The HAMMER branded Helicarrier floated above the site designated Landing Zone Alpha Zero, the point that would be the main drop point for the assault. All around the main troop bay regular army units, HAMMER security and conscripted meta humans mingled around the fleet of Thunder Hawks as well as the larger Zeus and Wyvern Class Landing Barges that would ferry troops, vehicles and equipment down to the ground. Standing above all the commotion was Osborne's Dark Avengers all ready to battle as the pilot announced that the massive platform was in position.
"Listen all of you." Osborne addressed the team of criminals surrounding him, "After the last Siege of Asgard people began to grow concerned about your behaviour. As such I want you to behave in front of the cameras. That means no eating people." he pointed at Mac, "No sucking their souls out." he told Kephi, "No snarky comments or detours to murder civilians." he glared at Karla, Hawkeye and Daken, "No friendly fire." his glare turned to Eric who looked down at the floor, "and no doing whatever it is you did." he finished poking Iron Clad in the chest.
"I didn't do anything wrong last time." Ironclad murmured, "That's why I'm here."
"I didn't do anything." Karla repeated, "Director's pet." she hissed
"That's exactly what I mean, this battle is going to be long and hard. We saddle up in five so start working together or I replace you, your all ultimately expendable." Osborne yelled.
"All of us?" Kephi asked cruelly raising a fine eyebrow.
"Except you of course." Osborne double-taked as his armor beeped, "Excuse me I've got to take this" he added flying away towards the bridge.
"I take it back." Karla said to Ironclad, "He's Osborne's pet."
"Be careful daughter of the Kree." Kephi announced, "I do this because she is coming, and it's my duty to stop her."
"Who is this she?" Mac asked, "I heard the freaks at Mt Whitney talk about her, that she would kill us all."
"Unlikely." Daken snarled, "Some of us can't be so easily be killed."
"You are as susceptible as any to her plans." Kephi replied, "She is coming in a visage your all familiar with. She will arrive in a flash of light hovering over the battle-field. If she descends all will be lost."
"So we just keep her from landing." Karla stated, "Steel and I can deal with that."
"You won't she is to powerful." Kephi announced, "She will come for you, the archer and the fell parasite first, she has a grudge to settle carried on from her mother."
"Who is she?" Bullseye growled, "Nobody can kill everyone." he finished, "Even the best of us get thwarted by horn headed freaks, web slinging wall crawlers and there Avenger pals. Even people like Osborne, Doom and Galactus never finish the job."
"She is coming." Kephi announced before vanishing in a cloud of golden mist.
"Does anyone miss the old Kephi?" Antman asked, "Sure she was arrogant and took the title of Queen Bitch away from Karla but at least she wasn't a cryptic pessimist."
"It's separation anxiety." Karla diagnosed, "He spent so long in a female form that he grew fond of it. It's a textbook case, he's crazy but not as crazy as the Sentry was or Osborne is."
"Whatever the case, we'd better do what Osborne says." Ironclad announced, "I may be no stickler for rules but he seemed adamant about us not causing any problems in-front of camera." As he finished a claxon sounded and Osborne flew back into the room fully dressed in his Iron Patriot Armor. Pointing at the floor the other Avengers followed his finger down to the deployment hatch where several HAMMER units with Jump Packs were clustered around the edge.
"Steel, Scarab and Ms. Marvel will jump first clear the skies and carve a hole, I'll be right behind leading the ground troops. Everyone else get in the Zeus and head down once a corridor has been carved down to the landing zone." Osborne ordered.
"Looks like we're the disposable cannon fodder." Steel told Karla as he stepped off the edge, the lithe form of Ms. Marvel following him down. As they dropped they met no resistance as they plummeted past F22s and F35s patrolling around the edge of the Helicarrier. With an earth shattering slam the Steel Soldier landed as Kephi and Ms. Marvel hovered alongside.
"Osborne there's nobody down here." Karla called on the teams comm. link, "Somebody really overestimated enemy numbers."
"No they are here." Kephi announced, "I sense one Asgradian and a multitude of serfs or thralls within the perimeter of the marked zone."
"Osborne come in." Karla called again, "God dammit, there's no signal."
"That's because I wish it so." a man's voice replied echoing around the landing area. "Mortals I would ask why you and your mad god have come here, it would be more fitting for you to die defending your homes rather then on this dusty plain."
"Show yourself." Karla yelled with authority. As the words left her lips a dust devil whirled and formed into a lithe yet powerful looking man dressed in Asgradian armor, his eyes blood shot. "Oh my god Clint." Karla gaped.
"Nay I'm Hemindell, Watchman of Asgard." the man answered
"Clint can you hear me." Karla called, "Your not an Asgradian you're a person."
"Quiet Mortal." Hemindell rumbled, "I speak to my brother from the south, why have you come here in service of the mortals?"
"Because of her." Kephi replied, "When is she coming?"
"I have foreseen her arrival in four days." Hemindell replied, "My word is truth Mad One."
"Aye." Kephi answered, "I must depart, I trust you can handle this?" he asked Karla and Steel as he vanished in a puff of gold mist.
"Did he just leave us?" Steel asked.
"Osborne can you hear us?" Karla yelled to no avail. Hemindell moved forward a step his eyes glowing red, the sound of screaming suddenly surrounding the two Dark Avengers. In an instant he melted into fog concealing the silhouettes of a woman and a massive man armed with a hammer.
The Steel Soldier peered through the fog, the bulky individual was advancing, even worse the hammer he carried was glowing ominously as each step he took towards Karla and him shook the earth. With a roar he charged the last few strides, the assailant swinging his hammer striking the steel form of his target. Grappling with his opponent the Steel Soldier was surprised to see that he was fitting with himself, his skin decorated with ancient runes.
"Karla the enemies are ourselves." he yelled as the hammer head smacked him round the face.
"No there not." Karla replied as she fought with a red headed woman whose eyes danced with pink flame, her neck decorated with a golden sonic harness.
"What the hell are those two doing?" Osborne asked, "He's standing right in front of them and there just swatting the air like idiots. Hawkeye get here and put a round through that guys cranium." he commanded taking a sniper rifle from one of the dumb struck.
"Ah Osborne and Bullseye." a voice rumbled around the Helicarrier Hanger, "Let's look at the vision of your future." As the last words died somebody opened fire from the upper gantry the rounds bouncing off the Iron Patriot's Shielding. Osborne looked up to see Victoria Hand dressed in a business suit firing an M4 Assault Rifle.
"Your dead." Osborne growled, "You're not my future."
"I'm Victoria Hand, Director of SHIELD and your history Osborne." Victoria screeched back dropping the rifle and leaping off the gantry armed with a large pair of knives.
"Hawkeye take her down." Osborne commanded as Hawkeye fired shots that nailed several of the assorted soldiers and HAMMER agents.
"Die Hornhead." Bullseye yelled removing the bullets from the magazine before throwing them wildly across the room as the vision of Daredevil closed in before swinging his billy-club around his face.
"Mr. Director are you okay?" a HAMMER agent asked as Victoria ran threw him like a ghost. Osborne intercepted her, one of the knives imbedded in his arms before firing his Repulsors at the attacker as she screamed in pain before turning to glass. Looking into the shards Osborne saw Victoria sitting at his desk in Avengers Tower filing papers as a group of individuals stood around her.
"Norman, your lucky, you should be going to the electric chair for what you unleashed but your going to have to settle for life imprisonment." she told him before the glass turned to sand.
"Mr Osborne are you okay?" the HAMMER agent asked.
"It wasn't real." Osborne stated, "Lester what your seeing isn't real." he yelled as Bullseye stumbled and fell as the Vision of Daredevil towered over the fallen assassin his Billy-Club replaced with a sai. "Give me that." he told the HAMMER agent taking his rifle and shooting a round through the Daredevil Vision. Bullseye shifted and the Vision missed his heart stabbing him through the arm. Angrily Bullseye grabbed the vision and twisted its neck, the skin turning to glass under his fingers. Inside the glass was a temple with both him and Daredevil standing on the roof surrounded by ninjas dressed in red.
"Come on Hornhead." the Bullseye in the glass sneered, "Let's see if you can take me." he added shuffling a pack of diamond edged playing cards, "The Ace of Spades, that means one of us will die tonight."
The real Bullseye blinked as Norman helped him to his feet before heading to the deployment hatch, peering over the edge they saw the Steel Soldier and Ms. Marvel still fighting there own visions. By the looks of it they were both terrifying and powerful, as Karla and Steel gave ground to the illusions.
"Clint stop this." Karla yelled as she dodged the vision Songbird's punch before taking to the air, "You're an Avenger, a good guy." Looking down she saw the vision glare up at her unable to follow. Karla smiled, "The real Songbird can fly jackass, you're the worst imitation ever. Steel it's an illusion." she yelled down, "kill it and it may go away."
The Steel Soldier sneered and pulled his attackers hammer away causing the runes on his body to transfer on to the real Avenger before turning to glass. Reflected was a team dropping into an abandoned dig sight. Ironclad recognized MACH V, Songbird and Fixer as doo-gooders who were leading Shocker, Diamondback, Ghost and himself down a ramp to where the hammer in his hand lay.
"Okay Thunderbolts." Songbird announced, "be careful the Director gave us instructions not to touch this thing, just to contain it."
"Ironclad what are you doing?" Fixer yelled as the bolt in question muscled past Shocker and Diamondback before picking up the hammer, the runes on his body appearing.
"This is bad." Ghost stated "Ironclad can you hear us?"
"I am Kuurth, Breaker of Stone." Ironclad bellowed as the image disappeared along with the hammer in the real Ironclad's hands, reduced to nothing but sand. Ironclad threw the sand on the floor before looking at the Songbird vision seething as she glared at Karla as she hovered above her. "You'd better run." Ironclad warned her as Karla dived firing pulses of light into the mirage the beams reflecting through the glass like form before projecting the image on the sky.
"Avengers Tower is ours again." Norman addressed Karla and Mac as they stood in the remains of what had been his office. Behind them the door shattered in pink light propelling the guard dressed in a Ronin Costume through the wooden portal and out through the glass windows. Silhouetted in the door was Melissa standing proud despite the graze on her forehead and the trickle of blood on her cheek.
"I'm not here to fight you Osborne." Melissa said, "I'm here for Karla."
"Don't make me do this Melissa, I don't want to hurt you." Karla whimpered
"You know what you promised to do to me." Melissa told Karla
"Does this have a point?" Osborne said as he got up from the big leather chair and advanced on Melissa as Venom slid off the ceiling and moved in as well.
"I can't do this." Karla replied, "I'm not her anymore, I'm Ms. Marvel, I save people."
"This is pathetic." Osborne growled, "Mac enjoy your meal." he ordered the Symbiote. In that instant Karla pulled out the handgun she had holstered and fired a shot into Melissa's chest causing her to collapse to the floor."
"I'm so sorry." she mouthed to the corpse as the image disappeared and the glass cracked revealing Hemindell standing behind the Songbird Illusion. Behind Karla the Steel Soldier flexed his muscles and Norman in the Iron Patriot Armor landed closing in on the god.
"I have seen my death and it's not here." Hemindell commented before vanishing into a wisp of sand. "Kill them." his voice echoed as the floor writhed and the thralls begun to dig themselves out of the ground.