Marvel: Collapse
Chapter Four: Pieces on a Chessboard
It is the morning after the Punisher made his announcement. Bruce Banner is getting ready to give himself up. He drinks his morning coffee and repeats the plan in his head - Give myself up; They take me away; I hulk out. He looks at the newspaper, it's all about the Great Superhero Purge - as they call it. Give up; Take away; Hulk out. His sacrifice might stop all this. He walks out the door towards Times Square. Give up; Take away; Hulk out. He arrives. He's early. It's only 11:30. Give up; Take away; Hulk out. The people slowly start to arrive. The empty square soon turns into a sea of masks and brightly colored costumes. The dozens turn into hundreds and maybe even a thousand. Not a lot of big names. Only street level heroes. The ones Bruce recognizes are Sam Wilson, Winter Soldier, Black Cat, Green Goblin, Kamala Khan and Jennifer Walters. He realizes they all have a plan just like him. Give up; Take away; Hulk out. Exactly at noon an aircraft appears on the sky. After it lands hydra agents get out of it and start shepherding the crowd that had gathered.
"Why aren't the police getting involved?" Trish Walker asks Jessica Jones, looking down at the scene from her apartment. Jessica is sitting on the couch with her laptop in her lap. "I thought it was obvious. They've been bribed." "Well, then why aren't we doing anything?" Trish asks turning back from the window. "We are. But we're gonna do it smartly unlike some others. Daredevil and Elektra rushed into it and where are they now? They're hanging from a building." Trish seems to be a bit offended by this response. "Only one of them is hanging and I'm pretty sure they've taken him down already." "You're missing the point. Look, I've sent some e-mails already and it looks like Luke Cage and Jessica Drew will be joining us. Castle must have a motive and now we know he's with Hydra. We find out from where and why he's doing this and then we attack."
As Bruce gets on the aircraft a hydra agent takes a blood sample and puts handcuffs on him - a 'safety precaution'. As the aircraft takes off another message from Frank Castle is played on every TV channel. This time he tells superheroes who aren't on the transport-aircraft had missed their only chance of survival. Bruce then starts to feel tired and falls asleep. So do the others.
Meanwhile Peter Parker and Logan are sitting in Honda traveling through New Mexico and eventually to a secret hideout in Texas. The journey is silent. When they arrive Wolverine tells Peter to be respectful. "Are we gonna meet the X-men?" Peter asks. "No, kid. Most of them fled to a secret mansion in Siberia. Some of us stayed behind. Call us brave or foolish, your choice."
At the gates of the abandoned factory that serves as a hideout Iron Fist comes to greet the duo. "Nice job, Wolvie! Peter, welcome!" As they go inside the building seems to be much larger newer and cosier. In the main hall some people are standing at a table arguing. One of them turns around and says "Hi, Peter. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange. It looks like you've already met Wolverine and Iron Fist. At this table you can also see Captain Marvel, Wonder Man, Hank Pym and Spitfire. Not present but we've also got Wasp and Kitty Pryde. We are the resistance."
Later that day, somewhere in the middle of the United States, Pietro Maximoff is running with his sister in his hands, who was shot. A storm is brewing before them and he whispers to Wanda: "I'm gonna get you to father, like I promised. We're gonna heal you. You just need to hold on for a little longer. Everything is gonna be just fine." Wanda lets out a moan of pain and she look like she's on the edge of consciousness. Pietro looks behind them and the Punisher is catching up with speeds he shouldn't be able to reach. In just a few seconds they're head-to-head. The Punisher's fist ignites in flames and he punches Pietro in the head, knocking him over. They're in an open field. Fighting Frank here would be foolish, since the twins have no advantage and of course one of them is barely alive. "Please. I surrender, just let me get her to safety and then you can use me for whatever sick reason you want to." Pietro cries. "You've had your chance. Now you must die. You leave me no choice." Frank replies. And at this very moment the storm gets very intense and a bolt of lightning comes crackling down. Out of it steps Thor, God of Thunder. He waves his hammer around in the air, then throws it at the Punisher's face. The impact shatters Frank's face, but he is still standing and he slowly starts to regenerate. "Quickly," Thor shouts at the twins "we need to get out of here!" He then grabs Pietro, who is holding Wanda and then starts circling Mjölnir above his head. They fly away and Frank tries to follow them, but he can't maneuver very well since his ability to fly is new. And so they get away.
At the night of that day in New York City, a fat man in a white suit walks into an abandoned looking warehouse. There's a small gathering of people in the dark. In the middle stands Magneto and surrounding him are a dozen other supervillains including Vulture, Doctor Doom, Carnage, Venom, Mystique, Bullseye and Purple Man. Kingpin joins them as Magneto begins his speech. "My dear friends and enemies, I know we had quite the number of differences but now that that madman Frank Castle is running around murdering our kind, and the 'heroes' are not doing anything against him, we must unite and take matters into our own hands. Now I see that the pieces on the chessboard are taking position, we must be in a point of advantage. The next time Castle shows up, we strike and this once and for all." "But what's in it for us?" Bullseye asks. "You can either face him alone and die, try to run and die or join us. Your choice." "You know what I will fight him." Bullseye says and he walks out of the building. The others seem to agree with Magneto.