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The Echo of Destiny
Chapter 4: A Battle between gods
James had left his new teammates in complete shock over what he said.
"Asgard, as in Thor's Asgard?" Jennifer asked.
"Yeah that Asgard, now…"
"Hang on a minute, how do you know this?" Tony asked.
"Think about it Asgard is a place on Earth yet separate from the rest of the world, the Asgardian gods live there but they pretty much play no role within our society, people and particularly Osborn wont care if it is destroyed, but if the gods there are defeated"
"Then it'll strike fear into the hearts of the other heroes" Slade finished.
"Exactly" James said as Songbird entered the office.
Bitter looks crossed the heroes' faces as Songbird entered. She paid them no heed as she walked up to James.
"So what's your plan against Osborn?" She asked.
"Whoever said we were going up against Osborn?" James asked back with a smirk.
"Are you not planning to rebel against the government?"
"The government are just unknowing pawns in Osborn's manipulation game, or at least that's what I think" Slade said.
"For all you people know the super human registration act might have been a plan by your government from the start" Shiro said, crossing his arms as he leant against the wall.
"I don't know much about Earth politics but I do know that some politicians are the same as they are on other planets, at times they will manipulate the people in their favour" Crusader said.
"What do you mean other planets?" Hank asked.
"It's not important"
"There are loop holes in the system but I really don't think that the government would exploit them" Jennifer said.
"I think right now we should worry about Asgard and not Norman's plans" Tony said.
"Asgard!" Songbird said in shock.
"You've still got time to turn back Songbird" Driver said with a grin.
Songbird shook her head and James smiled, knowing that he had the team he needed. He led the members out of his office and into the basement of his building. Hill and Stark looked in surprise at what had been set up in the basement of the Crowner building. It was an operations room, similar to the ones at S.H.I.E.L.D.
"This is just a temporary command centre for Miss Hill and Jocasta to work at while the rest of you help Thor" James said. "Our real command centre will be much bigger, able to house hundreds, which is why I've sent Driver to retrieve former S.H.I.E.L.D. operation staff, but right now you guys need to get to the floating island and help Thor/AKA Knuckles" The Billionaire grinned.
"How will we get to the island?" Shiro asked.
"My ship the Ultimatum, not as cosy as the Quinn jet but its twice as fast and just as durable"
"I thought the Ultimatum had been damaged by the Phoenix corps, or at least that's what Sieg told me" Slade said.
"I spent days with some of my technicians repairing it, it cant fly back into space like the last time but it's got enough juice to get you to Asgard and back"
"Well what are we waiting for?" Shiro asked, growing inpatient.
"Come now Mr Yoshida you cant go to Asgard looking like that" Gloria said as she entered the room. "Super heroes need costumes" She smiled as she handed over the uniforms she had made for Slade, Wanda and Shiro.
"So you couldn't make me one?" Jennifer said, pouting her lips.
"Sorry Miss Walters maybe next time"
"Please call me Jen"
"Just so long as you don't call me secretary" Gloria smiled.
The costumes bought back memories for Shiro and Wanda, considering they were the first costumes they had ever worn. Slade merely threw his aside and walked to the hanger, where the Ultimatum was kept. He frowned at the grey and red paint job it had been given, not noticing Tony behind him.
"Impressive design your friend's ship has, I've never seen engines like that before" Tony said.
"James doesn't use technology alone" Slade said.
"Are you prepared to fight an army?" Tony asked.
"I'll fight anyone anywhere anytime, so long as lives hang in the balance, that's one reason I didn't register myself…because we're now limited to America when the whole world needs heroes" Slade said before he walked towards the jet.
"Really what was the point in me knitting another costume for him if he wasn't going to wear it?" Gloria asked James.
"That's just Slade's way, already he's the first on the ship, I suppose he doesn't want to waste any time" James said.
"EVERYONE HURRY UP AND GET ON THE SHIP!!!" Slade yelled and while Gloria smacked her forehead, James laughed at his friend's impatience.
Shiro and Wanda were fully dressed and Pym removed his coat to reveal his new Wasp uniform. Jennifer shifted into her She-Hulk form and threw off her coat, as she was second to walk onto the Ultimatum. Tony was next, carrying his armour in his suitcase. After him came Hank Pym, the new Wasp. Wanda and Shiro looked at the ship hesitantly before they too followed. Slade was already prepping the ship for launch, much to the surprise of his teammates.
"You're a pilot?" Jennifer asked.
"Taking off and flying is good…I just always have a problem with the landings" Slade said.
She-Hulk laughed…then widened her eyes, for she realised that Slade was completely serious.
The citizens of Oklahoma looked up at the alien ships in the sky. They were twice as intimidating than the New Asgard floating above the sky. Even as Hammer agents began to evacuate them, some would still linger to look up. And when they looked up, pure terror gripped them as they looked upon numerous insect based beasts and soldiers flying around the floating island, thunder crackling in the sky and blasts firing off the smaller frigates.
On the island of New Asgard, the wind and thunder roared ferociously. Even against the threat of gods, the purple and red armoured soldiers of Karabai's race showed no fear as they ran at the Asgardians.
"For Odin! FOR ASGARD!!!!" The Mighty Thor yelled as he threw his hammer into Karabai's troops.
"FOR ASGARD!!!" The Warriors and Gods of Asgard yelled as they ran into the invading army.
Swords pierced armour and blasters burned skin. The insect like robots the Invaders used to gather up the Inhumans rained down on Asgard. But these machines were more scorpion based, trapping Asgard's warriors in their pincers and impaling others with their giant stingers. Thor slammed his hammer into the ground, throwing several soldiers back. He took the blasts from the soldiers blasters and kept on fighting, hitting several of them across the head. Beta Ray Bill flew like a rocket into one of the Scorpion robots, blowing it apart. But much to the shock of Balder and the Warriors Three, the pieces of the android gathered into suits of armour, blue energy crackled inside the suits before they picked up the weapons of fallen warriors and ran at the gods. Thor and Bill took to the air, using lighting and their own hammers to blow the fighters of the invaders apart. On top of one of the mother ships stood one of Karabai's elite warriors, the group that had so easily defeated the Inhuman's and countless others.
"Gods, what an annoying concept!" The warrior said as he began floating off of the ship.
Thor destroyed one enemy fighter with a single swing of his hammer. He then blasted two more ships apart. Balder slashed one of the living suits of armour apart, grinding his teeth in frustration as they reformed. The alien invaders and their insect slaves broke through the line of Asgardian soldiers, replacing their rifles with blades. Beta Ray Bill looked towards the elite warrior, the general of this army. He pulled his arm back and threw the Storm Breaker towards the warrior. The golden hammer flew straight into the warrior's head and then back into Bill's hand.
The warrior ran his finger along the small crack on his helmet.
"My turn!" he said.
Like Bill, he pulled his fist back and much to Beta Ray Bill's shock, the warriors fist expanded to the size of Bill's body. The Warrior slammed his fist into Bill, sending him flying backwards. Thor looked in shock as the invading warrior continued to beat on Bill. The son of Odin and founding Avenger flew to Bill's aid, firing a blast from his Hammer. With little ease, the warrior flew upwards to avoid the beam before he drop kicked the back of Thor's head, knocking his helmet off. Thor swung his hammer, but the attack was blocked by the warrior's wrist.
The warrior drew his sword and slashed Thor's shoulder downwards. Thor flew backwards to avoid the blade and widened his eyes in surprise as energy surrounded the tip of the alien's blade.
"How dare thou attack Asgard" Thor growled.
"I attack because I have been ordered to, if your civilisation falls then it will bring fear to the humans, before we crash your island into the city below" The Warrior explained.
Thor looked up to see several aliens in dark robes, chanting some kind of elaborate speech. Not wanting to find out what they were planning, Thor focused with his mind and burned the six mystics with four bolts of lighting.
"No matter, we have plenty more mystics, I am Gigas, one of five generals under the command of our great leader Karabai"
"If he is so great why does he not lead his warriors himself?" Thor asked.
"He'd need not waste his time with you!" Gigas said before slashing Thor across the chest. "Ha…god my ass!" The warrior said as he felt Thor's blood on his blade.
Thor swung his hammer downwards, but Gigas caught the hammer with his big hand. Gigas delivered a brutal head butt, and then crashed his fist like a hammer down onto Thor's back.
"THOR!!" Bill yelled as his friend flew down towards the island.
Thor grinded his teeth together as he got up off the floor and brushed the dirt off his ripped cloak. He looked to the other warriors of Asgard, who were faring just as well as he was. Volstagg and the rest of the warriors three were doing their best to break free from the grip of the flying insects while Balder endured countless blasts from Karabai's soldiers.
"No, they shall not achieve another Ragnarok!" Thor said defiantly as Gigas landed behind him.
"You stubborn human, we've already won, your powers are insignificant compared to ours, and if you are gods then those who worship you are already finished" Gigas said as his sword grew bigger until it was twice the height of his body.
"Mortals are an interesting kind, their capacity for greatness can exceed even our own" Thor said.
Thor and the other warriors of Asgard then looked up. The sight captivated their eyes. Gigas however remained ignorant as he lifted his sword over his head.
"Go on just stand there, it'll make this so much easier for me" Gigas said as he swung his sword down.
Suddenly a red and white scythe span into the middle of the sword, slicing it in half with little effort. Gigas looked at the scythe stuck into the ground in shock, while Thor merely smiled.
"AVENGERS ATTACK!!!" A voice yelled out.
Gigas finally looked up and saw numerous costumed men and women falling to the ground. She-Hulk landed right in the middle of the invaders army while the Wasp, Sunfire, Songbird, Crusader and the Scarlet Witch landed in between the invaders and the Asgardians. Captain America and Slade however landed beside Thor.
"Which one of you broke my sword?" Gigas asked.
"I did!" Slade said as he pulled his scythe out of the ground.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!" Gigas yelled before slamming his fist into Slade's shield, sending him flying into Cap.
The two men rolled across the floor until they came to a halt, right in between a whole squad of the insect soldiers. Cap and Slade quickly jumped onto their feet and went back to back as the insects surrounded them. Crusader blew one ship apart with a blast from his Freedom ring.
"Don't worry guys, I've finished programming the Ultimatum to avoid the ships so I'll be right with you" Tony said as he put on his helmet.
Iron man jumped out of the ship and flew to his team's aid. He fired his repulsors, clearing away half of Cap and Slade's opponents. Cap dispatched his attackers with ease while Slade was much less disciplined about it. He smacked his opponents across the head with his shield and his scythe, controlling the density of his blade so that it wouldn't cut his enemies apart.
"Why don't you kill?" Bucky asked.
"Because I don't need to kill them" Slade said gruffly as he kicked one insect across the face.
"Maybe you could say that if you had more of a developed fighting style" Cap said before he threw his shield into two approaching soldiers.
She-Hulk crashed her fists into the ground, causing several soldiers to lose their balance. Then she proceeded to do what she did best, (after being a lawyer of course) smash! Wasp flew in between the soldiers of Karabai's army, shocking them with his electrical stingers. He dodged their blasts and slashes with ease while Songbird bombarded her opponents with blasts of solid sound. Wanda anxiously used her hex bolts to knock back several soldiers.
"WE HAVE REINFORCEMENTS! WARRIORS OF ASGARD PUSH BACK!" Balder yelled.
The Warriors Three each broke out of their restraints and ran with the other warriors of Asgard. They rammed into the soldiers with their shields, pushing them back. Sunfire sprayed a squadron of insects with fire and used his own martial arts skills to disarm some of the enemy soldiers
"PUSH WARRIORS! PUSH THEM OFF THE ISLAND IF WE MUST!!!" Balder yelled before stabbing one soldier in the chest.
"I know how to defeat the scorpions and the suits, burn their remains" Shiro said as he burned the pieces of the robotic scorpions to crisp.
Captain America drew his pistol and fired at the soldiers. The bullets bounced off their armour, so Bucky took to hand to hand fighting, slamming his robotic arm and shield into their faces. Iron man landed on the ground and punched one insect warrior in the gut. Then he shot two soldiers in the chest with his repulsors, and then backhanded another.
Thor meanwhile held his hammer high as lighting struck it. With one swing he sent Gigas flying back, rolling across the floor while his armour and helmet cracked. Gigas got up off the floor in complete and utter shock. He had conquered entire cities in single days and these humans dared to strike first, they were either stupid or brave. She-Hulk ran through the crowds of soldiers in her path, her target was Gigas.
"Sunfire, Iron man, you two support Beta Ray Bill and Thor, clear a path towards the mother ship!" Slade said through the communicator that James had given each member.
"Do you have a plan because I think Sunfire would be best clearing out the soldiers on the island" Tony said.
"I know but I have a plan that involves Wanda, she can help destroy the mother ship"
Wanda gasped in shock and put her hands close to her chest.
"I don't think I can do anything beyond pushing some of these soldiers back without losing control" she said.
She-Hulk punched Gigas across the face, and then delivered a kick to his chest. Slade elbowed an insect in the face and smacked two soldiers across their faces. He barged through squads of soldiers and walked past Asgardian warriors.
"Wanda, I knew someone like you, he had power, more strength than he let on, he could have become more powerful than the Hulk, but if he did he would have gone insane, he always had to set limits for himself, lines he would never cross both morally and in terms of his power…on a moral front, you must swear never to use your reality manipulation to change how the world works, and in terms of power, if you did, then you would probably go insane again" Slade explained, but stopped to block a slash from one of the soldiers.
He grinded his teeth together, for the force of the sword had cracked his white armour. Slade head butted the soldier before he walked on. Sunfire and the hesitant Iron man carried out Slade's plan, destroying any alien fighter that got in their way alongside Bill and Thor. Gigas grabbed Jennifer's arm and twisted it until her bones went out of place. She-Hulk yelled in pain before clicking her arm back in place. Then she cupped her hands together and uppercut Gigas's chin, sending him flying back onto the ground. She then jumped on his chest and slammed her fist so hard into his helmet that it shattered. But as soon as the helmet fell apart a shockwave knocked She-Hulk out of the crater she had left.
"What the hell happened?" Jennifer wondered as she shook the rubble out of her hair.
A slimy, almost slug like creature crawled out of Gigas's hollow armour. The creature twitched as its skin became dry. Slowly it began to grow and form into a bulky humanoid shape. A head popped out of the mass of pale white muscle, it had no eyes or nose, but it did have lots of razor sharp teeth. Its arms grew longer than its knees as its back hunched and its legs slowly grew longer. The two things occurred to She-Hulk, this creature was Gigas, and why exactly he was called Gigas. He stood half the size of a city skyscraper and roared so loud that it shook the very ground. While She-Hulk marvelled at the sight, Songbird already took advantage of the aliens increase in size. She screamed at the giant, but much to her shock her sonic scream didn't affect him.
"Nothing you do will affect me little bird, I don't have ears or eyes so I see and hear through my telepathy" Gigas said before slapping Songbird aside.
Crusader caught Melissa in midair and flew her towards the ground.
"Slade, I can attack the Mother ship, I have reality manipulation powers as well" Crusader said.
"No, you concentrate on backing up the Asgardian warriors" Slade said.
"Slade please listen I haven't done this in years" Scarlet Witch pleaded.
"NO!!" Slade yelled.
He jumped over one soldier and ran towards Wanda. Slade elbowed one insect warrior and cut one of the scorpion androids in half. Wanda then used her powers to vaporise what was left of the machine. Soldiers and insects ran towards Wanda with their weapons drawn. She thrust her hands forward and the ground suddenly came alive, wrapping around the squadron of soldiers like a carpet. Slade then dropped his weapons and changed into his completely armoured form. The armour suddenly changed into a brown and green tunic, Slade's muscles also expanded slightly. Wanda widened her eyes as he had taken the form of Hercules. He picked up the roll of grass and dirty that the soldiers were trapped in and hammer threw it off the island.
"You see what you did there Wanda, something amazing…come on, surely you can try it again" Slade said as he shifted back to his fully armoured form.
"I don't know if I can control it"
"Listen to me Wanda, before you try to do anything in this world you need to believe in yourself…so believe in yourself, believe that you wont go past the limit, that the power wont break you, Crusader will be right beside you to help, right Crusader?"
"Yes of course!" Crusader said.
"You two can put an end to this battle" Slade said as spikes grew out of his knuckles and he faced down the soldiers of Karabai's army.
Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch. Former member of the Brotherhood, former second generation Avenger, now and then a hero. She took a deep breath before smiling confidently. Red halos glowed around her arms as she slowly floated above the ground. Slade ran into the soldiers, punching each one of them across the face.
"NOW SCARLET WITCH GO!!!" He yelled.
The Scarlet Witch took flight above the soldiers, gradually getting faster and faster as she flew through along the surface of the island. Some of the soldiers aimed their rifles at the mutant witch, but Captain America ran in, throwing his shield at them and punching them with his cybernetic arm. Songbird screamed, forcing the soldiers to cover their ears. Wasp flew through the other insects, blasting them in the eyes and knees with his bioelectric stingers. Gigas held She-Hulk in his hand, smiling as he bought her towards his moth.
"I wonder what Gamma radiated humans taste like…actually I wonder what humans in general taste like" Gigas said.
Suddenly Gigas felt and immense pain on his heel, before he collapsed to the ground.
"Take it from a guy with experience, when your as big a size as that your Achilles tendon is the most sensitive part of your body" Hank said as he grew to his natural size and landed on Gigas's neck. "Your necks also a pretty sensitive place" He said before firing a blast at Gigas's neck, knocking him out.
"Man, he was actually weaker outside the armour" She-Hulk said.
Captain America slammed his shield into the last of the soldier's faces, knocking them out. The warriors of Asgard cheered for their victory. Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Sunfire and Iron man blasted any ship or fighter that got in their way as the Scarlet Witch and Crusader flew towards the mother ship. The two of them held out their arms and focused on making their fantasies a reality.
"Sir, our controls aren't responding…AAAAGH!!!" One of the ships bridge crew yelled as his console blew up.
The navigation and weapons on the ship began to either melt or blow apart, while the fighter pilots found that their controls had suddenly jammed. Crusader flew down towards the ship, crashing his fist down on its armour a large crack ran down the middle of the ship and Wanda added to the damage, firing a hex bolt that blew up one of the engines. Thor and Bill held their hammers out and bombarded the ship with lighting.
"This is impossible!" One of the four mystics said.
"Forget them, we must complete the ritual" Their leader said.
"I don't think so!" Iron man said as he, Sunfire and Songbird flew towards the four mystics.
The mystics turned their magical power on the heroes, firing beams of light at them. Iron man took the blasts and banged one of the mystics across the head, then fired his uni-beam into another's chest. Songbird pelted the third mystic with her solid sound bubbles until he fell unconscious. Sunfire then finished the last of the mystics off with a devastating punch to the chest.
Slade walked to the edge of the island and watched the alien mother ship being blown apart. His armour shattered and he smiled, knowing that Wanda could now use her powers confidently again. Suddenly a strong hand hit his back, almost knocking him off the edge of the island. Slade leant back to regain his balance and turned around to see Volstagg, Hogun and Fandrall, the warriors three.
"We witnessed your unorthodox prowess on the battlefield today, impressive I must say!" Hogun said.
"Aye, you are indeed a fine leader as well, comparable to Odin himself" Fandrall laughed.
"You and your friends must stay and celebrate with us!" Volstagg said, patting his belly.
"You've got it wrong I'm not the leader of this team, well we haven't really sorted out a leader" Slade said.
"Still, you took command in the middle of a battle" Bucky said.
The other members of the team landed and walked to Slade's side, while Thor got to work on sending the remains of the alien ship and Gigas to another dimension.
"You inspired and showed faith in the people under your command" Crusader said, patting Slade on the shoulder.
"It was a risky plan but Wanda still managed to destroy the ship and its crew" Tony said, removing his helmet.
"Oh shut up Tony it gets the job done" She-Hulk said.
"I think what we're trying to establish is that if anyone can lead this team you can Slade" Songbird said.
"The only one who people will follow" Shiro muttered.
Slade looked to his teammates and then held out his arm.
"Let's not get too held up on whose in charge, we're a team, we fight together, plan together and quite possibly die together, if anyone has a good plan then share it, that means we listen to Tony as well" Slade explained.
Tony planted his hand on Slade's and nodded.
"I don't have a problem with that" Wanda said as she and Crusader put their hands in.
"Just so long as he doesn't suggest cloning Thor" Hank muttered as he put his hand in too.
"Ditto!" Jen followed.
"Normans up to something, and if joining this team can actually make a difference then I've got no problem" Songbird said, putting her hand in, followed shortly after by Sunfire.
The teammates nodded to one another, before Thor put his hand in.
"Thou did not think that the son of Odin would stand by as Midgard was threatened did thee" Thor said with a smile.
"You're a welcome addition Thor" Hank said.
"And if thee ever need the help of the gods of Asgard, then alls you have to do is ask and we shall answer the call" Balder said while the other warriors nodded.
Slade and the Avengers bid the gods of Asgard goodbye and left in the Ultimatum. The atmosphere on the ship wasn't cheery, but a lot better than it was earlier. Maybe it was the fact that they discovered these invaders could be defeated, that they had weaknesses they could exploit. Perhaps it was Thor, the presence of the god of thunder. Whatever it was Slade was happy, he had saved Asgard, prevented it and Oklahoma's destruction, restored Wanda's fighting spirit and had gained many allies. Things were already starting to get better.
In space, Karabai, the leader of the invading forces smiled as he sensed Gigas's defeat.
"It seems we have finally found a planet worth conquering, call the generals and tell them to prepare their armies for total war" Karabai said as he stood up from his throne. "Maybe this world can provide me with that in which I seek"
On Earth, James showed the new team of Avengers to the transport to their new base. Tony was quite shocked to see an underground bullet train line travelling from the Crowner tower to an underground base all of which had been built without him knowing. Of course James was quite flustered around founding Avenger Thor, so he left the team in Security's hands. The team's new base was built underground, with numerous steel plates as floorboards, walls and even the roof itself. Former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that had lost their jobs after the organisation was disbanded staffed it, they numbered in hundreds. The base had a main entry room where hundreds of people could gather, as well as the launch pad for the bullet train to and from James's tower. It also had a war room, training area, medical centre and rec room.
"I'll tell you it feels like I'm on Star Trek with the doors and touch screens" Jennifer said as she walked with Wanda towards the briefing room.
"Yeah and that archives area includes some very interesting information, it looks like this James character has been to space with the data he has on Skrull physiology, from that he was able to create a regeneration tank that could kick start a Skrulls healing process" Wanda explained.
"I wonder why he would need a regeneration tank for a Skrull, oh well he's still hot" She-Hulk said.
"It's good to see something's haven't changed"
"What Wanda, just because I'm a mercenary doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view of a handsome man"
The two women entered the briefing room and saw Tony, Thor, Shiro, Jocasta, Maria Hill and Slade all gathered round a table. Slade was dressed in both his armoured boots, his blue cargo pants, black and white sleeveless shirts with the red braces and his black and white mask with the red eyes lenses. He crossed his arms and looked at the map.
"All right team, it's time for us to start making a difference!"
Next Chapter 5: Preparing for War
Hope everyone enjoyed the fourth chapter. Next one will have Sieg, the Runaways and future Avengers and Slade as he and Tony begin planning for war and recruiting a few new members, who will they be? Just wait and find out :)