaped like an ant’s head, and when it spoke Hank couldn’t have been happier.
“How are you…father?”
Hank grinned, before quietly responding.
“I’m great. Fantastic now, son. It’s great to see you again…”
“Ultron.”
Epilogue 2
The door shut quickly, slamming down David Cannon’s hopes of freedom. That was how they wanted it. He couldn’t believe there was any hope of escape. If he did…well, with someone as powerful as him, things would get rough.
“How is he?” A short, fit man in a black suit approached another, who stood firmly in front of Cannon’s airtight prison cell.
“Stable, but defeated. Scared,” Nick Fury responded, “Just how we want him.”
“And the others? I was briefed. We didn’t get them all. The Mandarin, Abomination and Kraven escaped.”
Fury’s expression was unreadable, “We’ll get them. We always do.”
“And Project Lightning…do you still want me to follow through with that?” The agent asked.
Fury turned and walked away. The brunette man followed him.
“Soon, Agent Coulson, soon. If we need it, if the world comes to that…”
“The Thunderbolts will be ready.”
Next up for the Avengers: Broken.
The Avengers’ unity is put to the test as someone or something attempts to break them apart. Can the Avengers stand together united against this threat, or will they find themselves unable to overcome their most dangerous enemy yet?
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The future of David Cannon and Project Lightning to be continued in Avengers!
And check out Spider-Man: Darkest Nights to see how our favorite teenaged web slinger reacts and adapts to the New World!
Also, check out Steve Rogers’ origins in ReadingTrance’s Captain America!