Chapter 25
"So...this whole time...Osborn was working with the Kree?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. The Goblins, Ned, the attacks, it was all coordinated by him and the Kree," Peter sighed, "He's been working with them from the beginning to get power and fame...Just like with Mysterio."
Rhodey shook his head, "Jesus...I mean, I knew we couldn't trust him, but this...How the hell can someone sink this low?"
"So if his plan works, the Kree will stay away from Earth?" Scott asked, "I mean, is that too bad of a deal?"
"You saw what they tried to do here. Attacking innocent refugees just because they refused to submit," Carol shook her head, "Imagine that on a galactic scale, or even a universal scale. Thousands of races forced under their rule and whoever fights back, they'll put down."
"And once that's all over, Osborn will take control of the Kree super-soldiers the same way he took control of his Goblins," Hope realized.
"A narcissist taking over the most powerful empire in the known universe," T'Challa exhaled.
"This is my fault," Sam muttered, "I should never have asked him to join the team."
"No, sir. This is on me," Peter disagreed, "I brought him to Kamar-Taj. I thought it wouldn't be Mysterio all over again. I thought that even if we couldn't trust him, we could at least keep an eye on him...I was wrong...He still played me."
"So what do we do now?" Wanda asked, "We can't just let them get away with this, can we?"
Sam sighed as he rose to his feet and began walking away from the others, exiting the room.
"He can't seriously be leaving us now!" Valkyrie exclaimed.
"Just give him some room," Rhodey held up his arm to stop her.
"I'll go check on Talos and his men," Carol announced before leaving as well.
"I will come with you," T'Challa joined her.
…
"Safe journey to the beyond, my friend. May the gods welcome you in their embrace."
Talos sighed as he slowly closed the eyes of one of his men, standing over his body as it was being prepared to be taken away to join the others lost in the battle. The infirmary was filled with injured soldiers, some growling in pain, others too weak to even whimper.
Standing beside him was Kl'rt, who appeared to be holding back tears behind his look of anger, "These blue pigs would launch an attack like this...on our people...and still see it as 'honorable.'"
"Thirty years of staying off of their radar...and in one day, they nearly destroy the closest thing we can call home," Talos spoke with little emotion in his voice.
Carol and T'Challa entered the infirmary, the sight of the fallen Skrulls filling them with despair and hopelessness.
"I was able to bring in as many of...the lost as I could," Carol told Talos, who was still facing away from her, "Everyone else...I'm sorry, Talos..."
Kl'rt snarled, turning to glare at Danvers, "You...Your people brought them here! THEIR DEATHS ARE ON YOUR HEADS!"
Carol's words were trapped in her throat as the captain found herself unable to reply.
"We were unaware of the tracking device," T'Challa spoke up, "We should have been more care-"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER COME HERE!" Kl'rt roared.
"Enough, Kl'rt," Talos silenced his colleague, "If it wasn't for them, none of us would be standing here right now."
The other Skrull growled as he exited the room, staring down the captain and the king. Sighing, Carol walked over to her friend and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"At least you were able to get most of my people off of the base," Talos shook his head, desperate to look on the positive side of this, "Thank you, Carol."
Carol nodded, appreciating his goodwill and sharing in his grief. She'd spent decades with the Skrulls, protecting them, and to her, they were one of the few constants in her life.
T'Challa walked over and placed his palm on the forehead of the fallen Skrull, "May I ask what their name was?"
Talos gulped before answering, "Jash...His name was Jash."
The king nodded before closing his eyes, whispering in Xhosa, "Ngamana izinyanya zingakuzisa ekhaya."
He turned to the general, a sympathetic look in his eyes, "A prayer. A hope that his ancestors take him somewhere far. Somewhere free."
"Thank you, your Majesty," Talos held back a sob, "That is all I wish for my brethren."
"What should we do about the rest of your people?" Carol asked, "I'm sure Strange can bring them back right now-"
"No," Talos paused for a moment, considering his response, "I think it would be best if we...find a new place to live."
"What?" Carol said in surprise.
"The Kree now know about SWORD. Where our children sleep. There is no doubt that they will return and when they do...I can not have my people here to face their wrath."
"Talos, I know this looks rough, but we can't give up without a fight," Carol argued, "Your people have spent too long on the run and now, you finally have somewhere safe to live! We can't-!"
"Please, Carol," Talos shook his head, "I can't...I cannot risk losing anymore of my people."
The Skrull solemnly walked off as Carol and T'Challa stood there, trying to consider their next move.
"We spent thirty years fighting against the Kree," Carol finally spoke after a moment of silence, "Thirty years just to find a place they could call home. Now...we're back to square one."
"You truly care about them, don't you?"
"...I just don't want them to lose hope that this war can end. That they can find some peace," Carol admitted, "...I left my life on Earth for them. Watched a lot of these guys grow up. Fought beside them. Talos, Soren, all of them...they're the few constants in my life...They're…"
"They're your people," T'Challa finished the sentence.
Carol looked down at her feet, "...Yeah. Yeah, they are."
"And you would do anything for them."
"...I would."
"So that's why you were so adamant about defeating them in Wakanda."
"Right...I never actually apologized to you about that. I'm sorry I put your people at risk."
T'Challa waved a hand as though no apology was necessary, understanding where she was coming from, "In this case, the past is the past. If I may ask, is there any way can I help?"
Carol raised an eyebrow, confused, "Pardon?"
"My country has lately been working to aid those in need. To open up its borders to others and provide them with the resources they need," T'Challa explained, "If one is to turn a blind eye while others suffer, they may as well be the ones causing the suffering. So is there any way I can help?"
Carol couldn't help but let a small smile cross her, admiring this man's genuine desire to lend a helping hand, "If I can think of one, I'll let you know."
…
"AH! Careful!" Strange growled as Wong tightened the bandage on his arm.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe it would hurt less if you would actually stay still," Wong sarcastically retorted.
"Wong, no one likes a smartass."
"Oh really? That's rich coming from you of all people."
Strange rolled his eyes as Peter and Wanda sat beside him, having nothing really else to do but wait to see what Sam's next call would be.
"You know, I never asked, how do your powers work?" Peter asked Wanda.
"Oh, well, you see...I'm a mutant."
Peter's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Oh, for real?"
"Uh yeah," Wanda awkwardly admitted, wondering what the boy's reaction would be, "You have a problem with that?"
"What? OH! Oh nononono! I didn't-! No! I just always thought you got it from the Infinity Stones!" Peter quickly explained, trying not to offend his teammate, "But seriously though, I think your powers are awesome, dude!"
Wanda chuckled a little, "Really?"
"Yeah, man! Smashing ships together! Lifting things with your mind! You're like a real-life Jedi!"
"If anyone here is the real-life Jedi, it's me," Strange cut in.
"Nah, you're more the real-life Gandalf."
Wong smiled at the joke while Strange shrugged, "Meh. I'll take what I can get."
Peter turned to Strange, thinking over what he was going to say, "Um, your friend, Mr. Wong, he...he told me that when I was a fugitive, you were trying to find a way to help me out...Is that true?"
Strange gave a disapproving look to Wong, who quickly raised his hands up, "Hey, it's not as though it was some secret."
Stephen sighed before nodding, "I...I felt guilty regarding not helping in Europe and I knew I had to do something, but...with all my responsibilities as Sorcerer Supreme and the many forces constatnly trying to attack our world...I didn't have the time...I'm sorry, Peter-"
"Hey, hey, no, no. I...I get it. You have your own problems to deal with. Your own threats to face. I shouldn't have lashed out either or bought into Osborn's lies. I'm-I'm sorry," Peter sighed.
"No, you don't have to apologize, Peter. You had every right to be angry."
Peter gave a small smile to the doctor, "But thank you though. For trying to find a way to help me."
"...Of course. It's no proble-OW!" Strange yelped in pain as Wong tightened the bandage around his palm harder, "What the hell?!"
"This was getting too sappy for me to be honest," Wong jokingly shrugged.
"So are you his assistant?" Wanda asked.
"His? HA!" Wong smiled at the question, "Oh Gods no. If anything, I'm his caretaker."
"Go to hell, Wong," Strange glared at his friend.
"Cute," Wanda giggled, "I'm gonna go check on the others."
…
"I should've seen it coming. Osborn betraying us. Him creating the Goblins. I should've known," Rhodey muttered to himself as he stared out a window into the abyss of space, "I knew we shouldn't have let him join."
"Dude, none of us saw it coming. Don't beat yourself up about it," Scott said, laying on the floor, "Every one of us has screwed up at some point."
"I haven't," Hope spoke up.
"Just wait. It's gonna happen," Scott replied, "But what do we do now? We can't just leave for Earth like nothing happened!"
"Scott, we're not intergalactic heroes or anything like that," Hope pointed out, "We're two ex-fugitives from California. Not Thor."
"We have to do something, Hope!"
"But what can we do? We've never been in a situation like this!"
"...You're right...We haven't," Scott agreed, "But that doesn't mean we stand by and do nothing. With your brains and my space-whale punching skills-"
"Don't think that's gonna be of use here."
"We can accomplish anything."
Hope paused, staring down at the floor. Scott scooched up next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you know what I like about working with the Avengers the most?"
"Free publicity?"
"...Okay, that's true, but I also like how working with them...It gives me the chance to see what my full potential is. Working with them helps me feel like I'm not a screw-up or useless. It helps me feel like I can actually do a lot of good for the world. If you give this team a shot and help us...I think you can get that feeling too."
Hope looked at her boyfriend, placing her hand on his, "Scott, you're not a screw-up and you're not useless...I know we haven't trusted you a whole lot since we joined and...I'm sorry."
"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"It's just...still weird to be this out in the open. Aliens, goblins...it's not exactly what I expected out of life."
"True. But that doesn't make it any less awesome."
As the two bugs embraced one another, Wanda entered the room, walking over to join Rhodey in his star-gazing, "It's beautiful, huh?"
"Yeah. I mean, I've been to space before, but...Man, it really makes you feel small, huh?"
"It does…"
"So you're angry at Osborn too?"
He scoffed, "The bastard is running around trying to take over my dead friend's legacy, claiming to be the next big hero...and he just played us all like chumps."
"Yes. The man's a punk bitch."
"You've been hanging around Sam way too much," Rhodey joked.
The two shared a light laugh before Rhodey began thinking back to the attack on Wakanda, "...Hey, about earlier, I-I'm sorry about how I reacted to the whole Natasha thing."
"You don't have to be sorry. It was messed up and I shouldn't have...I just miss her...I miss all of them."
"...Yeah, me too...Look, everyone has their way of coping. I won't judge you for yours."
"Even if it's creepy?"
"As long as no one gets hurt, including you, then it's okay. Just know if you ever need someone to talk to, you got me by your side, kid."
"Thanks," Wanda grinned, "...But never call me kid again."
"Okay, child."
"Not better."
...
Valkyrie dropped a huge chunk of debris onto a pile of rubble as she and a few others tried to clean up the mess from the battle. As she struggled to lift up a particular heavy piece of a fallen apartment, Carol arrived to help out.
"Thanks," Valkyrie nodded to Carol, avoiding eye-contact.
"I should be the one thanking you," Danvers replied, "I saw you out there protecting my friend Talos, so...thank you."
Val shrugged, "Don't look too deep into it. Someone was in danger. I decided to step in."
"So, what're you thinking? About this whole Goblin army situation?"
"What about it?"
"I want to stop whatever Osborn and the Kree have planned. But what are you thinking?"
The Asgardian paused before answering, "So long as they don't come for New Asgard, they can do whatever the bloody hell they want."
Carol was taken aback, "You can't possibly mean that, do you?"
"It's like I said before. My people's safety is my priority. I will not draw the attention to them," Valkyrie explained, "We already lost to the Kree once. We don't need to lose again."
"Still, trillions of lives that could be at stake right now and you don't want to help?"
"...I am now king of New Asgard. Unlike our god of blunder, I don't have the luxury of jumping into battle when I do not have to," she explained, "...I'm sorry. Truly...But you're asking me to put my people in danger…"
The two looked at one another, not with the anger or rivalry they've been feeling since they first started working together, but rather a shared sympathy.
Carol began walking off, but before she left Val to return to what she was doing, she turned to her, "I know your people have been through a lot. To lose your home planet and be chased across the galaxy...And I'm sorry...But the Skrulls and a lot of the other races I've met, they're forced to be homeless refugees, just like the Asgardians. If you stand by, you're letting what happened to your people happen to countless other races...Just think about that."
Brunnhilde stared as the captain exited, confused as to what she should do next.
...
"Damn. So the billionaire asshole wants to create an army of aliens to take over the galaxy?" Barnes asked Sam on the phone.
"Yeah, that's the gist of it. And we all fell for his lies."
"It's always the rich. So what's the plan now?"
"I don't know," Sam sighed, "I mean, from the looks of it, these guys aren't coming for Earth so we ourselves aren't in danger...But all those people that he's gonna go after, all of those planets...I can't look away, but...I can't put these guys in danger."
"Right. Right."
Sam pondered for a moment, gazing at the shield leaning on the wall in front of him, "...Why did Steve choose me?"
"What?"
"I mean, I'm not a super-soldier. I'm not a super-genius or the perfect fighter or...any of that. I'm just a guy with wings...So why me?"
Bucky paused, clearly considering what his response should be, "...Why can't you look away?"
"What do you mean?"
"You said it yourself. Osborn and these aliens aren't planning to go after Earth. You don't need to get involved. You could just leave this whole thing behind and come back," Bucky pointed out, "But you're saying you can't look away...Why?"
"...Because there are people who need help and whose lives are on the line. Countless innocents being dragged into a war. If I look away and do nothing, what does that say about what kind of a person I am? Someone who stands back and lets the bad guys win?...Because that's not me…"
He could hear Bucky laugh a little on the other end of the call, "...And that's why Steve chose you."
A moment of silence passed between the two as Sam let the words sink in. He hung up the phone and lifted himself off the floor, walking over to the shield and lifting it up. He stared at it, his reflection gleaming in its bright colors.
He knew what he had to do.
…
"Everyone here?" Sam asked as his teammates all arrived in what appeared to be a common room, a circle of chairs at the center.
"All accounted for," Rhodey nodded.
"Good. If everyone could take a seat," Sam pointed to the chairs around them.
"What is this, circle time in pre-K?" Carol asked.
"Just humor me please," Sam said to the captain, who merely shrugged and did as she was asked.
He cleared his throat as he looked around at his comrades. He turned to look at the shield leaning on the chair and felt the words come from his mouth.
"For a lot of this mission, I've been looking at it trying to be like Cap...To be like Steve Rogers," Sam explained, "But someone told me a little while ago that…"
He turned his head towards Carol, "Maybe the team needs a little less Rogers and a little more Wilson."
Carol's eyebrows raised, surprised the man remembered her words.
"So, I think I'm gonna listen to her advice," he slowly took a seat and took in a deep breath, "My name is Samuel Thomas Wilson. I was born in Harlem. I'm ex-Air Force and I work as a counselor for veterans. I've been an Avenger since 2015...and a friend of Steve Rogers since 2014."
"...In all my time working with Steve, I never once thought he would ever choose me as his successor. Because what the hell did a guy like me have that could make him worthy of the title of Captain America? But...I think I'm starting to get it now."
"To carry the shield and call yourself a hero isn't about your powers or skills or how many people actually like you...It's about not looking away when people are getting hurt. To see someone in need of help and still choosing to risk your own life to help them. To step up and fight even when the odds are all stacked against you."
He rose up to his feet, back straight, "That's why I'm going to find a way to stop Osborn. Because I stand back and let people but I can't do it alone. On our own, I don't think any of us stands a chance against this. But together, assembled...we can show him, his Goblins, and any other threat that comes our way what happens when you start trouble. Maybe we're not Earth's mightiest. But that doesn't mean we're not heroes."
"I don't expect you guys to join me. But I wouldn't say no to any help I can get," Sam finished his speech as he looked around to get an idea of everyone's reactions.
A heavy silence fell over the group, each member thinking of how to respond. Until one decided to open his mouth.
"When I first became Spider-Man, I made a promise to never look away again if I knew there was something bad I could stop from happening. If I knew there was someone I could save...And I don't plan on breaking that promise now," Peter explained, looking down at the floor, "I know many of you think I'm a kid and I know I messed up by trusting Osborn...But if you're going…"
He slowly stood up and turned to Sam, a small smile on his face, "Then your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's going too."
Carol spoke up as well, "I know I can be a little reckless and I know I'm not the best team player. Every other group I've been a part of...hasn't exactly worked out. But the galaxy's in trouble. Billions of people need my help. Our help…"
She rose to her feet, chuckling, "Besides, you guys wouldn't last that long without me."
Sam smiled, happy to have another person on board.
"As king of Wakanda, I made a decision to never look away like my predecessors did when innocents were in danger. Now, it does not matter whether it is Earth in trouble or some distant planet I have never heard of," T'Challa said as he stood up.
"The Black Panther will not ignore anyone's cry for help."
"Neither shall the Sorcerer Supreme," Strange rose up next to T'Challa, "It is my duty to protect this reality and everyone in it. I can't turn away now."
Sam turned to Rhodey, trying to gage the colonel's reaction.
Rhodey sighed, "Osborn thinks he's the real hero, that he can be the next Tony Stark. But that man doesn't even have the right to wear that armor. And he certainly is no Tony Stark. I'm not going to let him ruin my friend's legacy."
He slowly got up, the gears in his armor's legs creaking, "I've done a lot of dumbass things in my life. I'm happy to add punching Osborn right in his face on the list. You need help? You got me right by your side, Sam."
"You have me too," Wanda spoke up, stepping up, "For so long, I've been hiding from the rest of the world, afraid of who I am and what they'd do to me. But I don't care if the world fears me or if I'm scared. I'm an Avenger. I can't stay behind and go back to hiding. If I am going to die, I am going to gie fighting like all the others we've lost."
"Same," Scott nodded, rising to his feet, "I know a lot of you doubt me and I know I'm not some big shot hero or super genius like you all...But this is my fight too and I can help you guys if you let me. I may not be as experienced, but at this point...I'm an Avenger. Same as you."
"Well, I'm not," Hope spoke up, taking a stand next to her boyfriend, "But that doesn't mean I won't help. For a long time, I've preferred to stick to the shadows and keep my head low. To stay out of the bigger fights and away from the larger universe. But being a part of all this, joining in on these bigger battles...it feels good. Like I'm actually doing something with my life. So what the hell. I'm in."
All eyes turned to Valkyrie, the last to speak their mind.
"Being a part of something like this could put my people in a lot of danger. And I don't want the Kree to go after them if I choose to join this...frankly reckless crusade," she sighed, "But...I've already run away before from my problems and it only made things worse. I will not allow others to end up like my people have."
She got up and looked around at the others, "So fuck it. Let's go to war."
Sam looked at the group before him and beamed with pride. This was it. This was the team.
These were the Avengers.