"And we are live on set with Presidential Candidate Ronald Stump," Christine Everheart, a thirty-something media personality and talk-show host for The Daily Bugle's channel. She was smartly dressed with a full bevy of questions to ask her guest. No matter how much he annoyed, disgusted, and leered at her.
"Thank you, Miss Everheart," the ageing man grinned as he waved his hand through the air. Not to the camera, or her, but to the people he knew would be voting for him in the upcoming election. "A pleasure to be here, in the heart of New York, as always." Political bullshit. She knew that right away. All politicians did it, so there was no surprise. She had grown used to it in her many years of being a reporter.
"AH..." Christine smirked with pursed lips, "yes, well...on to the topic everyone is interested in: The Avengers."
"A very interesting topic, Miss Everheart," Stump replied with his trademarked grin as he took a small sip of water. "I think the Avengers represent...in some capacity, the heart of America."
"'Some capacity?'" Christine said with a raised eyebrow, "can you elaborate on that?"
"Certainly," the Presidential Candidate replied with a nod towards the camera. "What I mean is this," he said as he began moving his hands in front of him, trying to put more emphasis his point. "I love the idea of the everyday American rising up to the defence of his country. I really do," the man elaborated in a kind tone of voice. "Living up to the Legend of the Original Avengers, and to Captain America before them is an admirable thing to do," he continued, before changing his tone to a darker, more serious one, "But, the root of the problem lies in their lawless, reckless behaviour. Behaviours which cost people their lives."
...xxXxx...
The very building shook violently, sending people and objects flying to the ground. Dust flew free from where it had rested and cascaded downwards like snow on Christmas morning.
But unlike Christmas, there was no joyous singing of merry carols. Only the terrified screams of helpless patients. People who had been wounded within the first few minutes of the invasion, already been sick beforehand, or where desperately looking for some small hope that a loved one was still alive.
To say that it was not a good day would be the understatement of the decade.
"I need some blood over here!"
"Nurse! Give me a hand here!"
"My leg! My Leg!"
"Two more coming in. One's got broken legs. The other a fractured spine. Apparently their roof caved in!"
It was into that chaos that Jane Foster dove head-first. She tackled the situation like she would any other day at the hospital: with one-hundred percent of her effort. She quickly bound her hair in a sloppy, but passable ponytail and waded into the mess that was the emergency room.
"Temple! Pull out the tags," she barked fiercely, snapping her fingers as she picked up a stack of clip-boards. "and distribute them! Red's stay in the building. Yellow's and greens get moved to the underground parking lot!" she continued as she rushed past a man whose legs had been severed. "Wilson, get your team together and set up down there."
"Doctor," Page Wilson, Jane's second-in-command at the moment said, more patiently than Jane could ever have mustered. "The parking lot is too exposed, ma'am. Even if we sterilize it-."
"We're already at capacity," Jane replied briskly, as she began flipping through files, trying to discern who should be seen first. "And the action is far enough away that we should have time to react if things get ugly again. And," she said as she faced her fellow doctor once more. "The concrete should be strong enough to protect you all. It's the best I can do," she said as she waved a hand, dismissing the woman to find her scattered team. Jane shook her head, looking around, searching for her other underling, who she hadn't actually seen since earlier in the morning, before all the craziness had started.
"Has anyone seen Blake?" Jane hollered at the top of her lungs, over the hustle of over a hundred people moving about. "Anyone? Blake? I need him here now!"
"I saw him head for the back door," a random orderly chirped up from Jane's far right. "Right when things got rough he made a break for it. He-."
"He wouldn't just leave!" Jane shouted as she tossed aside three clip-boards, fuming in anger as she cast one more look around for Donald Blake. "He can't! He-!" Jane took in a deep breath, trying to keep herself under control. She knew Donald Blake. She knew who he was, and what kind of man he was. And it wasn't exactly a surprise that he'd run off on her like that.
"Maybe he's got family?" someone else offered sheepishly. Jane immediately dismissed this, knowing that wasn't the fact. Blake had told her about his family situation. And it was a very complicated one. So complicated that Jane knew he hadn't spoken to his Father in years.
"Yeah," Page huffed lightly, "Yeah. A few went home, Jane. To check on their family. I know I sent Jessica to go check on her Bro-" Jane never got to hear the rest of the woman's sentence. She was cut off by a gigantic metal body flying through the building. Two gigantic holes were carved in the walls by it's sheer mass, which Jane couldn't even begin to comprehend. What she could see resembled a human leg, and it was easily twice the size of a pickup truck. Motors and gears whirred in protest, as if they were under a great deal of strain. Which was no surprise, given the object's sheer mass, and plus the fact that it seemed to be fighting something off.
Between her heartbeats, Jane realized that it was a miracle that whatever it was had not landed on anyone. Even as it whirred to life again, no one was caught in its wake. And the loud noises of a titanic battle was all that was needed to bring the woman back to her senses. Gone was the thought of a giant robot outside. Only her patients mattered now. "Get every vehicle we have up and running!" Jane barked as she hauled two bedridden women to their feet. "Ambulances. Buses. Any volunteer cars, and get these people off the island now!" No further instructions were needed. Everyone knew what they had to do now, and they did it. No one thought for a second about their own safety, only about the safety of the people in their care.
What set Jane apart from her colleagues was that she knew there was someone out there, looking out for her. Someone who would do everything in his power to stop whatever was going on.
But what worried her more than anything was the thought that even he might not be enough.
…xxXxx…
"Jeezus!" Jean Gray sputtered as the ground to her far left exploded, causing her to flinch, and nearly drop the car she was trying to lift to safety. The family trapped inside screamed in terror as their bright blue vehicle dropped a few inches before Jean recovered, and methodically brought them to relative safety. They of course bolted once they were able to open the doors safely. Only the youngest girl spared her a second glance, which Jean had no time to comprehend. Here she was, a recent college graduate working as a student advisor for a school for Mutants, on a week-long excursion to New York City to help one of her friends/charges properly select a post-secondary education.
And yet, she was currently involved in what she could only describe as Armageddon meets a Horror Film. In the past half an hour she had done things she had never thought would be possible in the slightest. She was moving cars and trucks. She was suing her powers to construct rudimentary shields for herself, Jubilee and Captain America himself.
If it wasn't so horrifying, it would be exhilarating. Every fibre of her being was filled with adrenaline as she worked her way through the city, block by block, helping in every way she could.
"We can't keep this pace up forever!" Steve Rogers hollered as he bashed one of the Aliens, who still resembled human-shaped blobs of green Jell-O, backwards into a wall. "HRAK!" he grunted as he shoved the rim of his shield into the throat area of the Alien, killing it instantly. Though Jean was appalled by his brutality, she realized it was both a necessity and a natural response for a soldier like him. "I'm down to my last clip, and this piece of junk doesn't hold a candle to my real shield," he finished as he indicated slightly to the dented replica in his hands.
"Well I don't see any DeLorean's around," Jubilee quipped sarcastically as she hauled an old man out from underneath a half-fallen tree. Thankfully, most of the tree had landed on a parked car, and not him. The younger girl only had to break off a few branches in order to free him. Though he did require some assistance in standing. Which Jean provided as best she could, donating a fraction of her telepathy to literally binding his broken leg together, creating a temporary 'cast' of sorts so that he could do more than just hobble along in pain. "And unless you think that Port-a-Potty is a well-disguised Tardis then-"
"My real shield is back at the Base," The Captain roared as he tossed aside the body of the slain alien. "About six Miles east of here. Not that I'm supposed to tell you that."
"Yeah well I'm committing minor felonies," Jean snorted as she created a temporary barricade between them and the remaining horde with a slab of concrete. "In order to get people out. You gonna arrest me?" she finished as she wiped the sweat from her brow. While Jean was certainly very much in-shape, she didn't know how much longer she could keep her current pace up. The strain on her powers was both taxing and joyful. On one hand, she had never used her powers to such an extent. On the other, she was now more curious than ever to discover just how far she could go!
"No time for that," The Captain gritted as something in the ground shifted. At first, Jean thought it was an explosion. Or perhaps another impact landing. But then there came a second, follow-up Boom. The wind blew back, sending her hair flying into her face and obscuring her vision. A third boom followed, this one louder than before. Something big was definitely on its way. Jean squinted her eyes, looking down the long street as a reddish blur flew into view. She couldn't quite make it out at first, it was too far away. All she could tell was that it was vaguely man-shaped and seemed to be flying somehow.
"What the hell is that?" Jubilee said with a cocked eyebrow, as she stared at the same thing Jean was transfixed by.
"It looks like a man," Rogers suggested.
"You know any men who can float through the air like that?" Jean replied sarcastically.
"No," Steve shrugged as he rubbed his chin, "but I did just meet a woman who can move things with her mind." he said as the figure drew closer. Over the ambient noise, Jean could just barely make out a voice, but not what was being said. Despite the fact that the speaker appeared to be yelling rather loudly.
"Wait, that can't be-?" Jubilee said as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"I thought he was just a myth!" Jean replied, knowing exactly what the younger mutant was talking about. "Something to rile up the press and scare crooks!"
"Care to fill me in?" Steve asked as the figure drew closer. But their attentions were soon drawn to what was behind the man. A thirty foot tall green monstrosity. It's hands easily crashed through solid brick walls. Every step it took shattered the pavement. A foul stench arose from it's breath, forcing all three to cover their noses to combat the overwhelming stench. "Get to cover!" the Captain barked as he dived to the side, knowing the creature would soon reach them.
Both girls followed his lead, taking shelter on the other side of the street. And that was their mistake.
A gigantic hand sliced through a nearby structure, causing debris to rain down on the two mutants. Jean acted fast enough to create a bubble around herself. Jubilee, however, was not as lucky. She had to dive out of the way of a large chunk of wall, exposing her to the very real threat of being crushed to death by the alien's foot.
Jubilee even closed her eyes, knowing it was coming. Knowing that there was no way she could escape her fate. She merely accepted it, and wanted it over as quickly as possible.
But death didn't come for her. She opened her eyes again, still in the same place. She looked around, puzzled at first. Until she saw it. Saw him. A man. Around her height. With the build of a swimmer, or a gymnast. Wearing a long red shirt with a torn blue hoodie over-top, and a pair of black jeans. She couldn't see his face, that was covered by a sleeve-like red mask that clung to his skin. Two eye holes had been cut out, allowing him to see.
Also, he was holding the Alien's foot over his head. With considerable effort.
"Any time now!" the man grunted, as his arms gave a shudder. Blinking twice, Jubilee re-oriented herself and sprinted out from underneath the Alien, who roared in protest. The man's shoulders shuddered under the weight of the Alien foot, giving one final push that knocked the beast back into the side of an apartment building.
As it struck, the Alien's body disintigrated into a million pieces. But not after carving a hole in the building. None of them really paid it any attention, however. The Captain was too focused on the stragglers. Jean was busying herself with tending to Jubilee. Jubilee was still caught off-guard by the man's sudden arrival. And her saviour was doubled over, panting from the effort.
"Who are you?" Jean asked pointedly, once she was sure the younger Mutant was alright.
"Man," the newcomer grunted as he arched his back. "Ol' J.J.J sure is gonna be pissed when he realizes he's not as popular as he thinks he is." Steve, as well as the two women exchanged a series of confused looks with one another at the newcomer's seemingly laid-back attitude. "New York City's personal menace, The 'criminally dangerous Spider-Man', at your service," he said as he swept down into a low, almost mocking bow as a gang of Aliens poured in from the next street, chasing a speeding car with surprising efficiency. "'Scuse me, hotstuff," Spider-Man quipped before he extended his right hand with a tiny thwip and took off into a mighty leap after the car.
He landed perfectly and with two more thwips managed to bring down an entire billboard on the green skinned alien pack.
"What the hell-?" Steve blurted with a raised eyebrow, as the costumed man returned to them with a powerful back-flip. There was no way in hell any of them thought that he was a mere human. Definitely a Mutant, given the amount of strength he had just displayed.
"I thought he was just some urban myth," Jean stuttered, losing her composure and wiping a strand of hair out of her face.
"Yeah, well I ain't," Spider-Man chuckled as he rubbed his hands together. "I just came. I saw. And I kicked the Marsh-mellow man's ass, that's all. Now, who the heck knows what's goin' on here?" They all looked around, hoping that the other had an answer. They didn't, but one came sooner than any would have realized.
KRA-KOOM!
...xxXxx...
Complete chaos.
That's what he could see.
That's all he could see.
Kurt Wagner. A circus performer, turned stuntman for small-time theatre roles. Was in the middle of an apocalyptic disaster. He had just finished a performance, dying in a very spectacular fashion when the screaming had started. He'd exited his trailer, parked out back just as a meteor crashed into a building across the street. A meteor. From outer space. He almost didn't believe his eyes, until he saw more coming down. Raining fire down upon downtown New York.
"Mein Gott!" Kurt practically screamed as a fire quickly spread. Thanks in part to a crashed pickup truck nearby, with it's gasoline providing an excellent accelerator. He practically tore what remained of his costume off, leaving him in only a pair of shorts and a muscle shirt as he sprinted towards the fire. The ends of his blue fur hairs stood up on end as he neared the flames. By all accounts he should have been running for his life. But something, perhaps the will of god, drew him closer.
Too close. The truck exploded in a fireball, only seconds after something impacted his side, slamming him into the side of his trailer.
"Are. You. Fucking. Crazy?" Those words rung in his ears as he tried to clear his vision, which was blurry. Groggily, he stood up again, faced with a female slightly taller than he was dressed in a pair of black pants and what looked like a torn scrub uniform. Similar to what Doctors and Nurses wore while on duty. "Fuel plus flame equals boom Einstein!" Kurt paid her no more attention than she deserved as a cry for help split the air.
A man was trapped on the second floor of the adjacent building. Flames had spread into the room he was trapped inside. With a heavy sigh and a flick of his prehensile tail, Kurt teleported himself into the building, right next to the man. Who, not to Kurt's surprise, began screaming even louder at the sight of him.
"Get away from me! Help! Help!" The man bellowed to no one in particular. Being completely used to this behaviour, Kurt ignored his cries and scooped him up in his arms before teleporting back outside. The second they were on solid ground again, the man thrust his fist into Kurt's stomach. The blow hurt, easily knocking the wind out of him as the man scampered away. Kurt didn't give chase, it was futile. The man would never go with him to safety. The fact that the raven-haired woman was anywhere near him was absolutely astounding.
"Fuck, it looks like the whole city's gone nuts," the woman spat as she did something that even Kurt couldn't quite believe, which was saying a lot given his appearance and abilities. The woman was casually hovering with her feet just over a foot off the ground. No part of her body was touching anything, and yet she held herself up in the air! "Damnit I'm gonna kill him!" she shouted as Kurt felt tiny droplets of water splash his face. On top of everything, he realized, it was starting to rain.
"Who...?" Kurt stuttered, in spite of himself.
"You haven't happened to have seen..." the woman said, as a nearby door slammed open. Out sprinted a woman in her mid-twenties with striking red hair, and a pantsuit so expensive even Hollywood's most well-paid actors would think twice about wearing it. Kurt himself was sure that the suit cost more money than he ever had ever held, or would hold in the future combined. Kurt recognized her in an instant. She was Pepper Stark, granddaughter of the genius inventor Anthony Stark. There had been a rumour among his cast-mates that she was in the audience, but he hadn't believed them until now.
"You've gotta help!" Pepper yelled as she pointed towards the building she had just come from. "Please... the roof collapsed! People are trapped inside!" she said as tears streamed down her face. Kurt exchanged one look with the flying woman, knowing that he alone couldn't get everyone out. A fair number of them were sure to be pinned under rubble. And, based on how she had tossed him across the yard, she was much stronger than he was. Much better suited to the task. But even if she decided not to help, he knew he would do whatever he could.
"Show me," Kurt stated clearly, starting off towards the door. Followed by both women, thankfully.
Inside, he found a very different scene from the one he had left less than an hour ago. All the lights were out, save for one or two flickering bulbs. Dust hung in the air, nearly threatening to suffocate him to death. Rubble littered the floor. Thankfully he was wearing shoes, so he didn't have to worry about stepping in glass, or any other sharp object.
"Shit..." the hovering woman spat as the three of them spotted a man trapped underneath a large wooden beam. He was completely unconscious, with several gashes to his torso and upper arms. "Blue-Boy, help me lift this. Red," she said, pointing to the young socialite, "pull him out but keep his head and neck still, you here me?"
"Yeah," Stark replied as she cradled the man's shoulders as best she could. "What...what do I call you two?" she asked, nervously.
"My name's Kurt," Kurt replied as he shifted his balance, preparing himself to lift the wood support. He was very thankful that he was in such great shape, or he knew he would never have been able to do what he was about to.
"Jessica," the other woman said with a grunt as both she and Kurt knelt down, wrapped their fingers around the beam and lifted. At first, Kurt thought that the beam was too light. But it dawned on him that Jessica was most likely carrying more than half the weight. "Is he free?" she asked.
"Yes..." Pepper whispered, "he's free...and breathing," she continued as Kurt and Jessica set the beam back down. "But...not right. Something's wrong I think he-" Jessica pushed her out of the way rather unceremoniously in a mad dash to get to the man. She ran her hands up and down his chest and ribcage before planting her ear to his breast.
"He's got a collapsed Lung. I need a pen or a straw. A knife as well, hurry!" Jessica exclaimed hurriedly. Knowing he had a pen in his pocket, Kurt whipped it out in a flash. With a knife, they were less lucky. Jessica was forced to improvise and use a glass shard to make the initial incision. "He's got bigger problems than in glass shards in his chest," she explained with a sigh. "Broken ribs...broken colarbone. Shattered knee... he's lucky to be breathing. We've gotta get him-." She stopped speaking at the sight of two things he never thought he would see. Ever.
Aliens. That's what they were.
That's what was causing this.
"What the hell-?" was all Kurt managed to say before two blobs of energy sliced through the air towards him. On instinct he teleported away in a cloud of smoke. But he had been to slow, earning a singed shoulder for his sluggish reflexes. Nothing he couldn't handle, but it certainly stung deeply.
The second shot that had been fired his way impacted a wall behind where he had been, melting the concrete and weakening the already compromised superstructure. A section of the roof started to collapse, and Kurt had to once more use his mutant power to move to safety. However, this time, he found himself directly in the line of fire.
In the blink of an eye he was encased from his shoulders down in a semi-solid green goo which he couldn't quite escape. No matter how much he struggled.
"This one has fight in him!" one of the Aliens said, "Doesn't he, Kl'rt?" Kurt could almost swear that the green blob Alien was smiling at him as it spoke. "He fights! Unlike most of the others, who run like cowards!"
"He will make good sport, Na'vm!" the second alien, Kl'rt replied as it moved around Kurt's trapped form. "Like the others, perhaps! But first..." Kl'rt chuckled as he waved his hand through the air, and a burning pain filled Kurt's body. It felt like a thousand needles were being forced into every inch of his body at once. "Now...what makes him so special?" Kl'rt asked, a mere second before disappearing in a cloud of blue smoke, only to appear a few feet away.
It took Kurt a few seconds to realize what had happened. Somehow, these creatures had managed to copy his teleportation powers.
Not good.
...xxXxx...
"Hurk!" Hank McCoy grunted as he was kicked into the side of a car by a foot the same size of his body. Thankfully, he did way more damage to to car than the car did to him. Being built like a Gorilla/Bear hybrid certainly had it's benefits. His body could absorb impacts like a sponge. "That...hurt." he grunted as he rolled to his feet, only slightly dazed from the impact. He tried to put his analytical mind to work and decipher what exactly these creatures wanted.
It was strange to him that these aliens had arrived in the centre of meteorites, and not on a large war-ship like in every movie ever made. There were no death rays raining down on their heads. Or swarms of hostile ship-to-ship craft strafing the ground, picking off stragglers. And furthermore, they seemed to be totally uninterested in negotiation, which should have been a priority for any first-contact scenario. Which told him that humanity was not the first species that they had encountered. And based on their violent attitude, the first contact had not gone well.
Of course, his theorizing was all moot if he couldn't live to see the end of the day.
Desperately, he had to roll out of the way of a giant foot that slammed down on the pavement. A small tremor rippled outwards from it, cracking the ground as Hank sprung to his feet. He needed time to think, and distance as well. Someone somewhere had to be organizing some sort of strategy to combat these things.
Then, out of the sky came an answer to his thoughts.
A heap of titanic metal landed not far from him. Purposefully, it seemed. It took Hank a moment to see that it was in the rough shape of a man. An Olympic weightlifter would be the most apt description of it's silhouette. But, Hank could not help but be reminded of a Saturday morning cartoon he had watched during his childhood. One that featured shape-shifting robots who disguised themselves as everyday vehicles. Indeed, this newcomer was the size of those characters, and he moved with the same determination.
But that was because he was the Armoured Avenger.
Iron Man had returned.
With a mighty roar, Iron Man tackled the Alien behemoth like a football player would a rival, sending them both to the ground with a mighty crash. Twin blasts of white energy shot out from the suit's gauntlets, striking the Alien in the midsection before tossing the Martian into the air once more with seemingly little effort. A blob of green energy shot out of the Alien's arm, striking the Avenger in the chest area, but he shrugged it off and responded with a volley of miniature missiles flying out from his back.
Each projectile struck home, causing minimal damage to the surrounding area, instead blowing a hole in the Alien monster's 'stomach' area. The being blew apart into smaller chunks, larger than Hank would have expected. Each chunk formed itself into a separate Alien, furthering Hank's theory that they possessed some sort of hive-mind, in addition to their shape-shifting abilities.
Two continued their assault on Iron Man, while the third peeled off and lunged at Hank. He back-pedalled, of course, as two gobs of energy stung his left shoulder. With a roar of pain, Hank picked up a fallen street sign and sunk it into the green flesh like an axe into a tree.
"Please tell me you know what's going on here?" Iron Man's metallic voice said as he rid his armour of the last remnants of green goo.
"I'm afraid not," Hank replied with a heave, as a clap of thunder split the air. Funnily enough, there were no clouds over their heads. But there were some not far away. Perhaps as close as the other side of the Island.
Hank squinted his eyes as he saw the clouds spinning around in a circle, like they were about to form into a tornado. Which was impossible, given the current outside temperature. Lightning cackled at the fringes of the clouds with undoubted power. Something big was definitely going on over there. And they both knew that whatever it was, they should be there for it.
...xxXxx...
"On the double!" Steve roared as he tossed the battered, and now useless, shield replica aside, instead relying solely on the few remaining rounds he had in his pistol. And his fists. Which would be more than enough, especially once he factored in his new-found allies into his strategy.
A hundred possibilities rushed through his mind at once. Most of them he had to dismiss, because they were secondary at best. What he focused on was what was important. First: Why were these things on Earth? Two possibilities occurred to him. Either they were aggressively expanding their Empire, or they were refugees seeking a new home. Either way, they would not be reasoned with.
His allies re-doubled their speed. The young man who called himself 'Spider-Man' was the first to pass him by, swinging on what appeared to be a string of webbing. He didn't pay much attention to that, he didn't care. The young man's speed and strength were more than enough to make up for his eccentricities and laid-back attitude. And the non-stop talking. Though that last bit was both worry-some and bothersome.
"You know, Cap, I'm sure you've gotten this a lot," Spider-Man asked casually as he continued his momentum over a lamp-post. "But...how exactly did you arrive in the twenty-first century?"
"Not now!" Steve shouted as he bounded over a crashed car. The clouds overhead were getting darker and darker by the second, and the hairs on the back of his head were beginning to stand up. And one thing he had learned was that whenever that happened, one had to be extra careful because something really bad was about to happen. He'd lost to many friends while learning that lesson. Good people, all of them.
"Geez, old man," Spider-Man quipped as the two mutant women caught up with them. "Trying to lighten the mood here, 'k?"
"Oh, SHUT UP!" Jean Grey, the red-headed telepath practically shouted at him as they turned down a new street.
"Hey, red, it's my stress reliever!" Spider-Man replied, "I'm not someone with super-cool powers who deals with alien invasions every Tuesday-"
"I'm studying to be a teaching assistant!" Jean replied with a snort. "So neither am I!" She said as Steve caught sight of something odd. A man trapped in a semi-solid green goo. Both bodies and slime covered the ground around him, telling Steve that there had been a rather brutal battle there. And he surmised that once free, this man may prove to be a valuable ally.
The man, from what he could tell, was dressed from head to foot in sleek black armour, which seemed to be modelled after a panther. A sword lay not far from where he was trapped. An odd weapon to be using, but no odder than a Shield, like he had so often done.
"Free him," Steve ordered as he watched the clouds overhead. They were growing exponentially darker and darker by the second. He could hear a voice as powerful as thunder racing through the winds. Even as Spider-Man and the two mutants tried to pry the trapped man free the voice cried out with a powerful roar:
"FOR ODIN! FOR ASGARD!" A crack of lightning split the air. It was so intense, that Steve had to shield his eyes as the energy around him buzzed and cackled. A gigantic machine, the size of a transport truck, crashed down to earth. It had an earthy brown colour, in addition to a slimy green core. Four legs sprouted out from said core, as it tried to stand back up properly. Steve didn't need much incentive to leap into action. The machine looked Alien, and was obviously a weapon of war.
Beside him landed who Steve presumed was the speaker. He was at least seven feet tall, with shoulder-length blonde hair. Crisp silver armour clung to his body, and in his hands he carried a powerful-looking war-hammer.
"Greetings, Captain Rogers," the man said firmly, much to Steve's surprise. He was sure he had never seen, met, or even heard of this man before. "A pity, we could not meet under more favourable circumstances."
"Have we met?" Steve asked pointedly.
"No," the hammer-man replied, "not officially. But your prowess has impressed even the gods of Asgard. Now," he said as he began to twirl his hammer by the leather strap at it's base. "Let our foes tremble at the sight of both Captain America and Thor Odinson! To Battle!" He finished as he leaped off into the air, to attack the machine's centre.
...xxXxx...
"Shit. They got him," Pepper whispered in a low tone, as she crouched down behind a half-wall. With shaking hands, she reached for her innermost pocket, wondering why she hadn't done what she was about to do sooner. Jessica grabbed her hands, though, as soon as she pulled the cell phone out of her pocket.
"Don't," the raven-haired woman, Jessica, hissed softly. "the less noise, the better. Wait here." she said as she motioned with her hands what she was about to do. Or, at least, she tried to. Pepper had absolutely no idea what the woman was trying to convey. She just knew that it was better to leave certain things to the professionals.
As soft as a whisper, Jessica somehow had managed to sneak all the way around the two Aliens, who could no apparently both speak English and Teleport in blue clouds of smoke. And of course, those two were set against the Nurse-Doctor's strange powers of flight and strength. There was no way her day was getting any weirder, Pepper knew that much to be certain.
"Hey, ugly!" Jessica roared at the two Aliens, who both spun around to face her. She smashed a piece of re-bar into the first, sending it staggering back as she ducked under the arm of the second. Her hand brushed up against it's side, and the Alien howled with pain as a brief flash of yellowish light struck out from her hands.
But even that wasn't the strangest thing to happen to her.
Immedietly after she had stunned the two Aliens, something crashed through the side of the theatre. Luckily into the one area she knew was clear of trapped civilians. Not that she would have had time to even check, as her concerns were far more pressing, as she recognized the man-shaped machine.
"Grandpa!" she cried out, as soon as it became clear that he was in danger. Green goo covered the armour's exterior, and although she was far from experienced in matters of combat, having only the most rudimentary knowledge of how his armour worked, she knew that was bad.
She practically leaped onto his 'chest', looking for some sort of way to reach him, even as the arms flailed in the air. Something in his chest sparked. Then it cracked open automatically. Both sides peeled back to his shoulders, revealing Anthony Stark to the world.
But this wasn't the Iron Man people would think of. This man was forty years older. A lifetime of battles had taken it's toll on his body. Scars crossed his face, from when it had been torn apart by a homicidal maniac. His right shoulder was misshapen, from the many times it had been broken by stronger foes. His nose was bleeding from a recent injury, the same with his temple.
But the thing that concerned Pepper the most was his breathing. It was erratic, out of control, laboured and pained.
"Oh my god!" Pepper roared, "he's having a heart attack!" She said, as her grandfather struggled his way out of the suit's control compartment. "Why did you-?" she began to ask as a blue, hairy gorilla-man hybrid approached.
"People-" her grandfather coughed, "needed-" he struggled to say, as he weakly pointed towards the hulking suit of armour. "They needed...him."
"What are you-?" Pepper asked blankly.
"I..." Tony whispered, his voice growing weak. "I'm too old. I can't...You can..."
Realizing exactly what he was talking about, Pepper was quick to respond with, "Grandpa, I don't know how!" She looked around, hoping for some moral support from those around her, but found none. "I can't pilot that thing!" she exclaimed.
"You can. You have too."
Pepper took one long look at her ageing grandfather, and made one of the hardest decisions of her life. She knew full well that he'd never willingly leave people in mortal danger. But she also knew if he didn't get help soon, he'd die. That really left only one viable option. "Get him some help," she said ebfore rushing off towards the Iron Man armour. For the first time, she slipped herself into the operator's seat and took full control.
The cool metal was jarring at first to her senses, but it quickly dissipated as the suit whirred to life. Lights shone around her, creating a well-thought out heads up display. A hundred different numbers were displayed before her, confusing the young woman even more. She had no experience fighting, save for a few self-defence classes back when she was a teenager. Luckily, she had help.
"Hello, Miss Stark," a voice she instantly recognized as JARVIS, her grandfather's personal A.I assistant, said in his usual cultured voice. To her, he had always sounded like one of the characters from A Knight's Tale. Of course, every time she had brought that up, the A.I had no idea what she was talking about.
'JARVIS?" Pepper asked, "How do I operate this thing? I-?"
"No need, Ms Stark," JARVIS replied calmly, "I can assume control of the Mark VI, so long as your fingers remain on the controls." The A.I told her, as he brought the suit to a standing position. Pepper tightly gripped the two joystick-like controls which she believed would control the arms, completely floored by how natural this felt. She pressed gently against one control, and the left arm shot out in a powerful punch, shattering a nearby wall. "Miss Stark, Might I request that you refrain from operating the armour until Mr Stark has had proper time to train you in it's usage?"
"Can't he just program you to do it one hundred percent of the time?" Pepper retorted as JARVIS took several steps out of the ruined wall of the theatre, and into the main street. "Have several of you guys fighting at once?"
"Mr. Stark believes in a more human touch," JARVIS replied as both he and Pepper spotted thunder-clouds gathering not far away. "That an everyday civilian would not appreciate our help as much as that of someone who is flesh and blood. Now, please remain calm. We are about to begin flying." Pepper didn't have time to think of a whitty reply before she felt the entire suit begin to rumble as the powerful jets lifted them off the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Kurt, Jessica as well as the second blue-man exit the building and begin to follow in her general direction, which was towards the gathering clouds.
The armour was faster than they were, but not by much.
...xxXxx...
"Were the hell are they going?" Kurt practically shouted as the massive suit of armour took off into the skies.
'I don't know," Hank McCoy, the only other Mutant in the world that Kurt had met who also had blue fur said hastily. "But I'm fairly certain we should follow her. Whatever is causing this is sure to be there."
"And you think it's a good idea for us to follow?" Kurt said, rather pointedly. He'd tried to help so many people before and wound up getting burned every single time that he was extremely cautious about doing it again.
"People need help," Jessica said with a shrug.
"Then you go," Kurt half-snapped to her, "you're not a freak-show who the MRD's gonna hunt down the second this is all over." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the corner of her mouth twinge slightly. She was obviously repressing an angry outburst of some sort, but he really didn't care. She couldn't possibly know what it was like to be him.
"to help, while knowing the outcome would be the more honourable thing," Hank said softly, with a heavy sigh, as the two of them watched Jessica race into the sky after the armoured suit. "And one action may be all that is needed for a better tomorrow for the likes of us."
'It's today I'm worried about," Kurt replied with a flick of his tail. "But... if it'll make a difference for the rest of us..." he sighed before breaking into a swift run towards the action.
...xxXxx...
"Rock Giants crumble before the might of Mjolnïr!" Thor roared at the top of his breath as he smashed his mighty hammer into the legs of the Alien war machine. It shuddered, but did not break. On either side of him fellow warriors fought bravely against the few remaining Aliens. In the back of his mind, Thor knew that this was perhaps the last pocket of resistance they would face. However, it was also the largest, and most fearsome.
Four Alien behemoths battled the red-headed woman, the one who called himself 'the black Panther King' and Captain America. Whilst the one who called himself 'Spider-Man attempted to bring down the tripod with the string he produced from his wrists. He had been having the same amount of luck that Thor had. "Why these beasts do not yield doth escape me!"
"Geez, what is this?"Spider-man asked as he gave a quick tug against the tripod's leg, "bad Shakespeare rendition day? You look like a reject from a community production of Camelot!" the young man quipped as he was forced to leap back, out of the way of a flailing tentacle. "And this dude's a bit pissed he missed out on his chance to be in War of the Worlds."
"Nay!" Thor bellowed at the top of his lungs, once more smashing the head of Mjolnïr into one of the legs of the tripod, "he shall be weeping in agony!"
"Yeah, yeah," Spider-man quipped as something large flew overhead. A monster of sorts, larger than a Frost Giant. It landed not far away, and Thor could see it's skin was made of metal. It was some sort of machine. Fire shot out from it's palms, blasting two of the behemoth's backwards. Caught up in complete awe, both Thor and Spider-man dropped their guard, which allowed the tripod to spit out two more tentacles and grab them firmly.
Being the warrior he was, of course the son of Odin fought his captor with everything he had. He could not swing his hammer, as the tentacle was wrapped around his arms. So while the thunder and lightning roared in protest, they did not strike the monstrosity. Even with all his strength, he could not break free, though not for lack of trying.
Even their companions below did their best to get them free. Captain America's shield struck the tentacle holding Thor in place, sinking in deep and getting stuck there for his efforts. The Iron Giant blasted it as best as it could as well, but to no avail. The two attacks only served one purpose: to anger the tripod into squeezing it's companions even tighter.
The world was going black around him. The pain was indeed overwhelming. He could almost see the house of his father before him when a voice as high and clear as the shattering of glass pierced the air.
"Hey, ugly!" a woman cried out from above. He turned to look, but was to slow. She had become a blur as she flew down at an incredible speed, with her fist cocked back. She struck the side of the tripod like a bolt of lightning, the force of her blow creating a ripple in the air.
"Oh shit." Spider-Man quipped as the woman delivered a succession of powerful, shattering blows to the tripod's main body. "Cover your ears."
"DON'T!"
CRACK!
"FUCKING!"
SLAM!
"TOUCH!"
FWA-KOOM!
"MY!"
BRA-BOOM!
"BABY!"
SMACK!
"BROTHER!"
KA-SLAM!
With that final strike, the tentacles that held the two of them in place gave way enough for Thor to break free, and finally swing his hammer. Lightning cascaded out from it's head, delivering a powerful, devastating final blow to the tripod. Fire bloomed out of it's side as it toppled to the ground, defeated. The few remaining Alien forces split in two. Half fled as fast as they could while the rest attempted to draw a new battle line.
Twenty of the Invaders remained, howling with rage.
And against them stood the earth's heroes. Shoulder to shoulder. They were all equals at that moment, as they charged the horde as one.
Nothing could stand in the way of their combined might. The team worked in perfect tandem together, despite their varied backgrounds. While Steve wrestled with two Aliens, T'challa raced up behind them and swung his Vibranium sword through their bodies with ease. Jean found herself pinned down by hostile fire, until Thor struck the ground with tremendous force, creating a miniature earthquake and knocking the Aliens to the ground. Hank and Kurt made quick work of the remaining Behemoth by having Hank run up it's legs, slashing gashes into the flesh as Kurt pummelled at it's eyes.
They were allowed a brief moment of piece to catch their breath, as one by one, civilians trickled out of their hiding spots. Many of them bearing wounds that needed treatment. But on their faces was a glimmer of hope as they gazed in awe at the handful of men and women who had come to their rescue. A quartet of helicopters flew overhead, signalling the arrival of the army, even as four black vans pulled up.
Soldiers in black armour piled out, encircling them with raised weapons. Hank and Kurt both tightened their fists, knowing they would be the easiest of targets. Steve looked from the men to the furred Mutants, unsure of exactly what was going on. All he knew was he didn't like it.
"On the ground!" one soldier roared commandingly, "now!"
"For what?" Spider-man shot back quickly, "if you're gonna charge us for destruction of property...don't. No way I can foot the bill and-"
"Shut the fuck up," the soldier sneered as he raised his gun once more. "You freaks are gonna turn yourselves over to the Authorities-"
"Like hell we will," Jubilee grunted with a raised lip, as a man in a crisp suit stepped out of the back of the farthest van.
"Easy, easy," the man said as he raised his arms, and signalled for the soldiers to stand down. Which they did. "They aren't under arrest. The President has given them a pass for their the committed crimes," he said in a somewhat casual tone of voice, which seemed to anger some of those present.
"And what crimes would those be?" Jean challenged with a raised eyebrow. The man, however, seemed to ignore her and instead turned his attention towards Steve.
"What Captain Rogers and his team have done here is something special. And after seeing this," the man continued in a warm tone of voice. "I'd like to extend an invitation to all of you. Join us at the M.R.D. and-"
"You've gotta be kidding," both Hank and Kurt grunted, as the former stepped out to confront the man. "There is no way I'd support such a corrupt system with-" Kurt continued to lash out, causing a stir among the soldiers, some of whom raised their rifles slightly in his direction. Tensions rose quickly as the man in the suit tried desperately to keep them under control.
"With your help, Captain Rogers," the man in the suit said as he closed the gap between the two groups. "we can round up the remaining hostiles. As well as any looters and trouble-makers who-"
"And who gets to decide who's making trouble?" Steve replied stiffly, as he took a clear stance between the soldiers and the two furred Mutants. "You? Your superiors? I'm sorry," he continued strongly. "But I see a situation that's gone south. I won't be joining you. Now stand down and let us pass."
"This isn't over," one of the soldiers snapped, "not by a long shot."
"Yes it is," Steve replied quickly. "Because you're not going to arrest the Heroes of New York, are you?"
...xxXxx...
Two Weeks Later:
Tony Stark leaned heavily on his cane as he walked down the hallway. His sides hurt greatly, but he had been through worse in the past. But now that he was older, much older, he knew his body was trying to tell him to never do that again. To never don that armour again. Which was why he paused before one of the largest paintings in the whole building.
His old team stared back at him through a sea of time. He found himself recalling their voices perfectly, as perfect as the day they had last spoken to him. So much time had passed, but he knew he would never forget the original Avengers.
"You're supposed to be in bed," Pepper's voice said from behind him. He turned, with the smallest of grins on his lips as she continued with "Two weeks bed rest. That was what the Doctors told you."
"I'm feeling fine," Tony replied, just as a fresh wave of pain lanced up his leg. He did his best to hide the grimace, but his granddaughter knew him to well and saw right through the facade. She ran a hand through her ginger hair as she moved to be at his side, holding him steady.
"Lets get you a chair," she said with a tone that left no room for discussion.
"You sound like your mother when you say that," Tony coughed as the two of them hobbled along. "And my wife, come to think of it." Pepper walked him over to a large recliner and helped him take a seat, relieving him of his cane and making a clear statement without speaking. By removing the cane, she had effectively trapped him in one spot. On a good day he could have made it down the hall without one, but it was a pipe dream in his current state.
"Well we Stark women have to keep a level head," Pepper smiled as she took an adjacent seat. "To keep you Stark men in line."
"Yes," Tony chuckled as he leaned his head back into the chair. "Yes... Pepper would have said that to my face as well. You're just like her," he said as eh briefly closed his eyes, recalling the image of his long-dead wife. "She would have adored the woman you've become."
"You think so?" Pepper asked.
"I know so," Tony replied with a smile, "and not just because you're her namesake either."
"Well I do my best," Pepper said softly, before her expression turned more serious. "Listen... I've been thinking," she said as she put her hand on his knee. "You can't go out in that suit again, grandpa. You'll kill yourself."
"Someone has too," Tony replied with a mutter. "And if it's not me-"
"It'll be me," Pepper said sternly, looking him directly in the eyes. "I think it's best for me to take over the family business, grandpa. I know I don't know what I'm doing, but I'll learn as fast as I can. I'll," she paused and pursed her lips, obviously looking for the right words.
"You'll make a fine Avenger," Tony interrupted as he grasped her shoulder. "I'll show you how. Now," he said as he straightened his back, "we've got work to do."
...xxXxx...
"I get it, Jess, you're still pissed," Peter sighed as he hauled a cardboard box filled with his books onto the table, which already had two boxes on it already. "But are you gonna give it up anytime soon? It's been two weeks."
"It's not just that, Peter," Jessica replied as she sorted through several photographs, plaques and awards he had brought with him. "It's the late nights. The missed phone calls. That's when I worry."
"I'm not fifteen anymore Jess," he said as he began sorting through the books in the box. He placed them into two piles. One for leisure, the other for academics. "You know I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, right?" he asked her jokingly.
"I've made too many promises to too many people about keeping you safe," Jessica said firmly, as she set down the photo she was holding to stare at him directly. He returned the look, seeing just how serious his older sister was when he caught sight of the rare tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "You know that perfectly well, Peter. Dad made me promise. Mom made me promise. May made me promise. And-" She stopped, almost choking on her words and completely unable to continue.
"Yeah," Peter said softly, "I know he did as well. But," he said as he put down the book he was holding and leaned on the table. "This whole brother-sister thing goes both ways, you know that, right? I have full authority to inspect any guy you bring home."
"Mffft," Jessica chuckled as she wiped her eyes clear. "Yeah, I know. I've been doing that ever since you discovered girls. Shaken' em' down and all that."
"No wonder I couldn't get a date to the grade eight dance," Peter smirked as he resumed his unpacking.
"That might be it," she replied with a wink. "I think I made that Cindy girl you liked soil herself."
"Yeah well, thanks for that," Peter replied sarcastically as he finished his sorting, and moved onto the next box, which was filled with old science trophies. "No idea what I would've done without you picking fights with all my potential dates."
"Four girls in six years, I got a little antsy," she said with a flip of her dark brown hair. "Maybe if you'd brought a few more home, I'd have been a little more gentle."
"You know, for someone in her last year of residency at a hospital," Peter remarked with a casual wink, "you're quite the sadist. You need to work on that."
"You're calling me a sadist?" Jessica laughed as she tossed her head back. "I let you move into my apartment rent-free, and you go ahead and say I've got a problem before you've even fully unpacked?"
"I take it back!" Peter said as he threw his hands up in the air mockingly. "I take it back! Don't throw me out on the street, please! Someone as good-looking as I am won't last a day out there in the cold!" He threw a grin her way as the two of them continued to unpack his belongings. It had been a while since they had spent so much time together. Mainly because Jessica was so reliable at the Hospital practically everyone wanted her working for them, which led to a lot of different shifts, and the fact that Peter had only graduated High School a few months prior and had been working freelance work at a local computer shop.
"I meant to ask you," Peter piped up casually, "what exactly happened to your last roommate? What's-her-face...Candice?"
"Total bitch," Jessica shrugged in response. "Was late on utilities and rent a few too many times. Didn't help out around here. Left a mess. Called me a whore once or twice, and tried to force me out of the apartment. So I kicked her out instead," she continued with pursed lips as she tapped the table. "Taught her a lesson she'd never forget: Don't mess with a Cop's adopted daughter when you frequently smoke weed."
"Wow," Peter replied with a slight yawn, "you told me she was stupid. But not that stupid. But still," he said as he rolled his shoulders back, "I'm really glad you're letting me stay here. It makes things a little...easier," he said as he rubbed his temples. "It's getting harder to keep everything under wraps. May was starting to ask a lot of questions I couldn't really answer. I think she's getting suspicious."
"I can tell," Jessica sighed, "even right now, I can see how hard it is for you. At least here you can...relax it a little bit," she offered with a weaker smile, trying to show some strength for his sake.
"Yeah," Peter said as he flashed her a rare, toothy grin, "thanks for that, Sis."
