Alrighty, playing this one by ear as to have one chapter or more, because quite frankly I can do it in one, just that it'll be very long because of dialogue, added dialogue, and new scenes/background info, etc. All in all, this could be a very long one-shot, or a multi-chapter fic with only like 2-3 chapters. I did this both ways with various fics, from a one-shot X-23 on Isla Sorna to a multi-chapter fic of Next Avengers. Next Avengers was more successful, but that was more because it wasn't a crossover that disappointed people.
Now, as for the deleted/extended scenes, I won't be doing them mainly because they don't impact the story where Gohan is concerned. Other than that, there's really no need to bring it up. And as for the DBZ portion of this, it's mainly Gohan, but there ARE references to the Z-Fighters, mainly Vegeta, and the 'Home Islands' in general, as I've heard that's what they call the area DBZ takes place in mainly. As for the backstory to this, it's a bit different, but not too bad for what's going to be the setup. Frankly, it's summarized as this: After the events of the Cell Games (and Bojack Unbound if you want to include that), the Z-Fighters became far more organized in battling minor threats as well as major ones mainly in the Home Islands. Not unlike how the Justice League/Young Justice situations were for that series (and I will be getting to that fanfic by next year most likely), what with the 'missions' and everything. As far as the Z-Fighters are concerned, however, any threats outside the Home Islands are ones to ignore, unless it's a global threat or something to eventually affect the home islands as well. So yeah, this is definitely something of an AU from the later DBZ series. Definitely not adding in the Buu saga for this story, so no SSJ3. Gohan's personality in this fic will be a mix of his original and my fanfic's 'Gohan's Redemption' version. So yeah, expect competency a bit above normal for 'canon' Gohan. Also, he's about 14-15 in this, so yeah, no Buu Saga. Now that THAT'S out of the way, let's get into the meat of the story, the story itself!
Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own DBZ or Marvel's Avengers. If he did, then things wouldn't be as good as they are now! (True Story!)
(Story Begin)
The energy flux was felt by every Z-Fighter. Contacting the Capsule Corp's main building, everyone was able to get the scope of the situation. According to the information Bulma found, a powerful artifact known as the 'Tesseract' had opened a portal in the American desert. The energy fluctuations ceased within a few hours, but it was enough to disrupt everyone's day. The after effects including a traveling energy source not unlike the Cube's energy, meaning someone or something had control over an unstable power source that could eventually destabilize the planet itself. Gohan volunteered to take care of it, mainly because Vegeta wasn't gonna be bothered, Mirai Trunks was already back in the future, and the others, minus Piccolo, were unsure if they would be able to handle it, since they've already died once, despite the new Dragonballs made by Dende.
So, turning Super Saiyan, Gohan headed out to where the energy was currently located: Stuttgart, Germany.
Upon arriving in Stuttgart, Gohan lowered his power level just incase someone could detect power levels, yet stayed as a SSJ just incase. He also changed his clothes; a trick learned a while back from Piccolo, to match the attire of those around him.
(AN1)
A crowd started forming when a nearby building was being vacated from something happened inside. Soon enough, someone was walking out that Gohan identified as the one carrying the energy source, which happened to be the staff he was wielding. Gohan tried to move towards the man in hopes of getting this done quickly, but the crowd was making it difficult. Eventually, Gohan noticed duplicates showing up around the crowd he was with, as the man began to speak.
"Kneel before me!" said the man, but when everyone got surrounded, he spoke again, slamming his staff on the ground, causing it to glow brightly, "I… said: KNEEL!"
This got the reaction he wanted as everyone, even Gohan knelt before him. Gohan knew that challenging him outright would get these innocents killed and since this wasn't the 'Home Islands', things would be harder to brush aside.
"Isn't this simpler?" asked the man, as if giving a lecture, "Is this NOT your natural state?"
'HFIL no!' thought Gohan, 'This is definitely not my place, especially because you have no true authority here, alien!'
"This is the unspoken truth of humanity," continued the man/alien, "that you crave subjugation! The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power and identity. You were made to be ruled."
'Gotta hand it to him,' thought Gohan, 'He certainly can talk a good talk, but can he walk the walk?'
"In the end," finished the alien, "You will always kneel."
Gohan noticed an older man next to him, a survivor of WW2 he concluded, as that was the last time the Tesseract energy was detected on Earth, especially since no one on the Home Islands got involved during that time, luckily. He raised his arm in front of the man, turned to him and shook his head.
"Don't do this. You've already shown enough bravery in your life. Let me show mine," said Gohan in a way that the old man couldn't argue with him.
Gohan stood up above the crowd, standing out because of his blonde hair.
"I said to Kneel!" said the alien.
"Can't… not to men like you," replied Gohan, shrugging while trying to keep from smirking.
"There ARE no men like me," said the Alien.
"I hate to disagree," said Gohan, finally letting his smirk show, "but I have lost count of how many 'men' like you I have met."
"Youth, the cockiness of many," replied the alien, "Look to the blonde youth, people. Let him be the example."
The alien powered up his staff and Gohan prepared his shield to deflect the blast skyward. Gohan needn't have bothered since another man jumped in front of him and held up a Shield that reflected the blast back to the Alien. Gohan looked at the shield and remembered the files they had obtained from S.H.I.E.L.D. It was Captain America, and he looked ready to fight.
"Ya'know," said Captain America, bringing his own swag into the mix, "the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing over everyone else, we ended up disagreeing."
"The soldier," said the Alien, "The man out of time."
"I'm not one who's outta time," replied Captain America.
Just then, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Jet hovered in and a Woman's voice came over the speaker.
"Loki, put the weapon down and surrender!" ordered the voice.
Now Gohan felt like face palming. Loki was among the myths and legends he learned about growing up. Everyone on the 'Home Islands' knew the Norse Mythology, and as such Chi Chi had him read about it when he was three.
(AN2)
Loki's response was attempting to blast the ship, which gave the cue for everyone to leave the area so Captain America could fight with less restriction, minus Gohan who didn't need to leave. Cap and Loki started to fight until Loki knocked him back by a surprise blow.
"My turn," said Gohan, moving fast and giving a good shoulder thrust, knocking Loki away.
"So the kid has some skills to go with that mouth," replied Loki when he got up.
"Let's see what you got," said Gohan, popping some knuckles.
Using the staff, Loki was able to deflect most of the more deadly blows while being able to only get a few hits in due to the size of the fourteen-year-old boy fighting him. Given his encounters from years past, Loki was indeed feeling the irony of fighting someone smaller than you that was still very agile. Eventually, he was able to knock away a punch that left Gohan open long enough to get kicked back by Loki, giving Captain America the opening he needed to get in on the fight, only for Loki to be able to fight him off as well. Suddenly, a horribly clichéd song came over the speakers of the jet, and an armored man came in and blasted Loki back. It was Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man, and he wasn't playing around.
"Make your move, reindeer games," quipped Stark, having various weapons on a hairpin trigger.
"I was about to do that," complained Gohan, getting up. He wanted to give Loki a fair chance, seeing what he had before ending it himself with something similar to the Repulsor blast that Iron Man was known for.
"Sorry kid, had to make an entrance," replied Stark, before Loki surrendered, "Nice move."
Stark pulled back on his weapons as Captain America recovered his shield and walked up next to him, "Stark."
"Captain," replied Stark, "And who are you, kid?"
"Name's Gohan," informed Gohan, "And no jokes, or I WILL knock you into the nearest building."
"I don't even know the reference," came the response, to which Gohan smiled.
(AN3)
They placed Handcuffs on Loki and led him into the ship, which lowered to let them on before heading out again west, towards the Atlantic.
As they headed in the ship, Gohan, having changed clothes discreetly to his usual attire that Piccolo gave him years ago, remained silent, hoping to get some more information on the situation. Clearly he entered into a new world that existed similarly to his own.
"I don't like it," said Cap.
"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" asked Stark.
"It didn't look easy where I was standing," replied Cap, "He packs some wallop."
"Well, you are spry for an older guy," said Stark.
"Don't even bother, Stark," said Gohan, finally intervening, "Frozen in ice does wonders for a slowed aging process."
"Oh really?" asked Stark, "What's your secret, Alien DNA?"
"Don't know…"
"What I'm talking about?" countered Stark, "I'm Tony Stark. I have access into places most people dream of. I know about your 'Home Islands'. Capsule Corporation has been on Stark Enterprises' list for years. My father attempted to contact Dr. Briefs on many occasion, and so have I for that matter."
"Don't be so high and mighty," said Gohan, "You were into weapons. Capsule Corp doesn't make weapons. They build storage units."
"Hyperspace technology that's DECADES ahead of its time. They need to share the love," explained Stark.
"What, so nuclear bombs can be activated inside of a Capsule then released anywhere without any warning?" countered Gohan, approaching him, "Don't think all technology needs to be shared. A few friends of mine were at your expo a couple of years ago, and nothing was even remotely ready for Capsule Technology."
(AN4)
Their argument was halted by some lightning that seem to show up spontaneously. Everyone noticed that Loki was distinctly uncomfortable.
"What, afraid of a little lightning?" quipped Cap.
"I'm not overly fond of what happens afterwards," came the quite serious reply.
Suddenly, the jet shook from what seemed to be something landing ON TOP of it.
'And that would be our Norse God of Thunder, Thor,' realized Gohan as the bay door opened up by Iron Man.
"What are you doing?" questioned Cap, when you-know-who showed up, hammer in hand, and quickly knocked Stark on his but, grabbed Loki from his seat and flew off with him.
"And now there's that guy," said Stark, as if recognizing him as well.
"Another Asgardian?" asked the pilot, who Gohan learned to be Natasha Romanoff, better known as Black Widow.
"Is he a friendly?" asked Cap.
"Doesn't matter," replied Tony, not taking any chances, "If he either frees Loki or kills him, then the Tesseract's lost."
"Not necessarily," said Gohan, "But you got a plan of attack here?"
"I have a plan: ATTACK!" replied Iron Man, taking off after the duo of Gods.
"He's not going alone," said Cap, as he got on a parachute.
"I think you want to sit this one out, Cap," said Widow.
"I would have to agree with the lady," added Gohan.
"I don't see how I can," replied Captain America, strapping in the Parachute.
"These guys come from legends, they're basically Gods," informed Widow.
"I only believe in One God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't look like that," said Cap, before jumping out of the jet.
"Better go make sure he stays alive," said Gohan, moving to the back of the jet.
"Don't you move! You're just a kid and you don't have a pack on!" shouted Widow, "What's a kid like you gonna do against Gods?"
"I'm best friends with a God and by Kami before him, I'll take my chances," replied Gohan, before jumping up and hovering, allowing the plane to fly on without him. "Now let's see here… Got their Energy Signature. It's harder to keep a lock, but mainly because they're using something different than Ki."
Gohan then flew after the source of the new energy signatures, eventually finding one splitting off into the forest. Landing nearby, he walked out to see Iron Man and Thor exchanging blows. Launching a Ki Blast between them, he got their attention.
"If you'd stop for a moment, you'd realize we're all allies here," said Gohan.
"I don't know how you survived a thousand-foot fall, but…" started Tony, before facial recognition found a Match, "That's it. You were at the Cell Games a few years back. You're one of the Z-Fighters I've been hearing so much about. You ARE half-alien."
"Saiyan, if you want to be accurate," said Gohan, "And if we're done flexing our metaphorical muscles, let's get Loki before he leaves."
"Loki will come with me. He will face justice on Asgard," demanded Thor.
"We might believe that," said Cap, announcing his presence as he jumped down from the surrounding trees, "If you prove your intentions. If you're telling the truth, put down the Hammer."
"Uh, NO!" retorted Stark, not liking that phrasing, "He loves that Hammer."
"You want me to put the Hammer down!?" demanded Thor, outraged at this simple suggestion. Knocking back Stark, he pulled up his hammer to slam it down on Captain America, consequences be damned!
"DON'T DO IT!" shouted Gohan, putting up a shield around him and Iron Man, blocking the brunt of the Hammer meeting Shield contact, sending out a shockwave that rattled the trees beyond the blast radius.
Once the smoke cleared, everyone was able to get up, finally realizing that all they accomplished was forest destruction.
"Okay, we good now?" asked Gohan, not wanting to actually fight these guys, they might be needed later if an actual enemy was needed to be fought.
"Yeah, we're good," replied Captain America.
They found Loki, who had NOT disappeared on them, much to Gohan's suspicion, and they got back on board and continued their journey towards the Helicarrier, Flying Headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Once onboard, he was directed to the bridge of the ship, where Nick Fury wanted them to wait. After listening to him and Loki exchange words of 'flaunting power', their conversation started.
"He really grows on you," said a new man in a purple shirt, who revealed himself to be Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the Hulk.
The Hulk was interesting to say the least: in terms of strength, he rivals practically all Z-Fighters if not outright surpasses them and if he had access to his Ki like them, he'd be a threat that would match a majority of their previous encounters since Frieza came to Earth combined. Getting him angry was the last thing on Gohan's list, and he was keeping track of things. Using the communications, he was able to contact Bulma back at HQ to get Vegeta on the line as his informant on anything alien to expect. After all, Vegeta is the most knowledgeable Z-Fighter when it came to the variety of off-world enemies.
"Loki's gonna drag this out," said Steve, Captain America, "So, Thor, what's his play?"
"I've learned that he has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard, or any world known in the Nine Realms," explained Thor.
"You got that, Vegeta?" asked Gohan quietly, wanting to get the information without dragging in the other Z-Fighters.
"I've heard about them," said Vegeta, "Inputting all relevant data and sending it back to you. Just don't mess this up, boy!"
"Too true," said Gohan, getting the data, fully aware of how Vegeta would handle the situation.
"He believes they will win him the Earth," continued Thor, "In exchange, I believe, for the Tesseract."
"An army, from outer space…?" wondered Steve.
"Gohan, anything you want to add," spoke up Widow, noticing his interest in the screen before him.
"My people have handled armies before. Though this would be redundant to called them in," explained Gohan, "One of us is enough by ourselves to handle this. Though having others makes things easier."
"Well, to call this army, he needs another portal," said Banner, "Which is why he needed Dr. Erik Selvig."
"Selvig?" asked Thor.
"He's an Astro Physicist," replied Banner.
"He's a friend," countered Thor, remembering the man well.
"Loki has him under some kind of spell," said Widow, "Along with some of our own."
"I'm curious as to why he let us take him," spoke up Steve, "The guy isn't leading an army from here."
"I think we need to focus on the Cube rather than Loki," suggested Banner, "That guy's mind is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."
"Have care in how you speak. Loki may be beyond reason, but he is still of Asgard," interrupted Loki, "And he's my brother."
"He killed 80 people in two days," retorted Widow.
"He's adopted," replied Thor, rather lamely since he couldn't argue what he's done.
"Bad attempt at making excuses for him," said Gohan, "At least our guys are either redeemable or dead. Take my uncle for example. Kidnapped me to get my father to kill the people of this Earth. Didn't work out so well. Vegeta eventually became an ally. We don't make excuses for him, because he doesn't want us to. He just fights to prove his strength."
"We should shift to the mechanics," said Banner as the door opened, "Iridium. What does he need Iridium for?"
"It's a stabilizing agent," said Stark, as he walked in with another Agent, one Gohan found to be different than most. His energy is very strong willed, "Which means it won't collapse on itself like it did at Shield."
"You guys tried to access Hyperspace travel?" asked Gohan, before shaking his head, "You guys really don't know what you're getting into."
"Well, it would help if we had the BEST minds for Hyperspace Travel working with us and not against us," said Tony.
"There are SEVERAL reasons why Capsule Corp keeps its' secrets," retorted Gohan, not liking the fact that they keep pushing him to share the secrets he didn't even know with them or convince those that DO know, "One of which is the exploitation factor. If everyone can travel through Hyperspace, all it takes is one mistake and we have a Galactic War on our hands."
"Strictly speaking for this specific type of Hyperspace Travel, the Iridium would allow the portal to be open as big and as long as Loki wants it," continued Tony, irritated that he's not winning that argument, "That man is playing Galaga! He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."
Gohan rolled his eyes at that last statement, while smiling in the victory. There was NO WAY S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stark, or anyone for that matter, was getting access to Capsule Technology or Hyperspace Technology. Good thing he didn't take anything with him except a couple of Senzu Beans for emergencies.
"By the way, how does Fury even see these screens," said Stark to a woman Gohan learned to be Maria Hill, referring to the screens on his left side.
"He turns," replied Maria as if it was a simple question.
"Sounds exhausting," quipped Tony, as he turned around, moving to another panel and discreetly placing a hacking chip on it, "The rest of the Materials are within Barton's clearance to obtain without question. The only thing left is an accessible power source of High Density to 'kick-start' the cube."
"When did you become an expert in Thermo-Nuclear-Astro Physics?" asked Maria.
"Last night, the briefing packet?" responded Tony as if it was easy to understand and everyone knew of it, "The Extraction Theory papers? Am I the only one who read that?"
"You're looking at someone who hasn't been fully briefed on the situation," said Gohan, "But I can guess at what your going for."
"Prodigy's up then: What energy source would work?" asked Stark, wanting to take the kid down a peg, or have someone else that was like him growing up, massive nerd for someone not even ten-years-old.
"Here's a hint: 120 million Kelvin is required to break the barrier," added Banner.
"You mean without stabilizing the Quantum Tunnel effect?" said Gohan, practically flaunting his knowledge. If there was one similarity he had to Stark, was that he was a child genius. Chi Chi didn't raise no average child, "Cause by stabilizing it, he can open a portal wherever he wanted as long as the energy is high enough for Ion Fusion. Only about dozen or so places could qualify on this planet."
"Wow, the kid speaks English… Who knew?" asked Stark.
"Is that what just happened?" asked Steve.
"My mom made me study since I was two. In twelve years under her eye, I've learned about thirty years worth of knowledge, even with all the physical training I've done," explained Gohan, "On a practical level, I could Doctorate about three-five different studies."
(AN5)
As Stark went to talk to Banner, Gohan turned to the Agent that walked in with him. The Agent noticed him looking and put on a smile.
"Name's Coulson. I've worked with Stark and Thor on previous incidents," said Coulson.
"Gohan, nice to meet a man like you," said Gohan, shaking his hand, "You're one of a kind to be certain."
"Thank you," said Coulson, taking the compliment for what it was worth.
"Doctor Banner is here only to track the Tesseract," said Fury, walking in, "I was hoping you could join him, Stark."
"You might want to start with that stick of his," said Steve, "It may not be magic, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra Weapon."
"According to the files Capsule Corp has on it compared to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, the Hydra weapons were powered by the Tesseract," informed Gohan, "Loki's staff operates under similar principles."
"What I want to know is how he turned two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys?" asked Fury.
"Flying Monkeys?" asked Thor, "I don't understand…"
"I DO!" spoke up Steve, causing everyone to look at him, "I got that reference."
'The only one who wouldn't is Thor, and Vegeta if he hasn't yet been forced into watching that movie by Bulma,' added Gohan in his head.
"Shall we play, Doctor?" asked Stark, to which Banner agreed and they both left.
"Mr. Son, I want to know why you're here and what information you have that can be helpful," said Fury, in a slightly authoritative voice.
"Tracking down the Energy that the Cube Emitted during your little 'fallout incident', no offense," replied Gohan, "And as for information? My informant told me that the Chitauri are an aggressive race. Powerful in numbers and a hive-mind ensures cooperation on multiple levels. Their strength once matched the Saiyans for a time until the Saiyans gained the advantage of flight and Ki Manipulation, which is a secret the Z-Fighters will be taking to the grave. On an additional note, no one has permission to study my blood."
"Very well," said Fury, not wanting to argue, considering this kid was offering a huge amount of cooperation right now, "Here's the situation: Loki has stolen the Tesseract Cube and we need to get it back before he can call this Chitauri Army to wipe out Humanity."
"Okay then, and why the super-powered array of headstrong people?" asked Gohan.
"Classified, but since you're proving to be an asset, it's called the Avengers Initiative. These people you're seeing are what I'm going to call 'The Avengers', if it should prove necessary for them to fight for us."
"I see," said Gohan, taking it all in before replying with a smirk, "Still not getting any information from the 'Home Islands'."
"I personally have no interest in that, but thank you for that clarification," replied Fury, "Now, if you wouldn't mind speaking with Agent Coulson about your abilities so we can have a better handle on your limits."
Gohan nodded and walked with Coulson to an upper level.
"So, besides strength and flight, what do you have?" asked Coulson, ready to input the data.
"To be specific, my strength rivals the Hulk's on his happiest day, while still being angry; Flight at super-sonic speeds; Ki Manipulation including sacred techniques which you'll see if we ever get that far; and creating a barrier at will with my Ki as well."
"Okay, got it. Anything else, like the blonde hair thing? Our records show that you are naturally black-haired."
"My Saiyan heritage allows me to access a state known as Super Saiyan, the current state that I'm in. I can push this further into an Ascended Saiyan. Each new state increases my Ki Capacity output, but it drains it more quickly than my normal state."
"So, right now…?" asked Coulson, inputting the additional data.
"I'm good for another few days. I've trained my body to withstand the Super Saiyan State for long periods of time. You got a food station close by?"
"Yeah, take the path back, find the second door on the left. From there, head down to the third door on the right; you can't miss it," finished Coulson, before handing him an earpiece, "Better take one in case we need to get in touch immediately."
"Thanks," finished Gohan, as Coulson finished up before heading over to Thor to update him about the rest of his friends.
While having a good meal, Gohan contacted Vegeta for more information on the Chitauri, to see if there was anything more helpful. Barring that, Gohan had secretly sent some files from before regarding the Tesseract and the staff of Loki, which Bulma was analyzing and re-feeding him the information necessary.
"Looks like the Staff and the Cube are linked. If what these 'Avengers' are discussing is true, then the Staff may be the key we need to stopping the Cube," informed Bulma, scanning the information before her, "Also, it seems like the Staff is emitting it's own energy. It's something easily traceable. You might want to let Fury know."
"Kay," replied Gohan and cut the transmission. He finished up eating and headed to talk to Fury when he got a call.
"Gohan, report to the lab, follow the Ki energies of Banner, Stark, and myself to pinpoint," informed Fury, having already reviewed the info Gohan gave Coulson.
"Meet you there," said Gohan, stopping for a moment to concentrate before using super speed to catch up to them.
Gohan appeared next to Fury, though Fury made no hint of surprise other than a slight raise of his eyebrows. Fury entered and Gohan followed, though he stopped just past the door and leaned against a side table, waiting for this to be over with so he could finish this fast and get back home, Chi Chi was on her own with Goten right now since Grandpa Ox King still needed to rule his land.
"What are you doing Mr. Stark?" asked Fury, though fully knowing the answer already.
"I could ask you the same thing," replied Stark, moving about a touch screen.
"You two are supposed to be tracking the Cube," said Fury bluntly.
"We've got a lock and we're sweeping for the signature now," informed Banner, "Once the scan is complete, we'll know exactly where the Cube is to a Half-Mile radius."
"We'll get your Cube back; no muss, no fuss," said Stark, until his monitor made a sound, one that he was interested in. Moving his head around the screen, he continued, "What IS Phase Two?"
'That wasn't in the data I found,' thought Gohan, now intrigued at what S.H.I.E.L.D. was attempting.
"Phase Two is S.H.I.E.L.D. using the Cube to make weapons," said Steve, returning after making his own search, "Sorry, the computer was moving a bit too slow for my tastes."
(AN6)
"Tesseract-powered weapons?" spoke up Gohan, getting their attention, "Hydra tried and failed that 70 years ago!"
"Our founders gathered everything related to the Tesseract, which includes the Hydra Weapons for containment more than anything," explained Fury, but he felt that he was fighting a losing battle, "This does NOT mean…"
"OH! I'm sorry," said Stark, his program finally showing an energy weapon in development, "What were you lying about?"
"Looks like I was wrong, Director," said Steve, as Thor and Romanoff entered the room, "Looks like the world hasn't changed a bit, minus the Ki Fighters if what Gohan told us is any indications. No offense."
"None taken," shrugged Gohan, he was used to it by now, since returning to Earth from Namek, there had only been about twenty people he knew that was aware of Ki Energy, and that didn't count the Namekians.
"You knew about this?" asked/accused Banner of Romanoff.
"You might want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" countered Widow.
"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed," replied Banner, almost smug.
"Loki is manipulating you," informed Widow.
"And you're doing 'what' exactly?" asked Banner sarcastically.
"You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you," quipped Widow.
"Yes," agreed Banner, "And I'm not about to leave just because you get a little twitchy." Moving to the screen, he turned to Fury, "I want to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction."
Fury was out of options that still kept him in good graces with these people, so he decided to shove some lies and go with the truth.
"Because of him," stated Fury, pointing at Thor.
"Me?" asked Thor, genuinely surprised.
"Less than a year ago, we got a visitor from another world. Not counting the isolated incidents from the 'home islands', this visit led to a grudge match that leveled a small town. We have learned that not only are we NOT alone, but we're also hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."
"My people want nothing but peace with your world," informed Thor, as if it would solve the problems.
"Vegeta is the only Full-Blooded Saiyan on Earth, and he's already made it his home, despite his attempts otherwise," added Gohan, "Not to mention my father was raised here since he was a day old. And as for my two Namekian friends? One has been here for 300 years (though not in his current form), and the other has no ill intentions for the world he now protects. Thank Dende for that!"
"That's your God's name?" asked Widow.
"That's my friend's name," corrected Gohan.
(AN7)
"But, there are more species out there, am I right? And they are all potential threats," continued Fury, "This world is filling up with People that can't be matched normally. That can't be contained."
"Like you were able to contain the Cube?" asked Steve, almost mockingly.
"Your work with the Tesseract practically brought Loki here, as well as his allies! The Tesseract sent out a signal, telling all the Realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of War!"
"Higher form?" asked Steve.
"Not much higher than what we've done, I assure you," inputted Gohan, having full memory of his time on Planet Namek.
"Thor forced our hand. We had to come up with something…" started Fury, before Stark cut him off.
"Nuclear deterrent," said Stark, given his personal history, "Because that ALWAYS calms things down!"
"Remind me again how your family made its fortune?" countered Fury, a bit snarky at that.
"I'm sure if Stark still made weapons, he'd be neck deep…" started Steve.
"HOLD IT! How is this about me now?" accused Stark.
(AN8)
"Oh I'm sorry," said Steve sarcastically, "Isn't everything?"
"I thought Humans were more evolved than this," stated Thor.
"Some are," said Gohan with a roll of his eyes.
"Let's not forget the footage of your battle against Nappa and Vegeta," said Fury, getting his attention, "Yeah, that made International News, and we've kept the records. Tell me how you're 'Z-Fighters' are 'evolved'?"
"Remember how there are 'people that can't be matched'?" countered Gohan, throwing Fury's words right back at him.
"I thought you treated your champions with trust," said Thor.
"Excuse me? Are you boys really that naïve? S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats," said Widow.
"Really, good job monitoring the 'Home Islands' since you can't get access!" taunted Gohan.
Soon, everyone started talking over each other, until Gohan felt an energy pulse from the 'Staff' and quickly stopped talking, turning to it.
'Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!' thought Gohan, 'Bulma JUST told me five minutes ago that this was sending out a traceable signal. Why did I forget that? Oh yeah, these guys insulting my friends.'
"You speak of control, and yet you court Chaos!" said Thor, once everyone stopped talking at once.
"That's his MO isn't it?" explained Banner, "I mean, what are we: A Team?"
'Is he talking about Fury?' thought Gohan.
"No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're," continued Banner, "We're a time bomb!"
"You need to step away," replied Fury with full seriousness.
"Why can't he let off some steam," questioned Stark.
"You know damn well why! Back off!" said Steve, before turning to Gohan, "Sorry."
"I've heard every cuss word in the book and then some, Captain," replied Gohan, getting their attention, "It's nothing new to me. And I'm disappointed too to say that."
"And I'm starting to want you to just make me, Rogers," said Stark.
"Big man in a suit of armor: take that away and what do you have?" asked Steve.
"Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist," replied Stark, before running out of proper adjectives.
Widow makes a head motion as to acknowledge that's still good for some people, rationally speaking.
"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you!" countered Steve, "And I've seen the footage. You're no hero, the only thing you ever fought for is yourself."
"He corrected a mistake that was made under his responsibility," said Gohan, "I'd say that's owning up. He may not be a hero, but he's certainly one to make things right. I know I made mistakes myself."
(AN9)
"Point is," emphasized Steve, "You're not the guy to lay down on a wire or let the other guy crawl over you!"
"I think I'd just cut the wire," countered Tony.
"Always a way out," admitted Steve, "You know, you may not be a threat but you better STOP pretending to be a hero!"
"A hero?" retorted Stark, resisting the urge to snort, "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"
"If you're going to have a macho contest, take it to the roof!" said Gohan, "Leave the 'important' stuff to the professionals."
"Put on the suit!" said Steve, ignoring that last statement, "Let's go a few rounds."
This got a chuckle out of Thor, "You people are so petty, and tiny."
"Yeah this is a team," said Banner.
"Real Mature, Thor," said Gohan.
"Agent Romanoff, escort Banner to his…" started Fury.
"Where? You rented my room," quipped Banner.
"The cell was just in case…" tried Fury.
"You needed to kill me," countered Banner, "But you can't! I know; I've tried!"
This got the group's attention more so than Gohan knowing cuss words; to hear someone attempted Suicide, yet failed due to reasons beyond their control.
"I was low," explained Banner, "I was looking for a way out, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spat it out. I moved on; tried helping people. And then you dragged me right back into this!"
Banner unknowingly picked up the staff, putting everyone on edge.
"You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" asked Banner, reminding her of their earlier conversation, "You want to know why I always stay calm?"
Gohan powered up a Ki blast. If nothing else, he was gonna send that thing down to sea level if he had to…
"Doctor Banner?" asked Steve calmly, wanting to resolve this without the Hulk making an appearance, "Put down the scepter."
As if he just realized what happened, he looked at the Scepter as if wondering how it got there. Suddenly a beeping sound, reminding them of the search for the Tesseract, got their attention. Banner set the scepter down, releasing the tension as Gohan dissipated his Ki.
"Sorry folks, looks like I get to keep my parlor trick a secret for now," said Banner, calming down a bit, going over to the screen, with the others following.
"You've located the Tesseract?" asked Thor.
"I can get there faster!" gloated Tony.
"Really? Against me?" countered Gohan, starting to want to put this guy in his place.
"You're not going alone!" ordered Steve.
"What, you gonna make me?" taunted Stark.
"Put on the suit and let's find out," countered Steve, wanting to let off some steam himself.
"Bring it on, old man!" continued Stark.
"Put on the suit," stated Steve, still not wanting to break this guy with an angry punch.
"This can't be right!" wondered Banner, looking at the screen.
Even reversed, the screen was still clear enough for Gohan to notice it as well.
'That's New York City! What's it doing there!?' wondered Gohan.
Just then, an explosion went off at the nearby engine, the shockwave hitting the room and sending everyone to the ground, except for Banner and Romanoff, who fell to the floor below.
"Put on the suit," urged Captain, in a different yet similar tone than before.
"Yep!" agreed Tony, as he and Steve left the room.
"Sit rep, Hill!" ordered Fury as he got his bearings.
"Engine three down!" explained Agent Hill, "It's intact, but we can't do anything ourselves right now."
"Stark, do you copy? You gotta get that Engine going again!"
"Copy that!" replied Stark over the comlink.
"My head!" stated Gohan, rubbing it a bit to make the soreness go away.
Suddenly, they heard a very familiar roar. That actually sent chills down Gohan's spine despite his incredible strength of will.
"Gohan, I'll hold off Banner! See if you can help Stark and Rogers!" said Thor, as he jumped down to the lower level.
Gohan nodded and flew out the back of the Helicarrier, conveniently from the lab itself ironically enough. He flew over to Engine three to see what was happening.
"Stark, any good news?" asked Gohan as he got to where Steve was.
"I can remove this debris. I'll need you to blast it so it has no chance of landing somewhere where people are at," replied Iron Man, before jumping down on it, forcing Gohan to move fast to blast each of the pieces.
Gohan felt Coulson's energy moving away from the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and contacted him.
"Coulson, what are you doing?" asked Gohan.
"Not letting Loki escape. With all the distractions, someone needs to cover Loki's Cell," informed Coulson.
"As soon as the Helicarrier's stable, I'm joining you!" replied Gohan, with no room for argument.
"Looking forward to the backup!" responded Coulson, before cutting the line.
A grenade got Gohan's attention from above where Captain America was and headed up there. Surprising the enemy agents, he tackled them down, tossing a gun to Steve.
"I trust you can operate this better than me?" asked Gohan rhetorically.
"Sure thing," replied Steve, before more agents showed up.
As they were holding off the agents, the entire Helicarrier started leaning off kilter.
"Gohan, Engine One is shut down! We're losing altitude fast!" informed Fury.
"On it!" said Gohan, flying off below the Helicarrier and pushing back up, "Time to show you what an equivalent to Hulk's strength can do with the power of flight as well!"
Gohan began pushing while controlling his might to not only keep the Helicarrier stable, but also from losing too much altitude. Downside, he can't go full force without ripping the ship in half He then received communications from Stark.
"Cap, Gohan! Someone pull the lever!" said Iron Man as the Altitude meter on his display fell below Twenty-One Thousand feet.
"I would, but we'd be falling faster! I'm using all my focus to keep us in the air as it is!" replied Gohan, before feeling Coulson's energy shatter, leaving but a fraction of it left, "NO! COULSON!"
"What happened!?" said Iron Man, while Steve was getting back up to the platform.
"Coulson's been hit!" shouted Gohan into the comlink, "I repeat: COULSON HAS BEEN HIT! Someone needs to get to him FAST!"
"We're heading there now! Loki's escaping and the Mind Controlled Agents are withdrawing," informed Fury, "Just concentrate on keeping us in the air! You let go and everyone on here has a one-way trip to oblivion!"
"Working on it!" said Gohan, "Cap! You got the lever!"
"Got it!" said Captain America, allowing Iron to get free and to return the favor.
With the Helicarrier stabilizing just less than Eighteen Thousand Feet, Gohan let go and headed to where Thor fell out earlier. Gohan could sense that he was alive, but Coulson was more important right now. He flew up and landed next to Fury.
"Coulson!" said Gohan.
"Eyes on me, soldier," said Fury.
"I'm clocking out, Boss," said Coulson, feeling his sight fade in and out.
"Not an option!" said Fury.
"Coulson, don't argue, just eat!" said Gohan, taking a Senzu Bean and forcing it into his mouth.
(AN10)
Coulson barely managed to swallow before breathing out one more time, the Senzu Bean unable to take effect.
"No!" said Gohan, his fear realized. He failed again! Someone needed him and he couldn't save them! His anger was now directed to Loki and when he found him, Loki was going to die, or be in extreme pain if he got ahold of him. As it was, he could only shed tears for the loss of someone he had come to consider an ally, possibly friend.
Fury, with some mild resistance, was able to pull Gohan back to allow the Med Team to arrive on sight, trying to save Coulson, but to no avail.
"Agent Coulson is down," informed Fury.
"A med unit is on its way!" informed another Agent.
"They're already here. They called it," added Fury.
Gohan was in no mood to talk, sitting at the briefing table with arms crossed. Thankfully no one bothered him. Steve and Tony were at the table with him; Widow staying with Barton; and Banner and Thor having left the Helicarrier unwillingly during the battle.
"These were in Coulson's jacket," said Fury, throwing a deck of cards, Cap's trading cards to be exact, on the table, "I guess he never got around to having you sign them. We're dead in the air up here: no outside communications, no radar or navigation, nothing. Not even the scan data of the Tesseract is accessible."
Gohan felt like he should say something, but his emotions were preventing him from thinking straight and remembering what he saw on the screen. Survivor's guilt was doing wonders to him right now.
(AN11)
"Lost my ONE good eye," continued Fury, "But maybe I had that coming." He figured there was no more use in denying, and added, "Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never really had any big bets on that number though, because I was planning something even riskier. Stark knows this. It was called the Avenger's Initiative. The Idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people. To see if they could come together and fight the battles that normal people never could. I guess the Z-Fighters were successful in that regard. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."
Stark couldn't take it anymore and left. He may not have been all buddy-buddy with Coulson for long, but he still considered him a friend. And for Stark, that was saying something given his past history.
"Well," said Fury, understanding Stark's sense of loss, since Coulson was one of maybe few agents he trusted above many others, many with higher clearance as well, "It's an old-fashioned notion."
"Actually," said Steve, getting up, "Old-fashion is what we need right now."
Gohan turned to him, intrigued by his statement, since the guy embodied old-fashioned, being a thirties kid.
"Coulson believed in Heroes, something I embodied for this nation during WWII. I never thought of myself as a hero, but if someone believes in me, I can't let them down," explained Steve, getting up himself, "I'm gonna go find Stark, see if we can't make sense of what we've learned so far. And Gohan?"
Gohan looked straight at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Pull yourself together. I'm pretty sure your family doesn't want to see you sulk over someone like Coulson. I know we don't. You've got less reason to," continued Steve, as he walked over to Gohan, "And I can tell he isn't the first one you've lost like this. Make up for his sacrifice by helping to bring Loki down, no matter what!"
Gohan couldn't argue with the guy's logic, as he had lived through WWII and now after, losing nearly everyone to time more so than death. Getting up himself as Steve left, he took a big breath thinking about where Loki could have gone. Home Islands were out because he didn't know about it; There was nothing for Banner or Thor to lose on this planet that was considered an actual home; Widow was apart of S.H.I.E.L.D. so there wasn't anything to exploit there; all that was left was Stark and his…
"Why is it the answer is SO obvious only people with common sense figure it out first!?" he said aloud.
"You remember where the Cube is?" asked Fury.
"Yeah, and it's already too late to be preemptive about it. We need a response team. S.H.I.E.L.D. leaders can shove it if they disagree with us."
Fury smirked, liking this kid more already.
"Go find Rogers and Stark. They and possibly Romanoff are the only available extras we have right now," informed Fury.
Gohan nodded and super-speeded away.
Gohan appeared behind Captain America, who was being followed by Romanoff and someone he could only guess was Barton from Fury's transmissions about a rogue agent. Gohan had also changed his outfit to what he wore during the Cell Games while he was traveling. All three of them jumped at his sudden arrival.
"So, where're you guys going?" asked Gohan nonchalantly.
"You know where," smirked Steve, figuring out that Gohan figured out where the Cube was as well, the kid was definitely smart.
"Who's he?" asked Barton as they all started moving again.
"Name's Gohan. I got a file on me now, review it on the way," replied Gohan, not wanting to waste time right now.
They headed onboard a jet that was mostly ready since it was one of few left out of the initial blast and the ensuing battle between Hulk and Thor.
"Uh, you can't be in here," meekly protested a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, very intimidated by who he was looking at, and that wasn't counting Gohan, who looked intimidating in his own right.
"Son, just don't," said Captain America, "just get off the jet and let us leave. We know what we're doing."
Not wanting to question THE Captain America, he left, allowing them to leave.
"So, why aren't you flying?" asked Romanoff as they took off with Stark right behind him before he headed on as a diversion.
"You don't know me, so I'll let that slide," said Gohan, sitting back, "But I could tell you how many times I've flown into battle like this, and it really isn't all that glamorous. Flying in style seems like a nice change in pace."
The others shrugged, mainly because it was the opposite for them, having no flight abilities themselves.
Iron Man was DEFINITELY at a disadvantage, and he needed to buy some time. Since he couldn't stop the Cube, he decided to play Devil's Advocate to ward off Loki until the others got there. Landing on his Tower and heading inside, the suit being taken off, he looked at Loki, hopefully with enough words to stall for time.
"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my Humanity!" gloated Loki.
"Actually, I'm planning to threaten you!" replied Stark with much seriousness as he headed to the stairs.
"You should have left your armor on for that," replied Loki, smug in his position right now.
(AN12)
"Yeah," agreed Stark, having a better sense of flair than Loki, as he currently had a goal that was a lot more immediate than Loki's right now, "Seen a bit of mileage and you've got the… glow stick of destiny."
Loki was actually amused at Stark's nickname for it.
"Would you like a drink?" asked Stark, hiding his ulterior motive since his secret weapon was over there.
"Stalling me won't change anything," said Loki.
"No! No, no, no! Threatening!" clarified Stark, "You sure you don't want a drink? I'm having one."
"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that," informed Loki, turning to see the scenery for what might be the final time before his forces ravaged it. He turned back to Stark, "What have I to fear?"
"The Avengers!" retorted Stark, opening a bottle and pouring himself a drink. Catching his look, he rolled his eyes, fully knowing the silliness of it on some level, "That's what we call ourselves. Sort of like a team: 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type thing."
"Yes," chuckled Loki, "I've met them."
"Yeah," scoffed Stark, "It takes time to get some traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a headcount here: Your brother, the Demi-God…"
Loki looked away in disgust; his stupid stepbrother was not going to ruin this day for him. Using his distraction, Stark discreetly put on his secret weapon, two bracelets with tracking features for his Mark VII.
"A super soldier," continued Stark, "A living legend that kind of lives up to the legend; a half-Saiyan, with powers far beyond human comprehension; a man with 'breath-taking' anger management; a couple of master assassins; and YOU have managed to piss off every single one of them!"
"That was the plan," remarked Loki.
"Not a great plan," replied Stark, "When they come, and they will; they'll come for you!"
"I have an army," stated Loki.
"WE HAVE A HULK!" emphasized Stark.
"Oh, I thought the beast had wandered off," started Loki.
"Look, you're missing the point here! There's no THRONE! There's no version of this where you come out on top!" said Stark more serious than he had been this entire conversation, "Now, maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you! Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll Avenge it!"
Stark took one shot of his drink before putting it down as Loki approached him.
"And how will your friends have time for me, when they'll be busy fighting you," said Loki, getting serious himself, before placing his staff over where Stark's heart is, as he had done SO many times before against other humans.
The Staff glowed before hitting something metal and powered down. They both looked at it surprised, as it had never happened before. Loki tried again, only to get the same result.
"This usually works," said Loki, honestly at a lost of what's happening.
"All performance issues aside, it's no uncommon," said Stark, regaining his usual flair, "1 out of 5…"
Loki grabbed his neck, cutting him off, and tossed him to the window.
"Jarvis, anytime now!" said Stark, running out of time and patience.
Loki grabbed him by the neck again and held him close, "You will ALL FALL BEFORE ME!" he declared.
"Deploy!" choked out Stark, before Loki threw him threw the window, "DEPLOY!"
A sudden sound got Loki's attention as he turned around and got knocked aside by the Iron Man Mark VII. The Mark VII managed to get on Stark in the nick of time, allowing him to avoid splatting on the ground and fly back up to the top of the tower.
"And there's one other person you pissed off," said Iron Man, actually sounding pissed now, "His name is Phil!"
(AN13)
A repulsor blast stopped whatever comment Loki was going to say before the portal opened above them, getting Iron Man's attention.
"Oh, right," deadpanned Stark, feeling stupid now, "Army."
When the jet got to New York, things weren't looking good. The Portal was already opened and thousands of Chitauri were already around the City causing havoc.
"Guys, let me out here," said Gohan, heading to the back of the jet, "I've got to help Stark!"
"Best of luck, kid!" said Barton/Hawkeye, opening the back door from the front.
Gohan powered up and flew out the now opened door and circled around to get to the battle. He let loose a fury of Ki Blasts, hitting dozens of Chitauri and getting their attention.
"Now's the time to go full force!" said Gohan, charging up his Ki even more before letting loose streams of Ki blast, piercing through several Chitauri crafts, and taking out several Chitauri as well.
While flying, he noticed the jet falling down with a flaming engine. He blasted another Chitauri and flew over to them, catching them and setting them down gently. The three of them got out, no harm done, and he flew off, back into the fray. Suddenly, a roar got his attention, and it wasn't the Hulk's either. Gohan looked to the portal to see a Leviathan sized monster come out of the portal next and Gohan actually gulped a bit.
"Okay, that changes things," said Gohan, suddenly feeling like this was getting out of hand.
"Stark, Gohan, you seeing this?" asked Steve over the short-range comlink.
"Seeing, still working on believing," replied Stark, "Where's Banner? Any word on him?"
"Banner?" asked Captain America.
"Just keep me posted!" finished Stark.
"Well, start believing in that thing fast, cause it's going to be a problem if we leave it alone!" said Gohan, heading over to it.
"Gohan, leave it to me," said Stark, "I need you to help out the civilians in the buildings. They don't stand a chance."
"Right," replied Gohan, before heading into the nearest building, getting the Chitauri's attention, "Yo! Yo mama SO stupid, she needs one thousand brains to feel smart!" quipped Gohan, before blasting each one of them, 'take THAT, hive mind!', "Get to the underground! Subways, basements, if there's a floor below you, get to it! We'll take care of these guys!"
With that, Gohan flew off to the next building and repeated the process, minus the insult, as one was enough to get them mad. All that was left from the Leviathan's troops were on the sides of the buildings, not actually in them. Gohan returned to the air to take out more Chitauri. Soon, Thor had joined the trio on the ground and they started talking strategy.
"How do we do this?" asked Black Widow.
"As a team!" responded Captain America.
"I have unfinished business with Loki," said Thor, as Gohan landed nearby.
"Yeah, well get in line!" said Hawkeye, not afraid to take on Thor if he got in his line of fire.
"Save it," said Gohan, "Loki can wait."
"Gohan's right," said Cap, "Loki will keep their attention on us and that's exactly what we need. We've got Stark up top! He's gonna need us…"
Cap stopped short as they heard an engine. Everyone focused on a Motorcycle that rode up, carrying Banner. They were a bit surprised to see him, but they weren't complaining.
"Well, this all looks… horrible," said Banner with a bit of a smile on his face as they approached him.
"I've seen worse," replied Black Widow.
"Sorry," apologized Banner.
"No, we could actually… use… a little worse," replied Black Widow, with some hesitation, since she got off lucky with the Hulk.
"Stark, we got him!" informed Cap.
"Banner?" asked Stark.
"Just like you said," said Cap.
"Then tell him to suit up," said Stark, now flying towards them, "I'm bringing the party to you!"
With that, they saw Iron Man flying from around the side of a building, with the Leviathan behind him. Gohan took off his cape to give himself the look he had when he battled Cell. Thor twirled his hammer in response, ready to attack the Leviathan at a moment's notice. Gohan focused his Ki as well, ready to call upon one of his three signature attacks.
"I don't see how that's a party," said Black Widow, a bit confused.
Banner just smirked and walked towards it.
"Banner!" called out Cap, getting his attention, "Now might be the time for you to get angry."
"That's my secret Captain," said Banner, his smirk never leaving, "I'm ALWAYS angry!"
With that he turned around, changing into the Hulk on cue and punched the Leviathan in the face, causing it to stop its forward momentum even as the Hulk was forced back a few feet. The Leviathan started turning upside down, the armor breaking off, allowing Stark to hit a weak spot.
"HOLD ON!" shouted Stark, as he shot a missile to the now exposed skin.
Gohan flared up a Ki barrier, while mentally tearing down his own mental one. He needed to Ascend and end this as soon as possible. Once the explosion wore off, every Chitauri in sight turned their attention to what destroyed one of their most powerful weapons. Gohan let out a scream as he Ascended, having most of his hair straight up defy gravity minus one bang, which settled over his right eye. All seven of them stood back to back to back; ready for anything that came their way! AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!
(AN14)
A few moments later, more Leviathans came through the portal, and they knew it was time to stop messing around and get focus on one single goal: Defeating the Chitauri Armada.
"Call it, Captain!" said Iron Man.
"Alright," said Captain America, "Our priority until we can close the portal is containment: Hawkeye, I want you on THAT roof; eyes on everything, look out for patterns and strays." Hawkeye nodded, readying his vision on a wider scale than normal. "Iron Man, Gohan; you two have the perimeter. Anything that gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or turn it to ash!" Gohan and Iron Man nodded, Iron Man giving Hawkeye a lift to the specified rooftop before heading in the opposite direction of Gohan. "Thor, you got and try and bottleneck that portal, anything to slow them down. You got the lightning, so light those bastards up!" Thor twirled his hammer to get up to speed quickly and headed for the Chrysler Building. "Black Widow, you and me are here to keep the fight on the ground." Black Widow nodded; she was more focused than many missions before, as this had much higher stakes. "And Hulk," finished Captain America, getting Hulk's attention, "Smash!"
Hulk grinned wickedly and jumped to the nearest building and started laying a Smackdown on the Chitauri that were there before moving to the next group.
(AN15)
Gohan fought with more clarity than he ever did as a SSJ2. His mission was clear; his tactics sound; his cockiness nonexistent. Ripping through the Chitauri with basic strikes was very effective, but he also added in Ki Blasts for those he couldn't reach without breaking pace. Upon coming up to a Leviathan, he didn't waste any time and quickly disposed of with one of his three signature techniques he learned from his mentors, Goku and Piccolo: 'Kamehameha Wave', 'Masenko HA!', and 'Special Beam Cannon'. He may not have used the Special Beam Cannon all that much, but he knew the technique and how handy it was for situations like this. Eventually, his flight path took him back to where the others were, and was able to help them out for a few seconds before resuming his sweep. Eventually, he noticed the Hulk jump up to the Stark Building and decided to check it out. Once there, he noticed the Hulk confronting Loki.
"ENOUGH! YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU, BENEATH ME!" ranted Loki, he was tired of everyday humans getting the better of him, "I AM A GOD YOU DULL CREATURE! AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY…"
Loki was cut off by Hulk grabbing him by the leg and proceeded to slam him into the ground, then again, and a few more times for good measure. Turning around and walking away, he made a comment that Gohan wasn't sure whom he was talking to: Loki, Gohan, or himself.
"Puny God," said Hulk, in a surprising similar vocal tone to Banner.
"How the mighty have fallen," said Gohan, finally feeling smug, "The Asgardians, while resilient, can't match the sheer power levels of other species, particularly those that were under the command of the Cold Family. Let this be a lesson, never insult the Hulk. And while I would love to pick up where Hulk left off, I've got more important business to attend to."
Loki's only action regarding that was passing out from the pain Hulk inflicted on him.
Gohan flew out again and received a transmission from someone he didn't expect.
"Stark, Gohan, you read me? You've got a missile heading your way. The payload is enough to level Manhattan!" came Fury's voice over the comlink.
"How long?" asked Iron Man.
"Three Minutes, max!" responded Fury.
"Iron Man, can you get it? I'll take over here!" said Gohan, as headed straight into a Leviathan and exploded out his power, obliterating it from the inside, ready to end this.
Unfortunately, a few stray blasts managed to hit him, which left him stunned a bit and open to more firepower. He eventually crashed into the street, slightly dazed, and finally knocked back into his normal form. He knew his time limit was less than a minute by that point, but those blasts and the crash pushed him over the edge. He was out of juice, and the others still needed him. Getting up slowly, he heard another voice call out.
"Can anyone hear me? I can close the portal! Does anyone copy?" came Black Widow's voice. That was a happy surprise, but one he couldn't dwell on.
"DO IT!" ordered Captain America.
"NO!" came Iron Man's voice, "We've got a Nuke coming and it'll blow in less than a minute… And I know right where to put it."
Gohan realized what Iron Man was going to do, and how dangerous it was with the next wave incoming. Remembering his Senzu Bean, he managed to use a Ki Force blast to clear the immediate area. Barely catching himself before falling back to the ground, he pulled out his last Senzu Bean, and he knew just what he needed to do.
"Stark, you'll need a clear pathway. I'll do what I can before you arrive!" informed Gohan, powering back up to Ascended Saiyan and flew to the portal.
He focused everything he had into one final blast.
"KA… ME… HA… ME… HAAAA!" called out Gohan, releasing everything he had into the portal, wiping out about a thousand soldiers and Leviathans that would have been standing between Iron Man and the Mother Ship, who needed to be within a certain distance to keep the Hive Mind Control up.
He let go of his power and reverted back to his normal state once Stark got close enough with the bomb, as no one needed Gohan to accidentally set it off because he didn't shut off his Ki Blast with an ally nearby. He landed near Black Widow and the recently freed Dr. Erik Selvig and watched as Iron Man placed the shot right in a sweet spot of the Mother Ship, not only taking it out, but also severing the control of the drones and Leviathans, leaving them inert. Then Gohan remembered Loki, and that he was one floor down. Grabbing onto both of them and slowly floating down to the next floor, Black Widow and Gohan headed towards the broken window. They heard the sound of their comrades joining them and the seven of them walked up to the now conscious Loki trying to get up from his beating by the Hulk. As if suddenly feeling their presence, Loki turned around as the seven of them, Widow holding his staff and Hawkeye holding an arrow pretty much point blank at him, daring him to resist. Even Gohan looked more intimidating now than as a SSJ2 during the fight.
Loki just chuckled, realizing he had lost and decided to at least get something out of it.
"If it's all the same to you…" said Loki, much to their confusion, and Stark's chagrin, "I'll have that drink now."
No one said anything, mainly because they didn't want to spoil the moment. Handcuffing Loki and dragging him downstairs, the Hulk finally calmed down enough to turn back into Banner. As they walked out, a squad of Army Soldiers, which had helped to lessen the burden of the fight on the Avengers when they finally arrived and helped turn the tide eventually before the Nuke came in, was led by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, allowing the Avengers to let them take custody temporarily while they recovered and made the necessary decisions on what was to happen.
Gohan found this to be ridiculous. Not the fact that he was with known Super Heroes such as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Steve Rogers/Captain America, but more so the fact of where he was at with them. Iron Man had convinced them to try out the Shawarma joint nearby where they had first all assembled together as the Avengers. It was… lackluster to be blunt. Gohan wasn't complaining since Tony was paying; food was food and he didn't necessarily hate it, but it just wasn't gonna rank on his favorites anytime soon. The downside was that no one said anything for an hour, until everyone was finished.
Later that afternoon, after Gohan had given Bulma an update that he would give his full report by the next day. Everyone gathered in a place designated by Thor, to have a safe passage back to Asgard. Everyone gathered around, surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to ensure privacy. Tony Stark gave Thor the Tesseract in a transport device and used it to return to Asgard with Loki. With Fury covering for them with the necessary people, they were able to do this in peace. With his mission done, Gohan got the contact information for the Avengers, and even Fury for emergencies purposes. Gohan only gave Tony and Fury his phone number, which he reminded them of their deal for his cooperation, in return.
With his business finished, he left, knowing exactly what two of the people back home would say. Chi Chi would reprimand him for getting 'hurt', even though he took two Senzu beans for emergency while Vegeta would reprimand him for not doing this the fast way. He wouldn't have let Loki get one hit on him, let alone give him time to surrender, escape, and bring an army to this world. Gohan sighed as he flew, there was no winning against those two. His mother was obvious; there was no way he was going to win against his mother. Vegeta? Well, he just ranted about how much better he would have done than Gohan, despite the fact that he would always say it was beneath him at the same time. Gohan would never understand when Vegeta was like that: A Hypocrite. He wondered what the future would be like, now that he was actually affiliated with the outside world now. He was interested in getting involved again, but hopefully with less… hectic, given the Chitauri Army. But that, like many other things, was in the future.
(Story End)
Dang, that was long for a single-chapter story. In the end, I went with this mainly because when we got to Captain America vs. Loki, it's one hour into the film with only an hour and a half left, even less when you take out the end credits. I felt like, since I would be taking as long as with 'X-23 on Isla Sorna'. I don't know. I was thinking a few things differently going into this, but this just ended up as the result. I just hope you guys like this.
Looking forward to my next fanfic! This time, I'm gonna head into the Legend of Spyro Universe. I know, I rarely enter into Gaming Universes, but I do intend on making this one a lot longer. This will definitely take me into next year, as I am starting up full time classes again. So, here's to something successful before another fanfic gets started!
Author Notes!
AN1: Yeah, just to give him a bit of variety from my last go around with him. And let me tell you, this is different than my Gohan's Redemption Fic. Also, for my next Gohan fic, as some of you know, will also be different than my original one. Only fitting, cause these are the seven years no one ever really knows about, since it hasn't been covered in great detail (as far as I know of!)
AN2: Gohan's about the biggest nerd of ALL nerds that can kick butt! Seriously, his IQ is very high for his age, and that's 'saiyan' something! (LOLZ!)
AN3: Reference of Saiyan names meaning food, particularly Gohan's meaning rice.
AN4: Given the level of technology in the Marvel World compared to DBZ world, you can tell why Gohan and the Z-Fighters don't want S.H.I.E.L.D. or anyone in the Marvel World gaining such Technology, no matter the reason!
AN5: If anyone's going to argue against this, feel free. The main reason I'm putting this is basically because whenever Gohan wasn't out fighting or training, he was studying for subjects years beyond his age range.
AN6: Everyone has their methods, and Cap's is personal investigation. Fits, doesn't it?
AN7: Sort of a repeat from Thor's line about Selvig, but it works, right?
AN8: Ace Attorney reference, anyone?
AN9: If you've watched any DBZ episode EVER, you'll have an idea of what he's talking about.
AN10: This is one of the things I had thought about back before Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got to a certain point. Yet, those that haven't gotten that far, this is still important for it, should I get that far! Also, this is something important to note: there has been no official media from DBZ franchise of the effects of Senzu Beans on people outside the DBZ universe. The chance that can fail is a very real possibility.
AN11: PTSD works in multitudes of ways. The fact that people are failing Other M for this very reason is stupid beyond belief! How can no one understand that PTSD is different for everyone? Survivor's guilt can count as PTSD as well, in case people are arguing why Gohan's being mopey for a guy he barely knows!
AN12: Left this scene in, mainly because it's the most badass scene ever, not including the fighting later.
AN13: Even before Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was announced, this line was definitely better suited than 'was'. Seriously, 'Coulson Lives' is probably the most unmentioned yet most supported idea since 'Flynn Lives' from the movie 'Tron Legacy'.
AN14: I was originally going to have Gohan say this, because why not, it's Gohan WITH the Avengers, but in a comment section of a particular video, I was informed by someone (thank you by the way) that assembling in silence in this instance is more threatening and badass.
AN15: I can only imagine Hulk's thoughts: FINALLY, I can cause property damage without repercussion! (LOLZ!)
Okay, hope things can work out with such a long chapter. Give me some time with the next Digimon Chapter, it's really important!
Later,
RDF1