Chapter 26: A Tale in Two Times
The Avengers (2017)
Captain America (Steve Rodgers) - Sentinel of Liberty
Thor (Jane Foster) - Goddess of Thunder
Hulk (Amadeus Cho) - Strongest There Is
Hawkeye (Clint Barton) - Unerring Marksman
Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) - Mutant Speedster
Human Torch (Johnny Storm) - Fantastic Adventurer
Nova (Richard Rider) - Galactic Champion
Avengers (2305)
Vision – Android Avenger
Groot – Flora Colossus
Thor (Liam Aiken) - Champion of Midgard
Nova (Annie Alexander) - Last Nova Centurion
Hawkeye (SonyaCruz) - Perfect Shot
Starbrand(Kyle O'Conner) - Earths Defence System
Lancelot (Arthur Whitman) - Knight of Tomorrow
The Baxter Building, the year 2305. Inside Thor, Nova, Quicksilver, Future Thor, Future Nova and Future Hawkeye emerge in a flash of light. The three visitors look out on the New York of the future.
Future Thor: Welcome to the future.
2017. Avengers Tower. Inside the meeting room Captain America and Vision are talking to Clay Quartermain of SHIELD.
Captain America: This is important Clay. Vision and his team of Avengers have travelled back in time after the Combine. We need to know what he found at that facility.
Clay: Travelled back in time...right. But I'm afraid that that project is classified level 10. SHIELD will be taking custody of this investigation.
Vision: The Combine is more dangerous then you know. It is responsible for billions of deaths.
Captain America: Let us help Clay.
Clay: I have my orders Captain. Look I'd help ya if I could but this is a direct order from the World Security Council.
Vision: We understand, I just hope you have not just doomed Earth.
Vision walks out of the room.
Clay: Seems more emotional then I remember. Tell ya what, if the Combine shows up again I'm sure a system glitch could let you know. But you wouldn't have SHIELD backup, hell they might shoot on you.
Captain America: That'll have to do.
The Raft. Under guard and sealed inside the prison courtyard are the Combine controlled civilians that the Avengers defeated. Human Torch and Amadeus Cho are on the courtyard balcony looking over at them. The Combine drones look at them, not moving at all.
Human Torch: This is creepy.
Amadeus Cho: Feels like something out of a bad horror movie.
Lancelot joins them on the balcony.
Lancelot: Combine's favorite trick. Ignore them.
Human Torch: Don't have to tell me that, let's just hope that Nova and the others are successful in the future. Feels weird to say that or is just me?
Lancelot: Not just you. My grandfather hasn't even been born yet, the history I learnt in school hasn't happened. I feel like I can't say anything to anyone just in case I tell them their future.
Amadeus: Time travels weird for sure. Try not to think about it. And try to keep any details vague.
Human Torch: What's your deal anyway? The other Avengers are vets or legacies, you're the only one that's new.
Lancelot: I grew up on Camelot. It became a tradition for our finest warriors to take tours of duty with the Avengers. This is my tour, when it ends in a few years I'll return to Camelot and train my successor.
Amadeus Cho: King Arthur inspired colonies? The future sounds weird.
Lancelot: You should see Tatooine, it's a world dedicated to Star Wars.
Avengers Tower. Alarms begin to blare. Starbrand and Groot run into the monitor room joining Captain America.
Starbrand: Is it the Combine?
Captain America: No, Project Pegasus is under attack by the Frightful Four. They're calling us for assistance.
Starbrand: We don't have time to waste on this. Our priority is the Combine.
Groot: I am Groot.
Starbrand: I'm just saying we didn't come here to solve their problems for them.
Captain America: But it's fine for us to solve yours is it? I get that you've gone through a lot Starbrand but I'm getting tired of your attitude. Half my team are in your time trying to save your people. Ignoring that, we're all Avengers. We work together. If you don't like that then find the door!
Captain America walks out of the room and Groot follows. Starbrand clenches his fist but then follows.
Starbrand: You need to hurry up.
2305. Orbiting around Earth is a 25 mile wide asteroid. It has been completely mined out and fitted with all kind of facilities and defences. It serves as the headquarters for the Human Commonwealths mightiest heroes and is known as Avengers Asteroid.
Quicksilver looks out on Earth out the window of one of the tech labs. Also in the room is Hawkeye (future version). She is lain inside an enclosed MRI type machine which is scanning and maintaining her many cybernetic implants. She speaks to Quicksilver by speaker.
Hawkeye: Quite a view isn't it?
Quicksilver: Do you ever get used to it?
Hawkeye: Not sure anyone ever does.
Quicksilver turns away from the window towards her.
Quicksilver: How much longer is this going to take?
Hawkeye: My ocular implants are just being repaired now, it'll be another hour.
Quicksilver: Ocular? How many implants do you have?
Hawkeye: Most of my joints, eyes, nose, ears, spine. My left arm is completely cybernetic from the elbow down. I was the product of a program in the Maya System. They hated the Commonwealth and really wanted to rebel. Trouble was the Commonwealth had the Avengers on their side. So they started kidnapping children and experimented on them to make soldiers that could beat the Avengers. There were one hundred of us to start with. Only myself and three others survived.
Quicksilver: That's-
Hawkeye: Messed up, yeah I know. I was sent to assassinate the Avengers leaders, when I failed I thought they'd kill me. Instead they offered me a place on the team. Ninety six children died so I could be here. I take it seriously.
In another section of the Asteroid the two Nova'sand the Worldmind study a map of the galaxy.
Future Nova points to a star on the edge of the Greater Magellanic Cloud.
Future Nova: First contact with the Combine was here at Outpost Nine.
Nova: That world's in Kree space, how was an outpost set up there?
Future Nova: The Kree are gone.
Worldmind: How?
Future Nova: No one knows. One moment they were the dominant military species in the universe and the next they were gone. Some say the Skrulls had finally won their war, hit them with a super weapon. Or that the Kree finally succeeded in evolving themselves and left physical form behind. Whatever the case no one's seen a Kree for over one hundred years now.
Worldmind: A fascinating conundrum. When this is done I would like to investigate it.
Nova: Tell me about Outpost Nine.
Future Nova: Not much to tell really, it's a rock. Commonwealth only colonized it because it was a good place to put a scouting outpost. Last transmissions before it went dark was that they had picked up a distress beacon and were going to check it out.
Nova: So Combine lured them in and started his conquest there? Supporting your theory Worldmind?
Worldmind: Unfortunately. We should prepare to travel to this world.
Future Nova: It'll take around three days via-
Worldmind: Stargates will be a quicker mode of transport.
Future Nova: Stargates?!
Nova: I'll show you rookie.
Future Nova: I'm not a rookie!
Later. The Nova's are joined by Thor, Future Hawkeye and Quicksilver. They get inside an advanced space fighter; the quinjets of the future.
Worldmind: We have a lock on the Combines origin point. The journey will require two jumps via Stargate.
Nova: Ready Annie? Like I showed you.
Quicksilver: Wait. Where's your Thor?
Future Hawkeye: Off dealing with a Frost Giant incursion on Pluto. He'll meet us when we get back.
Worldmind: Stand by. Transferring Star Gate calculations to you now.
Future Nova: Alright here goes nothing!
She gets out of the quinjet and stands on the roof. She focuses her power and begins to compress gravity, she strains and grits her teeth. Slowly space buckles and a wormhole opens.
Future Nova: Did it work?
Worldmind: Star Gate construction successful. Well done Centurion.
She gets inside the ship as it flies through the Star Gate.
2017. Project Pegasus. The Frightful Four tear through the SHIELD agents guarding the facility. The Wizard hovers over the battle watching the rest of his team. Hydro Man fires high pressure bursts of water at sharp shooters while the Trapster cocoons some attackers with his paste gun. Meanwhile Titania simply smashes the SHIELD agents with her fists.
Wizard: Titania tear open that bunker! The treasures of Project Pegasus are ours for the taking!
Lancelot: History says otherwise.
Lancelot leaps from the quinjet swinging his sword through the back of Wizards armor destroying his jetpack, the Wizard hits the ground with a thump. The other Avengers land on the ground next to Lancelot.
Captain America: This is your one chance. Surrender.
Titania: Not a chance! GET THEM!
Hydro Man: Check this out! I call it a steam burst!
He extends his arm which evaporates into steam, the steam surrounds the Avengers blocking their view.
Groot: I am Groot!
Pieces of bark on Groot's skin begin to fold apart and the steam is absorbed into Groot. Then Hydro Man is as well.
Hydro Man: Wait! This isn't-
He vanishes into Groot.
Groot: Burp! I am Groot.
Hawkeye: Did he just...
Vision: Groot can expel Hydro Man after the battle is done. Preferably into a prison cell.
Titania charges forward at them.
Titania: I'll crush you all!
Captain America: Titania's strong we do this carefully, Hulk take the brunt of the charge, Vision, Lancelot you flank and-
Starbrand blasts Titania with a large blast of energy knocking her down.
Starbrand: Or I could do that. Guess bad guys are weaker in this time.
Titania begins to get up.
Titania: I'll tear your-!
Hulk grabs her leg and slams her into the ground knocking her up.
Hulk: You soften them up and I knock them down.
But something else has caught Starbrand's attention and he walks away.
Starbrand: Whatever.
Lancelot: I'll talk to him.
Lancelot follows.
Meanwhile Captain America, Hawkeye and Vision surround Trapster.
Hawkeye: Come on Paste Pott Pete! Let's go!
Trapster: It's the Trapster! I changed my name years ago!...you know what? I give up. I didn't mind jail anyway, the Wednesday night meatloaf was quite nice.
He drops his paste gun and extends his hands to them;Captain America puts handcuffs on him and leads him away.
Starbrand looks at a young dark skinned female scientist.
Lancelot: What is it?
Starbrand: In three years Project Pegasus will be attacked by the Bloodwraith and Kevin O'Conner, this times Starbrand will save the day. And afterwards he'll ask her for a date. Three years later they'll get married in Hawaii. A year after that she'll give birth to a daughter; Grace. When Grace turns 17 the Starbrand will pass to her. Then she passes it onto her children, who pass it to theirs and on and on until we get to me, regardless of what we had to say about it.
Groot expels Hydro Man into a sealed tank while the rest of the team look on.
Human Torch: And suddenly I'm not hungry anymore.
Vision: It is fortunate we got here in time. If we had not it could have-
A SHIELD agent runs up to them.
SHIELD Agent: You've got to hurry! It's the Combine! He's hit the Nexus!
The future. A stargate opens and the quinjet flies out towards Outpost Nine. A small desert world.
Future Nova: We made it. Outpost Nine.
Quicksilver: I hope we find what we need.
The quinjet lands and the five Avengers exit onto the planet.
2017. The Avengers fly towards the Nexus inside an energy bubble generated by Starbrand, a large facility located in Sweden.
Hawkeye: So what is this Nexus and why is it so important? I thought SHIELD didn't want us dealing with this?
Vision: The Nexus is the world internet hub. All the worlds data flows in and out of this building. More importantly the Nexus is will one day become the World Core.
Human Torch: The World what?
Lancelot: The World Core. Imagine the internet but spread across dozens of worlds. All our technology is linked to it, even Vision. The data spread gave us a tactical advantage over the Combine, in fact it's the only reason we could beat it.
Amadeus Cho: Amazing. When this is done I need to make a research trip. I'm assuming the Combines planning to damage the Nexus thus preventing the World Core from being created.
Vision: That is the most likely strategy.
Captain America: Not going to happen. The Combine ends today.
2305. The Avengers come across a strange corpse. It is a humanoid alien in a suit of armor, although the armors faceplate has been torn open.
Nova: That's a Galadorian space knight.
Worldmind: Please move closer so I can scan it.
Nova approaches and kneels down by the dead space knight.
2017. The main Nexus chamber. The Combine has his hand to a terminal, his hand has fused with the terminal.Then the Avengers move into the room.
Vision: Combine! You are done!
They surround him but then suddenly the Combine drone falls to the floor.
Groot: I am Groot?
Lancelot: My armors picking up no life signs. He's dead.
Hawkeye: After all the trouble he's gone through? Somethings not right here.
Vision: Agreed. I shall scan the Nexus for any signs of damage.
The Vision approaches the terminal and begins to scan it.
In the future Nova stands up from the corpse.
Worldmind: The Knight fell here in the 20th Century. Both it and the program controlling it lay dormant biding its time until it was discovered. Once discovered it began rebuilding and restoring its empire.
Future Hawkeye: You never said you've encountered the Combine before.
Nova: Because it wasn't called the Combine in our time. We called it the Phalanx.
2017. Vision staggers back from the computer.
Captain America: Vision?
Human Torch: You ok?
Vision: I...error...zzzz...schzz...in my mind...I...AAAAAAHHHHHH!
Vision falls to the ground and does not move.
Lancelot: VISION! What happened?!
Starbrand: It's a time released virus. Programmed to activate at this exact moment.
Hulk: Starbrand? What's the Combine done? Tell us and we can help.
Starbrand: The Combine? Ha you all really have no clue do you? You're all in so much trouble.
He summons a ball of energy in his hand and grins at the Avengers.
Earth. 2305. Across the globe all the power switches off. Ships and flying cars drop from the sky, the storm shields vanish and Miami is hit by a massive storm that tears down buildings. Then after a minute and thousands of deaths the power returns. But now on all screens are two ominous glowing eyes. A voice sounds out across the entire human Commonwealth in all languages.
Voice: You were all fooled. You thought my threat had passed, that I had died long ago. You were wrong, I made the Combine to distract you all from my true plan. I travelled back and I hid myself in the internet. As the internet became the World Core I spread my influence until I controlled every aspect of your existence. Do not waste time trying to fight, resistance is futile. I have already won. This world is mine, the Commonwealth is mine, all humans are mine. And as my first act of rule I declare that Earth is no more, it is now and forever:
The image on the screen changes shifting from two eyes to the robotic face of the Avengers greatest foe.
Ultron: Planet Ultron.