Avengers Assemble!
Disclaimer: Don't own BTVS, Marvel or DC, simple as that.
Ok so here is an interlude, if people like it I shall make another for some of the other heroes I used. Bear with me here though since this will break cannon and be somewhat OC content.
BTW the lack of Peter in the scenes was a deliberate choice on my part; I wanted the focus to be on the other characters before making a second part (hopefully) where it concludes with him being revealed in "spirit" form and then fight for his body.
Let's do this!
"Speaking"
"Whispering"
*Thoughts*
*Sound effects*
Interlude 1, part 1 – Along came a Spider…
Earth 616 – Baxter Building, medical bay…
Inside the headquarters of the Fantastic Four/Future Foundation we find the Sensational She Hulk lying seemingly asleep on a medical table…that is before she started to regain consciousness.
"Ugh! Oh man what hit me?" The jade powerhouse asks no one in particular as she slowly opens her eyes and tries to get her baring's. As luck would have it her team mate Darla Deering AKA Miss Thing was coming to check on her when she spotted her awakening and quickly rushed to the intercom to call the others.
"Guys! Jen's awake!" the woman shouted before she rushed towards the jade giantess.
"Jen are you ok?"
"I'm fine Darla, just a bit confused, what happened?"
"We don't know, me and Scott found you collapsed on the kitchen floor. We ran some scans but found nothing wrong with you although your brain showed a lot of activity, almost like you were awake but not." The woman replied as she helped her sit up.
*Was it all just a dream then? I mean it seemed so real.* the former Avenger couldn't help but think. At that point her other teammates arrived, one Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man and the Queen of the Inhumans Medusa.
"Thank God you're ok Jen; we were worried something terrible had happened to you." Scott spoke as he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Indeed, we wondered if were under attack by some unknown means, we had the children secured and the more combat oriented members on high alert." Medusa added as she spoke, though she was glad her companion was alright.
"Sorry guys, don't know what happened, not entirely at least." Jen honestly replies as she trying to determine whether what happened real or not.
Just then alarms began to ring around the building.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!? Is Murphy on the rag today or something!?" Darla shouted as she activates her Thing exo-armor.
"H.E.R.B.I.E report!" Scott shouted over the noise.
-DIMENSIONAL INCURSION DETECTED IN PORTAL ROOM.—the buildings AI reported.
"Source!?"
-100% SIGNATURE MATCH WITH DIMENSIONAL FREQUENCIES USED BY REED RICHARDS ON DAY OF DEPARTURE.—
"They're back?" Darla asks with hope at seeing her boyfriend.
"Come on, we better make sure." Jen spoke up as she got off the bed and made her way towards the lab. When they got there they spotted the large android Dragon Man and Alex Power.
"Glad to see you up and about Jen, kids got worried when they heard you were out." The former Power pack member spoke with a smile.
"I'll make it up to them." And she would too.
At that point a flash of light and energy discharge brought their attention back as the spotted their friends ride.
"Thank goodness their back, no offense guys but I think I have had enough adventure subbing for them." Darla spoke with relief as she deactivates her suit. Scott and Medusa silently agreed with her, of course that relief changes when Sue Storm-Richards get out with a worried look on her face before spotting Jen.
"Jennifer!" she shouts as she rushes to her "…Please tell me you remember Sunnydale!"
That got a wide eyed look from the jade skinned woman.
*So it wasn't a dream! But that means…* her widened as she realized one very important fact.
"Oh my God! Spider-man!"
"Thank goodness I'm not the only then…" Sue said with relief before her face took on a serious look "…Jen try to contact Stephen while I try to locate this Carlie Copper he spoke off."
Jen nodded before rushing to the communications hub.
Susan in the meantime turned towards her teammates and family.
"I know you all have questions and if time permitted I would gladly answer but all I can say right now is that Spider-man is in great danger."
"Wait what? What do you mean spidey's in danger!?" Her brother shouts while Reed and Ben share a concerned look.
She knew her brother would react that way, Peter was his best friend and just as he had honored Johnny's request to protect his family he felt bound to help his friend.
"H.E.R.B.I.E? Please search for the address of one Carlie Cooper, forensic specialist in the NYPD and have the data transmitted to our tablets." The blonde spoke up before looking at her family.
"Long story short, his body has been taken over by Otto Octavius before the man died." She said bluntly getting wide eyed looks from everyone present.
"Hmm I see, that makes sense actually now that you mention it." A young girl's voice rang as they all turned towards the entrance to the lab spotting the children of the F4 and the Foundation.
"Valeria! Franklin!" Sue quickly moved to her children arms open to hold her children.
Both children reciprocated as they held their mother tightly, it was never easy for them to see their parents and uncles leave for some dangerous adventure hence why the enjoyed these moments immensely.
They broke off soon enough with Franklin choosing to speak first.
"Did something bad happen to Spider-man mom?"
"I won't lie to you son but yes something has happened, but don't worry I promise you that me, Jennifer and Stephen have found out about it and we are going to do everything in our power to save him." She reassured him getting a nod from her first born child.
Giving them both one last hug she turned towards her husband, she was glad to see that despite the curiosity there to know more he was putting it aside in favor of helping save a man they deeply respected.
"Reed, when you took medical scans of every member of the Foundation did that include scans of their brains or nervous systems as well?"
"I did indeed Sue, given our past histories with Victor's plots dealing with mind transference or possible psychic attacks from the Psycho man I have made sure to have such information available." The leader of the Four replies as his keen mind already knows where his wife is going with this.
"I shall have Spider-man's ready for our departure.
"Thank you darling, we need every bit of proof we can find to prove our case."
"Listen guys that's all well and good but if you're right Susie and the web-head's got that pudgy bastards head rattling around his noggin how are we going to fix him?" The Thing asks the rather important question.
"That's why we need to find Ms. Cooper as well as join up with Stephen; we can't afford to take any chances since a man's life is at stake." The grave tone with which she spoke volumes of how serious this situation was.
"What I don't get is why you know this Sue and nobody else? I mean if Doc Ock is in his body shouldn't someone have noticed?" Johnny's comment looking at the heroes who had been asked to safeguard their home…the looks of shame did not reassure him.
"Sue I just got off the line with Wong, Stephen went through the same thing as us and is already looking for Spidey." Jen announces as she walks into the room only pausing to greet Val and Franklin.
"Thank you Jen, ok the plan is this we four…" motioning towards herself, Reed, Ben and Johnny "…will go secure Ms. Cooper and whatever evidence she has meanwhile Jen and her team will go to Dr. Strange's home to both obtain his help and Spider-man's location so we can all go together." The Richards matriarch said with utmost seriousness and discipline despite the nature of the crisis.
It was moments like this that reminded Reed why he married this woman who showed so much strength when they needed it. The heroes soon began to move out to get the job down and save a friend.
Apartment of Carlie Cooper…
We find the forensic specialist nose deep into her computer looking into any and all files related to the departed Otto Octavius and recent actions of Spider-man... who she knew was Peter Parker after the Spider Island incident.
*What am I missing here?* she thinks as her mind recalls her last encounter with the deceased and his odd attitude. She gives the golden octobot she received from him a look as well as going over his odd words about not being who she thought he was.
That plus coupled with the man she used to date odd shift in attitude in the way he tackled crime and acted with people, she knew something was up but she just couldn't figure it out.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
"Huh? Who could that be?" She asks no one in particular as she gets up from her seat, a bit thankful for the distraction…that is until she see who it through the peep hole and blinks repeatedly. Opening the door she sees the crimson clad forms of Reed, Sue and Johnny.
"C-can I-I h-help you?" the naturally bewildered woman stutters out.
"We apologize for this intrusion Miss Copper however circumstances involving a mutual acquaintance of both yours and ours necessitated this visit, a certain arachnid themed acquaintance to be more precise." Reed politely says to the woman who suddenly is no longer nervous as her eyes narrow.
"I knew it, I knew something was wrong, do you want to come in to look at the information I have compiled?"
"Actually we rather need you to come with us miss though any and all information you have regarding this incident will be most appreciated." Mr. Fantastic replied diplomatically, getting a nod from the woman who went back inside to grab her files and the machine as well, she didn't know if it would help but frankly at this point anything to prove her hunch would be accepted at this point.
"Ok, I'm ready."
"Very well Ms. Cooper our transport is on the roof so if you would kindly follow us please."
The odd quartet moved with a purpose as they headed towards the Fantasticar where Ben was waiting, as they moved Carlie prayed everything would turn out well for ex boyfriend.
At Avenger Tower…
*I don't how much longer I must stand being in the presence of these idiotic fools!* the self-proclaimed Superior Spider-man thought to himself as he endures the tests being performed on him by the Avengers as they tried to ascertain his identity.
He was tense no doubt about it, but if the worse came he was ready to flee, he wasn't about to let his second chance at life be denied by the so called do-gooders.
"All right Peter, the scans are done we have determined without a doubt that you are not a Skrull." Steve Rogers AKA Captain America announces with utmost confidence.
Otto struggles not to laugh at the sheer stupidity being shown at this moment. He couldn't believe they would only look for that, they haven't even checked for the anomalies in his brain.
*Save it for when you leave.* He says to himself.
"I could have told you that, who would want to impersonate me in the first place?" The impostor spoke as if to downplay his value though inwardly he was thinking who wouldn't wish to do so.
"True that webhead." Wolverine adds with a smirk while the others smiled in jest.
*Imbecilic animal.*
However before anything could said they received an alert from a nearby console. Steve quickly answered before anyone could comment.
"This is Rogers."
-Hello Captain, this is Reed Richards.—
"Good to hear from your doctor, it was my understanding you and the other founders were doing some exploring."
-We were but we had to cut it short due to a family emergency, however that is being resolved though we do have a situation that could require additional help can you spare a moment of your team's time?.—
"Of course Reed, I will have one of the team escort you to the conference room."
-Thank you Steve, we shall see you there.—
Later…
The four members were being escorted by Natasha Romanov to the room the Captain had reserved for their "meeting". Unknown to her was the fact that Jen, her team, Carlie Cooper and Stephen Strange were also there albeit hidden behind an illusion he crafted to hide until they struck at the imposter.
They had met up with Jen's group and the Master of the Mystic arts quickly cast the illusion spell currently in use and a levitation spell to follow the four (Carlie would have sworn up a storm had she not been to scared given the heights they were at.).
Now though they needed to remain quiet as they reached their destination and hopefully their target. Sure enough as soon as they stepped in they spotted the imposter, it would take delicate timing to ensure he didn't escape but as an added reassurance Sue began to cover the room in an invisible field while Dr. Strange added an additional barrier.
"It is good to see you all well, how can we help you Reed?" Captain Rogers asks kindly unaware of what was about to occur.
"Thank you Steve, as for the reason we are here it is because we detected a strange anomaly upon arrival and we just want to make sure everything was all right."
"And what is this anomaly friend Richards?" Thor asks while the others wonder the same.
"Well we believe it is located in single spot here at the tower, have any of you noticed anything odd lately?" Reed was keeping up the charade well his wife would admit, though Sue could tell Johnny was starting to lose his patience as he eyed the man who had taken over his friend's body.
Jen and Medusa were just about to be in position, they needed to be careful for one wrong move and he would be alerted. She soon saw them in place getting a nod from both women, she in turned look at the others and gave a slow nod just as Steve replied.
"No, nothing show up on sensors but we could…"
"NOW!" She shouted as both she and Johnny fired of a ball flame and energy at the usurper who as planned reacted with lighting quick reflexes to the ceiling. Of course that's when the Queen struck as her hair launched itself at him, forcing him to dodge into the waiting arms of She Hulk.
"I got him guys!"
"Ugh! Release me! Release me damn you!"
The Thing quickly got to her and grabbed his legs to further impair the imposter, he wanted to hurt the man for what he had done but that meant hurting his ally so he resisted the urge.
"What is going on here!?" Steve shouts as he is surprised to see Jen there holding his fellow Avenger, it gets worse as the others appear as Stephen drops the illusion.
"What is going on Captain is we are detaining this imposter so he can refrain from further damaging a good man's name…isn't right Otto Octavius?"
That stopped the man's thrashing quick.
*How do they know!?*
"What!? Why are you calling him Octavius?" Spider-woman shouts as the confusion was just mounting.
"Because it is him, he used this…" Carlie spoke up as she revealed the golden octobot causing Otto to become more frantic "…to switch his mind with Peter's, to steal his life like the parasite he is." She scornfully ends as she glares at the monster that inhabited the body of her ex.
The Avengers were poleaxed at the revelations being brought to light, how could this have happened? How could they have not seen it for so long? That was the main thought in all of them.
Stephen ignored this however as he approached the struggling man as explanations would come later, first they needed to secure the prisoner in order to find some way to save Peter, hence why he hit him with a sleeping spell that left him limp in the arms of the two powerhouses.
"All right everyone, I know you have questions but right now we need to go back to the Baxter Building and save Peter, so I suggest you all follow us now." Susan ordered as she moved to the exit with Jen and Ben behind her with their quarry, she spared a moment to give a worried look at her friends body.
*We'll save you Peter, I promise you we will.*
The rest of their team followed and after a moment of hesitation so did the Avengers, whatever was going with their friend they would need to get to the bottom of it in order to help him.
Back at the Baxter Building…
Johnny Storm, despite the nature of his powers, considered himself a cool customer most of the time. He had seen and done things no normal person could possibly conceive, the only times he truly showed anger was when one of his friends or family was endangered.
Psycho man corrupts his sister? He got angry.
Dr. Doom uses his niece and sends his nephew to Hell to destroy them? He became livid.
Annihilus trying to destroy his home, kill his family and then subjecting him to near constant tortures? Oh how that one pissed him off to no end.
But this time it wasn't a villain who had angered him, though for sure Otto Octavius had earned his hatred with this latest act, but right now he was staring down a the group of Earth's Mightiest Heroes with visible anger. Visible in the way that flames were coming off his hair and shoulders while his eyes took on an orange hue.
Ben was with him to make sure things didn't get out of hand, sure he was less than please with the Avengers but he needed to keep a level head for Peter's sake and to prevent Johnny from doing something stupid.
"So let's recap shall we? We aren't here for some time and during that time spidey goes on a power trip, beats people to an inch of their lives, starts acting like an asshole and to top it all off kills someone and what do you idiots do?"
The young man was not kind in his dialogue as his anger was quite evident for the group who up till had not tried to dissuade him.
"Please tell how THAT particular event didn't register as something being wrong with him."
"It was in self-defense." Black Widow spoke up earning a look of disbelief from the blonde.
"It was in self-defense? That's your excuse!? Let me tell you something lady, I wasn't there and you weren't there so we don't know what went down but I can tell you this Osborn, Fisk, Venom, Carnage, and a crap load of others have had him right where they want him and he never, never took their life no matter how bad a spot he was in."
"Did he act guilty for what he did?" Ben interrupts before Johnny could continue.
"We uh…we didn't see much of him after the incident so I guess?" Spider-woman weakly replies wincing at the furious look Johnny level at her while Ben just looked disappointed.
"Unbelievable! I just can't believe you people could possible screw up this way, it's like you don't even know him at all."
"Easy matchstick, we don't need you getting riled up more than you already are, we got to think about Peter since he's the one in danger right now." Ben calmly says to his fellow teammate.
His words seem to have the desired effect as the flames reseeded though he still glared at the other heroes before taking a seat next to their resident heavy hitter. No one said anything in the next few minutes, Johnny made that he did not want to hear any excuses from them and Ben was just trying to keep the peace.
Reed soon came in followed by Sue, Jen and Stephen.
"Reed, please tell me you have good news." His brother in law asks hoping for the best.
"I wish I could say that Johnny but this situation is more complicated than first revealed." The leader of the four replies seriously as he activates the room's holo emitters showing two images of a brain.
"The image on the right is the latest scan that was done on Peter's brain." The right brain glowing a deep blue.
"The one on the left is one I just performed on the…imposter." Reed found it difficult to say that last part, the body was essentially that of a close friend and colleague but the mind? The image showed red with a smaller one glowing the same shade of blue as the image on the right.
"By Odin! Then it is true, the villain Octavius has usurped the body of our comrade!" Thor's outrage was mirrored by Logan and Steve while Jessica and Natasha were in shock.
"How do we fix this Reed? There has to be a way, there has to." The Human Torch worried look told the man how much this was affecting him, he would be lying if said he wasn't affected also.
And why not? Peter Parker had been a good friend to the team over the years and had been with them on many situations, both good and bad, so this was quite a blow to them.
"We are looking into that Johnny but my best guess is that yes it is reversible however…"
"However what Doctor?" Steve asks with dread.
"I can only theorize at this moment but after careful study of the device used to make transfer is done then there are three outcomes. The first is Peter is restored and Octavius is either transferred into device or he…expires, the second both are destroyed in the attempt or finally Peter is destroyed and only Octavius remains. And sadly I can give no guarantees on what will happen at this point." Mr. Fantastic's grim expression did nothing to comfort the heroes who knew Peter.
They all shared the man's worries, if this should Peter Parker could potentially cease to exist along with his tormentor or only the villain would remain and a good man would die.
To be continued? You be the judge.