#4
By Tony Thornley & Jason Trenner
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Marvel Revolution Presents-
THE AWAKENING #4
"Rise of the Champions"
By Tony Thornley and Jason Trenner
The alien being that had called itself the Sentry flew through the air. Static electricity filled the area accompanied by a thunderclap.
"Ye fiend has deceived the mighty Avengers for the last time!" roared Thor. The Thunder God had burst upon the scene moments earlier as the alien pretender had knocked an assembled group of heroes unconscious. Calvin Rankin stumbled across the field they lay scattered in, checking pulses and making sure the group was fine. He turned finding everyone still alive and spread his wings. He'd discovered several days earlier that his wings had been changed in his time in the alien dimension he'd been returned from at that time. They were now metal, just as Warren Worthington's wings had been changed by Apocalypse. Each of the others who had "awoken" had been changed as well.
"Help them!" he cried to the other heroes who were still conscious. "I'll help Thor!" Mimic's lips curled into a snarl as he flew into the air. His newfound friends had been taken down by this being. He was going down.
Genis Vell pulled with all of his might against the gravity of Earth. He felt that whatever was disintegrating the planet's orbit had stopped, but the damage was done. Earth's orbit was deteriorating, and nothing was stopping it. Genis was doing his best. He was surrounded by others as well. The Silver Surfer, Quasar, and Adam Warlock each contributed their cosmic energies to setting Earth back in her proper orbit.
It wasn't enough.
Genis pulled harder, focusing the energy bands around the planet. He had to do it. They had to do it. An entire planet's worth of people counted on them.
The black alien flew at Thor as fast as he could. He punched the hero hard, sending him flying back. He followed him and pummeled the god, absorbing energy as he did so. The pretender was one of a race called the Coutai, beings who absorbed any and every sort of energy. Sentry was the first wave of an all out invasion of this dimension.
Thor spun and swung Mjolnir at the Sentry. He dodged and continued to pummel him.
"You will fall Thunder God!" Sentry screamed. "I will absorb every last bit of your lightning!"
Thor slammed his beefy fist into the alien's gut. "I say thee, NAY!" He swung Mjolnir again, slamming the Sentry to the ground. "I have let thee speak for the last time. Thy plot to destroy the planet has failed!"
"What he said!" A blast of red energy struck the Sentry, throwing himto the ground. The optic energy faded around Mimic's eyes as he flew towards the combatants. The Coutai had stolen three years of his life. Mimic intended on getting even. He stretched out his hand, which flashed blue for an instant. Ice covered the Sentry's left shoulder and arm. He cried out in pain.
The cold, Calvin thought. It's hurting him...
"Of course!" he said out loud. The Coutai were energy siphons. Cold was a lack of molecular motion, thus a lack of energy. Meaning that the Sentry was vulnerable to cold. Something Mr. Fantastic mentioned some time earlier suddenly came to mind.
"Thor!" he called. "Get him to the ocean!" Even as he spoke the air temperature began to drop. Mimic looked around. He didn't have that good of control over his ice powers. There stood Iceman, supported by the Thing, raising his hands into the air. Snow began to fall.
"Go for it Cal!" he yelled. "We've got you backed up!" Mimic smiled. The Sentry stood. The alien scowled angrily. He began to fly into the air, but was quickly intercepted. The thunder god flew across the landscape, dragging the alien. Mimic stretched his wings and followed. He wouldn't be able to match the speed of Thor, but he would be able to keep them in sight.
"Ye have been among us for months!" Thor yelled as he punched the traitor. "Ye have decieved thine fellow Avengers. And all this time, ye have had this evil in thine plans." Mimic could see that they were nearing the coast. He continued keeping the air cold. They were now hundreds of miles away from the others. It was difficult to maintain what Iceman had started.
"You shall be the first to fall Thor!" Sentry roared.
"NAY!" Thor slammed Mjolnir into the Sentry's stomach, sending him into the water. Mimic dove, ice forming on the surface of the ocean. He had to concentrate on the form of the Sentry. Frost covered his body as he created a block of solid ice around him. After a couple seconds, the energy leeching traits of the Coutai imposter took over and continued to gather ice around his body. Thor dove into the water after him, and extracted a giant ice cube. With a roar, he threw the ice into the horizon.
Mimic started to say something to Thor but he held up his hand. "Things are still amiss," he said. "Return to our allies. The day is not yet won!" He flew into the air, holding Mjolnir ahead of him.
"Dude..."
Nothing was happening. They weren't having any effect. Genis slumped over as the others began to do the same. They had lost.
Suddenly, lightning crisscrossed the planet. Thor flew into space as full speed, Mjolnir sparking as he did so. It took Captain Marvel a moment to realise what he was doing. He was towing the planet. And he was succeeding.
"Lords of Titan," he muttered. The thunder god pulled with all of his might. Genis could see viens bulging in his forehead, his muscles straining against the mass of the planet. And he was succeeding.
"Aid the Odinson!" cried Adam Warlock. Genis looked at the majestic being and nodded. Energy bands that had disappeared minutes ago were quickly reestablished. As Genis did so, another flash of cosmic awareness filled his mind. All things on Earth were restored, but a group of costumed heroes stood over a memorial to a fallen hero. Genis couldn't see the name on the small spire before the vision faded. He shivered. It was one of them.
A scream pierced Thor's lips. The strain was incredible. Genis could feel that the planet's orbit was stabilizing. They had succeeded. Each one of the heroes stopped, releasing their energies. As Thor did so, a tremendous flash of energy exploded from his body and Genis knew who the memorial was for.
The Avenger's body was still and lifeless. But clutched tightly in his hand, like all great Norse warriors, was his weapon- Mjolnir.
"So, is this it?" She-Hulk asked as she helped Hawkeye stand. "Did we win?"
"I don't know," Clint said, looking into the sky. "I don't know."
NEXT- Be here as MRev's ongoing series begin!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Thanks for coming along for the ride. I apoligise for the issue being so short, but I felt anything more was unnecessary. It was a fun series to do, and I'd like to eventually follow it up with another project similar in nature to this one later on down the line.
I just wanted to take a moment to clarify things. Apparently some minor controversy has arisen regarding the Sentry in these pages. Although most people approved of our usage of the character in these pages, a few have expressed displeasure at the fact that he is the alien spy. For clarity's sake, I thought it was made clear in the story's text that the Coutai spy is not the real Sentry, but as I said multiple times, an imposter and pretender. The real Sentry might be alive, he might not, depends on how future writers want to deal with it, but again, the Sentry in Awakening was a pretender and not the real thing.
Thank you.
Tony
Story © 2004 Tony Thornley & Jason Trenner and may not be reproduced without permission.
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