CHAPTER IV: Petricite Grove

So, update! I just started college, and the first week already nearly sucked my soul out of my body. Online classes are a bitch to deal with, especially if your internet's really bad. Enjoy, peeps.

The next day, early before dawn as promised, they set out to find the Power Stone before somebody else can. The Avengers decided to take the local mode of transportation, as they figured out the truth that if they use up their equipment, there may be no secure way to recharge them, as currently there may be no place in Runeterra capable of servicing them. When they heard the word Piltover as something to compare their technology to theirs, they could try that. But for now, the Power Stone was of utmost importance. And plus, they were within the country's borders, meaning reduced enemy contact.

They rode on a caravan without their Quantum Suits, retracted into puck-sized flat circles. Currently, their usual attire was being laundered back in Demacia due to it being wet from the seawater when they crashed into the bay. To substitute that, they wore some simple clothing to both have something to wear and to blend into the local culture. Rhodey however still wore his armor, as it was better in terms of providing protection and to bypass his crippled lower half. Joining them was Tianna Crownguard, Garen and Lux's aunt. She may have been the High Marshal, but she insisted on going personally, with the reason of national security matters not being left out on her directive. On the way, they somehow extended their conversation from last night.

"So, how old are you? Just curious." Tianna asked Steve

"Umm.. how do I explain this... I am actually 105 years old..." Steve answered

"Wait, you're that old?! How do you look so youthful? Is magic involved?" she started to become suspicious

"No, no magic. You see, when I was in a war called World War II, more than 80 years ago, that was when I sacrificed myself to keep the enemy aircraft I boarded from reaching New York."

"Whoa... the same New York where you fought those aliens?" Lux asked

"Yes. You see, when I signed up for the war, I was a scrawny guy. Yet, I got into the United States Army through the experimentation program aided by Howard Stark, Tony's dad. It was called Project Rebirth, in an effort to create a super soldier. I was the only recipient. So, they injected me with it, and I became.. this. So, back to the aircraft. It was filled with bombs headed for New York. It also contained the Tesseract as its power source. I managed to stop it from reaching its destination. You see, my main enemy was HYDRA, a terrorist organization that found the Tesseract on Earth, ans was part of an enemy nation called Germany, which was America's enemy. Its leader, Johann Schmidt, or as he liked to be called, the Red Skull, learned to harness its energy to gain the goal of world domination. So, in the aircraft, we fought. The Tesseract popped out of the power drive, and Schmidt held it. He was basically teleported to somewhere I don't know. It caused the Tesseract to overheat and burn through the hull and be lost for years." he answered

"Interesting story, but back to your rather youthful appearance, where does it all connect to that?" Tianna asked

"Oh, my bad. Um, so Tesseract fell out of the aircraft, and I sacrificed myself by crashing it. I landed in the Arctic region, which was basically an icy place. With the extremely cold temperatures and the super serum I took, those managed to basically preserve me as the snow and ice piled up on the airship as more than 70 years went by. It served to immensely slow my aging. I was frozen soild until I was found years later, and I didn't physically age at all when I thawed." he closed his explanation

"Huh. How does that feel?" Quinn asked

"I woke up to a world where everything I knew was gone. I was basically 'outdated'. Yet, that didn't stop me from being Captain America, as the Battle of New York happened days after I woke up." Steve chuckled

"Captain America? What's that? Is that some kind of alias?" Vayne asked

"Before I got the chance to enter combat, I was relegated to the job of being a patriotic mascot for America's war efforts back in World War II. Hence, Captain America." he said

"I see... so if you're Captain America, what do your other friends have as different names?" Garen asked

"Umm.. Tony there is Iron Man, Bruce is the Hulk, Nat is Black Widow, Clint is Hawkeye, Rhodey is War Machine and Scott is um.. Ant-Man. Rocket is Rocket, Thor is Thor and Nebula is still Nebula."

"Strange and odd names. Does everything in your world have that?" Tianna inquired

"Ant-Man? What kind of name is that?" Xin Zhao was confused

"I'm called that cuz I wear a suit that allows me to change size, like I can be a giant or a really small guy the size of an ant when I want to. I still retain strength at any size just so you know." Scott said

"Interesting but orthodox..."

"So, Tony, why are you called the Iron Man?"

"Let's see... before I joined the Avengers, I got involved in a situation being kidnapped by terrorists. I was trapped in a cave in Afghanistan, forced to make weapons for them. Instead, I made a powered suit that was basically mobile armor, and I broke free. I developed it further and led to the current armor I have."

"Where is that armor?" Garen asked

"Oh, you wanna see it? It's nanotechnology, which means I can turn it into a small object, but when I want to, I can activate it."

Tony put on his Mark 85 (LXXXV) Armor, which surprised those who were able it see it, including Shyvana.

"Impressive. Although, I question its durability. Can it hold up to conventional attacks?" Tianna asked

"Yup. I once took Thanos's hits a few times until it cracked." Tony answered

"You mean the one you call the Mad Titan?" Lux added

"Yup. That guy."

Lux was further awed by her new friends and what they could be capable of.

"Now, that shield you carry with you, has it met much combat? It still looks rather pristine." Xin Zhao asked

"Yea, it has. This shield is made of a material called Vibranium. Now, I don't know where it really came from, but I was given this during World War II. To this day, nothing has even started to crack it. Scratches were the closest thing it got. Those got repaired though." Steve replied

"I may wish to test your weapons, strangers. The way you describe them seems to be a little.. overexaggerated. No offense, but I wish to test them myself." Tianna closed

"Oh, trust me, ma'am. You won't be disappointed." Rhodey spoke up

"Now, doesn't your armor seem to be quite bulky? Do you ever take it off?" Shyvana asked

"Um, I mostly can't. My legs don't work like they used to. I'm paralyzed from the waist down. This armor helps a lot." he replied

"Pardon me for the wrong assumption." the half-dragon apologized

"Nah, it's aight. Most people don't know I'm a cripple."

"But how does that armor aid your disability?" she asked another question

"Um, this armor is powered by an energy source. It also adjusts to my commands. Tony gifted it to me."

"You are quite fortunate to have such caring friends." Garen commented

"Yes.. I do." he remarked on that with gratitude

As the day went by, they passed through small towns, with the Demacian forces being greeted by the local populace, and to no surprise, the Avengers were eyed with curiosity, as they have never seen people like them. After all, a new set of faces are bound to be noticed. Soon, when they reached the footholds of the Rocky Highlands, the sky started to emanate a dusky pink, signalling the coming black night sky poised to take the place of the daylights.

PETRICITE GROVE
Power Stone

When they tried to find it, it wasn't as difficult as they thought it would be, despite the darkness, and with only several torches to light their way. The telltale signs of cracks and faint traces of its purple-hued energy gave it away, and they immediately headed to the crater it made.

"I was right.. the Stones ARE here." Bruce remarked

"Okay, everyone. We better find something to contain it. Do not touch it. I repeat, do not touch! Unless you wanna become a purple bomb, then try not to." Rocket warned

"One little stone can cause that much damage? I beg to differ. Your claims of its destructive potential I still don't fully believe. I wonder what will really happen if I hold it. Will I die?" Vayne started to

"NONONONO! If you can't handle the power, it'll kill you! Lady, I'm not joking, cuz I've seen somebody blow up from just using it!"

"What nonsense is this? Maybe you're just too fussy to grab it! I don't care if you people come from the stars. It's just one little stone. I say that your fancy little stories are bollocks." a random soldier spouted with arrogance then proceeded to grab it

"NO!" Tony shouted

As soon as said soldier started to grab it, the same thing that happened to Carina, the slave of Taneeler Tivan aka The Collector, occurred. He was screaming in absolute pain. The ground started to leak its energy and destroy the surroundings.

"RUN!"

Everybody ran for their lives, as a few seconds later, the soldier slowly burst with sparks, then exploded into violet flames and created a blast that luckily hit nobody. Rocket then glared at the Demacian soldiers with a mix of frustration and anger.

"SEE THAT?! THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T GET COCKY WITH THINGS LIKE THAT! IF YOU DON'T WANNA LISTEN TO US, THEN FINE! GO! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!" Rocket was shouting at the Demacians in anger from their overconfidence, and pointed at the blast area

"Rocket, take it easy, man..." Clint tried to calm him down

"TAKE IT EASY?! Some random chump thought we were talking crap! I bet that changed now, huh? ANYBODY HERE WANNA TAKE A CHANCE NEXT?! HUH?! Good!" he shouted some more and kicked away a small rock close to him

"Jesus... the little guy's gonna need something to chill out.." Nat commented

"What kind of magic is that?" Tianna wondered

"Blondie, that ain't magic! That's a fundamental force of the universe! So, I say we get a box or something to put it in, then get the hell out of here!"

As instructed, they found a container in the form of a box that prevented physical contact with the stone. They immediately headed back to Demacia despite the dark evening landscape. They said no more after what they just saw and what their arrogance and hubris could do to them next time. Then they rested for the day, exhausted from the travel.

CITADEL OF LIGHT

The very next day, both Demacians and the Avengers thought up ways on how to find the other five. The Power Stone was safeguarded in a vault to be kept under constant vigilance 24/7.

"So, Power Stone's here. Check. Now, how do we find the others? I don't suppose these people got internet or something." Bruce said

"We might have to do this the old-fashioned way. We'll need to ask people that tend to travel." Nat remarked

"I have an idea. Why don't we head down to the port? There's bound to be some people that might have seen or heard an event similar to the one with the stone we just acquired." Eric suggested

"If it's the best shot we have for now, then let's do it." Clint said

In the distance, Tianna and Vayne commented on what happened back at the grove. They were still a bit irritated from Rocket's anger-fueled statements.

"I must say, the little one has quite the temper. Nonetheless, he wasn't jesting at all back there." Vayne stated

"Now, since this stone is the real deal, I wonder if the tales they spouted during dinner are credible enough. If they are, then we have gained powerful companions." Tianna said

"Wait, you don't suggest using them against Noxus.." she started to jump to a conclusion

"That would be unwise. Only time they'd fight against Noxus is if they encounter them on their travels. Let's keep it at that. They fought a Titan, they say? Then I would relish the chance to see them in combat. That's all I have for now. We must carry on the information searching for these other stones. If they really use no magic at all, then I don't see a problem there."

IONIA
Ionia City

Karma kept searching for information on where the stones she just saw in her vision are. She immediately headed to Ionia City, and soon heard of the news of a meteor crashing in the area reported to be in Zhyun Island. She could only speculate that it was one of the stones, as it was no mere coincidence to her that a meteor crashed, when she felt the surging energies from her meditation alone. But, alas, she was logical enough to at least bring some companions. One of them was going to be Irelia Xan. Sure, Irelia hated her pacifist stance during Noxus's invasion, but there's little chance that she'd refuse the offer of investigating a potentially-threatening matter.

"Greetings, Will of the Blades. I come to you seeking your aid." Karma said

"What seems to be the occasion, O Enlightened One? Is it something serious?" Irelia did not expect her arrival

"Perhaps. Allow me to show you the spirits' message to me. I felt a great surge of power days ago. You sensed it as well, didn't you?" she responded with a calm demeanor

"What is your point?" Irelia asked

"When I meditated in the Hirana Monastery to seek answers, what I was given was a vision unlike any I've had before. Come. I think it's best for me to perform a mental-spiritual link to you in a safe place, away from the prying eyes of the Shadow Order." Karma spoke

They went to a quiet place to perform said ritual. Karma touched Irelia on the forehead, and it sent the Blade Dancer's consciousness to the spirit realm.

"Wh- what is this place?"

"This is the spirit realm. Now, about that vision."

The same vision Karma had a day ago started to play out, including the apocalyptic portion. She explained that the spirits have told her that the power they felt was caused by Six Stones, and inferred that the meteor that crashed in Zhyun Island might be one of these stones. However, another thing happened.

"What is this? This hasn't happened before." Karma said

The vision slowly started to take its own course again, and several figures started to appear. One looked like a green-hued giant, three were in some sort of armor that completely encased them, one looked overweight resembling some Freljordians she encountered before, one had a shield with a star in the center, one was entirely blue in color, one had an intricate bow, the other had red hair, and one was a small animal.

"It looks like the spirits are directly communicating to us. What are they trying to say?"

As a response, it showed that these figures had fallen from the stars, and were coincidentally similar to the meteor she just speculated. These ten figures landed in the water of a bay, and the symbol of a beautifully-carved eagle appeared forth, which started to apeear with purple cracks and shatter.

"Wait, I know that symbol.. Demacia.." Irelia reacted

Then it showed another part, with a green stone this time. It showed that it did land in Zhyun. Then the vision stopped.

Both of their consciousness returned back to the physical plane.

"All of this, I have never seen before... what is coming to Runeterra?" Irelia was shaken to the core

"I still am yet to find more clearer connections to the other vision, but right now, I say we get to the green stone in Zhyun before the Shadow Order does, or worse, the Golden Demon."

"Why did it show us Demacia's emblem? Why did it shatter?"

"*gasp* The Purple Stone. The spirits may be trying to say that it is there, and these ten strange figures may be there too. Nonetheless, if we get to Zhyun first, the better our chances to find the others."