Author: Progress is slow (thanks, SoulStealer Pokemon), but I managed to finish the 3rd Chapter. I hope I manage to finish at least one chapter in a week.
But first I want to thank you for your support. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Dropping into an Adventure
Tony never felt that uneasy as he did at the moment. His systems warned him that there was something wrong with the fog, yet he did not stop his team from going in. He even joked about the fog coming from Silent Hill. Now he had lost all contact with them.
"Guys?"
Only Static.
"Jarvis? Where are they?"
"No signals, Sir."
"Shit! "Guys! I hope for your sake you didn't get yourself zapped to that Hellhole of Silent Hill! Because I'm not going to fight some scary boob monster to rescue your sorry asses!"
Static.
"Shit! Okay, hold on, I'm getting you out of there!"
The billionaire dove into the grey wall, questioning his own sanity while doing so. Maybe he should have listened to that very part of his brain as suddenly all his systems died and he dropped like a rock down.
"Shit! Shit! JARVIS! Are you there, man?!"
Only static came to his ears. Swearing in every language he knew (even binary) and trying everything to get his systems back online the man tumbled further towards the ground.
It took him a moment to realize he was no longer falling towards solid concrete. No, there was only a wide blue sky and an equally blue ocean beneath him.
"...The fuck?"
The billionaire forgot his struggle with gravity for a moment when he stared at the scenery. "Jaaaaaarvvviiiiiiissss" he eventually wailed, "Get back online as fast as possible, I'm hallucinating again!"
A movement beneath him made him look down and he froze in horror at what rose from the sea. It was a giant monster which looked suspiciously like a mixture between a vulture, a poodle and a snake and it was way larger than anything he had ever seen.
And it seemed hungry.
It too noticed the small figure dropping towards it. With a roar it opened its mouth, intent on swallowing Tony whole.
"JARVIS!" the billionaire shouted in panic.
"brzzttttt-tems online."
"Jarvis?"
"Backup systems online, sir."
"Activate the boosters now!"
The suit powered up just as the monster was about to close its jaws. With a powerful blast the armoured man rocketed away and the monster only got a mouthful of fire and pain.
"Yeeeeehaaaaa!"
"Very fitting expression, sir."
"Thanks, Jarvis." Tony grinned slightly before becoming serious again. "Okay, locate the other Avengers. Let's get back home, we still have Hydra asses to kick."
"I can't", the A.I. explained mournfully, "Even if their communicators are not deactivated. There is not a single satellite in the orbit of this planet."
"Wait a moment... this planet? This isn't Earth?"
"Sadly not, Sir. It seems to be the very same planet you visited three months ago. Which means I am no longer connected to the Stark Tower. I am merely a safety copy installed into this suit."
"...Holy shit!"
"I concur, Sir."
Tony fell silent for a while. "Okay, then find me the nearest island or ship. Maybe I can locate my science buddy or his freaky crew."
"Nearest ship located. Shall I set a new course?"
"Do so."
The armour changed traction and flew into the new direction. Tony suddenly had to think of his first flight with the Mark I back in Afghanistan.
Energy failure inclusive.
"Not again!" Tony shouted as his boosters simply shut off, leaving him shooting towards the sea once more.
"I'm very sorry, Sir", JARVIS said, "But it seems I am not able to reactivate them. It would be wise to land somewhere to do repairs on the suit."
"Land where, Jarvis? We're over friggin' ocean!"
"That is not correct. The aforementioned ship is closing in."
"Okay. Change traction. And try to slow down. We're trying to land on that."
"Will do so, Sir."
The Iron warrior changed his path slightly, so Tony was actually able to see the ship. He frowned deeply. "Hold on... don't I know this thing from somewhere?"
"Warning. The boosters aren't reacting either. I would prepare for a rough landing, Sir."
The genius sighed out. "It looks there is no other choice then. Jarvis, are the weapon systems working?"
"Sadly not"
"Then lock the suit. I don't want to face a bunch of angry people unprotected when I'm done tearing open their ship."
"Will do that, Sir."
Tony exhaled coldly and braced himself for the impact. He was still more or less racing with a few hundred miles per hours towards the ship. There wouldn't be much left of the vehicle when he was done ripping through it.
His armour suddenly jerked backwards, stopping in mid-air. The billionaire blinked in confusion. "Hey? Where's the impact? Shouldn't there be an impact?"
"It seems the Mark 46 was stopped."
"How?"
"A strong electro-magnetic field, Sir. It seems it has its origins in that 'Bear with Goggles', as you called him the last time."
Tony's eyes widened in surprise. "That's him! That's the guy I met when Doc Lecter was with me! Kid something!"
"Eustass Kid, was his name, I believe."
The Billionaire cheered on the inside as he watched the massive red-haired pirate lower the suit more or less gently on the deck of his ship.
As soon Tony had solid ground beneath his feet, he had the visor opened and beamed at the pirate captain.
"Hey, thanks for the catch, man!"
Kid scowled a bit. "I didn't want you tear through my ship." He narrowed his eyes slightly at the man in the awesome robot suit. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
"How can you forget my face? Tony Stark. Playboy, philanthropist, genius, billionaire, Sherlock Holmes and Ironman. We've seen each other three months ago, when Doctor Lecter and I ended up on your ship."
Kid grunted. "Now I remember", he growled irritated, "Shouldn't you be playing with your little friends back in your own world?"
"It seems I'm stranded here", the man explained with a little downbeat expression. He quickly started beaming again. "But that's not the point! I would like to have something to drink because I just blasted my way out of a sea monster's mouth."
-OoOoO-
The last thing Steve could remember was a violent battle, then fog, then an impact on water. Slowly, he pried his eyes open to find out where he was at the moment. Because he knew they were fighting in a city, not near water.
It took him a moment to realize that now he was no longer in Washington. He wasn't even in Columbia or anywhere else in America, he decided after a moment. Because right now he was floating on a piece of driftwood somewhere on the Atlantic. At least he still had his shield.
Steve groaned and turned over, feeling the sun burn down on him. He couldn't see any land though.
"How far have I been drifted off?" he wondered vaguely while searching for his communicator. It was gone.
"Wonderful", he groaned out again as he pulled his hand over his face, "Now I have to wait until somebody finds me and picks me up."
He sighed and sat up, unable to see very far with the sun's glare. The Soldier crossed his legs and arms and tilted his head slightly when he noticed a ripple on the water.
Seconds later the water exploded outwards, revealing a wall of scales and fur. Steve jumped back in shock when he realized that there was a Sea Monster suddenly glaring at him with hungry eyes.
The monster (a Sea Wolf, it seemed) licked its fangs and was about to swallow the Man out of time whole when several cannon balls hit it square in the face and exploded violently, sending the whole thing cowering back beneath the waves. Steve blinked in confusion and slowly turned around, seeing a large ship pulling up to the driftwood he was on. The ship had a blue body with darker spots, a sort of watchtower on its deck and several giant sails. A seagull and the word 'Marine' were imprinted on them. Immediately Steve recognized where he was and what was going on. He was no longer in America or on Earth. He was on that world Luffy and his friends came from. And worse, the enemies of Luffy just pulled up and saved his ass.
"Hey! Is everything alright?" somebody yelled down from the Battle Ship. A rope ladder was thrown down to him. Steve looked up in surprise and blinked a few times.
"Uh... yeah. I'm alright. Nothing broken and I haven't been eaten."
"Good, then come up here!"
The Soldier grasped the ladder and hauled himself up to the ship. He figured that this was the better alternative to being lost at sea.
When he emerged at the rail, several strong arms grabbed his uniform and pulled him on deck. Almost in the same moment, a thick warm blanket was put over his shoulders. Steve blinked again, because this was not what he heard about the Marines from the Strawhat Pirates.
"Hey man. Did your ship sink?" a Marine asked him. Steve threw him a quick look. He stood about as tall as Tony, but had a serious underbite with actual tusks sticking out of his jaw. He also had a bucket with G-5 imprinted on it on his head.
The Man out of Time decided to stick with that story until his brain thought of a better one. It would be of a disadvantage if the Marine figured out he was working with the Strawhat Pirates once, a group that was hunted by the World Government on great scale. So he settled for lying. For now. "Yeah, there was this huge storm and I kind of... woke up floating at sea."
"Tough luck", a gruff voice said. The Marines edged away as a massive man appeared. He was taller than Thor, and far more muscular. His silver hair was slicked back, his reddish-brown eyes hidden behind sunglasses. He had a scar over his right eye. His jacket was open and he had a sort of coat draped over his shoulders. His feet stuck in combat boots and he was wearing gloves. The weird thing however, were the two cigars clenched between his teeth. A young woman stood next to him. She too was wearing a coat over her shoulders, had a katana stuck to her belt, glasses on her nose and her dark hair was tied together.
"I'm Vice Admiral Smoker", the man growled, "This is Captain Tashigi. You are on a ship of the G-5 branch of the Marines. Who are you?"
"I'm Steve Rogers", Steve explained as he pulled off his hood, "But I'm more commonly known as Captain America."
"Captain... America?" Captain Tashigi asked confused, "This does sound like a Pirate's epithet, but I do not recognize you."
"This is because I'm not a pirate, Ma'am. Actually, I protect innocent people from those who wish to harm them."
He looked back to Smoker. "Sir, asking for permission to request a favour."
Smoker lifted his eyebrows. "Permission granted, Captain", he grunted.
"I have lost my team. It would be a great help to me if you would allow me to stay on your ship until I either managed to locate them or discovered where they might be."
"We are not a cruise ship", the white-haired Vice Admiral growled, "Why should I take you with us and not dump you on the next island?"
"I would try to make myself useful and help you and your men in your mission to protect the innocent from raiding Pirate crews."
"Can you fight?" Smoker asked.
"I can, sir."
"You're hired. Until we locate your team, I will be your superior, understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. But drop this 'Sir' crap."
-OoOoO-
All Natasha could remember was the massive bank of fog, then darkness. Groaning she pried her eyes open, realizing only a second later that she was, in fact, tied to a chair.
"Wonderful", she muttered, "Tied to a chair yet again. Guys, this wasn't funny the first time!"
"She's awake!" a grating voice said next to her. Her senses registered the smell of unwashed men, of alcohol and other unspeakable odours.
"Good, let's see whether she can talk some more", another voice said. Natasha ground her teeth and glared up, noting that she was in some sort of shady bar. She was surrounded by a whole lot of unwashed guys and there were bounty posters stuck to the wall behind the bar counter.
"Gentlemen", the Black Widow sighed out, "Please release me or I will have to take measures against you."
"Measures!" the leader of the group laughed, "A little girl wants to take measures against us? Don't you know who we are? We are the Blue Fly pirates!"
Natasha arched her eyebrows. "Fly Pirates? Oh. Did you know that I am the Black Widow?"
She lashed out with her foot, kicking the captain off balance. In the same motion she stood up, still tied to the chair and tackled the next guy. He went down as she whirled around, slamming the chair's legs into his side while simultaneously dodging a blade aimed at her head. One guy (the captain again) tried to grab her from behind, but Natasha threw her head back, shattering his nose with her skull. The resounding 'Crunch' sent a pleasant shiver down the assassin's back. She whirled again, digging the chair legs into a guy's groin and using the momentum to catapult herself off the floor. She turned her back (and the chair) down and crushed hard onto another guy, knocking him out cold. The wooden obstacle shattered, freeing the Black Widow. Immediately she spun around, her leg outstretched and hitting another guy in the cheek. The man went down as the assassin flicked two small disks at three guys. A strong electrical surge knocked all three out at once.
The remaining crew was quickly dealt with using a chair leg and a bottle of whiskey. Natasha only used the leg as weapon though. The Whiskey was downed while the assassin was kicking and punching the remaining crew towards next week.
The bar went deadly still as the last man reeled over and stayed down.
"A Black Widow is a kind of Spider", the Russian finished, "And spiders eat flies for lunch."
She huffed out when nobody dared to move, so she was about to walk out to find out where the hell she was, but the Bounty Posters caught her eye. She walked over to the bar counter, scaring the barman away as she glared at a familiar grinning face.
"Wanted, Dead or Alive, Monkey D. Luffy. 400.000.000. So I am on the Grandline now?"
"I see you are looking for the son of Dragon", a man said behind her. Natasha whipped around, ready to rip the fucker's head clean off. She was mildly surprised to see a blonde man sitting on a stool next to her, shuffling cards and looking generally bored.
The Russian Spy narrowed her eyes and looked at the man, then at the Bounty posters. He was there.
"Basil Hawkins", she muttered, "The Magician. Bounty: 320.000.000. Interesting."
"Your fighting style is... unmatched", the man said with a bored voice. "You are looking for Luffy, correct?"
"Natasha shrugged. "Not really", she admitted, "That psychopath of a doctor would suffice too, but I guess an entire wanted crew is easier to locate than a single guy in a submarine, won't they?"
"Your chances of finding Monkey D. Luffy on your own... are near zero", Hawkins stated.
"Is that so?"
"The New World is treacherous", he continued, "Bad weather, giant sea monsters, no possibilities to navigate without a log port."
His red eyes met Natasha's green ones. "You will get lost before you can find who you are looking for."
"Let me guess. You are just telling me you're inviting me to your ship so you can help me locate Strawhat. Okay, where is the catch?"
"The catch is that you will have to become a crewmember. That means I would be your captain and you had to follow my orders." He shuffled his cards again. "The possibility to find Monkey D. Luffy however, would rise to a hundred percent when you accompany me."
Natasha huffed out in defeat. "Fine. I worked as mercenary once, I guess I can do that again." She crossed her arms in front of her body. "But I tell you right now: If I manage to locate Thor or Tony first, I'll be gone before we reach Strawhat, understood?"
"Your crew members, I assume? I find nothing offensive in this request. You can proceed as you wish in that case", Hawkins explained.
"Good, 'Captain', show me the ship then."
"I will do so", the magician said as he rose from his stool. "Just a little demand: Don't beat up my men."
"When they keep their fingers to themselves, I won't have a reason to break them."
"Very well. We have a deal, it seems."
"Deal."
-OoOoO-
Clint awoke with a nasty headache. Groaning he pushed himself up, memories of the battle flooding back to his mind. They have been fighting, very hard even so, but suddenly nothing.
"Guess I got knocked out", the archer mumbled as he rubbed his head.
"Pretty hard too, vy darling", a voice said near him. Clint blinked in confusion, because that was not a voice he knew. And he had pretty good memories about every person he met so far.
Slowly he turned around to face the person talking to him. He froze in shock once he did. For a moment he genuinely believed there was a giant sitting next to his bed, only he realized a moment later that he was only abnormally huge. Just like Brook and Kin'emon. However, this guy was weirdly proportioned too. His head alone was as large as Clint's entire body. He had blue curls on his scalp, a small crown (still large enough for Natasha to cram herself in) atop his locks, an arrow-shaped chin (seriously?!) and enough make-up on his face to supply a whole Death Metal concert hall.
And then his body, oh God, his body! Clint felt slightly sick when he realized that the guy's torso was about the same size as his head, but that wasn't what disturbed him. No, it was the fact the guy was wearing a sort of mankini in hot pink, a pearl necklace around his thick neck, fishnet stockings and high heeled boots on his legs, elbow-length gloves on his hands and a cape on his back. All of this while being slightly overweight, making him look like Rocky's Nightmare of his Horror Show.
The archer did something he had never done before.
He screamed, reeled backwards and off the bed and hit his head hard on the nightstand next to it.
The weird guy was on his feet in a moment, leaning over the bed. "Hey, is everything right with vyou?" he asked.
"Nothing is right!" Clint shouted back, "Where the bleeding Hell am I?!"
"You're currently on a ship of the Revolutionary Army", a female voice said from the door. A young woman with short light brown hair appeared in Clint's field of vision. "Geez Iva", she mumbled when she took in the situation, "Would you please step outside for a bit? You're scaring that poor guy."
"Ve? How can that be? Vi would never try to scare another person!"
"But it looks you do", a blonde young man said, "Please leave until he settled in."
The blue-haired drag queen shrugged. "Ah, okay", he said, "Vi was going to look for Dragon-boy anyways. Have fun, vy darlings." He went out and Clint exhaled in relief.
"Well", he muttered as he dragged himself upright, "Thanks, I guess. Sorry for screaming like a little girl, I generally don't get scared easily."
"No need to apologize. Iva is kind of weird for people who never saw him before", the woman waved the archer off, "Anyways, who are you?"
"Clinton Barton", Clint said, "Everybody calls me Clint, though. I'm from SHIELD."
"Shield?" the blonde man asked, "What shield?"
Clint furrowed his brows. "SHIELD is an organization, working in secrecy mostly. But they were behind the Avengers."
"Avengers?" the brunette and the blonde looked at each other. "Uhm... never heard of it."
Clint stared at the two in utter shock. "We saved the World a few times. Never heard of Ironman, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow or Hawkeye?"
"Hawkeye we know. Greatest Swordsman in the world."
"Greatest..." the archer could hear the gears inside his head starting to grind. "Where did I hear that..."
Within seconds everything clicked in its place. Clint could remember the short conversation he had with Usopp in the Archery Range of the Stark Tower. With a groan he flopped on his bed and put his hand on his forehead. "Wonderful", he ground out, "Now I'm stuck in the very world of that Strawhat Pirate Gang."
"Strawhat?" the blonde suddenly asked, "You know my brother, Luffy?"
"Looks like it", the archer admitted, "Can you take me there?"
"Of course we can", the blonde grinned. "I wanted to see my little Brother anyways. Hey, I'm Sabo and this is Koala. Nice to meet you!"
-OoOoO-
Meanwhile, the Strawhat Pirates were having a good time on a summer island. Nami had overruled them this time to go to the less frantic island the Log Pose showed, because they needed supplies. And since it was such a beautiful island, nobody really objected.
But just as they had everything they needed, Marines decided to pop up and spoil their fun.
Marines themselves weren't much of a threat, but they had a Pacifista with them. And that thing was one of the newer models, programmed to avoid the stronger crew members and target the weaker ones.
During the battle, Nami had been separated from the others, fending Marines off by herself. She was just about to zap them with her Thunder Tempo when something heavy hit the floor just behind her, making her lose her balance and stagger.
She didn't need to turn around to know what exactly stood behind her.
The beeping noise... bad sign.
"Cat Burglar Nami", a soft voice said. Very Bad sign.
The sound of the Laser attack charging. Run-the-Hell-for-your-life-bad sign!
The navigator barely managed to dodge by flopping onto the ground when the laser shot right through the space that had been occupied by her head a few seconds ago. She just wanted to get the Hell away from this place, but the Pacifista wasn't her only problem. The Marine Soldiers were around as well.
Slowly she lifted her head, smiling at the group awkwardly. "I guess you guys are not going to give me a head start, are you?"
The clicking of guns was all the answer she needed.
"HOLY SHIT!"
She was just about to roll away and try to at least survive the first shots, when a mighty lightning bolt raced from the sky and hit the Marines, frying them within seconds. Nami stared in shock, because she did not notice that there was going to be a thunder storm. A second later she realized that she should have been zapped as well, being completely surrounded by the enemy, yet she wasn't.
And a moment later she saw the reason why.
A tall muscular blonde man stood a few feet behind the torched Marines and glared at the Pacifista behind the Navigator. A second later he thrust the hammer in his hand towards it, sending a lightning bolt right at the machine. The attack sent the cyborg reeling backwards, but the man was already upon it, smashing his weapon down onto the Pacifista's head. Energy surged from the site of the impact and raced through the circuits, frying the thing from the inside. Seconds later it exploded violently, sending debris everywhere.
Nami was still on the ground, hands over her head to protect herself, but she knew she would be pelted by the projectiles. She didn't register the strong arm that latched around her waist and she didn't notice how she was taken away from the site of explosion.
Her senses only returned to her when she was put back onto the ground and a concerned voice spoke up.
"Are you hale, my fair lady Nami?"
The orange-haired woman blinked a few times at the man who just rescued her. His blue eyes sweeping over her form to make sure she was unharmed.
It took her a moment to respond to his question.
"Where the Hell are you coming from, Thor?!"
-OoOoO-
The Heart Pirates were approaching an island in the hope of restocking when they realized that something was wrong. Namely, the entire harbour town has been turned into rubble, Pirates were fleeing and ships were sunk.
That was when Law decided to dock on the other side of the island and scout the situation first. He quickly gathered a team to accompany him- Jean Bart, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo- while the rest was to stay back on the submarine. The five dashed into the dense vegetation and made their way towards the ruined settlement.
When they approached it, they heard a loud roar and froze instantly. After a moment, Law gave the sign to move onwards so they crept out of the brushes. Seconds later, they were greeted by a crowd of scared pirates running away with pure terror etched onto their faces.
"IT'S COMING!" one of them shouted, "IT'S COMING AND IT SMASHES EVERYTHING!"
Another saw the five walking towards the source of panic and yelled at them. "RUN! RUN! OR IT WILL SMASH YOU TOO!"
Law merely arched an eyebrow, but decided to check things out. He urged his group forwards until they stopped behind a corner, carefully peeking around it. There was a giant green... monster turning everything into rubble while roaring enraged.
Penguin, Bepo and Shachi gulped audible and even Jean Bart seemed nervous. Law however, raised his eyebrows even higher before settling to a frown.
"This is... unexpected", he muttered, "What is he doing here?"
"Captain?" Penguin whispered, "Do you know this...monster?"
"As a matter of fact, I do", the doctor replied, "Do you remember when I told you that I was stuck in a whole different world with Mugiwara-ya?"
"Uhm... you sure you weren't just drunk to High Hell when that happened, Captain?" Shachi asked.
Law calmly slapped Shachi over the head. "You know I don't drink. Makes me lose control. No, this is one of those 'heroes' the people on this other world can count on in the face of danger. Now let me talk to him."
The surgeon casually went over to the raging monster. His crew wanted to stop him, but they weren't fast enough and too afraid to do anything as well.
"Hulk-ya"
The monster stopped maltreating the town and whipped around, roaring at the newcomer.
Law stiffened noticeably, but he didn't show any sign of fear on his face.
"Hulk-ya, I was hoping you'd remember me", the man said in a calm voice. The giant green monster glared at him, but didn't show any signs of attack. For now.
So far so good.
"I know you recognize me", Law continued, "I was in Manhattan. I was with Chopper-ya and Bruce-ya showed us his laboratory."
The green monster actually seemed puzzled for a moment. It tilted its head before scowling slightly.
"Hulk know fuzzy hat", it grunted, "Fuzzy hat friend of Chopper"
"Exactly. Now, would you calm down please? I'd like to talk to Bruce-ya."
"Fuzzy hat not friend of Hulk", the monster growled. Law froze and eyed it warily. "Fuzzy hat son of puny god. Fuzzy hat scare Bruce!"
"Oh Shit!"
"Hulk protect Bruce! Fuzzy hat scare Bruce!" the monster roared out, slamming both fists into the floor. "Hulk smash fuzzy hat!"
The fearsome Surgeon of Death didn't last for five seconds.
