Chapter 4 – Caped Strongman

Republic City, Earth

It had been now four days since Mako's disappearance and the old gang was getting worried. Korra asked the Avengers if they could help, Giant-Man, Wasp and The Captain volunteered. They searched and searched for the missing firebender throughout the city, but they did not find him. Asami was growing more and more desperate, and Bolin didn't know what to do. Korra needed some time to think, to think where her pale friend at was.

Korra walked through the streets, following Mako's possible footsteps to the power plant. The street that made a shortcut towards it was under repair, and derelict. If Mako had been kidnapped, no one would've been there to help him. Korra stop to look at a piece of thorn cloth on the pavement, it resembled that of Mako's scarf. Something happened here, and she knew it.

"Detective work?" A voice asked from behind the Avatar, she stood back up since she was on her knees looking at the ground. "I think I have a friend who does that in a dark, gloomy city not far from here."

"It's you…" Korra said as she saw who it was. "…The Golden Man."

"The Golden Man? Odd name." He said smiling. His figure shined, his golden suit reflected the sun's rays, and his blue belt and cape perfectly complemented his blue eyes. The symbol in his belt had to mean something… "The newspapers call me the Sentry." So that's what it meant…maybe.

"Have…have you been following me?" Korra asked the slightly taller man.

"Uh…eh…no. I was just passing by and I saw you looking at the ground." The Sentry responded, his voice cracking a little bit.

"Oh…well." Korra said. "I've just been trying to look for my friend, he's missing."

"Mako?" Sentry asked.

"How did you…" Korra was going to ask but…"You have been following me."

"No…just a guess." Sentry said as he began floating on the air. "I think you have a lot of questions to ask me, correct?"

"Well yeah…you appear suddenly and more than half of the city's supervillains go underground." Korra said.

"Yeah…where the light doesn't shine." Sentry said. "I hope you don't mind flying then."

"What are you...Gah!" Korra was about to ask but then she was lifted by the man; they were now flying over Republic City's skies. "Wow…I haven't flown like this in years."

"You have flown like this before?" Sentry asked as he held the Avatar in his arms.

"Yeah…" Korra answered, she remembered the God of Thunder for minute there, but tried not to get weakened by his memory…

"Here we are the rooftop of the Daily Bugle." Sentry said as they landed. "Alright, shoot."

"Okay, first thing first…stop holding me." Korra said.

"Oh…my bad." Sentry said as he moved his arms away, his face seemed to redden. Korra noticed that his skin tone was different from anyone's in the planet, he's skin had a pinkish yet light tone in it. Like the skin of a baby, his golden hair making this even more noticeable.

"Are you…are you a god?" Korra asked.

"A god?" Sentry answered with another question.

"Yeah, like Hercules and…and…Thor." Korra struggled a little bit; Sentry noticed this but didn't say anything about it.

"No, I was born like anyone else in this world." Sentry said as he walked towards the end of the rooftop, overlooking the city. "Aside from my powers, there's nothing special about me. I'm just human."

"Your powers, how did you get them? Magic? Divine? Science?" Korra asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth…I don't remember." Sentry answered.

"What?" Korra once again asked.

"Yeah, I just woke up one day inside my uniform and powered up. The only thing I know is that I am the Sentry, vanguard of the people of Earth." Sentry responded. "That was about like…five months ago."

"Seriously?" Korra asked.

"Seriously." Sentry replied with a smile in his lips at the Avatar's disbelief. "I know it sounds out and all, but you hang out with gods, metal men, and well…giants. It is not that far stretched."

The Basement, Avengers Mansion

"Not only did I lose contact with my radio frequencies in the mountains, but I also lost contact with my research group beyond the plains." Iron Man said.

"Anything out of the ordinary happened before you lost contact?" Fury asked Kuro.

"Not much, but they said something fell out of the sky. That was about ten minutes before the blackout." Iron Man answered.

"Terrorists?" The Captain proposed an answer.

"No, they are not responsible for this; they are not that close to the city. It was something else." Fury said.

"You are not saying that whatever fell out of the sky got them, right?" Iron Man asked.

"We live in strange times Shinzou, I wouldn't be surprise." Fury said. "I'll see what I can do, for now just try re-establish contact."

Fury then left the two Avengers alone in the basement, next to buzzing radios and electronics.

"I am afraid he is right, Kuro. A strange object drops from space, then shortly after you lose contact with your research team? A little too suspicious." The Captain said. "And besides, what were you looking for in those two spots?"

"New metals for my suit." Iron Man replied.

"New ones? For what?" The Captain kept asking.

"They are just upgrades, my armor is a little bit too old, I want it to effectively resist blunt attacks." Iron Man answered. "Like your shield's."

"You think I am going to strike you?" The Captain asked.

"No, from do get these ideas from?" Iron Man answered with a question of his own. "You have been a little too hard to work with since the council wanted to pass that bill; you should not worry about it."

"I'm afraid that it's either worry and do something about it before someone jumps the sea-tiger, or be betrayed by a government and country we swore to defend as heroes." The Captain said as he left the room.

Rooftop of Daily Bugle, Republic City

"You know, I once thought of working in here as a mild-mannered reporter but then saw that it would be a dumb disguise?" Sentry said.

"Have you even though on joining the Avengers?" Korra asked.

"No, not really, I always thought about staying out of other people's ways." The Sentry replied.

"You'll be filling in some mighty boots…but we will be glad to have someone like you in the team." Korra said.

"Really?" Sentry asked with a surprise in his face.

"Yeah, what do you say?" Korra asked.

The Plains, Outskirts of Republic City

"Sir!" A SHIELD Agent yelled.

"What is it?" The SHIELD Officer asked.

"The Shinzou Enterprises science team…they are all dead." The Agent answered.

"Why would someone do this?" The Officer asked himself.

"Look, sir." Another agent said. "Foot marks."

"They are gigantic…" Another Agent said.

"And not human, they are heading directly into the city." The Officer said. "Contact Director Fury at once, Assemble the Avengers!"