Summary: Being alive in a world of Marvels wasn't all bad, besides the odd villain and or alien trying to kill him that is. But as long as he had the power to hold his own, then by all means. Let them come.
Quantum Displacement
Chapter IV: Collision Course
Roy ducked as another punch was sent from behind. He then followed up with a leg sweep, only for the bastard to disappear in a flash of red. He had no idea how long they had been fighting like this, but if he had to guess he'd say about thirty minutes. Neither side was making any progress, whether that was because he was actually doing a decent job holding his own or if the other guy was just playing with him, he wasn't sure.
Another flash of red, this time from the right, Roy quickly back petaled, avoiding a roundhouse to the temple. Seeing an opening, Roy fired a blast at the guy. Though, and this was when Roy's eyes grew wide, the guy somehow phased through the blast. The blast itself causing a small explosion on the opposite side of the roof they were on.
"The hell?" Roy asked incredulously as he mentally took account of all the powers he'd seen so far; Teleportation, energy manipulation, energy projection, and now phasing, "What kind of overpowered powerset do you have?!"
Roy tilted his body to the side, dodging a blast that was visually similar to his own, "The kind bestowed from the gods." His assailant said simply before firing multiple blasts at him.
Reacting, Roy sprinted to the nearest cover he could see. Having a roof turbine vent as cover wasn't the brightest of ideas, but it was better than nothing. He waited a few seconds before the guy stopped firing blasts, and shot up from cover, only to discover he wasn't there.
Slowly, walking out of cover and looking around the rooftop he spoke, "You know, we've been doing this song and dance for almost an hour. If all you got is hit and run tactics then you better stop wasting my time." He paced in a circle, his eyes scanning for even the slightest thing out of place, "Thought you were trying to get rid of me? Don't have the skill to back that up?"
He stopped, feeling the hair on his neck stand on end he didn't see a red flash anywhere. 'If he's not attacking from behind, front, or sides, then…?!' He jumped backwards, putting distance between where he just was and where he landed. It was good that he jumped when he did, because a red beam shot from below the roof, leaving a considerably decent sized hole, and indicating the guy was inside.
He ran up to the hole and pointed both his fist down, he then started firing inside, his blasts, lighting up the building's interior in red everytime he fired. He continued to fire when he saw a cloaked figure dodging and weaving between the blasts. Roy also noticed that the guy was phasing sparingly, was it something he could only use a set number of times?
Didn't matter, he had the enemy at a disadvantage. Eventually, he would either slip up and get hit or run out of times he had to phase. Roy fired faster, his blasts hitting everything in the building except his target. It caused him to feel a large amount of frustration, a frustration that he was sure his enemy would capitalize.
"You're unfocused and overconfident," The computerized voice chided from behind him, Roy didn't even have time to turn around before he received a concussive blast from behind, launching him to the other side of the roof, "A devastating and deadly combination when on the battlefield."
Roy picked himself up, glaring at the armored individual, "Oh yeah? Well you suck, so I guess we're pretty even, huh?" He raised both his hands up and fired a blast, "And I don't want or need your advice when it comes to the battlefield!" He had seen and lost too much in Afghanistan just to have some cloaked bastard to tell him about it.
His enemy simple phased through it, "I have fought in more wars than you could possibly comprehend," He walked closer, phasing through all of Roy's blasts, "Did you really think you could beat me? I have fought men and women who stood with gods, I was trained by the dark gods, honed and tempered into the perfect war machine."
Roy continued to fire, his face full of panic, the fear of actually dying, finally starting to settle in. If he had trouble dealing with some unknown villain then how would he fare against the big time villains? What about the Sinister Six? What about the villains he couldn't remember? Shit, what about Thanos? Hell, how would he fare against fucking Ultron? For the first time in the last two years since he's been here, the gravity of his situation truly started to sink in.
"It's finally starting to settle in isn't it?" The enemy asked, his cloak billowing in the wind as his red eyes stared into his soul, "That feeling of powerlessness, that feeling of staring at a mountain that you could never hope to conquer, of being outclassed in every way possible," the computerized voice offered no sympathy for him.
He didn't have time to be scared, not right now at least, so he turned that fear into determination. A determination to go back to Laura, "How 'bout you save that shit for the ones that actually give a damn. Or better yet, tell me who the fuck you are and why I should care."
The figure reached behind his back and underneath his cloak and pulled out a goddamn scythe. It was a few inches taller than him with the blade being a dark red and having an omega symbol where the blade and snatch met. "False bravado Dresden?" The figure sighed, as if disappointed in a younger brother, "I had expected better from you, but since you're going to die, it doesn't really matter."
"I am Rupture," He leaped forward, scythe posed to shred him to pieces, "The one who will put an end to your miserable existence!"
Roy reacted accordingly, he flipped back, causing Rupture to miss and be vulnerable to a blast at the side. A blast he had no problem in firing. Rupture was pushed back a few feet before growling and pouncing again. This time it was different however, once Rupture was a few meters away from striking range he disappeared in a flash of red.
Roy sent a concussive blast at his feet, sending him several feet into the air, hoping to get a birds eye view of the area. It was for naught as Rupture had anticipated it, and reappeared in a flash of red above him. The scythe wielder swung in a downward arc, clearly taking advantage of Roy's inability and inexperience in aerial combat.
Roy quickly brought a hand up, hoping to shield himself from the scythe's arc, and to the surprise of both Rupture and himself. It did just that. Instead of a blast, the energy moved like an outer ring that spread a few inches from his hand and intercepted the scythe's tip, preventing him from being cut in half.
"What?!" Rupture shouted in disbelief, before feeling a downward tug which in turned caused him to remember that gravity was a still a thing and disappeared in a flash of red once more.
The shock and thrill of discovering a new aspect of his powers quickly wore off as he started to approach the ground at a breakneck pace. "Oh, shit!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, he couldn't remember if there were any heroes stationed in San Fran, but he prayed for some sort of divine intervention.
He couldn't fire his blasts and risk hitting something flammable, he didn't want the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D or the Avengers yet. As matter of fact, were there any heroes on the west coast? As the ground approached faster, he decided to say fuck it, rather be alive and deal with the backlash than dead on the ground.
He pumped as much power as he could into his blasts, using them as a cushion for his fall. He was still moving at a considerable speed so in order to brace himself he rolled as soon as he hit the ground. Ignoring the onlookers with their phones out recording him.
He stood up and scanned the increasing crowd, he didn't know what type of person Rupture was, but he had a feeling that he didn't give a damn about innocents being in his way. So he stood there, ready for an attack from any direction, constantly turning his body in order to minimize his openings and maintain his awareness.
He heard the portion of the crowd he was facing gasp and point upward, without thinking he turned around, blasts already primed and at the ready. Only for him to look completely dumbfounded by what he saw.
"It's best you power down and come quietly," There was a blonde woman hovering in the air, dressed in black boots that stopped mid thigh, black arm sleeves that stopped at her biceps, a black one piece with a yellow lightning bolt in the center, a red sash around her waist, "I'm authorized to use deadly force, so think about your options wisely kid."
Since when was Ms. Marvel in San Francisco?!
Hovering a few feet away was the aforementioned, Ms. Marvel with a few squads worth of S.H.I.E.L.D soldiers. As much as he wanted to test his might and power against Lady Marvel, he knew he didn't have the experience or correct skill set beat her, much less put up a decent fight.
Roy's face looked like he had just swallowed a lime, "Yeah, Yeah, whatever, Lady Marvel." It wasn't smart to get an attitude with a known short tempered alcoholic, but he just survived falling from a shit ton feet and almost getting disemboweled, and now he had to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D and all the fuckery that entailed.
He raised his hands above his head, the universal sign for 'surrender' as the woman floated down towards him. Her face calm and collected, or at least trying to be, as she turned him around and put him in handcuffs. After she read his rights, of course.
"So, handcuffs huh?" Roy jiggled his hands to show said items, before smirking, "Didn't know you were into bondage." He tsked a few times, even as they started to rise in the air, "What would the boys back home think?"
The human/Kree hybrid didn't look put off in the slightest, "Oh God. Don't tell me you're one of the chatty ones." She sounded so miserable, he almost felt bad. Key word being almost. Soon enough they were in view of the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier, which was huge as fuck, but he didn't have time to focus on that, or rather he chose not to focus on the place he would no doubt be interrogated in. So he chose to focus on the blonde woman holding him.
"Chatty?!" He gasped, the hurt in his voice clearly fake, "I'll have you know it's a part of my charm, and I'm not chatty, I'm sociable. There's a difference."
That did earn him a soft chuckle, "Sure it is kid. I'll be sure to tell Spider-Man next time I see him."
"Also, can you stop calling me kid?" He asked as they landed on the helicarrier, he could see various crewmen and soldiers bustling about on the runway, "I'm twenty-three and pay bills."
"Whatever kid, we're moving."
"So," Roy spoke up as Ms. Marvel led him down various halls, "Do I get my phone call now or do I wait until after my interrogation? Cause believe it or not, I got people that care about me."
The blonde just raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, more like one person," Roy reaffirmed with a nod of his head, "But still, do I get a phone call or not?" They turned another corner and eventually they were met with security guards posted in front of a door. The heroine and guards exchanged a few words that he felt the need to not pay attention to, instead opting to figure out how to get off this death trap alive.
"I'll talk to Fury about it," She answered. She led him into a very sparse room that only had a chair and table in it. Typical interrogation room, not surprising at all. "For now just wait and someone'll be here to ask you a few questions." she walked him over and sat him down in the chair. She adjusted his cuffs so it was attached to the table.
Roy blinked, "Then I'm free to go?" There was no way it would be that easy. Would it?
"Then you're free to go." She confirmed as she walked away and stood a little bit away from the door, which surprised him because he thought she had finished dealing with him. She must have caught his surprise because she spoke up, "I'm here in case you decide to try your luck and cause a scene."
"So babysitter, got it." He snapped as he gave her a smile, "That's gotta suck, you got all that power, but they stick you on detainee watch." Besides, wasn't there some big world ending threat that took higher priority than him?
"Sometimes you get stuck with crap jobs," Ms. Marvel crossed her arms and shrugged, "You just learn to deal with it and do that job to the best of your abilities."
Roy laughed, it reminded him of his earlier years in the Corps, good times, "Yeah, I know the feeling. Being voluntold to do shit sucks major balls, but hey, no other place you'd rather be right?"
"Work wise? Nah," The blonde smirked at him and shifted her weight to her right foot, "But being stuck in a room with an annoying ass kid? I'd rather be on a beach somewhere with a bottle in my hand."
He chuckled, not the least bit offended, "Yeah, I know what you're talking about," He shrugged his shoulders before winking at her, "Though, I wouldn't say no to taking ya to the beach, or just getting a drink some time." What? He hadn't made any friends since being dropped off in this chaotic universe, and while Ms. Marvel wasn't his first choice, Hell she wasn't even the tenth, it was still better than nothing.
She gave him a coy smile and an eye roll, "How about you get past the questioning, then I'll think about it." It definitely wasn't a no as far as he was concerned. He would've continued if it wasn't for the sound of the door opening. Sending the friendly conversation to a screeching halt, now they were getting down to business.
Opening and closing the door behind him was a caucasian man dressed in black and white tactical gear with weapon holsters on his left thigh and armpit. In his hands were several files, more than likely all on him. Ms. Marvel gave the man a sharp salute and an appropriate greeting, "Afternoon, Colonel."
"At ease, Danvers." Fury gave a salute of his own, before sizing Roy up, "This the one?" He took a seat in the adjacent chair to his own, his face the perfect picture of calm and collected, "Doesn't look like much, but looks can be deceiving in our line of work."
Ms. Marvel nodded in agreement, "He's been cooperative so far, sir. No signs of ill intent, unless being an annoying pain in the ass counts as ill intent." She gave him a small smile, indicating that she was both serious and joking at the same time.
"Oh, so you got jokes, huh?" Roy gave her small smirk, showing he was joining the banter between them, "And here I was, ready to take you out on the date of a lifetime."
"Oh?" Ms. Marvel's voice was filled with an emotion he couldn't decipher, "One little joke and you're done pursuing me?" She shook her head in faux dismay, "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
"Who said I was giving up?" Ms. Marvel blinked, then he elaborated, "Now that I know you can dish out jokes, I'm just going to be trying harder." He gave her a smile and a wink for her trouble.
She just rolled her eyes, there wasn't any pity or disgust in them though. 'Note to self. Pursue that.'
"Ahem," The third person in the room made himself known, "I hope you both are done flirting, it's about time we got down to the real reason we're all here. You both can save your budding romance over each other when you're alone."
At least they both had the decency to look ashamed. Fury took out one of the files and placed it on the table, specifically within reaching distance of Roy, "Royce William Dresden, prefers to go by Roy. Son of Annie Dresden and William Dresden, both deceased, orphaned at the young age of six. Later adopted by Winston Frost and Hazel Frost, then estranged from adopted family ten years later." Fury recited his file as Roy himself was flipping through them, "Enlisted in the Marine Corps at seventeen, took part in three combat deployments, two in Afghanistan and one in Iran. Honorably discharged after four years, decorated and with the rank of Staff Sergeant."
Roy didn't show his surprise, he guessed somethings would be different in this universe. Such as having three deployments instead of two and leaving as a Staff Sergeant instead of a Corporal. This version of him didn't get that ninja punch then, "Didn't know you were a fan, but I'm guessing you didn't set all this up for an autograph."
"You'd be guessing correctly, Dresden," Fury took out another file, this one denser than his personal one, "Exactly two years ago we picked an unknown and powerful energy signature that appeared in your house for precisely one minute and thirty nine seconds."
Fury slid the file over to him, allow him to look through it while the man continued to speak, "We had the house inspected and discovered no sign of you within it, of course we had assumed that you simply weren't there during that time, but a quick questioning of your neighbors disproved that immediately."
Roy was flipping through the pages when he suddenly spotted something that made his blood run cold. It was a picture of him and Laura exiting one of his portals, the one that they initially took after leaving Dakota. However, what was unorthodox about the picture besides his portal that he himself looked, for a like of a better term, like static.
"Now, imagine my surprise when that same energy signature suddenly appears again, a few days later in the form of both you and a thirteen year old kid exiting a portal," If Fury was aware of his shocked state he didn't show it, "We figured you were a mutant and felt that your situation would better be left to the professionals, of course we had agents staged at your home just in case Hydra wanted to get their hands on you," That made sense, if S.H.I.E.L.D had managed to get a read on him who's to say that someone else didn't. "As long as you didn't do anything that'd warrant the need to bring in you, we were just gonna put you on a watch list and let you raise the kid in peace."
At this point Ms. Marvel spoke up, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. You have a kid?!" She asked shocked and somewhat disappointed, he didn't understand that disappointment though.
"Yeah, she's adopted," He said and watched as she looked somewhat relieved, "Love her to death regardless, also the reason why I want my phone call."
"Phone call?"
"He's been asking about it since we got on the helicarrier," Ms. Marvel explained, "I told him I'd bring it up with you, but I hadn't seen you until now so."
Fury sighed, "Sure kid, just wait till we're done here." Roy just nodded in confirmation and as a sign for him to keep going.
"The agents would've been the end," Fury continued back on track, "But until recently we've been receiving the same energy signature from across the states." Fury pulled out a data pad that showed a map of the United States, but some states had red blips in them, indicating that's where the energy signatures were picked up.
He raised an eyebrow, "You think these were because of me?" It was a valid deduction, so he really had no reason of being mad, though Roy knew that he himself wasn't responsible for them.
"At first? Yes," Fury then shook his head before jerking a thumb towards Ms. Marvel, "But then we sent Ms. Marvel to one of the points, just a few seconds behind when we picked up the appearance of the signature, and well, it be better if you just see it for yourself."
He turned around the data pad and pressed on it a few times before turning it back towards him. "This was taken from one of the cameras that was able to capture the fight."
"Fight?"
The camera showed an intersection filled with smoking and turned over cars. There were numerous people running and screaming as bursts of red and yellow shined above the lateral limits of the camera. Sounds of energy blasts, fists making contact and things exploding were also there.
Eventually one of the combatants entered the screen, it was Ms. Marvel, and she looked like she had seen better days. Parts of her uniform were scorched off, leaving behind black spots on her normally flawless skin. Her blonde hair was matter to her forehead with sweat, and her mask looked to be chipped off a little bit. It looked like she had been thrown from above, before flipping and landing on the street, making a carter as she did so, "Try this, you bitch!" She screamed as she launched yellow beams of energy from her hands, that must have hit their target because a yell of anger was heard shortly after.
Ms. Marvel looked ready to fly after her opponent before a flash of red was seen, just a few feet away from her. His form was like static, unable to be made out, but his scythe was still recognizable. It was Rupture. He swung his scythe downward, though it was easily dodged and countered by Ms. Marvel. She sent him flying back the way he came with a kick, though he fired a blast strong enough to knock her off balance. She tried to shake off her daze but it was too late because another blonde came into view screaming in rage as she punched her into the ground with enough force to shake the camera and create a cloud of dirt.
Then there was a flash of red and the feed was cut to black.
Roy looked at the black screen for a few seconds before looking to the blonde woman, her face pulled into a scowl, "Not. A. Word." The look on her face promised enough pain to last a lifetime.
Roy just nodded, "So, these people that fought with her are the ones behind these signatures that your picking up," Fury nodded and waited for him to continue, "And judging by your impeccable timing and bringing me here, you figure there's some sort of connection between those guys," He pointed towards the black screen with his fingers, "and me." He then pointed towards himself with his thumbs.
Fury nodded, "We were hoping you'd be able to shine a little light on this situation. We have two Enhanced humans creating portals all over the states, which the two Enhanced in question can and have gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Ms. Marvel, and now we have one, who not only appears to display the same powers as you, but also, not even three hours earlier, has attacked you in broad daylight."
The man leaned forward, his elbows propped up on the table and his hands forming a bridge, "That's not a coincidence, Dresden."
Roy sighed, his head slumped for the first time since sitting down, "I wish it were. I don't know who they are if that's what you're asking," he looked Fury dead in his eyes, his expression grim, "But what I do know is that the one with the scythe goes by Rupture and that he wants to kill me."
"Why?" Ms. Marvel asked, speaking up, for what felt like, in a long time, "You've never seen them before, correct?" Roy nodded at the blonde, "So there's no way he should be able to hold a vendetta. Hell, he shouldn't even have one. Unless he was hired by some shadow organization as a means to assassinate you."
"Not likely," Fury chimed in, "They wouldn't have made that scene with you in Nevada if that was the case. It would've been quick and clean. In and out." Fury narrowed his eyes at Roy, analyzing him down to his very soul, "Which means there's something our guest isn't telling us."
Ms. Marvel glared at him, assuming he was lying about something. He would've been somewhat put off if it wasn't for two reasons. Reason one being it was basically her job to make sure he wasn't going to try anything. Reason two being that her glare was somehow sexy as all hell, "You've been a cool guy so far, Roy, but if there's one thing I hate above anything, it's a lair. So hurry up and spill and things won't get nasty."
He should be scared, but the look he was giving was having the opposite effect. The fuck was wrong with him? "I'm not hiding anything. I don't know the actual reason he's after me, I just have a really vague idea of one," He said, they both nodded as a sign for him to continue, "Before we started fighting he said, and I quote 'You don't belong here. And it's time someone finally got rid of you.' That's all he gave me."
"Any clue on what that meant?" Ms. Marvel asked as she walked closer, forgoing her position at the door to stand next to Fury.
"Not in the slightest," he looked up at her, "But what I do know is that he won't stop until either I'm dead or he is. Considering how our fight went, even I'm doubting my survival rate."
They both blinked, completely surprised by his admission, though it was Ms. Marvel who spoke up, "Didn't he retreat though? He wouldn't have done that if he wasn't losing."
"That's the thing." Roy shook his head, "I think, no that's not it, I know he was holding back. He wanted to prove how much better than me he was. He wanted to bask in his victory before he killed me."
"So why didn't he?"
"Fury!" Marvel jumped to his defense, "That's not something you should be asking!"
Roy agreed, but he knew he needed help with this, "I'm not sure. There was a window where he could've teleported behind me and impaled me, but didn't."
"Strange."
"It is."
Fury leaned back, thinking on the conversation that just took place, before an idea came to mind, "I have a proposition for you kid."
"Oh yeah?" Roy asked sarcastically, he had seen enough interpretations of Fury to know where this was going, "and what if I say no? Gonna put me in lock up or something?"
Ms. Marvel looked ready to speak before Fury raised a hand, "If you say no, you get to leave no strings attached," Roy was about to speak before he was interrupted, "But at the risk of being hunted and eventually killed by this Rupture."
Roy frowned, "Then the other option?"
"If you say yes, you join S.H.I.E.L.D as one of my agents, receive proper training in combat when dealing with supers, both armed and unarmed, and a proper paycheck," Fury smirked, "And in return we help you figure out who these guys are, how to nail them, and why one of them wants your blood."
Fury stood up, ignoring Ms. Marvel's look of shock.
"So, what's it gonna be son?"
A/N: Here we are, the start of the first arc, which I'm gonna call, California Troubles, still a work in progress, hehe. But anyway, we have Roy being separated from Laura for the first time in two years(though they will meet up shortly) and going face to face with Rupture, one of our antagonists this arc. I want you guys to guess who the blonde fighting Ms. Marvel was. Should be easy. Also tell me what you guys think of the fight scenes and dialogue. Always could use the feedback.
Also I had multiple women in mind that were either supposed to help Roy during the fight, or come towards the end of it. Included, but not limited to, She-Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Spider-Woman, Polaris, Black Widow, and Maria Hill. Just to name a few.
So Roy's just been offered a chance to join S.H.I.E.L.D will he take it or not?
Also, I'm having way too much fun with this.
Anyway time to do laundry!
Til next time!
