Note: Carrier fighters. These aircraft are the SHIELD Quinjets of the MCU. As the Avengers have their own Quinjets in this continuity, I have given the MCU versions this name. To my knowledge, there is no actual military aircraft of this name or title in real life.
Response to a Review:
Since this is a rewrite of the first version and you're still going to do the storylines that you had planned, are you going to expand the Earth-919 universe through spin-off titles; like X-Men, Spider-Man, Avengers (team books), etc.?
I have actually never considered this idea. I thought about it, though, and I'm sorry to say that this won't come to fruition. Although I think this would be awesome, I don't have the time to devote to this. I can only guarantee many appearances of other heroes/teams/etc., in various arcs here.
Chapter 2: Assemble! Part 2
*Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City*
0957 GMT/2:57 PM EST, 4 May 2012
It was a war zone.
Left and right, the giant blue creatures destroyed, killed and ravaged. The streets were filled with people desperately running for their lives from the invaders as the NYPD rushed to respond as best they could. Regular units and SWAT divisions were taking to the streets, engaging the blue titans as best they could. It was clear, however, that they were outmatched and overpowered. Desperately but valiantly, they fired their weapons: handguns, combat shotguns, assault rifles; anything they had at their disposal in their attempts to battle the creatures that were tearing them apart. Even with the local SHIELD agents and SWORD personnel arriving to reinforce their efforts, the situation was badly against their favor.
This was the scene across Tribeca and all of the island of Manhattan. But here, the carnage was just as bad as across the island. Cars, buses other vehicles were crushed, broken and some were even aflame, glass and metal littering the streets and sidewalks. Sirens echoed across the streets, mixed with screams and bestial roars, as police and firefighters and EMH found themselves stretched dangerously thin. Bodies of civilians and police could be seen in any direction, and buildings were being trashed and destroyed, with some Jotun even climbing them, looking to get the humans within their upper floors. The Frost Giants (their names unknown to the humans) sowed destruction in their paths, their power and might seemingly unchallenged.
It was chaos.
His sister, however, knew chaos like no other.
As a Jotun made to slam his ice club upon a squadron of police firing at it, it was suddenly bombarded by a flurry of pink-colored spheres of energy. The Jotun roared in pain as it staggered back against the barrage, its weapon falling to the ground and shattering in half.
Across the metallic-carnage filled street stood a woman, her scarlet-gloved hands glowing vibrantly with pink colored energy. She wore an all scarlet outfit made of a coat-dress fusion attire with a cut down by her legs, revealing scarlet pants and boots.
The Jotun she had struck screamed in agony as it collapsed into the side of a nearby building, its body now seared with ugly scorches and marks. The woman's attention was suddenly diverted as all other nearby Jotun roared, taking notice of her and began charging at her, their icy weapons in hand.
"Was your brother not enough of an example?" she mused to herself. Her hands began glowing more brightly. With a yell, she fired massive bolts of arcane hex energy at her opponents, unleashing a slew of chaotic side effects upon their bodies, enticing more roars of pain and agony.
So concentrated on her current batch of enemies was she, however, that she failed to see another pair of Jotun charging her from her side.
Luckily, however, she was saved by a sudden blur and gust of wind. A vortex suddenly surged into existence, made by the pure speed of the blur. Magnified echoes of punches going at the speed of sound and too fast for the naked eye to see, powered by mighty momentum, rang out as the Jotun were continuously struck. Caught completely by surprise, the Frost Giants could do nothing but roar in pain and confusion. The woman's attention was suddenly diverted as their unconscious bodies crashed into the pavement behind her.
The vortex dissipated as the blur slowed down, revealing a man that had the same face as the woman. The differences were that his eyes were a different shade of blue, and he had silver-white hair in contrast to her brunette locks. He wore a mostly white body suit with blue linings on the sides and underarms, with padding on his shoulders, elbows and knees. He wore blue gloves and boots, and he had a pair of blue goggles over his eyes. He had a smirk on his face as he stared at her, which she retorted to with a huff and a cross of her arms.
The roars of more Jotun returned their focus to the invading creatures, with more of them popping out of the nearby portals.
"Wanda, my sister," the man smirked as he readied himself, his voice coated in an Eastern European accent. "Try to keep up."
"Pietro, my brother," the woman huffed as her hands glowed again, her voice wearing the same accent. "Try not to be such an ass."
*Entering NYC airspace; 350 ft. above sea level. Manhattan, New York City*
0957 GMT/2:57 PM EST, 4 May 2012
"How bad is it?" Agent Barton asked as he readied his quiver.
"Apocalyptic bad," the Director responded, his voice echoing through their comms. "We're reading multiple portal incursions, and tons of these things are coming out of the portals. The NYPD, local agents and arriving SWORD troops are engaging, but they're getting hammered. What these things are, we have no idea; they don't match anything on the SWORD database."
"So, we are basically jumping into a war against an enemy whom we know nothing about, da?" Agent Romanova asked from the pilot's seat in the cockpit. Her Russian accent rang with slight amusement.
"Sounds fun," Agent Morse smirked, twirling her battle staves. Both began crackling with electricity at their tips. "Anything on a potential source, a point of origin, anything? That would help a bit."
"Negative, Morse. Our satellites aren't picking up jack on a specific point. SWORD is working on in, but nothing so far."
"Ok, so an enemy we know nothing about, who can clearly give pack a punch and are three times our size," Barton mused, pulling his cowl over his face. "Would be nice to have super-powered backup right about now."
Agent Drew, sitting across from him in the hangar bay, arched an eyebrow from underneath her mask. Raising her fist up, she allowed a surge of bioelectricity to envelope it.
"Yeah, I know you're here," Barton replied, securing his bow. "I mean more than just you."
"Mmhmm," Drew deadpanned. "Fury, what's our back up status?"
"All other Warriors are involved with other ops, Drew. Johnson's team is the closest, but they're in Los Angeles. We're trying to get these ops over with as best and fast as possible, but it'll take time. The Archangel is en route, but I doubt we'll make it; the other two Helicarriers closest are at the Dock, and the rest are nowhere near enough. Hunter is deploying as many S.T.R.I.K.E. units as he can from the Black Hawk, but their ETA isn't looking good. Other bases are scrambling jets and carrier fighters with troops, but as it stands, you four were the closest ones to Manhattan. You're on your own for now, minus the local base agents."
"Brilliant."
"We're closing in, comrades!" Romanova called out. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the city. "Bozhe moi…"
The other three agents looked to the cockpit window, shocked by what they saw. Director Fury had briefed them as they flew to New York, but his words hadn't prepared them for what they saw. The island was illuminated by green light, which mixed with the pillars of smoke rising into the skies, courtesy of the destruction caused all around. Fires could be seen, and several buildings had been badly damaged.
"Holy…" Barton muttered.
A resolute expression coming onto her face, Romanova accelerated the thrusts of their carrier fighter, the aircraft racing into Manhattan. The Russian activated the onboard machine gun, which popped out from underneath. Bringing the carrier fighter closer to the ground, Romanov activated the VTOL engines and locked the Jotun into her radar and crosshairs as they looked up and roared at the aircraft.
"Those things are big," Morse remarked.
"Nyet," Romanova replied. "They're targets."
With that, the carrier fighter's machine gun roared to life. High caliber bullets bombarded the hordes of Jotun, who roared in pain and rage as they were hit. Romanova began unleashing their missiles, taking out as many Jotun as she could. Explosions rang out from below, and roars echoed in the streets as blue flesh and blood splattered across buildings and streets.
"Get ready to drop, comrades," she called out. Before anyone else could say anything in response, though…
"-anvers to SHIELD-zzzt!- Come in! This is Carol Dan-zzzzttt bzztz jhdbcd!-Back up now! I repeat, New York is under attackbsbbbzzzzt!-Help here now-bzzzt!"
A new female voice rang through the comms, a voice familiar to the four SHIELD agents. They hadn't heard that voice in the comms for a few years now. In fact, they never expected to again since the owner of the voice quit the Warriors some years back.
"Carol!" Drew replied into her comm, happy to hear the voice of her best friend. "Oh my God, where are you?! What's going on down there?! Can you hear us?!"
"Barely! There's too-zzzzt-tic, I think it's the interference-bzzzt-energy! Where are you, Jess?!"
"I'm on a drop ship with Natasha, Clint & Bobbi. We just entered New York airspace-!"
"Then redirect to the Upper West Side! I got a lady with magic-zzzztzzz-bzzt!-uge ass guy with an axe here! They're the ones who opened the portals-AAAARRRGHHH!" The distinctive sounds of battle and impacts rang through the comms as a resonating collision sounded out. "And-zzzt!-pack a punch-bzzzt!-need help with these guys!"
"You hearing this, Fury?!" Barton said into his comm.
"Loud and clear," the Director's voice said. "Ok, boys and girls, you heard Danvers. Divert your flight path to her location; we stop those guys she's engaging, we may stop this! Danvers, what is your exact position!?"
"34th Street-zztztzt-Avenue-BOOM! AARRGHH! DAMMIT! SCREEAAAAHHHHHOWWW! AAAAAA-! BZZbzzzzzzttt…." Static, and the line went dead.
"Carol!" Agent Drew yelled out, but to no avail, as no response came. "Carol, answer me, dammit!" The British woman was slowly overcome with dread, her voice getting more frantic. "CAROL!"
"Danvers, respond!" the Director ordered, with no response. "Danvers, respond, do you copy?!" Still nothing. "All four of you, get to her last known location and-!"
BOOM!
"The hell was that?!" Barton yelled out. The carrier fighter jolted violently as if something had crashed into it, with vicious pounding striking the roof, dents digging into it. An explosion them suddenly rocked the aircraft, the rear consumed in flames as the engines were ripped apart by an ice spear.
"We've been hit!" Romanova yelled out as she struggled to keep the jet airborne, as it plummeted right to the ground in a downward spiral. "One of the creatures jumped onto the jet, and damaged the engines! We're going down! Brace yourselves for crash landing!"
Before any of the other three could try to secure themselves, or even react or reply, the hull was ripped open on the roof. Light poured in as a Jotun ripped a hole into the roof of the jet. It roared as it thrust its blue arm into the jet...only for Drew to slam her fist into its arm and firing a venom blast. As the Jotun quickly withdrew its arm in roaring pain, Barton quickly aimed an arrow and shot it out the hole, which exploded into flames. The Jotun was thrown off the jet, but it was too late as the aircraft crashed into the streets moments later. Thankfully, it didn't explode any further.
"Well, that happened," Morse mused. She and Barton quickly picked themselves up from the ground, weapons in hand, while Drew and Romanova had simply shrugged off the impact. "C'mon, Warriors, time to work for a living."
"Drew?" Romanova asked as she turned to the British SHIELD agent. "Are you alright?"
"We're going to kill them," Drew snarled at the Russian, thoughts of her best friend's fate in her mind. "Every last one of them."
"Spazio, baby," Romanova smirked, cocking her M27 machine gun. "Let's go."
Without any hesitation, the British woman headed to the bay launch door and ripped it clean off its hydraulics. With a yell of anger, she flew out of the jet and threw it at the first Jotun she saw before she began shooting venom blasts in all directions. Her three teammates were right behind her as they engaged the enemy, their weapons and skills on full display as they fired and struck at the invaders with a vengeance. Fear did not have a place here with them; only determination as they threw themselves deeper into the carnage.
A blonde man wearing a purple and dark blue Kevlar body armor combat uniform customized to look like a medieval archer uniform. A dark blue and purple cowl with an "H" on his forehead, a bow in his hand and a quiver full of high tech arrows on his back.
A redhead wearing an all-black Kevlar combat outfit, with fingerless gloves, stinger gauntlets on her wrists, side arms on her thighs and ankles, a belt with ammo and a knife and a red hourglass insignia, and an M27 machine gun in her hands.
A full blonde woman, wearing a blue and white Kevlar combat suit with metallic gauntlets on her lower arms, dark blue combat boots that went up to her knees, a white combat belt, yellow goggles on her eyes and two twin metallic battle staves in her gloved hands.
A raven haired British femme fatale, wearing a Kevlar material costume that was completely red except for her yellow gloves and boots. A yellow insignia on her front torso beginning from above her chest, ending just where her belly button would be. An upside down triangle on her red mask, which covered half her face and covered her eyes with white lenses. Her hands glowing dangerously with green bioelectricity.
Agent Clint Barton, codename: Hawkeye.
Agent Barbara "Bobbi" Morse, codename: Mockingbird.
Agent Natalia Romanova, codename: Black Widow.
Agent Jessica Drew, codename: Spider Woman.
Four of SHIELD's elite and handpicked superhuman black-ops task force.
Secret Warriors.
*Stark Tower. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City*
0958 GMT/2:58 PM EST, 4 May 2012
"Oh god…Oh…Oh, Tony…"
"Mm…so good…"
"OH! Tony, you animal!"
'Sir…'
"Not now, JARVIS-Whoa! I didn't think THAT would feel good…!"
"Oh, Tony, don't stop…oh don't stop…ahh, yes, oh yes-!"
'Sir, your attention is needed…'
"I SAID not now, JARVIS!"
"Ahhh…oh…yes…yesyesyes…don't stop-! AHH!"
"Oh yeah…"
'Sir, there are giant blue creatures attack Stark Tower, along with all of Manhattan.'
"JARVIS, I SAID NOT-wait, what?"
KABOOM!
"OH MY GOD!" Pepper yelled out for a whole new reason as the tower suddenly shook violently, causing her to fall off the workshop table that Stark had placed her upon. Getting up, she returned her pencil skirt back to where it belonged as she rushed to the window, buttoning up her blouse back up, her bra completely forgotten on the floor.
Her yell of surprise brought a shirtless Stark to the window and he also gasped. Before their eyes, green balls of energy reigned down upon Manhattan, and on the ground they could see massive numbers of blue and very tall creatures with numerous weapons made of ice attacking pretty much everything in sight. Including Stark Tower, Tony realized.
"Tony..." Pepper said with dread. The CEO was already ahead of her, however.
"JARVIS!" he yelled as he dashed for his armor gauntlets and put them on. "Activate the Mark 22, NOW!"
'Sir, "616" hasn't been properly tested-'
"Then this is the test then!" Tony said before he turned to Pepper. "Pepper, get Happy and get everyone in the tower into the shelter in the basement! Stay there, no matter what!"
"Be careful out there, Tony."
"Don't worry, I'll be alright! I love you!" Stark yelled as he ran to an open window. "JARVIS, deploy!"
Instantly, black and gold armored pieces flew up from his workshop table, racing towards Stark. They began covering his entire body from head to toe. In less than a minute, Stark was completely covered up in black and gold armor. With a soft whine, the helmet landed on his head, and with the visor clasped into place. The eyes, ARC, and repulsors glowed a vibrant red.
Iron Man Mk 22 "616" was now online.
'Armor power levels at 100% full capacity. Reserves are at 500% capacity. Repulsor weapons fully charged and all other weaponry fully stocked. Shields and tactical trajectories are fully powered. All systems online and connecting to networks now.'
"Alright, JARVIS, let's go!" Stark yelled as he jumped off the Tower, plummeting down right for the Jotun, not caring that he had no idea what he was facing. Instantly, the armor repulsor jets activated, allowing his trajectory to be true and precise as he raced straight for the giant creatures.
"JARVIS, initiate warhead launch sequence!"
Instantly, miniscule tactical warheads ejected from Stark's shoulders, all of them firing and racing for the massive bodies of Jotun. Just seconds before the warheads made contact, Iron Man veered to his right, unleashing a barrage of repulsor blasts in every direction. As Stark fired continuously at the invaders, the warheads went off, the explosions rocking the streets. Though small, they packed quite the payload as they enticed roars of pain and anger from the Jotun. Some managed to escape any harm, but many were massively burned and marred, while some actually fell dead upon impact. Chunks of blue, ice-tinged flesh lay in the streets while thick blue blood was splattered everywhere.
"Ok, that is disgusting," Stark mused, readying his repulsors for more hits as the Jotun began to come at him. "JARVIS, scan one of these things and analyze."
'Their biology matches nothing on any SHIELD, SWORD or worldwide network database, sir,' JARVIS responded after a few seconds.
"Well…that's not good; speaking of SHIELD and SWORD, anything on them showing up? Or the military?"
'The National Guard is scrambling, sir, but they won't arrive for another 40 minutes, at least. The USAF has also been notified. Agents from SHIELD's Cocoon base here in Manhattan are already deployed. SWORD networks also confirm several battalions having been deployed from the Peak, and are already on scene. Both forces are stretched rather thin, however.'
"Well, anything on reinforcements?!" Stark asked as he fired his repulsors, striking several Frost Giants in the face. "I really wouldn't mind a Helicarrier or three on scene right about now!"
'The three closest SHIELD Helicarriers are currently harbored at their Dock facility in Puerto Rico, with one undergoing repairs. The other two are scrambling to deploy, but their ETA will be at least several hours, even with ARC-enhanced flight speeds. The fleet's flagship, the Archangel, is currently 2000 miles away from the United States, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is currently travelling at its top speeds but it will not arrive for another several hours, at least. There are no other Helicarriers in plausible distance.'
"Well, there's modern day Big Brother at its finest for you…Are they at least sending someone?!"
'SHIELD networks have confirmed that Director Fury has ordered the deployment of S.T.R.I.K.E. units and aerial units,' JARVIS replied. 'All nearby SHIELD bases are sending as many agents as they can. I also have intercepted a transmission from the Helicarrier Archangel: four agents of SHIELD's Secret Warriors have arrived in Manhattan just several minutes ago and are currently engaging these invaders.'
"Any names?"
'Agents Barton and Romanova, along with two others: Mockingbird and Spider Woman.'
"Tasha and Legolas are in town? Nice, we'll drop by to say hello…after we handle these!" Stark yelled as he fired his uni-beam at the swarming Jotun.
*Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City*
1016 GMT/3:16 PM EST, 4 May 2012
"Oh…my…god…"
They were simply trying to make a quick buck today: break into an electronics store, loot it and sell the merchandise for some quick money.
They didn't expect any of this to happen: an invasion of blue giants that were literally tearing all of New York City apart, a hot-ass woman and her buff bodyguard axman starting it all…or one of the most powerful (and sexy) heroes in the city to get her ass handed to her seven different ways and be thrown like a rag doll into the building next to them.
They were just four criminals, armed with a crowbar, a ball & chain, some street fighting skills, and an old metal wrestling helmet. Before their eyes, these four thugs were seeing what they thought was the end of the world happening.
Dirk Garthwaite, Eliot Franklin, Henry Camp and Brian Philip Calusky all had no idea what to do.
But they were utterly terrified.
"Do you see that?!" Camp yelled as he looked at the Enchantress and Executioner in the distance. "That green broad slapped her around like she was nothing. Man, she's supposed to have fought the Hulk before!"
"Franklin," Calusky yelled as he looked to Franklin. "This wasn't what we signed up for, man! This is the end of the world, dammit!"
"Yeah I can see that, you dumbass!" the former psychologist yelled back, his ball & chain in his left hand as he searched for a way for the four of them to get out of the area and somewhere safe. But everywhere he looked, however, he saw dozens of the creatures as they pillaged and destroyed, and the police attempting to fight back.
Dirk, however, was bold enough to approach the heroine's unconscious form. He would be lying to himself if he said that he never had any fantasies about her. Hell, any sane and straight male criminal in the city must've, more so when she used to have her old costumes. Damn, she was hot as hell…and here she was, unconscious, her costume torn a bit…
"Dirk!" Camp said as he and the other three ran up to him. "We need to get outta here, c'mon!"
"Let's have some fun with the lady, first," Dirk replied with a sneer.
"Man, are you crazy!?" Calusky yelled back. "The world is ending and you wanna have some fun?!"
"Have you not seen her-?!"
"Calusky's right, Dirk, we need to-!"
"Going somewhere, mortals?"
All four of them gasped as they turned to see the green-clad woman, the Enchantress, standing behind them, her hands glowing dangerously with green magical energy and a sinister sneer on her face. Right behind her stood her faithful servant, the Executioner.
"OH SHIT!" Calusky yelled in fear and horror, thinking instantly that the end had come for them all. Immediately, he turned and ran, and the other three followed in less than two seconds, dashing after their companion, not stopping until Executioner's ax flew past them and landed mere inches in front of where they could've been. They barely had made it to the block corner before the two powerful invaders stopped them. With horror, Calusky, Dirk, Camp & Franklin shrunk back in fear, utterly terrified of whatever was now about to happen to them.
"Please…please," Calusky begged. "Don't hurt us!"
"Hurt you?" Enchantress smirked. "On the contrary…I think I can find some use of you mortals."
"What?!" Dirk said with surprise. "Whaddaya mean?"
"As you can see, mortals, a new era is beginning," Enchantress continued, motioning to the devastation happening around them. "Your pathetic world is going to be extinguished. All shall be remade for the glory of the one I serve, Loki of Asgard. However, my lord is always on the lookout for new followers, those who are willing to support his cause and fight for him. I offer you the chance to have power in this new world order. You will have authority and prestige, power beyond imagination, and the strength to do what you wish. All I and my lord ask," she continued as she stretched her hand to the four of them, "is that you pledge your loyalty to him and his cause, and help us take this world."
"We do this, and we live, basically?" Franklin asked.
"Exactly."
"So…we get to be on top, strong, in charge, and no one will be able to stop us," Dirk said. The next moment, he was sneering. "Lady, where were you three years ago when I needed that! Guys, with that kind of power, no one will be able to ever stop us! And if we win and help them take over, we'll be in charge! All those assholes that made our lives miserable…"
"All the money we can ever want!" added Calusky.
"No one will be able to stop us!" Camp shouted with glee, fists in the air.
"That sounds like a sweet deal to me!" Franklin sneered, gripping his ball & chain.
"Lady," Dirk said as he held his crowbar. "You got yourself a deal."
"Perfect," Amora cackled, her hands now alive & glowing with energy. "Then prepare yourselves, for now, your decisions shall be rewarded as you are granted the power and abilities to serve Loki as he sees fit!"
Suddenly, her green energy shot into the skies, but instantly returned a few seconds later, and the burst landed directly on the four thugs. The energy burst into a blinding explosion, and Amora could hear the men's screams of agony and pain, but soon they disappeared and were replaced by the sounds of cackles and laughter and shouts of joy. In the energy, she could see the shapes of their bodies as they grew and got more muscular and brolic.
Amora sneered to herself as she said, "And new followers for Loki are born."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, the heroine that Enchantress had disposed of moments ago was now regaining conscious and was witnessing just what was happening. Her mouth fell in shock at the sight before her.
"Oh, my god…" she gasped in horror. She didn't know was going on, but she knew one thing: those two, the guy with the ax and the witch were strong (like her level of strong), and she knew she couldn't handle this alone.
Seeing her comm was trashed, she flew into the skies and headed to Times Square, hoping her former teammates were actually still alive.
*Grayburn University Campus. Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City*
1019 GMT/3:19 PM EST, 4 May 2012
Left and right, students were panicking and running around in terror and fear. There were only a few dozen cops and SWAT units around, and despite their best efforts to protect the students and professors of the college, they were out of their league.
The Frost Giants were going through them like nothing, wreaking havoc as they destroyed the various campus buildings and slaughtered humans by the dozens. With their inhuman cries of war and destruction, they continued to lay waste to the area. Outside the Grayburn campus, more Jotun were doing just the same.
Everyone was rushing as desperately as they could to head to the nearby subway stations to seek shelter and protection from the invaders trying to kill them. This was difficult for the students on campus, being they had to go through all the destruction and the Jotun themselves.
Luckily, they had some help on their side.
With a thunderous boom, an abnormally large man crashed through the Grayburn Library building, a Frost Giant on him, intent on killing him. The man was clothed in a black Kevlar body armor with lines of yellow running along and the arms, complete with yellow gauntlets and boots, topped off with red goggles that served many purposes; an outfit fashioned by his wife when he decided to forego his former identity. At the moment, he was 15ft tall, roughly the size of the Jotun, but he was able to change that size in a whim if need be. With a swift movement of his arm, he grabbed the ice club the Jotun made to bash into his head.
"How the hell did I get you to talk me into this?!" Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym yelled as he landed a swift right hook at the Jotun's face, sending him flying back into the Library building.
As Pym got back up, he saw a whole gang of Jotun racing at him, weapons in hand. They were instantly surprised as their opponent's size grew, into twice as tall as them. Nonetheless they attacked, only to be instantly bombarded with a vicious array of bio-stings from seemingly out of nowhere. With them distracted, Pym struck the Jotun again, sending them flying and slamming into the ground.
As he shrunk down to normal human size, the source of the distraction revealed herself as she grew back into normal size. It was a woman, a brunette with short hair and a slender petite figure. She wore a dark purple outfit that completely covered her body, including hands, legs and feet. The front torso part of her costume had a large yellow insignia on it, somewhat in the shape of a wasp sting. As she grew, a pair of insect like wings became visible as they shrunk back onto her back.
"Oh, c'mon Hank," Janet van Dyne-Pym replied, her smirk turning into a frown. "Look around you, this place is like a war zone. We need to help these people. Most of them are your students, after all. Besides, what's the use of superpowers if you don't use them to save people?"
"We fight supervillains, not alien invaders," Hank sighed, firing an energy blast at a nearby Jotun trying to destroy the Science building, sending it crashing into the ground upon impact. "Where's SWORD or SHIELD-?"
"They're not here, but we are, so let's make the best of it," Jan replied with a smile as she quickly kissed his cheek.
Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by a full battalion of Frost Giants, each roaring and brandishing their weapons. Hank & Jan went back to back, the smirk back on Jan's lips as their hands began bursting with energy again.
"C'mon, honey, let's show them what Yellowjacket and Wasp can do!"
*Times Square. Midtown, Manhattan, New York City *
1023 GMT/3:23 PM EST, 4 May 2012
"Watch your six!" Barton called out. "Focus on their joints and eyes!"
"I got it!" Drew called back, gracefully dodging a Jotun's axe swing. With a backflip, she rammed her foot into one's jaw, rapid firing venom blasts from her sides as a few other Jotun began grasping at her. A well-aimed punch to the jaw took care of another as it made to grab her. Jess landed with grace, only to be surprised as several other Jotun making for her.
"They sure do like you, Drew," Natalia called out with a smirk as she flung a grenade. "It must be the pheromones."
"Ugh, dear Lord," the British agent replied in disgust, her hands glowing vibrantly.
The four Warriors had been fighting their way across Manhattan, and had currently found their way to Times Square. The New York City landmark had definitely seen better days than this; cars and other vehicles were crushed, burning or torn in half, with bodies of civilians and cops and several agents on the ground. More than several of the buildings had been partially demolished and damaged, with even some in flames.
They had joined up with SWAT units and police fighting in Times Square, working with them to defend the area while civilians could escape into the nearby subway tunnels. Squad cars were coming in and officers were doing their best. But it seemed like a lost cause. Hand guns didn't pack the punch they needed, only grazing the Jotun's thick skin, and they didn't have enough combat shotguns or assault rifles to hand out. But they refused to falter or fall back, a trait the agents found admirable. People were counting on them, and while people were going around running away in terror, they stood their ground, even as they suffered for it.
An explosion to the right signaled another SWAT truck crushed, and two nearby officers were consumed by the flames. Hawkeye joined a trio of officers and a sergeant as they dove for cover. "What's the status on the military showing up?!" he asked.
"It's going to be another 20 minutes before the National Guard can get here!" the sergeant replied as he reloaded his gun. "Air Force and Marines are scrambling right now, but there's no ETA yet!"
"National Guard-?!" a SWAT officer began to yell, only for an ice spear to impale a nearby squad car, tearing it in half directly in the middle. "Does the army even know what's happening here?!"
"Do WE?!"
"All we can do for now is hold out until they show up!" Barton yelled out as he shot a trio of arrows and a trio of Jotun. They exploded upon impact, their heads consumed in flames as the bodies collapsed onto the ground. "C'mon, boys, let's show these bastards what New York City's Finest can do!"
"Still wouldn't mind a Helicarrier to show up right now!" Natalia called out, her gun shooting like crazy.
"Helicarriers?!" Morse called out. "I'm still on the superheroes! There's like a thousand of them in New York; where they hell are they?!"
The agents' skills were on full display as they worked with the police and SWAT in combating their enemies. Hawkeye rapidly fired explosive, smoke bomb, incendiary, impact and sonic arrows at the creatures, gaining their attention and while he managed to land good hits, even sending a number of them down for the count. It was all he could do to avoid their hits and continue firing at them.
Black Widow had slid under some Jotun and began firing upwards, right where a male human's crotch would be. It apparently seemed like shooting a Jotun there is just as painful as kicking a man there. As they fell to their knees in pain, she dodged the cascading ice weapons trying to hit her and jumping up, she fired her Widow stingers at them, making sure to hit their joints and eyes. Her Red Room enhanced abilities allowed her to keep up her agility and dodge the hits they kept throwing at her.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird, with her slender and somewhat petite form, easily and gracefully dodged all the Jotun' hits. With her adamantium coated staves, she began to relentlessly attack their joints and faces, using the destroyed cars and the bodies of Jotun as jumping points and managing to land a few fatal blows. She also succeeded in shocking a few of them, doing her best to aim at their joints.
Spider Woman continued going for the more direct approach, actually landing punches backed by her superhuman strength and landing powerful venom blasts. She also utilized her pheromone manipulation to get the Jotun in a dazed and unbalanced state of mind.
The combined efforts of the agents and police were paying off.
For a while.
The many portals across Manhattan were still open, and they continuously kept spewing out numbers of Frost Giants. While the human forces were slowly dwindling and exhausting themselves, the new arrivals were fresh and bloodthirsty. Numbers started turning against their favor; they were still only five agents and a dwindling number of cops against dozens upon dozens of these creatures. It was only a matter of time until one of them got a lucky hit. That was the case with Bobbi as she was slammed right into the window of the Toys-R-US mega-store, and it hurt like hell.
"BOBBI!" Barton yelled as he raced for her position, firing arrow after arrow, hitting and killing each one of his marks.
"Babe, I'm ok," she muttered as she struggled to get up. "Ow…damn, that hurt…"
"Hawkeye, get Bobbi!" Natalia called out. "Drew, cover those officers on the corner!" Before she could say anything else, however, the entire area shook with the sound of something that made even the Jotun pause momentarily.
A roar...one much louder than anything they had heard before from the Jotun.
Their attention was near instantly drawn to a portal two streets over, near the intersection. To their utter shock, it seemed to expand as something else climbed out of it. It was no Jotun, but a five story tall beast, gray skinned and vicious looking. It had a long, spiked tail and jagged claws on its feet, as well as a canine-like head, with deadly tusks. It narrowed its eyes in hunger and rage before it shook its head, roaring to the skies. Without waiting another second, it began attack everything in its sight, laying waste to the buildings around it.
A Jotunheim Beast.
The Frost Giants immediately began roaring in exhilaration and glee, signifying that this creature was indeed one of their own.
"Oh, come on!" Clint yelled out in exasperation.
"What the hell is that?!" Morse exclaimed.
"No idea!" Natalia replied as she aimed at it. "Everyone, fire now!" Several SWAT and cops joined her as she opened fire. Their bullets, however, did basically nothing but bounce off
"Really missing the carrier fighter right about now…" Drew muttered before she flew right at the monster, rapid firing her venom blasts. The Beast roared even louder, feeling the stings of her attacks, and slashed at her with its claws, only for her to dodge and ram a punch with all her strength into its cheek. She then hissed greatly in pain as her punch hurt herself, instead. She barely managed to escape the creature's jaws as it attempted to devour her, going back to her venom blasts.
"Hawkeye, get an arrow and shoot this bloody thing!"
Hawkeye's reply was two explosive arrows and one incendiary arrow at its flank. The creature roared in pain, turning towards the marksman. He barely had time to dodge before the creature pounced in his direction, showing a shocking amount of speed. Quickly, he shot a smoke bomb arrow at its eyes, temporarily blinding it. Jess flew back in, shooting her venom blasts nonstop as the creature tried to clear its eyes, but...
"AHHH!"
"Spider Woman!" Widow yelled out as she found herself being overwhelmed by the Jotun, desperately trying to keep them back with gunfire and stinger blasts.
Jessica had been struck by the Beast's tail, slamming her into the ground. Wincing and yelling in pain, Jess looked down to see a pair of somewhat deep gashes on her side. Hawkeye made to head her way, being he had some first aid supplies on his belt, but five more Jotun crashed into the Toys-R-US store, intent on murdering him and Morse.
Spider Woman made to take off into the skies, only for the Beast's paw to slam into, pinning her to the ground. The pain magnified as Jessica desperately tried to get its hand off her, but to no avail. The creature snarled in rage, saliva drooling from its teeth.
Jess nevertheless stared defiantly at the Beast, snarling, "C'mon, do your bloody worst!"
SNIKT! SNIKT!
The creature then roared in vicious pain as it reared its back, allowing Romanova the chance to get Drew out of harm's way. The agents and the cops soon could see why: hooked onto the side of the creature's neck, his claws embedded into its flesh, was a man wearing ripped and torn black Kevlar body armor. He was partially covered in blue blood, and he had the look of murder in his eyes.
James "Logan" Howlett, the Wolverine. A staple member of the Uncanny X-Men.
The creature roared angrily as it clawed at its neck, trying to rip Logan off of it. Logan wasn't having it, though, and proceed to hack away violently before jumping onto the top of its head. The mutant then jumped onto its snout ridge and proceeding to drive his claws into its left eye. The Jotunheim Beast roared in pain, rage and anguish as it desperately tried to shake the Wolverine off, blood seeping through its eyes. Logan jumped off as the creature rammed itself headfirst into a nearby superstore steakhouse restaurant, landing gracefully in front of Drew and Romanova.
"Jessica, Talia," he greeted. "Good to see ya again."
"Likewise, Logan," Spider Woman smirked as Natalia nodded with a small smile. "Thank you for that, by the way."
"Don' mention it," he replied, now turning to the creature, unleashing his claws again. "Guessing this is happenin' all across Manhattan, huh? I've been hackin' through these things since over on the Lower East Side. I could'a bought that, but what the hell is that?!"
"Best guess? Their steroid-popping attack dog," Bobbi replied as she and Clint made their way over. "Good see you, Logan."
"Likewise," Logan nodded before turning to the marksman. "Hawkeye."
"Wolverine," the marksman replied as he quickly wrapped some gauze around Jess' wounds. Thanks to her immunity, she wouldn't get any form of infection. To ensure the wound wouldn't hurt her later on, the British agent partially cauterized her wound with the heat of her venom blast, sealing the wound enough to not be a discomfort but still allow for healing it.
The roar of the Jotunheim Beat again rang out through the air as it came out of the building, and stomped back towards them. The ground shook with its every step, small craters formed where its feet hit the streets. The five heroes tensed and readied themselves as it roared viciously, baring its teeth.
"Sooo...anyone have a plan?" Morse asked as she connected her staves into a staff.
"I can maybe tear it apart from the inside out," Logan mused, his claws at the ready. "Anyone familiar with the Fastball Special?"
No one had a chance to reply, however, as a surge of yellow energy suddenly blasted right into the Beast's head from above, forcing it to stagger back as it roared angrily. A figure then descended from the skies and rammed right into creature. Powerful echoing punches and mighty blasts of energy were heard as the Beast was continuously forced back step by step. Roaring in rage, it slashed and whipped with its claws and tail, and tried to bite its attacker. It was not to be as its attacker landed an uppercut onto its jaw, cracking it. The Jotunheim Beast was then grabbed by its tusk and flown into the skies. It was then effortlessly flung out to sea, towards the East River.
After several moments, the figure descended to the ground before the five heroes, revealing a woman in her late 20s. She wore a slightly tattered blue skin-tight Kevlar material costume with a red with gold striped top near the neck and shoulders, with an 8-pointed star on her chest. She wore red gloves & boots, and had a red sash around her waist. Her thick & long blond hair billowed in the wind, flowing in the form of a mohawk, courtesy of the red cowl she had on her face. Her hand was encased in a sphere of energy and the whites that covered her eyes seemed to glow.
"Someone needed help?"
Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. Formerly Ms. Marvel, Secret Warrior of SHIELD.
"CAROL!" Jessica yelled in joy as she hugged her best friend. "I thought you were dead...the radio-I mean-!"
"Jess, I'm alright, don't worry," Carol grinned as she hugged her best friend. "They had just damaged my comm and knocked me out. Trust me, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Carol then turned to greet the other four. "Clint, Tasha, Bobbi...Hey, Logan; good to see you again."
"Danvers," Logan said with a small smirk.
"So, what's going on with your end of things?" Bobbi asked. "You said you were engaged with the two that started this whole thing?"
"Yeah, I was tussling with the two who started all this," Carol replied. "They're the ones who knocked me out. They're pretty strong…like my kind of strong. When I came to, they were doing something to four random guys, but I couldn't save them…Anyways, the leader of these things is out there somewhere, but I say we take out the two I met first. We stop them, we can probably stop this."
"A very good plan, mortal," a sultry voice rang out. All six of them turned to see the Enchantress and the Executioner standing atop of a pile of Jotun carcasses, both with smirks on their lips. "Unfortunately, you are in no position to carry it out," Amora added, a lazy sneer on her face.
"Them?" Logan said as he and the others got ready for battle.
"Yep," Carol snarled, her fists glowing with energy. "How about you come here and say that to my face, bitch?! I'll show you just what kind of position I'm in to hand you your ass!"
"Oh please, spare me your feeble attempts," Enchantress yawned. "Besides, it is not I you should be concerned about. I can't have you ruining the fun of the Jotun Frost Giants, now can I?
At that, the building to the right of the six heroes exploded, and from the smoke and dust, four figures emerged. One held a crowbar, another held a ball-&-chain, the third had over sized hands, and the four had some kind of metal helmet on his head. They were huge and had a lot of muscle, and the clothes they had were ripped and tattered, as if they had rapidly grown out of them. They immediately looked to the heroes and sneered.
"Time for some fun, boys!" Dirk Garthwaite yelled out, and Eliot Franklin, Henry Camp and Brian Philip Calusky did the same in joy. "Let's get 'em!"
*The Raft, SHIELD Prison. East River, New York City*
1027 GMT/3:27 PM EST, 4 May 2012
"What the hell...?!" Coulson muttered, shock all over his face.
Ross, meanwhile, was busy yelling into his phone. "I don't give a damn! Get President Cooper out of the meeting! Manhattan is under attack! Get Rhodes, Lang, Talbot, anyone! Alert N.O.R.A.D. and Homeland Security! Get the response to respond faster, dammit! 30 minutes is unacceptable!"
"Jones, head to the Raft Command Bridge, now!" Coulson said to one of the agents. "Have them contact the Archangel, the Black Hawk and the Triskelion!" The agent nodded and headed back into the prison. Coulson turned to Ross and asked, "What the military response time?"
"The National Guard's already en route, ETA: five minutes," the general replied, both turning to the sight of a Manhattan under siege. "The Air Force and Marines are long out, though." Ross was silent for a moment before he made his next decision; sure, he wanted the Hulk, but he was a patriot and soldier of his country, first and foremost. "I'm taking my men out there, reinforce the NYPD; no doubt they're already being overwhelmed. We'll be taking the Hulk when this is all over."
Betty, meanwhile, was looking at the distant city in horror. "Oh my God…"
"Betty," Bruce called out from within his mobile cell. "Betty, what's going on?!"
"Bruce, Manhattan is...it's-!"
"INCOMING!" one of the agents suddenly yelled out. All eyes turned towards the river, or rather, the very large projectile that was plummeting their way from Manhattan over the river.
"Hit the deck!" Ross called out as everyone started running. He quickly ran over to his daughter and pulled her with him. The projectile stuck seconds later, crashing into the runway with a powerful thud. The resulting shockwaves sent the aircraft trailing several yards, and the agents and soldiers flying several feet. The runway cracked at the impact, with a crater forming, and dust and rock chunks flew into the air. A number of alarms all across the Raft began blaring loudly, alerting of an attack.
Only Betty saw that whatever had hit them had landed right on top of Banner's cell.
A massive roar captured the attention of all those present, as the projectile actually stood up. It was greyish-blue with a long spiked tail and tusks. It looked at the humans through its one good eye and with a roar, the creature made to attack before being bombarded with bullets, laser and artillery from behind. The Raft's defense battery systems had activated, with the creature roaring in rage as it tried to look for its attackers.
Captain Marvel had unknowingly thrown the Jotunheim Beast towards the Raft.
"Open fire!" Coulson and Ross yelled out as they themselves did so. The SHIELD agents and HulkBusters replied instantly, their weaponry barking as they joined in on attacking the Jotunheim Beast. Unfortunately, the bullets and heavy caliber energy lasers did nothing against the creature. In retaliation, it attacked by slashing its claws at the agents and soldiers, killing three and sending most flying into the walls.
"Betty," Ross yelled to his daughter, who was behind him. "Get inside the Raft, now!"
"But Bruce-!"
"Forget him! You need to get to safety!"
"All Raft personnel, we are now in Protocol R5, I repeat, R5! Initiate prison shutdown! This is not a drill!" Coulson yelled into his comm. "I need backup on the transport dock! All available agents, report to-!"
RRRRAAAAAAAAUUUURRRHHHHH!
All present froze at the roar that shook the skies. All eyes turned towards the crush mobile cell that Bruce Banner had been in, the one the Beast had landed on. A giant green behemoth now stood atop the remains of the cell. Its muscles were thick and powerful, and popping veins were visible, and it wore orange prison pants that were torn. Its expression was one of pure rage, however. It let out another bestial roar, looking directly at the Jotunheim Beast.
The only one who could say anything was Betty Ross.
"Bruce..?"
XXXX
TO BE CONTINUED…