Humanity's Counterattack
Paris, France – 12:35 AM EST
Luke and his team were instantly teleported from the Sanctum Sanctorum to the downtown district of Paris, France. The City of Lights had been swallowed whole by absolute chaos. Kree ships zipped across the sky, dropping laser ordinance on the terrified people below them. Kree foot soldiers hacked the French civilians that got in their way to pieces with their advanced alien weaponry. They wielded advanced looking guns that completely had the Paris police overwhelmed.
"The French Air Force is in route, but they're still ten minutes out. Sounds like the attack just started," Rhodey reported. His thrusters activated, lifting him into the air. "I'm going to draw the ships' fire. Work on the ground forces."
Vision floated upward alongside him. "I will go with you, Colonel. I believe I can destroy the ships much faster than you can."
There was no braggadocio; it was spoken matter-of-factly. Even still, Rhodey took it as a challenge. "We'll see about that." He rocketed into the sky, guns blazing and missile silos at the ready to rain hell on the Kree ships.
Vision watched him with a curious expression before zipping after him.
Luke had the trusty crowbar that he managed to snag when they apprehended the Wrecking Crew so long ago. He also had four of his teammates at his side. Unlike the other teams, his was the only one comprised entirely of Avengers. There was something to be said about fighting with people he knew and trusted implicitly. Nothing against the X-Men – they were all great at what they did – but they weren't the Avengers.
The three heroes stuck on the ground – Luke, Danny and Jen – charged headlong into a throng of Kree soldiers that was close to twenty deep.
The Kree were much stronger than normal humans. Police officers and brave civilians were sent flying by casual backhands or boots to the midsection. Many of them didn't get back up. Whatever superheroes living in the area were able to fend off the Kree, and even take a few down; unfortunately, they were completely lost as to why they were actually there.
Danny led the way to the first wave of Kree invaders, with Luke and Jen not far behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke noticed what looked like several granite cocoons across the street. "The hell?"
"There are people in those cocoons!" Danny reported. He veered off to engage the Kree waiting on those cocoons to hatch.
"Damn it! Those must be the inhumans."
The Kree were much stronger than normal humans, but their alien strength paled in comparison to Luke and Jen. The two easily knocked away two or three at a time. Their armor, which appeared to be made of some kind of liquid metal, provided very little protection from their enhanced blows. Their alien weaponry, more powerful than most human weaponry outside of the most exotic, did little more than singe their skin.
Kree fell in swaths. The streets were littered with unmoving bodies and exotic weapons that no one had the guts to try and pick up to use. The one man who did didn't last very long before he was on the pavement, legs twisted every which way like a fallen tree branch. Their suspicions about the Kree weapons being genetically keyed were right, which only added another layer of necessary caution when proceeding forward.
By the time Jen and Luke finished with the sixteen that comprised the first wave, Danny had carved his way through twenty on his own. The granite cocoons were starting to break apart, revealing that there were in fact people trapped inside. Some of them looked normal; others didn't. They all had some kind of fantastic power that was lashing out as soon as they broke free of their black confines.
Danny had to leap out of the way to avoid being bombarded by fire, ice, electricity and whatever else the terrigen bomb produced. "They've already changed."
"So, that's how it's done."
=SHIELD is inbound,= Rhodey reported. =Shouldn't be more than another five minutes.=
"Tell them that we just need them to get these new inhumans to safety. Once the Kree find out they're free, it'll be open season."
No sooner had Luke spoke, his words came true.
"The abominations are ready!" one shouted to his comrades.
Those four words seemed to be a clarion call for all nearby Kree. Dozens of them poured in from every corner, every nook and cranny.
"Oh goddamn it." He sprinted as fast as he could to intercept the oncoming invaders. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what looked like a transport ship approaching from his left. "Is that SHIELD?"
His answer came in the form of the ship firing on him and Jen. "Nope."
They dove headfirst into a group of Kree. Fists and an enchanted crowbar trumped whatever melee or ranged weapons that were raised against them. Kree went flying left and right, despite their best efforts to bring down the two human sized tanks.
Danny was having similar success. He was the lone line of defense between the newly hatched inhumans and the Kree that wanted to take them away. They, scared and confused, huddled closely together against the building behind them.
Some of their powers lashed out by accident. One let loose a fire ball when she raised her hands to fend off a Kree that wanted to bash her head in with a silver mace. The blast was so intense that it roasted not only him, but the one that was coming up behind him to back him up.
These people were dangerous. They were just average, everyday people who very suddenly became walking weapons. They needed to be kept in a safe place until they were taught how to handle their abilities. The Avengers didn't know of such a place. Xavier's Institute only specialized in mutants, though the differences between mutants and humans were miniscule, at best.
"SHIELD transport is still a few minutes out. We need to hold out until then!" Luke was feeling optimistic. He and Jen had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Kree were no match for them. The same with Danny. They hadn't heard from either Vision or Rhodey, but the number of ships above had dwindled, so he assumed they weren't having too much trouble. As long as Ronan remained somewhere else, they had a chance.
Up above them, Rhodey and Vision were doing all they could to nix the Kree's air support. The ships were tougher than they looked. Though they were small, .50 caliber bullets from Rhodey's Gatling gun bounced right off of them. Luckily for him, repulsor rays and missiles worked just fine. Not to mention the plasma blade he recently had installed in his armor. It cut through ships like a hot knife through butter.
"That's forty-three," Rhodey said, mostly to himself.
"You're keeping count," Vision noted, confusion coloring his words.
"Yes, so we can have a general idea of what the others will be dealing with." It wasn't a complete lie.
"I see." The red-skinned synthezoid turned intangible and flew quickly through half a dozen ships. The ships' electronics fizzled out, causing them to die on the spot and careen into the streets below. "Forty-four."
His face soured. It wasn't right to make this a competition between the two of them. They were both trying to accomplish the same goal, which was to stop the Kree from taking the inhumans for whatever they wanted them for. There was no need to keep score, since there was nothing to gloat about. The mission would be completed, then it was back to Strange's place to await the next one.
Not to mention he had to be focused so he could get this done was quickly as possible. They still had to allocate as much firepower as possible to take down the warship. It hadn't been a presence in the battle so far, but that could change at any moment. "Jo, how far out is SHIELD?"
"Four minutes, Colonel,"
The important question wasn't how long until they got there, but what would they be able to do once they did. Even though a year had passed since it was revealed that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD right at the beginning, the organization still wasn't what it used to be. They were a mere fraction of their previous size, and had only a portion of the firepower.
Whatever they could bring would be a big help.
Preferably a nuke or two. And maybe some crazy Hydra weapon or something.
Speaking of, he wondered if Hydra – what was left of it, that was – and AIM were going to be lending them a hand. This was their home, too. He already knew that one, or maybe both, of them was going to try and take advantage of all the chaos; but they couldn't take advantage if there was nothing left.
"Colonel Rhodes, perhaps it would be a wise strategy to bottle neck the ships," Vision suggested. "There is a tunnel two hundred meters east."
He nodded, then activated his thrusters in that direction. To his fortune, the ships followed him. "Jo, get the cluster missiles ready."
"Yes, Colonel. The tunnel is clear of human life. Calculating best firing solution."
A green, winding tube appeared on his HUD. He followed it exactly until he entered the tunnel. As soon as he passed the midway point inside the tunnel, he whirled around and fired every missile his suit was armed with. The initial wave of ships following him were engulfed in flames, obscuring the ships after them. The missile volley continued for a few more seconds until his supply was spent.
Vision flew in from the rear and let loose with his mind gem. The gold beam lanced through the ships, destroying them on contact.
Jocasta did one final sweep of the city to confirm that all the ships had been destroyed. "The only Kree ship remaining is the warship, Colonel."
That was good. Danny, Luke and Jen could handle the ground soldiers. He wasn't sure if Vision could handle the warship on his own. "Any ideas on how to take down that warship, Vision?"
"Not at present, no. I am certain that brute strength is not an option."
That was obvious. There was no doubt that the other ships saw what Magneto was able to do to the first warship and made adjustments. Shielding was a definite. "Maybe an EMP?"
"Assuming they have an electrical system similar to ours, yes, that should work."
It was worth a shot. "Then, we'll give it a shot. Jo, prepare an EMP."
"Yes, Colonel. The French Air Force is currently engaging the warship."
He could hear the explosions in the background. When he turned to assess the situation, he saw fighter jets being shot out of the sky with systematic accuracy. The thrusters of his suit ignited, propelling him at top speed toward the dog fight. "Take out the cannons so the fighter jets don't get shot out of the sky!"
Instead of responding verbally, Vision raced after him.
Rhodey knew that bullets weren't going to do any good, so he opted to attack the warship up close with his plasma blade. The three-foot-long ion arm-sword sliced through the ship's laser cannons like a knife through butter. A little resistance, but not enough to slow him down. Jocasta did her job keeping him out of any adjacent firing solutions.
"I am going inside to find any potentially exploitable weaknesses." Vision remarked before he turned intangible to do exactly that.
While he didn't feel comfortable with him going in by himself, Rhodey was confident that he could take care of himself. Besides, these laser cannons were more than enough reason to worry about himself.
He kept doing what he could with his plasma blade, ultimately realizing that he was only buying Vision time to scope the ship out.
"Weakness detected," Jocasta chimed after several long moments. "Vision has detected the main power source. It is not electrical, but appears to be some kind of chemical reaction; not unlike a nuclear reactor. He is attempting to disable it as I speak."
"In that case, tell the Air Force to clear out. I'll worry about the people on the ground."
While she did that, he rocketed down to where the others were still fight back Kree. He fired off several repulsor blasts to clear a path, then touched down beside them. "Vision is about to bring down the warship. We need to make sure the streets are clear."
"Not too many people left besides the military. Anyone speak French?" Luke responded.
"I do," Jen answered. When met with curious looks, she shrugged. "Being a multilingual civil attorney puts me ahead of the rest." Her feet pounded the pavement, literally, to carry her to where the French soldiers were fighting off Kree soldiers. Danny, Luke and Rhodey kept the Kree at bay while she informed the Frenchmen of the situation. They took one glance at the massive ship above them, then beat a hasty retreat.
"They're going to tell their friends to back off," she told them.
"Good. Now, let's get the hell out of here ourselves before –"
Before Luke could finish, what he was about to warn against happened. A massive golden beam of energy burst through the hull of the warship. It shifted skyward, cutting cleanly through the alien metal and cutting the ship almost in half.
Another beam of energy erupted through the stern and streak over the horizon. A loud hum echoed through the silent sky just before it exploded, sending flaming pieces raining down for miles. The explosion was deafening and knocked everyone, including the heroes, off their feet. Windows miles away shattered from the shockwave.
Molten metal rained down on the city of Paris. It was a horrible way to end the battle. "Damn it." With the increased emphasis on superhuman collateral damage, someone was sure to use this against them. Even though they saved millions of people, including dozens who were very close to being abducted, there was always someone who saw only the negative.
Some said it was their job to see the negative; Rhodey disagreed. They saved Paris. That was all that should have mattered.
A minute later, the molten pieces of the Kree warship stopped falling. Soon after, Vision floated serenely to where the Avengers had been taking cover. "I apologize for the mess."
"Nothing that can't be cleaned up," Danny said. You did a great job up there. Are you alright?"
"Yes, I am uninjured. I do not detect any more casualties than the ones prior to our arrival, but Jocasta should do a scan to be sure."
"As you wish, Vision." A moment later, she was able to confirm his original assessment.
Clay Quartermain led five other SHIELD agents off a quinjet that landed a few yards away. "Wow. You guys sure made a mess. Good job."
"'Bout time you guys showed up."
"We didn't wanna get in the way. Where are the mutants?"
"Inhumans. And they're over here." Jen jabbed her thumb over her shoulder toward a building next to the one they had been hiding in.
"Eh, same difference." He cocked his head toward his agents and headed to gather up the inhumans.
"Hey," Luke called after them, "be careful. They're jittery."
Quartermain nodded sharply.
They were reasonably sure the SHIELD agents could handle themselves. This was right in their wheelhouse. While they were handling that, the Avengers decided to go around and help anyone who needed it. It was the least they could do.