Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
Since I'll be taking the Redeemer down, this story no longer ties into it. The loss of Spider-Aaron's spider sense will be explained another way, and will crossover into Exile037's stories.
Ultimate Aeon Origins: Reboot
Chapter 10: Inhumanity
Cade looked down at the Earth, his Earth, he felt no strong connection to it, not even before it had been altered. But he could see it shifting between two states, that of the battleground it had become, and the festering pit of corruption it was. He could see Nicholas Fury standing in an expensive apartment he didn't need, especially since he had pawned his child off to social services. The man was living in excess, thinking of saving the world as a hobby, of running the world's premier defence organisation as his right, no matter who suffered because of his decisions. Cade despised him, but he couldn't touch him, not even with all the power he had. He could not directly affect his old world, only his new one. Yet if one version of the world was sacrificed, their entire reality would suffer for it. Deathblade brandished his sword and advanced with his pawns towards Attilan.
"So what's the plan?" Gambit asked.
"Blow open the gates, reach the Terrigen chamber, and kill everyone who gets in the way, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, and especially Black Bolt," the anger was clear in Cade's voice as he walked across the moon.
"Kill everyone?" the bald stranger asked.
He, Charlie and Martinex stopped following Cade, the others stayed by his side. There was a moment that passed in which Gamora kept her grip firmly on her element gun. Gambit stood between the group, uneasy and nervous as Electro twitched apprehensively. Cade took a step towards the stranger and the slits of his helmet narrowed, his red eyes fixed on the stranger's own.
"Do you know what the Inhumans do to people whose bodies effectively reject Terrigenesis?" he asked.
"I know exactly what they do," the stranger said.
"Writing them off as primitives, locking them away, or worse, using them as labour. Do not try to paint these bastards as innocents, when the entire culture accepts itself as Inhuman as if it is acceptable. I speak not out of hatred for a race, but of a belief, of actions, these people see themselves as living in a Utopia when they drown people at birth who don't share that single strand of DNA that makes them compatible for their terrigen process, I will never allow a society to continue existing like that," Cade explained.
"I have no qualms with killing them if that's what they do," Drax said casually.
"It's nothing personal," Black Widow shrugged her shoulders.
"I wonder what Inhuman blood tastes like," Dracula licked his lips, exposing his fangs, whilst Gamora drew her sword.
Cade looked towards Electro, Mary and Gambit, awaiting their thoughts on his plan. Electro nodded his head, a sick smile flashing across his face. Mary slid the wrist blades out of her suit and nodded her head as well. Gambit ringed his staff, clearly analysing the plan. Not so much its execution or meaning, no one had any idea what Cade was going to do with the Terrigen crystals. There were many reasons why some followed him, fear, Electro and Widow kept thinking about what he had done to Mystique. Revenge was too good an opportunity for Gamora and Drax to pass up, but Martinex and Charlie wavered. Justice and revenge were not always the same thing, and sometimes it mattered to people how they avenged the deaths of their loved ones. Neither men wanted to become those who had wronged them. Dracula followed out of his own sheer blood lust, Mary because she believed the ends justified the means but the Stranger and Gambit both followed for the same reasons. They both felt a tug at their souls, something telling them that they had to be where Cade was. The stranger knew exactly why, but Gambit still doubted.
"You're either with us or against us," Mary said.
"Hold on, Remy ain't against anybody, Remy ain't out to make the world or break it, the world's still gonna be turning after this right?" the thief asked.
"Yes, it will still be turning," Cade huffed and turned around, continuing his walk towards Attilan.
They saw the gates open, heard the screams of guards and the blare of a great alarm. Widow twirled a pair of pistols and Electro and Drax began to float off of the floor. Cade summoned a scythe and raised it over his head. Red energy swept over the blade, and with a single swing, Cade launched a wave of energy towards Attilan. The other members of Cade's group took that as the order to charge, both the Stranger and Gambit wept, for they had become party to a massacre.
On Earth, in the bunker of Project Aeon, the group that Sven had gathered worked on a plan, one they hoped would save them. It was a last desperate hope, but a hope none the less. Zemo watched the group standing in a circle, speaking with one another about the world and the best way to save it. He chuckled silently, they were aiming to do in a few days something he had tried to do for years in his world. Songbird's betrayal echoed in his memories, his plan had been flawed. Time to look at his family's legacy, and time in a cell had taught him much.
'My plans failed not because they were flawed, but because I was flawed,' he thought.
He understood it now, all too well. A tapping against his cell caught his attention, and Zemo looked up at Sven. The man stood with Ben Parker and Aaron Davies, he had strapped a pair of shock sticks to his back, and put a holster with a pistol on his thigh. He was also holding a shock staff.
"I'm going to let you out Zemo," he said.
Zemo laughed, hitting the back of his head against the glass, "What on Earth would possess you to do that?" he asked.
"Faith, I trust you'll do what's right for this world," Sven said.
"And how do you know I won't just betray you and try to save my own skin?" Zemo asked.
"If you even think of betraying us, I'll snap your neck," Aaron said.
"Point taken," Zemo grinned as he stood up.
Sven nodded to Felicia, an unspoken signal to unlock the door. She did so and Zemo stepped out, grabbing the staff Sven gave him. He span the weapon around, testing the weight and tapping the alloy. It wasn't vibranium or adamantium, but it was sturdy enough to stagger anyone with super strength.
"What have you worked out in a plan so far?" Zemo asked.
"Spider-girl and Spider-man are both vulnerable without their spider-senses, Webb knows a way to find out what's happened to this great 'web' that gives them their powers. Sue and her team need to get back to the former version of this world, and try to keep the Maker from carrying out his plans. Rick can provide a way to get to both worlds, and he can act as a means of transport for the people of Earth," Sven explained.
"I go across the planet, gathering as many people as I can," Rick continued eagerly. "Of course this would be easier if someone hadn't bailed."
"We don't know what happened to Elliot, but I'm sure he had a good reason for doing so," Karen said.
"That might just be that reality warping power of his," Barton said.
"This may be overstepping my boundaries, but, speaking as a man who was often caught red handed, perhaps Magician is in some way responsible for what has happened, that is why he has run away, because his plans to make a better world are backfiring," Zemo explained.
"If he was trying to make a better world, he failed miserably," Taskmaster said.
"There are teleporters in Magneto's army, Gateway, Nightcrawler, Magik and Blink, Kurt will be easy to convince and the others might be reasonable enough to understand what we're doing," Karen explained.
"But as cruel as it sounds there might not be enough for everyone on the planet, some people might have to be left behind," Sam said.
"Which means we need to make every second count," Tony said.
"Hence convincing others to help us!"
"You've been quiet Sven, what's your take on this, and your part in the plan?" Grimm asked.
"Our plan won't work if Galactus and his heralds get here and destroy us, we need people who have the power to oppose all of them, which is why we need to summon Avatars," Sven explained.
"What are you talking about?" Taskmaster asked.
"The Phoenix is the avatar of fire and rebirth, Zarathos is the avatar of hell and vengeance, Yggdrasil is the tree of life and the green, whilst the Other is part of the web that binds all living creatures, both animal, insect and human to life, and then there's the Uni-force, the very embodiment of the universe itself," as Sven spoke, the red markings appeared across his skin. "If I act as a temporary web, one of the spiders should be able to become the Other, I can also forcibly summon Zarathos through the spirit world, Karen will have to offer herself to the Phoenix, Yggdrasil and the Uni-force? Well we have no idea who their avatars could possibly be, so they may be off the table."
"I don't think so Sven, you said we were all here for a reason right? Well what if the avatars are already among us?" Ben asked.
"You're suggesting that there is some great destiny binding all of us," Felicia raised her eyebrows, sceptical of everything, in fact she found the whole conversation insane.
"Felicia and the Prowler were to get us into this place, Rick is the chosen avatar of the Watcher's power, Karen is the phoenix's host, I don't think any of us being here is an accident," Grimm explained.
"What, so we're like destined to not fail?" Taskmaster asked.
"We're talking about forces we don't understand, maybe we don't understand this either, Sven was right about this world not being yours, he might be right about this too," Sue said.
"So what happens now?" Felicia asked.
"We split up and try to do what we can, which means Karen getting her connection back with the Phoenix, and me trying to become the Other," Aaron said.
"No, I'll do it, I'll become the Other," Mary-Jane said.
"Why?" Aaron turned to the girl, narrowing his eyes at her.
"If this is all part of some predetermined, or at least planned destiny, then technically you've already done your part, I still have to do mine," she explained.
Aaron lowered his head slightly, hesitantly nodding in agreement.
"This is where it gets complicated, in order to bring out every Avatar, I have to be on the blue area of the moon, where I'll also try to get the Inhuman's help," Sven explained.
"So you won't actually be on Earth helping?" Karen asked.
"He's got his own reasons for being there, right now we should respect those reasons and how much they can help us," Shang-Chi said.
"The Inhumans will never help, they've never cared about humanity enough to get involved," Felicia said.
"They will, they are humanity after all," Sven muttered.
"You have more hope than I do handsome, false hope but hope all the same I guess," the cat burglar shrugged her shoulders.
"So how exactly am I supposed to get to what our world originally was and wherever this web is?" Rick asked.
"Try to imagine the same thing you did when you teleported us back to our own world that one time," Tony suggested.
"Before you do though I'd like to stay here and help with evacuation," Miles Morhames said.
"It might be best for Susan to stay as well, her force fields can assist you," Victor suggested.
"No, I'm not going to miss out on a chance to get to the Maker," Sue retorted.
"Personal feelings should be put aside, but if you're serious about abandoning everyone Sue then I'll stay, my flight tech will be able to help," Sam said.
"Aye, there are like a dozen copies of me in your world, so I might as well stay and use my stretchy hands to pull some people out of danger," Danny explained.
"Okay, its settled then, everybody who can fight goes to the Savage land with Ben Grimm and tries to break up the fight, whilst Webb goes with Spider-man and finds out what's up with the web. Spider-girl, Spider-ham, Felicia, Ben and Molly go across the world and try to evacuate everyone they can, there are a few mutants who can help with that. Then I go to the blue area of the moon, find out what the Inhumans are going to do and see if I can get them to help us fight, and then use my connection to the spirit world to try to force all of the avatars to awaken."
Sven summarised their plan almost perfectly and as they expected. His sense of hope was thin, as was the structure and certainty of the plan's success. Rick at least didn't waver in his role as he created portals, carrying the different parties to where they intended to go. First there was Ben's group to New York, then to the Savage Land, where the battle between the Ultimates and Magneto's forces had reached its bloody peak.
"I'm only going to say this once, STOP FIGHTING OR ITS CLOBBERING TIME!" Grimm yelled.
"It might have to be more than once," Barton muttered.
He fired an EMP arrow, shutting down some of the Sentinels and the equipment the Ultimate agents used. Rick immediately sent the group across the world again, or rather up to space. Aaron patted Sven's shoulder as the young man walked out onto the blue area of the moon. When the portal disappeared, Sven looked upon Attilan in shock. It was quickly becoming a ruin, and Sven could see the explosions from where he stood in the ruined city.
"What was this place?" he wondered, as if there would be anyone to answer his question.
Uatu continued to watch Sven as he began running towards Attilan. He admired the human's spirit and determination, from upon sensing that Cade was the one responsible for the carnage, he immediately wanted to save his friend. The Watcher's gaze turned to the stars, Galactus and his swarm drifted ever closer, the arrival of the great consumer would be inevitable. As was the incursion event, Uatu's link to the watcher devices in the original version of his world told him everything. They told him of a Maker who had gone to Fury and Hawkeye, both men eager to bring back S.H.I.E.L.D. and never dedicated to finding any other way, other than the way they were always used to. They would destroy the other world approaching as casually as Galactus would feed.
"The brave advance of a fool eh?" a voice asked behind Uatu.
He didn't need to turn to know that Loki was behind him. The god of mischief, the one whom had survived the massacre of the Asgardians by the Maker's forces. He removed his tie as he walked past Uatu, looking at the advancing hero, and then towards the advancing giant.
"I can shimmer between both worlds watcher, even bring objects from both worlds, I could teleport people away from this conflict, I could save everyone...but I don't," he explained.
"Your last words to Thor before you seemingly died was that Odin had done the right thing in punishing you, you fought beside your brother until the end," Uatu explained.
"Tell me the one consistent thing about every version of me, the multiversal rule if you will about Loki's."
"Loki lies!"
"Exactly, I lie, I am by my very nature a trickster, but am I that because of me, or because of everyone else?" Loki asked, his tone indicating a genuine curiosity.
"Evil and good are not forces of nature, or things bound by a destiny, they are what they are because they have chosen to be," Uatu said.
"Tell that to several hundred ill people," Loki retorted.
"All of whom eventually came to have a choice, you are a trickster because you want to be Loki, because you choose to enjoy it!"
"And what about you?" Loki asked.
He turned to the watcher, stretching out his tie. The fabric turned to steel, the two ends curved and string appeared between them. It was a bow, of a beautiful design that seemed mythological and otherworldly. Sven kept on running towards Attilan, in fact he was very close. Loki raised his bow and gripped the string.
"You could save people, you could even stop Galactus, yet like every other great being, Infinity, Eternity and even the one above all, they have power to create entire worlds, so could you...don't dare talk to me about what I choose to do, I have not yet given up my ability to act," Loki explained.
"There is your mistake Loki, you think you are greater than them, that every action we take should be above and beyond the humans, they are greater than us, and you are no greater than them. Your life has a limit like there's does, you live and you die like they do," Uatu explained.
"Give or take a few thousand years," Loki retorted. "Plus when Asgardians 'die' our form endures, we are reincarnated, not quite the same as we were before but our nature is similar. Valhalla, in others worlds I've returned as a woman, a child, even some kind of antler/tree monster...I don't exactly know what I was in Earth X, that's never really been explained," the Asgardian muttered.
"The point I am making Loki, is that they don't need gods to save them, they can save their world themselves," Uatu said.
Loki hummed as an arrow appeared on his bow. He knocked it back, aiming at Sven. Then with a grin he looked back at Uatu, and released the arrow. Sven widened his eyes and stopped running, stopping at the ruined gates of Attilan. He looked at his chest, at the blade sticking through it and laughed. The shaft of the arrow was inside his chest, and the blade had cut several arteries close to his heart. He fell onto his left side, blood flowing out of his mouth.
"Let's see him save himself from that," Loki said smugly.
He was about to turn around, when he noticed Uatu raised his head, a sign of his amazement. Loki slowly turned his head and widened his eyes. Sven was standing up, taking a few slow steps, clearly struggling just to move. He took one step after another, the red symbols glowing across his skin. Loki immediately fired one arrow, and then another. He didn't even aim, both landed near Sven's feet but didn't hit him. Uatu saw something that would have made him smile, the great Loki was panicking. An arrow hit Sven in the back, and another struck his shoulder.
"What the Valhalla? Why isn't he dying?"
"You're obviously a better manipulator than you are a marksman Loki," Uatu retorted.
"Silence," Loki pulled back his bow and fired again.
He released the arrow, which turned into pure energy and split into several other projectiles. They flew fast, striking the ground like rockets. Five slammed into Sven's back and threw him through the gates of Attilan. Sven landed on his side and continued to crawl across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Cade and his band had left a trail of their own, the bodies of Inhumans, warriors and civilians alike. A girl with a third eye had a lance sticking out of the said third eye, an insect like Inhuman had been burned by electricity, that was just two of many people brutally killed.
"Let's see him survive that," Loki muttered.
His hands were still shaking, just like Sven's were. He was out of Loki's range, but not Uatu, who again would have smiled. Someone had found Sven.
The attack had been swift, Charlie-27 and Martinex didn't even have time to react to what was going on. Their allies moved much faster than them, fighting their way through the Atlantean guard. Widow gunned down one person after another, Electro short-circuited all of their weapons, and Mary combed the corridors with her pyrokinesis. Gamora and Drax however were unstoppable forces on the battlefield. The most dangerous woman alive cut and shot her way through entire battalions of Inhumans, soldier and civilian alike. And the destroyer well and truly lived up to his name, bringing debris down on his enemies, burying the innocent under rubble.
"Mary, find out where the Terrigen chamber is," Deathblade commanded.
Mary grabbed an elite guard by his head and tore into his mind. Her psychic avatar, a woman with part of her face painted white, waded through all of the man's personal memories. The woman laughed, disturbing the other members of the group but not Deathblade. He was done caring about this world.
"Follow me," Mary said as she beheaded two guards.
Charlie, Martinex and Gambit remained frozen, simply watching as the other murderers flew, or marched on. The Stranger knelt by the body of an Inhuman, and gently closed her eyes. He walked down a corridor that had been left intact by the assault. Walking silently down the corridor, he was not surprised by what he saw at the end of it. Children whom hadn't undergone Terrigenesis were huddled together, dreading whatever fate awaited them.
"Yum, yum," a voice muttered behind the Stranger.
He turned, seeing Dracula. The man had his fangs ready, his mouth already stained with blood.
"Inhuman adults are surprisingly bland? But children? They always taste the best," Dracula said.
"You will not harm them Dracula," the Stranger retorted.
"Whose going to stop me?" Dracula grinned.
He suddenly heard the scrape of metal behind him. The lord of the vampires turned, and his eyes were left in a permanently wide state, as his head plopped to the floor. It rolled, stopping at the feet of one of the children, causing them to scream. The Stranger looked at Deathblade, a subtle smile spreading across his lips. As ruthless as the man was, Cade Hunter would not allow the truly innocent to suffer.
"They have a teleporting dog right? Find it and get them to Earth, or leave them here...no place is safe anymore," Cade said as he walked away.
He passed Martinex and Charlie on his way out, not even giving them a second glance before continuing on his way to the Terrigen chamber. Martinex and Charlie-27 ran towards the chamber the Stranger had gone into. But much to their shock they found that he was gone, along with the children. As they contemplated the man's sudden disappearance, Cade continued to walk through the corridors of Attilan. He felt the explosions and shockwaves of battle, but continued advancing. Gorgon smashed through the walls, trying to attack Electro. The criminal grinned as he fired one blast after another at the Inhuman royal. Cade ducked, avoiding Mystique as she flew into the wall. She jumped to her feet and ran towards Triton, sliding underneath the thrust of his spear. He span it around, deflecting Mary's own blades. Karnak jumped across the room, avoiding a hail of gunfire from Widow.
"You cannot stop us," Drax said, shoulder barging Gorgon's back and smashing her against the wall.
Gorgon elbowed Drax and grabbed Electro by his foot. She threw Dillon, sending him flying into Gamora as she jumped at Triton. Gorgon grabbed the sides of Drax's head, her eyes glowing red as she attempted to hypnotise the destroyer. He suddenly slammed her head into hers, throwing her back.
"Which one of you killed Medusa? Who killed my sister?" Gorgon demanded, punching Drax across the face.
"I believe Mystique had that pleasure," Drax retorted, firing an energy blast that knocked Gorgon out of the fortress.
The destroyer flew after his prey, grabbing her by her head and throwing her into another building. Gorgon suddenly jumped out of the building, hitting Drax with a kick so hard he flew into a building beside the royal castle. Breathing in the artificial air of Attilan, Cade shook his head, bothered more by the air than the battles going on around him. Inhuman royal guards attempted to shoot him with their blasters, only for sniper shots to hit them. Widow crouched in front of the hole Gorgon and Drax had left in their wake, shooting one round after another from her rifle.
"You will not get away with this," Triton said.
He charged at Widow, attempting to spear her back. Gamora however deflected the blow with her sword, and fired an air blast from her gun. The force threw Triton against the wall, and send his spear sliding across the ground. Mystique stretched her hands, grabbing the weapon away from Triton.
"We already have," Gamora said, firing an electrical blast from her gun.
The fish like Inhuman screamed, his cries rebounded between the pillars of the buildings. Mystique stabbed the spear through Triton's chest, and Electro fired a blast at the weapon, electrocuting Triton. Karnak kicked Mary into one of the pillars and looked towards his cousin. Upon seeing Triton's hands flop to the ground and become still, he lowered his head in sorrow.
"You may be destroying our city, but the Inhumans will endure, our people will endure," Karnak said.
He aimed his fingertips, releasing blasts of energy that left cracks in the pillars around Cade's team. Mary slid her blade through Karnak's chest, but the strategist had already carried out his plans. The pillars collapsed, and the roof began to cave in. Gamora broke off into a run, leaving Electro to be buried by the rubble. Mystique extended the length of her legs, taking much greater strides than Gamora. The green haired woman pushed a button on her belt, activating its rockets. She and Mary flew out of the building, whilst Mystique and Widow jumped. Romanoff fired a grappling hook, latching it onto another building and using it to swing safely down to the streets. As she landed, she put bullets into two Inhumans who tried to fight her.
"What's going on?" Martinex asked, looking at the rubble coming down in shock.
"I don't know but let's move," Charlie said.
"Remy ain't gonna argue with that!"
The thief rushed past both Charlie and Martinex, keeping both arms over his head as the rubble fell. Charlie grabbed Martinex and Gambit and pushed them both to the ground.
"What are you doing Charlie?" Martinex asked.
"Trust me," the bulky man said.
Half of the building collapsed, but Cade didn't look back. He kept on advancing, cutting open the door to the building that contained the Terrigen chamber. Royal guards were waiting for him. One shot a blast of fire at Cade, and the other surrounded himself with rock armour. Cade's head rocked back as the rock man punched him. He ducked underneath the second punch and slid his sword through the man's armpit.
"FLINT GET BACK!" the fire thrower yelled.
His skin turned charcoal black and flames covered his body. The fire expanded around his arms, bursting forth and consuming Cade.
"Good job Inferno," Flint said, patting his friend's shoulder.
A blade suddenly flew through the flames, imbedding itself in Inferno's head. Flint yelled as Cade ran out of the flames, summoning another sword. He slid underneath Flint's punch, cutting his stomach. Then he changed the sword into a scythe and swung it at the back of Flint's head. The blade pierced through the rock armour and straight into Flint's head. Cade pulled the blade free, and began to take off the burnt pieces of his armour, leaving him with just a black mesh suit and minimal padding. He focused his energy, causing red markings to appear across his clothes, and forming a crack like mark across his helmet.
"Dead and dying, every single one of them," Cade spoke in anger, moving up the steps towards the Terrigen chamber.
There, contained within a glass chamber was the Terrigen crystals. Standing as the last line of defence was the king of all Attilan. He wore black armour, which resembled onyx coloured flesh, with two white bolt symbols running down his chest. The helmet that covered his face lacked eyes, but the tuning fork on the forehead glowed with energy, and a grey visor obscured his mouth, protecting the moon from a voice that could shatter it.
"Not just here, but down there as well, your world, Earth, the world of humanity. You put themselves above them, call yourselves Inhuman, but in abandoning Earth, in looking away you only prove just how inhuman you truly are. YOU WHO KILL YOUR OWN CHILDREN! YOU WHO DEMANDS PERFECTION AND ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE! And you actually do nothing as monsters like your brother refer to this place as a utopia, a paradise, a perfect society. You're as far from perfection as you can get Black bolt, you're an entire universe away from it."
The king could not speak in his own defence. He simply faced the brunt of Cade's verbal fury, unwavering, showing not even the slightest reaction to it.
"Was it worth it Bolt? Was it worth the end of the universe? WAS IT ALL WORTH IT!"
Cade's roar was replied with action, Black Bolt jumped towards Cade and swung his fist forward. Deathblade raised his sword, charging it with energy and expanding it, using it as a makeshift shield. The force of both attacks generated an explosion of energy smashed open the building. What was left of Attilan looked towards the chamber, and saw their king clash with the knight of vengeance.
There was no doubt that the end times was upon the world. No hope in sight, yet still people fought to survive. Some cities had become chaotic places, where looters stole essentials and mundane items alike. Ben Parker only stole food and medical supplies, and a few toys to help him in his fight to save lives. Before getting to work he had Rick teleport him to what was left of the original Hawk-owl's home. There he was able to get his hands on a utility harness packed with gadgets, a cowl and a cloak that doubled as a glider. The new Hawk-Owl zipped down a wire, carrying two children with him.
"Get into the truck, I'm going back for your parents," he said, ushering both children onto Marrow's truck.
"You need to hurry Ben," Sarah said.
"Don't worry Sarah, it's just a fire," Ben said.
As he propelled into the burning building, he grinned, realising that there was a thrill in being a hero. That smile, visibly even underneath the breathing mask he wore, gave people that bit of extra hope. Ben recalled something May had once said, that children needed courageous, self sacrificing people to set an example for them. Adults needed that two, that kind of person whom years later they would talk about, about the person who urged them to hold on that second longer. The world was ending, but that didn't mean there were no heroes left in it. As Ben crashed through the window, carrying the parents of the children he had saved, he saw the men and women empowered by the Ultimates. Men and women who could fly, or grow, this time they were saving lives.
"We have survivors reported to be in the Chrysler building," Maria Hill addressed the volunteers, wearing the same short sleeved uniform the super powered agents wore.
People saw something incredibly strange, and incredibly amazing walking down the streets. Gigantic ants carried crowds of people across the city. Hank Pym stood on the head of one of the ants, wearing a red and black suit, and a helmet that resembled an ant's head.
'All this time I had the potential to do this, to be something more than just a scientist, to be a hero,' for once in a long time, Pym felt proud of himself.
Vision drones across the city assisted with evacuation efforts, carrying people to the Daily Bugle building. Spider-girl swung onto the rooftop, holding two people she had found on the streets. She looked down to see Rick opening portals.
"Please make your way through the portal, I assure you everything will be all right," Agent Melinda May said to the people being gathered.
"Are you tired at all kid?" Felicia asked Rick.
"Not one bit, I don't even know whether there is a limit to how often I can teleport," he said.
Sarah parked the truck at the back of the crowd and urged the people she gathered out. She got out of the truck and looked at the head of the line, Rick was still projecting portals. Falcon landed at the front of the line, dropping a couple and their child off.
"The city's pretty much clear now, we need to move onto other continents, and get the other teleporters in on this," Sam said.
"Nightcrawler and the others were already reached, we just need to assist in the evacuation of those areas they've gone to," Rick said.
He created a portal, for each of the heroes, even Sarah, Pixie and Beast. Ben swung up to a building in Paris, and started guiding people out, into portals created by Blink. In London, Felicia led several refugees out to the teleporter Gateway. Across Moscow and other areas of Russia, Magik teleported crowds gathered by Sarah, Sunder, Pixie and Molly Hayes. Canada saw both the Falcon and Machine man working with Nightcrawler to teleport people out of the country. Just on the outskirts of the Savage land, these groups gathered in waves. Rick finished teleporting one group in from China, and looked up at the sky, as his energy form began to flare.
"He's coming," Rick said with fear.
Sven coughed, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He could feel the arrow sticking out of his chest. He'd just escaped the rubble that had rained down on him, and was able to crawl into the city. There he saw the clashing forces of the Inhumans, and Cade's Avengers. But beyond all that, he saw what every person who wasn't consumed by the fighting on Earth saw. In the deserted plains of New York, Karen and Mary Jane looked up at the meteorite fragments that blotted out the sun, and the swarms of Gah Lak Tus drones.
"Damn it, we're too late," Sven said.
"What the hell is that?" voices asked behind Sven.
He rolled onto his side, looking at Martinex and Charlie-27. The latter had cleared the debris away, and both men looked up at the sky, and then towards Sven.
"Help me pull this thing out of my chest," Sven said.
"No chance human," Martinex said.
"We take that out you'll bleed to death quick," Charlie walked around Sven, picking him up off of the floor.
"Not if I use someone's healing factor," Sven said.
"You've got a healing factor?" Martinex asked.
"No, but I can reach through the spirit realm, and ask a dead person who did have a healing factor, it'll only be for a few seconds but it'll be enough to save my life, and get back into the fight," Sven explained.
"Are you an Inhuman?" Charlie-27 asked.
"No he isn't," a voice said from behind the three men.
They turned, seeing Crystal in her yellow and white uniform. Next to her was the teleporting dog Lockjaw. The dog let out a bark as Crystal charged her hands with fire.
"You people come to the city of my people, you kill my family, destroy our accomplishments, and now, now you have bought the destroyer to our universe," Crystal explained.
"We didn't bring that thing in the sky here," Martinex retorted.
"Hell, we only joined Deathblade because we thought he could help us get revenge, on Rogers not you," Charlie explained.
"WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN!" Crystal yelled.
"What children?" Martinex asked.
"Don't play dumb with me," Crystal said.
"They are safe I promise you that Crystal," a voice said behind Crystal.
Lockjaw barked with confusion, as the Stranger appeared in front of them.
"Okay old man who the hell are you?" Martinex asked.
Sven looked to his side, and smirked, chuckling despite the blood coming out of his chest.
"Today is just the day for people to be appearing out of nowhere," he said.
Martinex and Charlie-27 widened their eyes as Uatu walked to the Stranger's side.
"I must say, our species in your world seem closer to humans," Uatu said.
"There is a very valid explanation for that, alongside the many other human like species in my world," said the Stranger.
Sven coughed again, spitting out a bit of blood. Uatu and the Stranger turned to look at Sven, and both nodded their heads. They gripped the blade in Sven's chest and pulled. In one fluid motion, they had yanked the blade free, Sven let out a yell as the markings appeared across his body, forming a silhouette of the Wolverine. The wound on his chest began to heal, just as the blade in the Watcher's hands crumbled to pieces.
"Asgardian weaponry, a lot more powerful than it is in my world," the Stranger said.
"Are there even Asgardians in your world?" Uatu asked.
"Not as you would recognise them."
"Could someone please tell me what is going on, and where are the children?" Crystal asked.
Both Uatu and the Stranger looked over at Crystal, as if just realising she was there. Then they looked down at Sven, who was sitting on the floor, gripping the area he had been hit.
"He and I are both the same person," Uatu said.
"Indeed," the Stranger, another Uatu nodded.
"Other worlds, so many possibilities," Sven laughed slightly.
"Of course, and don't worry Crystal, I have taken the children to my world, rest assured they are safe," the Stranger, or Uatu 2 said.
"Let me guess, you're from the world that's going to collide with ours," Sven said.
"No, I am from another world entirely, and the survival, perhaps the very existence of my world is dependent on the continued existence of others," Uatu 2 said.
"I get it, well nice to have met you Uatu, but I need to go and save the world right now," Sven brushed the dirt off of his trousers and began walking past the two Watchers.
"Wait Sven Reilly," both Uatu's said.
Sven stopped, and turned to face the two Watcher's.
"We can help get the avatars to fight for you," Uatu said.
"But it won't be enough, not if you intend to evacuate every person on the planet," added Uatu 2.
"We don't have anything else," Sven said.
"Not on your Earth, but there are others we can go to," Uatu 2 said.
"You're suggesting I go to other Earths!"
"Yes, variations of this Earth in fact," Uatu said.
Sven hesitantly turned to the Watchers, and nodded his head. He looked towards Crystal, who was of course more confused than ever. His markings appeared again and he widened his eyes.
"MOVE NOW!" he yelled.
Crystal looked up, and widened her eyes in horror. A mass of rocks suddenly landed on top of her, burying her completely. Lockjaw whined for his fallen master, then looked up and growled at the beings floating over them. Terrax, Dominus and Fire Lord hovered above Attilan. Not only had the first wave of the Gah Lak Tus swarm arrived, but so too had the heralds of Galactus. Earth truly was facing its last day.
Next Chapter 11: Multiverse
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time, Aaron visits Loomworld and the Web Warriors, and Sven is forced to go to other worlds, whilst Cade carried on a bloodied fight with Black Bolt.