THE PEAK
S.W.O.R.D. HEADQUARTERS

S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) Commander Abigail Brand was very displeased. She gazed out of the huge window, down at the curvature of the Earth. A sneer slid just underneath her pursed lips, her eyes hidden behind ever-present green sunglasses. The command center around her bustled with activity, agents rushing between stations, not just as part of their normal monitoring duties, but also due to the strange phenomena that had popped-up in the last 24 hours.

"Today is not going as I planned."

First the asteroid that appeared out of the damn blue, on a collision course with Earth. And then the sudden temporal anomaly over China, gone as soon as it started without leaving a trace.
"Cecilia, what's going on at the China site?"

The young dark-skinned woman looked up from her monitoring station, taken by surprise.
"Ah… yes Ma'am! Satellite confirms…"

Cecilia entered a few commands into her console, and a holographic projection emerged from the transmitter on top of her computer. The image showed a large gash in the ground between forest covered mountains.
"Something came out of that temporal cloud" she explained, "and crash landed in the nearby mountains. Unfortunately, whatever it was, was gone within moments."
Cecilia looked up to her boss, awaiting some kind of approval. Abigail remained impassive behind the shades.
"How long have you been stationed here, two months?" The commander asked.
Cecilia thought nervously for a moment, "Yes Ma'am, just about."

Director Brand strode away, back to the window.
"I'll tell ya, an agent really makes her bones on a day like this. Think you can keep it together if the S#!* hit's the fan?"
The Director's bluntness caught the young agent off guard, and her eyes widened in awkward discomfort.
"Y-Yes Ma'am."
"Good."

The door to the command deck opened, and in rushed a young male crewman, who hurriedly saluted Abigail.
"Commander Brand, something's happened to Sydren!"
"Show me!"

The pair rushed down a hallway, on course to Sydren's living quarters.
"Tell me what happened Agent Connors!" She yelled as they rounded a corner.
"I'm assigned to his detail, and he was just enjoying his lunch when he started to say something about a psychic presence coming from the asteroid that's heading for Wakanda. He tried to reach out to it, but then he started to convulse and fell to the ground, he's catatonic!"

Reaching the doorway to Sydren's room, she looked down to see the pink biped on his back, his arms sticking up, his entire body twitching subtly. Foam trickled out from the corner of his mouth, his eyes wide open in stark shock. The two other agents in the room looked to her with worry and fear.
"Is medical on their way?" Abigail demanded.
"They should be, we called." replied an alarmed agent.

Commander Brand knelt down by Sydren's side, and took his hand in her own. "What's going on with you, buddy? What happened?"

In a flash, Sydren was sitting up, his breathing turned rapid and short. Staring straight forward as if he were fixated on an object before him, his pupils were dilated.
"Fire! Destruction and lightning!" he growled in his raspy voice "It's horrible cackle… the screams of the dead and dying…"

Abigail gripped him by the shoulders, trying to get him to look at her.
"what are you talking about Sydren! What's it got to do with the asteroid?"
Sydren fixed her with a vacant stare; seeing her, but looking far past.
"I reached out to the entity inside, and that was what I saw. That is what awaits us all, the world on fire, the planet covered in ash."

Sydren finally met Abigail's eyes, seeing his own reflection in her lenses.
"We cannot allow that asteroid to reach Earth."

NEW YORK CITY
MOMENTS AGO

With all the chaos being wrought by the Mole-Man's behemoths, most people could be excused from noticing the expansion of a huge multi-colored wall, and the relatively small object that came hurtling out of it. But those workers along the dockside who had not already fled for home, or were in the process of trying to secure the area were dumbstruck as the Portal curtain stretched hundreds of feet into the air.
Johnny Storm was still being thrown backwards when he crashed into the salt water. A few moments later he emerged, spitting up the brine and frantically trying to gain his bearings and stay afloat. He looked around to see the familiar skyline of his home town.
"Ohhhh man, What hit me?"

Taking a step into a different world, Godzilla came through the portal, crushing a dock and several small boats underfoot. He loosed a roar of announcement and took in his new surroundings as the doorway closed behind him.
Johnny Storm could only gape in shock. "Oh yeah… he did."

Godzilla turned his head towards the heart of the city, sensing something.

There is a battle nearby…

The streets of Manhattan were systematically being turned into rubble. Though for his part, Spider-Man was successfully distracting the brute monsters from doing worse.
Dodging a chuck of concrete thrown his way, the wall-crawler settled for a moment to catch his breath.
"Oh yeah, just keep 'em busy until the big guns show up. Figures Moley picks the one day they're all apparently on vacation!"

Giganto and Megataur, having lost sight of Spider-Man, decide to simply eviscerate the nearest building.
Mole-Man stood behind them, scanning for any sign of the hero, "Don't worry Spider-Man! We'll find you a new home after we take this one, though it'll be about 60 feet under."

"We survived Bloomberg, I think we'll survive you!"

Much to Mole-Man's sudden surprise, Spider-Man came swinging down towards him, and put both his feet into the subterranean tyrant's prodigious belly. After tumbling end-over-end halfway down the street, Mole-Man rolled onto his back, groaning from the several new sore spots besides his swollen joints. Standing over him, Spider-Man merely shook his head.
"You should have stayed where the sun don't shine, and ya know, washed yourself or, something."

Mole-Man struggled to his feet, only to be pinned back down by a net of webbing. He spit and fumed.
"You won't be so smug forever! One day the sun-walkers will be overthrown! And brought down to my level!"

A smaller glob of webbing stuck to Mole-Man's face, silencing all but angry muffles. "Unless you invent a shrink ray, I don't see that happening."

It was now, that Spider-Man noticed the fact that he was standing in an immense shadow. He turned around to see both Giganto and Megataur looming over him. Putting his hands on his hips, he scolded the twin giants.
"Now what am I going to do with you two?"

Giganto raised an arm, ready to bring it crushing down. Spider-Man readied himself to jump, when his Spidey-sense hit him like a freight-train.
"Yeah! I know! I see him!"

Giganto tensed for the strike, but a series of bullets strafed across his shoulders, deriving a wail of pain from the green monster. Megataur looked to see where the attack had come from and received an arrow between the eyes that exploded upon impact. The blow caused the Minotaur to reel and stumble back into Giganto, sending them both haphazardly into the street.
Standing atop an adjacent building, Hawkeye drew string with another arrow, a Quinjet buzzing past him.
"I tell ya Cap, It's never boring in this city. Makes me glad I moved upstate."

In the pilot seat of the Quinjet, Captain America rolled his eyes.
"Is this really the time for quips Clint?"
"What do you mean? It's my thing!"

The arrow loosed and burst to become a cloud of smoke around Giganto's eyes, the stinging, burning fumes vainly clawed at by the creature.

"At least you're not as bad as Wolverine." Cap mused.

Spider-Man swung up to Hawkeye's position, and unceremoniously dumped Mole-Man on the roof, marveling at the Quinjet as it passed overhead to deliver another salvo of fire at the monsters. More SHIELD air-assault craft now joining the battle, pouring their own ammunition down.
"Man am I glad you guys finally showed up! So where's Iron Man or Thor?" Spider-Man asked energetically.
Hawkeye gave him an apologetic glance, "Sorry kid, just me and Cap today."

Hesitant to respond, Spider-Man let the words hang for a moment.
"Really? I mean.. great! I was just kinda expecting Iron Man or Thor, or Hulk, ya know, 'cause… giant monsters?"
"don't know what to tell ya," Another arrow strung, and loosed. "Iron Man is off on another mission, Banner is trying to be retired, and Thor actually hasn't been around for a while."
"huh…" Spider-Man sighed, putting a hand on his chin. "Well, between the three of us, we can probably-"

A new roar echoed through the city, distinct and much more powerful. Every one paused, even Megataur and Giganto seemed to be on alert.

Hawkeye dropped his bow to a low-ready, trying to make sense of this new sound. "Could that be another one of Mole-Man's creatures?"
"I don't think so, that sounded like it came from the waterfront."

"Clint, stay here and keep an eye on things." Cap said over the comms. "I'm gonna go see what the hell that was."
"Roger Cap."

Hawkeye let his hand come away from his ear-piece, displeasure creasing his features. He jabbed an elbow into Spider-Man's side, "Get it, 'Roger Cap'?"
The mask over the young hero's face denied Barton the reaction he was hoping for as the wall-crawler shook his head. So Hawkeye exhaled, bringing his bow back up to focus.
"Sure Clint," He thought. "you stay here and baby-sit the huge freakin' monsters!"

Giganto raged against the onslaught of several SHIELD craft, his claws causing a few to totter and nearly spin into buildings. The jade goliath locked eyes on the archer Avenger, hatred contorting it's already grotesque features. Hawkeye notched a new arrow as the car sized claw was raised. Neither of which got their chance to strike.
A furious torrent of blue fire slammed into Giganto, lifted him off his feet, and crushing into a building.

"Captain America to all SHIELD agents! Evacuate the area now! We've got a new monster incoming! A BIG ONE!"

Hawkeye and Spider-Man looked to one another stunned. Then Spider-Man leaned over Mole-Man, jerking him into a sitting position.
"Tell me that's one of yours?"
Mole Man shook his head vigorously, and was released to slump back down.

Clint held his bow and arrow to his face, searching for a target "Me and SHIELD will work on clearing the area, get dumpy out of here."
"What about those two?"

Hawkeye glance to where Spider-Man was pointing a thumb, Megataur was standing beside the thrashed Giganto, guarding warily against the coming threat. A thunderous impact rattled the building the heroes stood on, another fearsome roar, this time much closer.
"I'm guessing they're about to have their own serious problem. If there's anything giant monster love to do, it's fight."
Hawkeye took a running start and leapt from one rooftop to another.

Spider-Man watched him go, "I bet he learned that in Avenger school."
Scooping up the enwrapped Mole-Man, Spider-Man shot a web-line in the direction of the nearest police precinct.

Megataur staggered back, finally catching sight of the one who decked Giganto in one blow. Two eyes with iris' the color of a fiery explosion looked down at the minotaur, somewhat disappointed at the measly offering of an opponent.
Circling around in the Quinjet, Captain America reeled to take in the sheer size of this new monster.
"Watch yourselves everyone, this new player might not like the smaller ones, but we don't know what he's got planned for after."

Godzilla's bulk rumbled through the city streets, steam rising from his dorsal plates as they cooled from the infusion of nuclear power. A hearty roar shattered the closest windows as he made his way into the combat zone.
Spider-Man clung to a stucco façade as a shadow passed over him. With Mole-Man slung over his shoulder, he watched as a mammoth thigh lumbered past him.
"Whoa… I bet it's the bones that make him look big."

Circling in the air, Captain America looked down to Godzilla, trying to comprise a strategy on how to defeat such a monster without astronomical collateral damage. A holographic window popped up from the control panel, occupying half of the windshield. The infuriated and flabbergasted face of Nick Fury staring out, his one good eye twitching.

"Rogers! What the HELL is stompin' through the city!? Some kinda portal opens up at the waterfront and then this thing come out!"

The mention of a portal snaps Captain America's mind around, Godzilla. The monster from the other world. Something must have gone wrong
"A full explanation will have to wait Nick, but I've seen this monster before. It's called Godzilla, and I am telling you right now you do not have the firepower to take him on!"
"What do you suggest then?" Fury asked sarcastically.
"I think he was drawn in by the fighting, if we leave him alone he might wonder off."
"And just let him flatten downtown? Not an option. The Helicarrier is on the way in."
"NO Fury-!"

He slammed his fist against the consol as the holographic image went out, and Steve Rogers knew the destruction of New York City hung in the balance.

Megataur warily stepped back, forgetting his fallen comrade, more concerned with the fanged titan fixated on him. Feeling disappointed at such a small opponent, Godzilla let his attention wonder, turning his back on the lavender creature.
If the intimidation wasn't unsettling enough for Megataur, the disregard was worse. To Megataur the idea of being dismissed as unworthy, set his teeth to grind. The minotaur saw red watching Godzilla ignore him, and enraged, charged forward and grabbed a hold of the tail that moved carelessly, mocking him.
Godzilla was startled by the tug on his tail, and glanced back to see Megataur trying with both hands to pull. An unamused Gojira grunted, and with a swing of his tail, lifted Megataur and slammed him into a building. Not quite hard enough to topple the structure, but it caused tons of debris to crash down, compounding the broken bones that Megataur suffered for the first time in its life.
The ancient bull painfully opened its eyes just in time to see the bottom of Godzilla's foot coming down, a moment before thousands of tons of atomic muscle pressed down and crushed. Every bone in its body pulverized, it's internal organs flattened, Megataur lay motionless in the footprint. Godzilla glared down at the pathetic adversary, more upset at having to waste his time than the threat of challenge.

Helping an injured police officer from the wreckage of a damaged cruiser, Hawkeye peeked over his shoulder at the tremendous sight. This new monster had dealt with the other two as if they were nothing more than annoyances. Noticing the distraction, the middle-aged cop matched his line of sight.
"I sure do hope your super-buddies are on their way."

"Yeah… me too."

Giganto mewled weakly as it pried itself free from the vertical crater, it's torso still charred from the nuclear strike.

Godzilla turned his attention away, content that no further problems would arise, when a shower of gunfire from a squadron of S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jets peppered his hide. His lips curled back in irritation, the sight of a massive air-borne warship approaching from the east deriving a growl.

Man and their machines…

On the command deck of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury watched from his position betwixt monitors and controls as the monster turned to meet his floating fortress. His own sneer matching Godzilla's.
"Go around again, you've got to try and move him out of the city before we can fire the big guns."

The jets made another pass, raining down with their weapons. A wash of nuclear fire erupted from Godzilla's maw, chasing the squadron through the sky. Not concerned to avoid hitting the wrong target, the top quarter of a skyscraper was obliterated into shards and cinders in his pursuit.

"This is going to get Manhattan razed!" Cap thought, "I've got to lure him out of the city!"

The Quinjet lowered its chain guns, and levied a barrage of its own that pinged and ricocheted between Godzilla's dorsal plates. The saurian's head turned, his teeth bared, and his pupils dilated on the star-spangled Avenger in the pilot seat.
He didn't quite know why, but the sheen in the monster's eye's brought Captain America decades back in his memory, to a bizarre incident in the Pacific combat theater.
"No, It couldn't be…"

But a streak of blue fury clipped his wing, bringing him back to stark reality. Captain America banked away, towards the water, with a roaring Godzilla thundering after him.
"Fury, he's coming your way!"

As Steve Rogers headed-on to lead Godzilla out, a huge green blur flew past him and collided into the flight deck of the Helicarrier. The ship and crew reeled as Giganto rolled across the deck, Nick Fury's one eye as wide as humanly possible. The beast tried to stand, but it's wobbling legs succeeded only in propelling it over the edge of the craft, where it fell into the bay. An irate SHIELD director braced himself on a railing, "THAT SUNOFABITCH!"

Godzilla snorted.

Watching the green monster plummet and splash, Cap spoke into his ear comms; "Lure him out to sea Nick, we need to find a source of radiation, that will attract him!"
"I'm gonna overlook the fact that you know so much right now!"
The Director of SHIELD turned to his lieutenants, "Tell the Triskelion to get Chen Lu on a Quinjet!"

TOKYO BAY
Minutes ago

"We have to get back through NOW!"
Susan Richards yelled, pushing herself away from Cyclops as they rushed over to the Portal Sphere. The device itself sparked and fizzed with green energy, the lighted crevices blinking in and out.

Iron Man was hunched over the device; "We'll have to get inside to see what the problem is."

Reed Richards stretched himself over to the fallen Fantasticar, retrieving an elongated box. "Fortunately, I also thought to bring a tool kit."

A military Jeep pulled around, Beast rushing out of the driver's seat, Jean in the seat behind, awake but holding her head. Cyclops and Beast passed each other as the X-Man came to her side.

"I saw what happened," Beast said, gazing at the spot where the portal had been opened. "I just hope nobody over there antagonizes him into attacking."
Thing was brushing debris off his shoulders as he approached "Oh yeah, big fire-breathin' monster, he'll fly right under the radar."

The Portal Sphere unfolded before Reed like an orange, "we live in a world full of super-heroes Ben, I'm sure someone'll be able to keep the city safe."
"So how does a world full of heroes react to something from a world full of monsters?" Beast spoke to no-one in particular.
"Probably violently." Said Iron Man.

Above them, Mothra gazed into the space where the portal's window had faded away, low, worried chirps were her response to the sudden disappearance.

"What do you think's going on with the butterfly?" marveled Thing, watching her flutter helplessly.

Holding her arm, Susan looked up to the flying Kaiju, only now really taking in the majesty of the creature. She got the impression that it felt similarly to her, after watching Johnny being thrust back through the window. Susan could sense that the creature searched for a sign of Godzilla like she sought for Johnny.
"It's not a butterfly… It's a moth." She corrected.
"Whatever it is," a calmed Thing began, " it was trying to help us hold Godzilla back. I thought all these monsters were dangerous."
"I don't doubt that it could be dangerous if it wanted, but, I don't think it's our enemy."

"… Jean… Jean…?"
The darkness gave way to blurry colors and shapes as Jean Grey focused in on the voice. Cyclops held Jean's face, trying to rouse her.

"Scott… is that you?"
"I'm here Jean, are you feeling alright?"
"Oh Scott…"
As her vision cleared, she closed her eyes again, remembering the emotions that surged through her when Godzilla opened his mind to hers. The flashes of memory, the gut-punches of rage and loneliness, and the hatred, decades of fighting man and monster alike. Her own lip curled back in a snarl.
Scott grew worried by her silence, "What is it?"
"I touched his mind Scott, and it was overwhelming, I've never felt something so powerful, so full of anger. It didn't want to fight us Scott, but we attacked, and he saw us just like all those who came before."

"You are correct."

Both Jean and Cyclops were startled to see a glowing moth the size of a pigeon settle down on the seat-back in front of them. Two voices, speaking in unison emanated from the tiny sprite.

"Did I take a hit to the head too?" Cyclops said, rubbing the back of his skull.
"It's a psychic projection Scott, it's a messenger from… Mothra…"

Cyclops gave Jean an incredulous look, seeing the nerves in her face relax with the understanding washing over her. The sprite dissolved into two tiny women, surrounded in a golden nimbus.

"Your telepathy makes you much more approachable than the others." The Shobijin complimented, smiling.
"Mothra wants to help us," Jean started, almost surprised by her own knowledge, "but she didn't want to hurt Godzilla."
"Whatever you've done has disturbed the Earth's energy, Mothra tried to stop Godzilla from destroying it, but…"
"But we screwed it all up." Cyclops realized.
"How do we get him out of our world? We couldn't stop him." pleaded Jean.

The Shobijin turned to each other, trying to find the words.
"If you can repair whatever device it was that allowed you to cross-over, Mothra is willing to go with you, and bring him back."

NEW YORK CITY

The Helicarrier hovered in place just outside the confines of the city. With the clouds breaking behind it, the sunrays paned downwards, creating an awe-inspiring dichotomy between the light and the dark. Standing in the shadows of the clouds and skyscrapers, Godzilla glared at the SHIELD craft, yet another of Man's machines thrown against him.
The fires of the battle behind him, the unequal foes he had squashed without effort, whatever this place was, it was not like his own. The energy here was like the disturbance he sensed before, the ones who attacked him, they were from this place. Godzilla grunted, unimpressed at the situation.

"All stations, standby to fire."
In his time as Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury had seen some strange things, fantastical things, but he knew that this was going to be one of the more memorable incidents. Perhaps the massive spectacle of the Sentinel Campaign, leaving cities and populations in ruins, had made him complacent, that nothing worse could happen. Well here was worse, staring him right in the face.
"Come on you scaly bastard, step into the light."

TRISKELION

Down below, in the lower vaults of the SHIELD base, where a few of the more unique personalities were kept, a specially designed set of doors opened. Wearing hazmat suits, guards armed with weapons to immobilize but not injure, entered swiftly, time was of the essence.
The tenant of the vault, sitting alone on his bed, turned his head to meet the gatekeepers. The ragged remains of his attire swaying gently in the weak current created by all the motion. One guard approached with grim determination.
"Dr. Lu, you're being moved to a more secure facility."

Through the mask, they could hear his breathing. The Radioactive Man, Chen Lu, knew something was being left unsaid.
"May I ask what the cause for concern is?"
"Sorry, I've only been given limited information. All I know is that you are to be transported to The Cube."

Chen stood slowly, appraising the armed escort.
"Very well."

Back on the Manhattan waterfront, Godzilla readied himself for the inevitable assault. Watching from the command deck of the Helicarrier, Nick Fury steeled his nerve to wage war on the steps of New York City.
However, Godzilla's head swiveled northwards, and without warning, he set off in that direction.

Fury's face contorted in confusion, "Where the hell is he going?"
An aide came to Fury's side, "Sir, Chen Lu is being escorted as we speak."
Hearing it said out-loud, he realized at once what had happened.
"So he caught Chen's scent already. Alert the Triskelion, they're gonna have one hell of a visitor.

Walking out onto the flight deck on the southern side of the facility, Radioactive Man and the six man escort crossed the tarmac. Centered in the formation, Chen Lu observed from the inside of his containment pod the guards and the movements of the agents around them. He could sense the unspoken tension in those around him. He could also sense the small fault in the protective seal, someone hadn't checked all the locks.
The lead guard paused for a moment, listing to something in his earpiece. He then looked to the closest agent, with a mix of bafflement and horror. He then resumed the march with a faster pace. The change in behavior gave Chen the impression that something much bigger than a prisoner transport was going on. Feeling unnerved, Chen decided to make his move.
The bottom of the pod burst apart, and gaining leverage, Chen pried the rest of the door open. The agents turned on him, using their weapons to fire a stream of solidifying retardant foam meant to incapacitate a thermally powered individual. But Chen used the pod to shield himself from the assault, swinging it around as a melee weapon. Three agents were knocked off their feet in the process, the others forced to take cover as blasts of radioactive energy burned into the ground around them.
With a wave of his arm, Chen sent out an electromagnetic pulse, frying their communication devices and their weapons. The failure of his dispenser distracting him, one agent was too late to react when Chen grabbed him by the throat, throttled him, and lifted him off his feet. A second agent tried to attack from behind, but Radioactive Man merely expelled a wave of super-heated air from his back, and melted the asphalt under the man's feet. His boots stuck into the mire, and he fell screaming face first into the hot goo.
Chen's hand finally burned through the neck of the agents protective suit, a sharp but short scream was all the man could do before his throat was melted. Casting him aside, Radioactive Man used twin blasts of green power to chase the remaining agents out of their covered positions.
Gunfire rained down the tarmac, hitting Chen hard enough in the back to knock him skidding across the deck on his chest. The Quinjet hovered in the air, Captain America poised to fire again.
"Fury, Chen's escaped his containment, and he's fighting the guards!"
The comms buzzed, and a occupied sounding Fury responded. "Rogers! Get his green glowing ass on a plane and away from New York! Godzilla is almost there!"

Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Radioactive Man flipped onto his back, and shot blasts from his hands that hit the Quinjet under its left wing. As the craft spiraled out of control, the windscreen was ejected, and Captain America leaped out shield first. Landing with a roll, he came up just in time to block a double hammer-fist from Chen Lu, the impact reverberated and sent a flash of green energy panning out.

TOKYO BAY

Admiral Taizo Tachibana watched to ensure his troops were securing the area, and not staring slack-jawed at Mothra. He then glanced back to where Reed Richards, Iron Man and Dr. McCoy were operating on the unfurled portal device. He felt a strange combination of relief and anxiousness. For his entire life he had wanted to see the threat of Godzilla come to an end, the long decades of a single monster holding the world hostage. But the knowledge that this other world was now his victim made him feel guilty. They had not solved the problem, they simply transferred it to someone else.
Susan Richards sat on a chuck of concrete rubble, her hands clasped together between her knees, her knuckles white in frustration. Was Johnny hurt? Where did he land? How long until three of the most brilliant minds she knew fixed the sphere? But her family had been under the gun before. The personal vendetta held against them by Victor Von Doom, their harrowing escape from the Negative Zone and the clutches of the maniacal Annihilus. She glanced to her side where her friend Ben sat, char staining his orange rocky skin, his large thick fingers trying comically to pluck small bits of debris from in between the crevices.
"how you feeling Ben?" she asked in an attempt to distract herself.

Thing jolted slightly, not expecting the question. He quit trying to pry a splinter of wood from his shoulder and slumped against another section of rubble. "Well, having a giant lizard treat us like yesterday's dirty laundry isn't one 'a my finer moments. But at least I still got my good looks."
The deprecating humor was enough to break her gloom, a huff of a laugh forcing her smile into the open.

"I think we got it, JARVIS?" Iron man said with relief.
"Functionality restored Sir, I can open the portal."
"And none too soon."

"Guys!"
Jean Grey and Cyclops approached the group, a small glowing light fluttering around them.
There was an awkward tone in Scott's voice "Ah, just so you know, Mothra wants to come with."

"Mothra?"
Reed pointed a finger over to where the Kaiju guardian kept herself afloat.
"That thing wants to cross over with us?"
"I appreciate the gesture…" Stark said hesitatingly. "but I don't think…"
"She's on our side Tony" A defensive Jean stepping forward, "She wants to help stop Godzilla and bring him back."

As if hearing the conversation, Mothra chirped, her eyes flashing.

"Well, I've never been one to deny a lady what she wants…" Tony remarked.

Reed took the sphere in his hand and stretched it over to a large open space, setting it down carefully. Beast exhaled, and wiped his brow. "You all go back, I have an idea, but I need to stay here."
"Stay here?" Cyclops objected, "Henry you can't-"
Beast stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me on this Scott."
Reluctantly, Cyclops nodded his head, trusting in his friends intuition. Jean rushing in to give Beast a hug. She never told him, but she enjoyed nestling her face into his soft blue fur whenever they hugged. The embrace over, Beast backed away, towards where Admiral Taizo was directing his men.
"I'll see you all again soon enough."

Reed watched his friend take off, his mind drifting to times when they worked together.

"What's a matter stretch?" Thing asked over Reed's shoulder. "Thought going to a parallel universe to fight giant monsters was gonna be a walk in the park?"
"I just… I didn't envision any of us staying."
Iron Man quashed the dour air, "I'm sure he's got a great sense of direction to find his way home. JARVIS, fire it up."
"At once Sir."

The portal sphere clicked and whirred to life, the lights moving in waves along its surface.
"If anyone asks about our colorful new friend, I'm throwing Jean under the bus."
Susan Richards grit her teeth, Tony's irritating wit never seemed to run dry. But she was more concerned with other things.
"We're coming Johnny…"

NEW YORK

"Here I- *cough-gag* come!"

Johnny Storm pulled himself out of the water and up onto the pier, rolling himself on the wooden planks, exhausted from the swim.
"huff…huff… At least I'm… huff… back."
He rolled onto his side, and now saw the enormous path of destruction carved through Manhattan.
"Typical, I leave for a day and the city burns down without me. Well…"
Getting to his feet, he stretched his back, his body still aching from the glancing swipe of Godzilla's hand.
"New York ain't gonna save itself."