Chapter 11 - Death Was Arrested
The whole team gathered into the hangar bay of the facility. They all lined up to see Tony Stark lining up six different colored suits: red, blue, purple, yellow, green, and orange. Each of their center pieces contained a glowing crystal inside of them.
"If I can have your attention, please," Tony started. "In less than an hour, Thanos' army is coming down to attack what is left of earth's population. Apparently, he's led by some nazi death cult leader who's older than Cap, but don't let his age fool you..."
"Five minutes into us forgiving each other, and now you're going to rip into my age?" Steve asked with a small smile.
"It was either that or bring up the fact that you're still on language duty... as I was saying, Red Skull is bringing an army to wipe us out and claim victory over our planet. In the future, the one Scott Lang saw, he wins. He wipes us out. That's because we weren't unified, that Steve and I... we kept at odds for far too long. Thor goes up into space and is never heard from again, and we all perish... except me... it's always me." Tony stopped for a minute and paced around for a moment. He scanned the room to see his remaining comrades. Some he had known for what felt like a lifetime. Others, just recently.
"I don't know if some of you are ready for this," Tony replied. "No offense, but for years, the power rangers felt like the punch line of a joke. Spandex wearing heroes who fought ridiculous looking monsters. And then there's Loki, who I can't really trust. No offense."
"None taken," Loki replied.
"There's a talking raccoon who keeps doubting my abilities, a wizard who I've only seen fight once..." Tony's voice trailed off, he looked at Rhodey, then at Cap, then Thor, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint. The first friend he had entrusted his secret too, and then the original team. "I keep seeing this vision in my head. All of my friends dead, and I'm all alone. On Titan it started to come true. I held Peter Parker in my arms as he faded out of existence. I told him not to come, I told him I didn't want him in this fight, and he didn't listen, and he died. Maybe the problem wasn't him, it was me. I've been trying to fight a war by myself all these years, because I didn't want losing my friends on my conscience. I wanted to protect them... you. But I can't do that and win. To undo what Thanos did, we do this Cap's way." Stark looked at a surprised Steve Rogers. The whole room looked at him as well, wondering what Stark meant by this. They looked back to Tony, who added one single word. "Together."
"What if we lose?" Rocket asked from the crowd.
"Then, as the good Captain would say, we'll do that together too," Stark replied.
"This is all well and good Tony but, what exactly did you call us in here for," Clint replied skeptically.
"I present to you, the Zeo Rangers 2.0," Tony showed them off. "The color scheme is a little different, but that's because I've designed each one to be compatible with each one of the infinity stones. Even without them, these suits are designed with the zeo crystal as their main energy source, with some modifications based on my designs, they have the capabilities to be the most dynamic super suits ever created."
"You mean, of course, second to yours, right?" Tommy asked.
"No," Tony replied. "Granted, the stones would need to be harnessed some way, whether it be physically inserted into the suit or not, but with the power of the stones, these suits should easily surpass the abilities of my latest suit."
"That's great and all, but how can you be sure those suits will be able to keep the stones stable?" Bruce asked. "When Loki engineered the attack on New York, he needed a stabilizing agent to keep the energy from collapsing the city."
"The zeo crystal is powerful enough to stabilize it," Tony replied.
"You're sure about that?" Tanya asked skeptically. "I mean, I'm excited as anyone to operate a Stark designed super suit, but when you just casually throw in that the energy of one stone nearly collapsed a city on itself..."
"I've done the math," Tony replied. "It'll work."
"We trust you," Kim affirmed. "So who gets what?"
"Well, I thought the leader of the power rangers should decide that," Tony replied. "You guys figure it out, and I'll get you suited it up. But it's gotta be fast, we've got incoming soon."
"For the rest of us, it's time to suit up," Steve commanded. "We need all hands on deck. We want Red Skull to know we aren't some pushover."
"But the suits are ready, we should be getting ready to make our way towards Thanos," Thor challenged.
"Not yet, Thor," Steve replied. "I know you want to get back at him, we all do. But we need to have a united front to start this fight against Schmidt."
"Very well."
The six rangers gathered together to discuss who would get which suit. The first assumption was that they would all get their zeo colors, except that Katherine would get the purple suit, since there wasn't a pink suit, and that Kim would get the left over orange suit. However, Tony came over to explain that each suit was adaptable to each of the six infinity stones. Red was adaptable to the reality stone, blue to the space stone, yellow to the mind, purple to power, green to time, and orange to soul.
The description changed their thinking, to some degree. Which ranger would serve best with each element? Of course, that only mattered if they found their way to the stones in the first place.
As they deliberated, they thought Katherine would do best with the mind stone, as she was probably the smartest of the group. She was yellow. Tanya was level headed under pressure, and wasn't prone to lapses in judgment, which made her a prime candidate for the reality stone. She took the red suit. Adam was the quickest of them, the blue space stone became his, and while Tommy seemed to be a prime candidate for the power stone, they determined that a different stone would be an even better fit for him. Therefore, Rocky took the power stone, as arguably the second strongest fighter of the bunch.
For some reason, Tommy felt an odd connection with the idea of time. It didn't hurt that it also held the color that he started with. But it was more than nostaligia for him. His life was a living microcosm that time shouldn't be trifled with. He wouldn't have chosen to be the evil green ranger. He wouldn't have chosen a number of life events, and yet, he recognized that he needed those things to be the man he was becoming.
That left Kimberly with the soul stone, the orange suit. At first, she felt like an afterthought. "So I just get the leftovers, huh?" She asked. The team could tell she felt a little sad. The whole team, including Kat, felt a level of sympathy for the young woman. Kim felt their gaze on her and became very nervous, realizing the spotlight now shone on her. "I'm sorry... I don't mean to complain. I guess... I guess I just feel like a pretty big outsider with you guys. I've never been a zeo ranger." Surprisingly, it was Katherine who replied first.
"Actually, I'd argue you were the most important zeo ranger," she stated. "And, if I'm honest, I think your suit selection was the easiest."
"What do you mean?" Kim asked.
"When you and Tommy were still dating, he was confident," Adam replied. "He was focused, and encouraged us to new heights as a team."
"It felt like you were still with us," Rocky added. "I mean, when you were here, you were the heart and soul of the team. And with you gone, it was like your spirit was left with Tommy, to a degree. That is, until..."
"I broke up with him," Kim finished his sentence.
"You've always been the sparkplug," Tommy continued. "From before I joined the team to the time you left, you were always the emotional engine that moved us on to victory, time and time again."
"I think what we're all trying to say is the reason you have the soul stone is that it was the most obvious choice out of all of us," Tanya reassured her.
"Thanks," Kim replied. Just then, an alarm bell started to go off. Tony rushed into their huddle to tell them that the Red Skull and his army had just entered earth's atmosphere.
"No offense, but it's time to break up the pow-wow," He interjected. "It's time to see what you're made of."
"We're on it," Tommy replied. "It's morphin' time." The six made their way to their suits, where Tony showed them how to start the process of putting the suits on. In an instant, the six of them were suited up.
"Whoa, this is incredible," Rocky replied.
"No kidding, I feel the power of the crystal, but the weapons systems and tech are all in this too," Adam added.
"Hopefully it's pretty intuitive," Stark added.
"Hey, are you suiting up too?" Tanya asked.
"I thought you'd never ask." With a push of a button, the nanotech that he used once again bled from his chest piece, encasing his body with a state of the art suit. The six rangers stood in awe of what they just witnessed. "Well, are you guys just going to sit there and gawk?"
"Sorry... we've just never seen anything like that," Tommy answered.
"Well... you're about to see a lot of firsts. Let's go welcome Red Skull with open arms."
Captain America and a number of the remaining avengers flew in one of the quinjets over to the crash-site of what was presumably Red Skull. Barton and Romanoff piloted the jet towards the coordinates given to them, which was a fairly deserted part of central Pennsylvania.
"We're about ten minutes out, Cap," Barton shared.
"Good," he replied. Rogers wandered over towards Banner, and stood in front of him.
"What's up, Cap?"
"Any chance we'll see a re-emergence of our big, green friend?"
"I don't think so," Banner confessed. "Ever since he got beaten down by Thanos, he just won't come out."
"I never thought I would hear the words 'beaten down' in reference to what was done to the hulk," Rogers replied as he sat down next to his friend. "Then again, Thanos is a different threat compared to everyone else."
"Maybe," Banner replied. "But... something doesn't add up to me. Yes, Thanos is strong, but..."
"But what?"
"Look, I typically can't remember what I do as the Hulk. But, for some reason, ever since I turned into the Hulk on Asgard, it's almost like I had more control, like we were both steering the wheel. So, I have a few more memories than normal."
"What do you remember?" Rogers asked.
"Honestly, I think we took him lightly," Banner replied. "I think we were surprised."
"And now Hulk doesn't want to come out, because he was defeated," Rogers said, but Banner disagreed.
"When Hulk is defeated, he gets angry, he doesn't get scared... that's what's made this all the more confusing."
"Well... Hulk, if you're listening, we need you," Steve shared. "And we need you too, Bruce."
"Thanks," Bruce smiled.
"You'll be good running diagnostics from back here?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Bruce replied. "As much fun as piloting an iron man suit was, I'll be glad to sit this one out and help all the iron men and women make sure they live through this.
"Prepare for landing," Barton cried out, interrupting the conversation. As the quinjet began its descent, they saw a smattering of large pods that crash-landed into the barren fields below. They surrounded a small spaceship that was nestled safely in the middle of them.
"Get ready," Steve commanded. Rocket, Thor, Wong, Loki, and Scott readied themselves, dispersing into the open once their ship landed. They were followed by Clint and Natasha, the former brandishing his katana.
The hatch of the middle ship began to lower to the grass, revealing the villain they expected.
"Schmidt," Steve muttered. Red Skull didn't speak at first. He approached the heroes almost tentatively, taking his time as he cascaded down the metal steps.
"I had heard of the so-called 'earth's mightiest heroes,'" Red Skull cackled. "It seems to me that you don't have many people to help you, do you Captain America? Not so mighty after all?"
"Try us and see," Thor boldly stated, but Steve put his hand up to stop him.
"You don't have to do this, Schmidt," Steve continued. "The earth has been devastated, half the population gone. We're still trying to pick up the pieces. You can help us do that."
"I'm not interested in a rebuilding project," Red Skull retorted. "I've tasted what power looks like. I've always wanted the power of the gods. To wield such power... well, if I do this task, I will have that power."
"From a couple of gods to someone who wants to be one, it's not all that it's cracked up to be," Loki grinned. As soon as he said the words, Red Skull's face became downcast.
"Loki... Thor... of Asgard. Sons of Laufey and Odin. Gods of Mischief and Thunder."
"The last time someone rolled up with an army lent from Thanos, earth's mightiest heroes stopped them," Loki continued, giving the rest of the crew a knowing look. "I suspect the same will happen once more."
"Enough talk," Schmidt muttered. He raised his hand, and in a flash, the hatches opened of the massive pods, and out charged thousands of black beasts. These outriders charged speedily at the small group of heroes in front of them, grunting and baring their sharp teeth and claws as they charged ahead.
"Here we go again," Rocket sighed.
Before they could respond, however, a wave of explosives pummelled the first wave of beasts. Red Skull looked up to see eight suited heroes flying in the sky.
"One thing we forgot to mention, Schmidt," Steve smiled. "It's not just us."
"Why don't you crawl back into that little spaceship of yours, and get on out of here," Tony broadcasted.
"So you brought some manned aircrafts, do you think I'm supposed to be impressed?" Red Skull taunted. He raised his hands signaling more of the beasts to flee their ships, chasing after the heroes. Unlike the battle of Wakanda, the heroes really had nothing to protect, so gone were the concerns of keeping Vision safe. This gave the avengers a lot more freedom just to eliminate the threat. And while the outriders were strong, they were no match for the fire power of Tony's new technological marvels, not to mention the power of Thor and his trusty axe, Stormbreaker.
It was a relatively short skermish, no casualities on the side of the heroes, which quickly forced Red Skull back into his borrowed spaceship.
"You may have won the battle, Captain America, but the war is just beginning," he warned. In a flash the villains left, leaving the heroes in the middle of the wilderness wondering what just happened.
"So... those were definitely the guys who killed the Avengers in the future," Scott began, with a hint of confusion laced in his voice. The statement was heard by the rangers, as well as Rhodey and Stark.
"Something's not right," Steve replied.
"We have the rangers of power, and the rabbit and I haven't left yet for Thanos," Thor explained. "It's a bit different this time around."
"Maybe," Tony added, his helmet disappearing. "He could have sent more troops in, but he gave up... why?"
"Maybe he knew we had him beat?" Tommy chimed in.
"Yeah, the eight of us flying in might have spooked him," Rocky affirmed.
"I don't think..." Before Cap could retort, a number of black SUV's began to circle the heroes. "Not now..."
"Ross?" Tony asked. Steve nodded.
"I had been calling him non-stop with no answer, figures he comes when we defend the world."
"Figures," Lang scoffed. However, the man who got out of the lead car was not Ross. In fact, it was someone they never expected to see alive again.
"Agent Coulson?" The surprise in Steve's voice captured the mood of all the original team, while the rest of them didn't know what to make of him.
"Captain Rogers," Coulson replied, sticking out his hand. They shook, only for Cap to grimace. "Sorry, sometimes I forget the strength of my grip, mechanical hand and all. Mr. Stark."
"Phil... I'm sorry, aren't you dead?"
"I was, but some advanced tech, a little blood of kree, a trip to Tahiti, and I'm back," he replied. "Same can't be said for Nick Fury. He was lost in the decimation."
"We thought that might be the case," Steve shared. "Ross?"
"He was lost too, which is actually pretty good for you, because that means the accords are currently on hold," Coulson replied. "I'm not one to wish ill on people but Ross, well, he was kind of a jerk."
"So, what does that make you?" Romanoff asked.
"Director of SHIELD," he replied.
"Fury killed off SHIELD when HYDRA infiltrated..."
"Captain, you don't think Fury would actually give up on his baby, do you?" Coulson interrupted. "Don't worry, we're not corrupt. We've got good people, at least what's left of us, and we can help you accomplish whatever is necessary in defending our planet. Starting with this." He handed Rogers a pager that had an odd red and blue graphic on the display.
"No offense Coulson, but all you just did was hold an antique to an older, breathing antique," Tony quipped. Steve rolled his eyes.
"It was the last thing Fury used before he faded away," Coulson replied. "The signal is two-way, connected to a woman that could help us get the people we love back."
"Is she part Kree?" Loki asked, stepping forward.
"No offense, I'm not exactly sure how I feel answering you," Coulson replied calmly. "Considering the whole tricking me into getting stabbed through the heart, thing."
"It's ok," Thor defended. "He's on our side."
"Yeah, that doesn't exactly ease my anxieties." Coulson turned back to the rest of the team. "She is part-Kree. In fact, she's the woman that your team is named after."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"Carol 'Avenger' Danvers," Phil replied. "She was a pilot in the United States Air Force, until she was found by kree special forces. They took her because she absorbed large amounts of a powerful energy source."
"What power source would that be?" Tony asked.
"The tesseract."
"No offense, but I'm a little confused," Kim chimed in from behind them. She and Tommy walked up to join the other leaders, trying to help the rest of the rangers piece things together. "Kree, tesseract..."
"I can explain more soon," Coulson replied. "I'll have my team come to your headquarters, I'll fly with you in the jet."
"Think you can manage flying with me?" Loki grinned.
"I'm not afraid of you, Loki. You lack conviction."
"He's fun, brother."
To Be Continued...
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- Googz333