ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 23, 2:40 UTC
James, Azari, and Torunn wasted no time getting out of the Quinjet and headed to the compound. They passed the Scavengers who seemed to be waiting for their arrival but were really focused on everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours.
Azari held his briefcase firmly as he thought back at everything that happened; they had gone to Wakanda and gotten a little help from the Country who had promised to deliver help to Central America. That was good.
He personally had talked with his aunt and ended up receiving a package in the form of the briefcase he was clutching so tightly. And he had been told that his country wanted him back to study as a King. Oh and his aunt knew there were mutants in Genosha, and hadn't said anything till he had asked.
Of course then there were the problems with the mutants. The fact that they wanted nothing to do with helping them fix the world. And quite frankly seemed to dislike the Avengers even though they had done nothing but liberate had powers and skills and yet they hadn't wanted to help anyone with it.
It was annoying and yet he could understand it. Even if he didn't agree with it. Of course then there was the fact that Barton's mission in California was unsuccessful. Francis had been saved by some girl who they were bringing back to the Compound. And apparently he blamed James for everything going wrong. That meant he'd also be irritable. That was bad because James would also be irritable.
Of course you had Pym and Banner who seemed to have minimal success but success nonetheless, and apparently had brought or were bringing someone to the compound. That was good, it meant the plan was working.
And then there was Torunn.
Torunn was...weird. That was really the only way Azari could describe her. She was still the older sister he felt like he could always rely on. She still seemed interested in missions and fighting and helping out the Avengers. But...she just wasn't all there. She seemed like her heads were in the clouds.
She always seemed to have a contemplative look on her face, or this weird sort of wonder that just wasn't common from the young Asgardian. He'd talk to her about it if there weren't so many important things coming up. Plus knowing her history with James and Francis. They'd hash it out together before he got the chance to answer. Still it was something to watch out for.
Of course there was James. The fearless leader, Captain America. And yet anyone who paused and looked at the man could tell he wasn't happy. As simple as that. He just wouldn't allow himself to be.
He hated how New York was, he despised how slow the liberation efforts were, he couldn't fathom this process taking another 5 or 7 years and because of that he ran himself ragged. He was trying to express every avenue on making this process faster, and everytime he realized he couldn't he got annoyed.
This leadership thing was taking a toll on him as well, but he never said anything about it because he was a natural leader and it was what he did best. But there was something about him that just seemed a little done with everything. He was so eager to get everyone on board, he probably never would have talked to his Aunt or Emma Frost that way if it had been 3 months ago.
A knowledgeable person might think that Torunn's extended absence to Asgard might have affected James more than one could actually understand. They had a weird relationship that never seemed to be defined by labels, but they always cared and understood each other more than most.
Of course there was Tony who simply wasn't getting any younger, but that's what all the smart people were for right? Tony needed to be doing less and less, get phased out of the Avengers, because he had paid his dues. He did the time and realistically deserved some time to rest.
Azari wasn't worried about the Avengers falling apart. No they were far from that, but he did believe that they were heading down the path of dysfunction, and they needed to sync up or bad things might become worse.
As they entered the compound even at 2:40 it was buzzing. Lights were on everywhere and it didn't seem like any sleeping was really going on. They headed up to the meeting room because that's where the rest were waiting for them.
"How'd it go?" Pym questioned immediately as they walked through the meeting room
"They are there." James chose to say "Whether they'll help is the different question."
"Wait." Banner paused skeptically "Are you talking about the Wakandans...Or the X-Men?"
The three took a seat as James answered "I mean I guess it's kinda applicable to both. The Wakandans will help, but only Central America. The X-Men whoever was left. They don't plan on helping at all."
"Huh good for you." Francis scoffed angrily, his face was partly bandaged a little and he had a couple cuts and scrapes but all and all he looked fine. Except that he looked really angry.
"Francis this isn't a good time." Tony sighed
"No way, you're not letting James get away with this." Francis decided and turned to James "You built a shitty team. And because of that Eli and Daisy are hospitalized and those idiots got away."
"I fail to see how this is my fault. Your team was just fine, you should have been able to complete this mission." James told him honestly
"Wha-Are you serious?" Francis contended angrily "Torunn could have helped us easily but because of your little crush on her you took her with you."
"Really Francis?" Torunn questioned angrily
"Dude…" Pym muttered quietly, they were in for a long night if Francis pissed off Torunn. A very long night. He needed some coffee.
"Francis." James addressed "Did you take Vision on the mission?"
"No."
"So I once again argue." James easily told him "This was a very winnable mission. You very easily could have taken Vision on the mission, we all decided that before we launched. Your pride didn't allow you to accept help, you did the mission with no backups, no powers and now you're blaming me."
"Guys our new recruits are sleeping in the compound. Alright? This type of fighting is so unnecessary and unacceptable when the bigger picture is at hand. Everyone hit the hay and tomorrow at 9:00 we are getting back to work." Tony's opinion quickly shut everything down and soon everyone started to file out
"I didn't appreciate that comment Francis." Torunn told him angrily before flying out of the meeting room.
"Oh man you just had to say that didn't you." Pym sighed as they left the meeting room, and Francis just huffed and got out of his seat.
"Whatever, who cares. It wouldn't even matter if it wasn't true." Francis muttered to himself. With Torunn as she flew to her room she was mad because she was just embarrassed and annoyed.
Everyone knew about her and Francis' short relationship. And everyone knew that Francis sort of believed that it ended because of James when that couldn't be further from the truth. She knew James for a while, and she was certain he wouldn't compromise a mission for her.
And she'd be mad if he did, she could take care of herself. She was the strongest of them; it simply didn't make sense for him to worry.
Regardless if there was one thing Torunn knew, it was that her and James were going to talk, because finding out where they truly stood would put this notion to rest…
The only problem is that she had no clue what she wanted from James.
"Odin's Beard…" Torunn sighed
ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 23, 9:15 UTC
Torunn had a couple of coffees in her hands and some baked goods from the Cafeteria, hopefully after sleeping everyone would be in better spirits, she knew at least she was.
As she entered the room Azari was rubbing his eyes, seemingly a little tired from yesterday's escapades. James was on the tablet going over some information like usual. Francis had his feet up on the table and a t-shirt over his face. He may or may not have been sleeping.
And Pym was already sipping his own coffee and typing on a laptop. Probably getting information for them on Crossfire and Taskmaster.
"I've brought coffee and some muffins. Would you all like some?" Torunn asked as she took her own seat by Azari and James.
"I'll take a coffee!" Pym grabbed another coffee to replace his finishing one.
"You'll stunt your growth." Azari sighed but took a coffee and a muffin "Thanks Tor."
"What type of muffins?" Francis asked from under the shirt
"Any kind you want, I brought a lot." Torunn answered
"Well thanks." Francis grabbed a coffee and eyed the muffins. That carrot muffin was looking really good.
"It's not bad." James said as he sipped the coffee "Thanks Torunn. Pym any new information on Crossfire and Taskmaster?"
"Nope. We'll get there." Pym assured him "It's just going to take some time."
"We could have had them yesterday…" Francis mumbled under his breath, "Just saying."
"Drop it." James demanded annoyed at Francis "It's old news. I can take some blame for Crossfire and Taskmaster escaping but that was yesterday. We're living in the present, none of that helps us. If you have nothing productive to say. Don't say it."
Francis took a long sip of his coffee and rolled his eyes "Whatever you say Captain."
"Guys stop fighting. Do you want Riri and Amadeus to see us fighting like this?" Pym chided. It seemed to be perfect timing because the meeting room opened and a young black girl with curly hair dressed in jeans and a plain shirt stood in front of Tony. While a young slender asian boy with shaggy black hair stood in front of Bruce. He was wearing a flannel shirt and some jeans as well. He looked much more calm while Riri seemed more reserved.
"Kids, you want to introduce yourself?" Tony directed to the newcomers.
"Amadeus Cho. Officially the 3rd smartest person in the world. Pretty cool to meet you guys." He said proudly.
"Uh. Riri Williams. Nice place you've got here." She said a little awkwardly
The Avengers put on a few smiles and introduced themselves to what seemed like new teammates.
"Francis Barton, or Hawkeye. You're going to love it here."
"Henry Pym or Wasp or Giant-Man, I haven't decided yet…Anyways welcome to the Avengers!"
"Black Panther. You can call me Azari, it's a pleasure to meet you guys."
"Torunn Thorsdottir. It's truly great to have more help. It will be nice to have more females on the team."
"James Rogers. Captain America, Welcome to the Avengers. Your help is really appreciated, thanks for taking the time to help us try and make the world a better place."
"Well when Captain America comes calling, who are we to deny the call?" Amadeus said excitedly "Whatever you need I'm your man."
"Yeah this is pretty cool." Riri admitted with a small grin "I'll do my best to help as well."
"What are we starting them off with?" Francis questioned
"Right into the meat of things." James explained to the group and handed a tablet each to Amadeus and Riri. "To start we need you two to go through a little history of the Avengers and the Ultron War, you need to be in the loop, next you get informed on the liberation efforts and where we are in Europe, and the Americas. Then you have each and every one of our Mission Reports. Your job is to at the very least leaf through all of them. This isn't a game and you need to be truly informed. Understood?"
"Do some reading work you got it, anything else?" Amadeus asked excitedly, whereas Riri just nodded, taking everything in.
"After that you're going to take the reins on the restart efforts for America. Some of our biggest problems are how slow it's taking us to turn America into a country people can be proud of. I'm sure you all understand that." James explained
"Yeah I do." Riri nodded
"So do I." Amadeus said more seriously for the first time
"Other than that, you'll be working closely with Bruce, Tony, Vision, and Pym so there's that. You also might watch some of our field missions and work with the Scavengers."
"Sounds good." Amadeus said honestly
"I agree." Riri joined in once again,
"Will Riri be joining us on missions as Iron Man?" Azari asked, that could be very useful.
"Aha let's not get ahead of ourselves." Tony laughed "I'm not eager to put another kid in danger. Riri right now is an indoor genius. And there aren't any plans for an Iron Man or Woman in the future."
The team turned to Riri who seemed indifferent towards the news, and this seemed like the ending of the conversation.
"Alright Riri, Amadeus." Banner started "Let's go to the lab. We've got a lot of stuff to analyze."
"Sure thing Dr. Banner." Amadeus followed the old man
"Coming Tony?" Riri questioned
"I'll be there in a minute," Tony assured her. He wanted to get more word and information on the X-Men. To him that was still the biggest news of the day, right when Riri left James started talking.
"You want to know more about the X-Men?" He guessed
"Yeah, who was there exactly?" Tony asked eagerly
"We didn't get to see many honestly." Azari admitted "There were a few older ones, Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Hank McCoy, Laura Kinney and then there were kids. Mutant teens and as far as my eyes could see and hear kids were all around Genosha. It makes sense that there might have been a few more adults but...there's no doubt in my mind they were decimated like the rest of us. Maybe even more so since they are such a small part of the population."
"Frost, McCoy…" Tony marveled at the names he hadn't heard, let alone thought of in years it was so easy to assume they were dead...He'd never have guessed they were hiding out in Genosha. Especially after it had been bombed to all hell after Magneto and that Cassandra Nova lady.
Those were two names that he truly never thought of. During the Avengers primes one of the things they always regretted was not doing enough for Mutants. But things had been looking up at least. Summers and Frost had a kid and were leading Xavier's band of misfits. He wondered how many mutants actually survived Ultron's wrath.
Realistically he'd always be paying back his debt to the world. The lives lost from their Super-Bot would be something he could never forgive himself for.
"They could care less for what you had to say?"
"Mostly." James admitted "It was a little hard to tell with the younger ones honestly. They looked a little surprised when I talked back at Emma Frost. But still they looked complacent. Like they already knew the outcome of what our meeting would be…And yet if anyone was going to join us it'd be them. I remember being young and wanting to go out. I remember when I was bored everyday doing the same daily routine. Finally being able stretch our legs even if it was doing something incredibly stupid was freeing. I have no doubt if word gets around, we can have a few X-Men on our side."
"You'd think we're 25 the way you talk." Francis laughed
And James just shrugged "We might as well be."
"Still I believe your right…The X-Men were always hard to get through, this will be no different." Tony acknowledged "Now the word on Crossfire and Taskmaster?"
"The algorithm Bruce and I set up has got us watching our border 360 degrees 24/7. We've got pings on aircrafts, cars, any other information centres, there are. If Crossfire and Taskmaster are making a play to get out of here. We should know when it happens." Pym explained to the Avengers
"Alright then." James nodded "That means when we do get an alert, the Avengers will go stop these guys. And I mean all of us."
The silent affirmation was all that was needed. The mission had failed once, They really didn't plan on failing a second time.
GENOSHA, APRIL 23 11:30 UTC
If you were Olivier Lebeau, Megan Frost, Pavel Rasputin, Ray Lebeau, or Anne-Marie most of your life was in Genosha. Nearly everything you could remember was Genosha. Though you still got bits and pieces of other things.
Like the capturing they all endured by the hands of Mister Sinister. But other than that Genosha was home. And it wasn't like it was particularly bad either.
For a place that would have been a Ghost town 18 years ago, the place had remarkably lively plant life and vegetation grew just fine in this african climate. Beast had focused early on creating machinery that could clear and sift through all the waste to create space for buildings and schools and grocery stores.
Genosha was...good. It was fine...So for the life of him Olivier Lebeau couldn't fathom why that red headed James Rogers was so insistent on making their home sound like a playground. Like a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. Like what they did had no meaning. It was infuriating.
"Oli you need to stop thinking about this." Megan Summers wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as they traversed Xavier's School. They were looking for their friends so they could go get some lunch. "Hey Pavel." she said to her colossal friend. He smiled in response
"I can't." Olivier sighed honestly "That guy Rogers. The son of Captain America, just came over here and shit on everything the X-Men have ever stood for and then left. I have no clue how he's the liberator of the free world."
"Hmm, he's cute at least." Megan teased Olivier, which caused him to glare at her. "I'm kidding Oli, mostly."
"Where's Ray and Anna-Marie, Pavel?" Oli asked his longtime best friend.
"There already in the Cafeteria, they are waiting on us." Pavel told him "I agree with Megan though, I don't think he meant to disrespect us like that. So stop worrying." He told him as they entered the large Cafeteria. Teens chattering for days, most completely unaware of the thoughts of the outside world.
Genosha was enough for most people.
"What's my brother worrying about now?" Ray sighed as they reached their cafeteria table. "Please tell me it's not Captain hottie."
"Seriously he wasn't even good looking," Olivier scoffed as he picked at some fries
"Red hair's not too common around here." Megan shrugged, as if that was a good enough reason for the attraction.
"Regardless, are you still going on about that Olivier?" Anna-Marie asked her friend
"I mean...don't you guys just think it was weird. It was so...assuming, just annoying. The speeches he gave were like a parent telling a child what to do. But when did he earn that right? It was annoying, at least to me."
"To no one's surprise at all." Jimmy Hudson called from the table across from GeNext. Across from the GeNext was the team dubbed as X-Men Blue. Jimmy Hudson, Jane Braddock, Sofia Da Costa, Jessica Thurman, and Michael Wilson. Also children of former X-Men but they did their own thing.
"You'd be the one to dislike Captain America. You're probably just mad that he's an actual leader." Jimmy shrugged and kept chewing on his toothpick and kept his cowboy hat down over his eyes.
"I am a leader." Olivier said with a hint of annoyance.
"Yeah a leader of nothin'. Captain America over there liberated the free world, the only thing you've saved us from is extra homework. You see the difference?"
"Oli's not as shallow as you Jimmy." Megan came to her boyfriend's defence "Your precious Captain America isn't that great, he disrespects everything the X-Men stand for."
"Which is what again?" Michael Wilson questioned with a wry grin, and ran a hand through his short brown hair "Last time that I checked. The X-Men fought for freedom, fought for the rights of others, and did their best to actually help people. Isn't that what Cap wanted us to do?"
"You weren't there." Pavel insisted "You wouldn't understand."
"Actually we were there." Jimmy cracked a grin "Heard everything."
"Bullshit." Ray scoffed "We woulda heard you."
"Not when Jess is on our side, all this tells me is our stealth has gotten even better." Jimmy smirked
"Look." Jane brought the conversation to her "I think all Jimmy's saying, is it sounded like a call for help. And we said no because of things that happened before some of us were even born. It's petty. Especially when we aren't doing a thing in Genosha." the purple hair girl stated honestly
"You really think the Avengers care about us?" Olivier asked angrily "You heard what they said, they made the Legacy Virus the thing that took out 30% of the Mutant populus over a span of many years, they made it out as if it didn't even happen. Could only care about a Robot who is supposedly dead and gone."
"That's true, don't act like you didn't hear that." Megan backed Oli
"Seriously?" Jane questioned "And I won't act like we didn't hear anything. But we need to get off this high horse. Ultron was the big bad, he had valid criticism."
"And so is ours. The Legacy Virus was a threat to the mutant population, and as mutants it was the X-Men's first assignment. You heard Beast, he hadn't even known until the Avengers were already dead. The others were making sure more X-Men didn't die.
"Look at it like this." Jessica jumped into the conversation with GeNext. Her chalk white skin was always so easy to spot especially in an open place like the cafeteria.
"The Legacy Virus took out 30% of the Mutant race over a course of 10 years. Ultron took out 5% of the mutant race with one bomb. He then proceeded to weed out the next 50% in a couple of months. Maybe a year. And were arguing that Ultron wasn't the threat? The past is in the past but the criticisms are valid."
"And who are we to criticize anyway?" Michael laughed "We do jackshit. At least Captain Freedom and Liberty knows what matters to him and what's worth fighting for. I'm just saying. Captain America, That Torunn babe, and Azari took out Ultron, apparently with help from the Hulk and some other Avenger kids. And that was two years ago. They were trooping. I feel like shit sitting here doing nothing."
"And what about Azari?" Jimmy brought up "He's supposedly the son of Black Panther and Storm. One of our own. He's a mutant avenger and yet no one questions him."
Olivier just sighed "What's your point anyway, why's this matter so much to you?"
"I don't know." Jimmy grinned "I barely knew my Dad, but from what I hear he could usually tell when someone was trying to do some good. I don't know. I just look at those three Avengers and realize we could be doing more. I've never been one to be stuck in one place, especially for such a long time. And I feel like we're being wasted. You're supposed to be the Next Generation of X-Men, our leaders. And you five really don't see it?"
"You wanna leave." Megan stated it like a fact.
"Hell yeah I do. Our whole team wouldn't mind helping a bit. If it weren't for the fact my sister would kill me, I don't think I'd be here right now."
"We should listen to the X-Men." Pavel said but it was noticeably weaker this time.
"Look I'm all for emotion." Jane expressed "But I think the X-Men need a little more brain to go with their heart. Maybe some compassion to balance the rage they are feeling for the 16 year old kids with the literal weight of the world on their shoulders. I think if they have a chance to contact them again then they should."
"I still don't know. It just feels like you're setting yourself up to get burned." Ray said honestly "I know that might be harsh, but it's the reality."
"Yeah and the reality is that there are 250 million people who could use a hand." Sofia Da Costa said "Not just that. I'm sure they'd employ us on missions, like genuine honest to god missions. Tell me the mission to find No-Name wasn't the most fun you've ever had in Genosha."
"Our friend was missing." Megan argued "I wouldn't exactly label it as fun. It was extremely dangerous."
"And yet you five jumped at the chance to go to India and save her. Some things are just worth fighting for. Not to mention you raved about it for months on end." Sofia argued "That was the only mission that's X-Kids were allowed on."
"One day were going to realize just how small Genosha is in the grand scheme of things." Jane sighed annoyedly
"Well relax alright?" Olivier bit back at them "Professor Hank is sending out a scout that supposedly should grab vital information on the outside world. Then the X-Men will probably re-evaluate their decision. So sit tight."
And with that the conversation ended. It still didn't stop Oli's mind from swimming...They might be right. I hate it when they're right!
HEROES OF TOMORROW - 12:00 UTC
"You know…" Francis sighed "This would be way easier if we had ever ended up decrypting all that Ultron junk."
"His files we took from the Citadel?" Pym questioned "those aren't junk and the stuff we did decrypt was useful...But your right the other 75% percent would have made a lot of stuff going faster."
"Hmmm, I find it funny that Tony created Ultron and yet even he can't crack Ultron code. I guess that's a telltale sign of your superbot evolving." Francis joked
"Well we have Riri and Amadeus now." Torunn reminded the team "I'm sure with the extra brainpower you'll have more success now."
"That's the idea." Pym agreed with her still running scans for the mercs on the loose. James sipped his empty coffee cup once more before stretching, this was tiring. He'd go do something else like visit Eli and Daisy.
"Where are you going?" Torunn asked curiously
"Medbay." He responded easily and walked out of the room. Torunn quickly followed sensing an opportunity to talk to James "I'll come with you."
"Fine by me." James shrugged as he went to the Medbay. Right before he opened the door he felt an arm grab his shoulder. He turned to see Torunn staring at him with a bit of an inquisitive look on her face. What could be wrong?
"Torunn?" James questioned the girl softly
"James." Torunn started with the same soft tone he used. It made him realize that this probably wasn't about a mission. And it made Torunn facepalm for immediately becoming that vulnerable girl 30 seconds in with James.
"Is there something wrong Tor?" James asked puzzled
"James I…" Torunn started, but struggled to find the right words. She thought about what she thought her Father might do and decided that she should just come out and say "James was there any truth...to what Francis said?"
"What?" James asked, shocked "Seriously-Come on, Of course not, That's not me. I do what's best for the team."
Torunn thought over his answer. He did seem a little jittery to answer, but that could just be because he was uncomfortable with the question.
"So that means you have no...feelings for me?" Torunn questioned him once again
"I-Seriously Torunn, you're asking me right now. Is this the best time?" James dodged the question
"It's not hard to answer James." Torunn sighed getting annoyed now, "It's simply yay or nay. Answer."
"Tor...seriously. I..why should I answer this. Why does it matter when you are the one who was dating Francis, or that guy on Asgard. Who I like or don't like shouldn't matter. I have no romantic feelings for anyone. I haven't felt them in a long time. Because I don't believe we can afford it. Not when the world is still like this."
"James-
"No Tor. I'm 16. I have more than enough time to experience love. Right now I'm focused on cleaning up the 13 year long mess Ultron left us, and you should be too."
Torunn sighed sadly, but nodded "Yes, your right James. Apologies for pushing you." Torunn still managed a small smile "Let's go visit Eli and Daisy."
James gave her one last long look before going into Medbay. Leave it to Torunn to make him absolutely unfocused, how was he supposed to focus on anything when she was asking questions like that? Did he like her? Couldn't they just focus on things that mattered, like fixing Ultra City?
James grabbed a chair and sat beside Daisy's bed. Her and Eli seemed to be put under some sort of anesthetic. Daisy's arm was in a shoulder sling and she had a couple bandages on her face, but other than that she looked good.
Eli looked worse however his right arm was in a cast, and his left shoulder was in a sling, he also had his right foot in a cast and seemed to have mild trouble breathing. This was the supposed result of fighting this Taskmaster.
It was extremely hard not to feel guilty. He hadn't really understood Francis' anger until he saw these two. Francis had apparently stared down the barrel of Taskmaster's gun. It was no doubt he was angry, he probably hadn't felt that since Ultron.
They had to bring him Cross and Taskmaster in. Torunn had gone beside each of Eli and Daisy's beds saying a small prayer for each in a language he had never heard. After that she talked to some of the doctors and nurses. Mainly Betty Ross, who seemed to revitalized her love for science in the past two years, even at her old age.
"I'm going to take my leave now James." Torunn told him
"Alright Tor." James nodded "What language was that back there? What were you saying?"
"It was the language of the old gods, I said a little prayer for Daisy and Eli. I hope the halls of Valhalla heeded my prayer. I will see you later James."
James accepted the answer, and continued sitting in the medbay, just watching Daisy's face and thinking about how they were going to proceed with...everything. The X-Men, Scavengers, Madripoor front.
In two years there hadn't ever been as many movements as there was now. It was clear that something was happening. The sudden sight of mercs and assassins meant something was going to happen.
Heck even the fact that they themselves were responding in retaliation showed how different things were now. 2 years ago they hadn't been thinking with the same long term mindset they were now. Hopefully it hadn't cost them too much time.
James sighed, and started to move from him seat when Daisy cleared his throat particularly loudly
"Daisy?" James asked the supposedly sleeping girl, she opened her eyes and had a small sort of grin on her face.
"Are you just going to leave without saying anything?" She questioned lightheartedly
"Sorry Daisy. I didn't think you were awake."
"Only a few minutes ago, imagine my surprise when Captain America was sitting in front of my hospital bed brooding."
"It's James Daisy." He told her with a small smile "We're friends."
"Mmm, yeah but James wasn't the one brooding in front me. It was Captain America I could tell. James doesn't really come out much does he?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that you don't give yourself much time to live anymore do you. It's all work, work, work."
"As it should be, focus is important, we can't have more situations where you guys are getting hospitalized, I need to be on my A game every moment of the day."
"James come on, we both know Francis could have taken Vision, should have taken Vision, instead we went out on our own it's really not your fault. All work and no play makes Daisy a dull girl. Betty used to tell me that a lot in the Scavengers. I couldn't fathom what she meant as we were literally always on the run. And yet I don't think I would have survived if not for those moments with Francis, his dad, Eli and Betty."
"You think I'm dull?" James questioned, it came out as a teasing remark however.
"Anything but Captain." Daisy played along with a smile "You're not boring you just don't allow yourself to live. Give yourself a little break, from time to time again. I know you got the world on your shoulders, but no one can do what you guys do without a little me time."
James nodded, truly looking at his situation a little different "Thanks Daisy. I'll keep all of that in mind. You're a good friend, heal up well, we're gonna need you out there."
"Gotcha boss…" Daisy nodded "And you know, if you ever need a break and are looking for someone to relax with…"
James smiled at her proposition as he hung by the door "I'll give you a call Daisy," He wasn't sure if he'd ever take her proposition up Daisy was a nice girl, cute, nice wavy brown hair, a dazzling smile, and could put almost anyone on their ass, Avenger or not. For now he'd be focused on the mission.
It was perfect timing as he was leaving his communicator started beeping, there was only one thing that could really be for. It was time. The system started blaring alerts and Jocasta's voice boomed over the system.
Avengers Assemble.
James was the fourth in the meeting room as Pym, Riri, and Amadeus had beat him there, no doubt they had been working there the whole time. This would take some getting used to.
Azari and Hawkeye popped in next followed by Tony and Torunn and Banner. Everyone who was needed would be coming
"What's the situation?" James asked as soon as Banner entered the meeting room.
"We've got a ping on the Cross and Taskmaster situation." Pym spoke up easily "Not exactly sure what they're doing but Cross and Taskmaster are definitely making noise in Ultra City. They could do some damage from there, so we've got to move quickly."
"Who's coming?" Azari asked
"Francis is your arm good?" Tony asked the young archer
"You're not sidelining me, my arm is fine." Francis insisted
"Wouldn't dream of it." James said seriously "All of us are going. We don't have room for failure, this attack on Ultra City can easily spur a string of decisions that can affect us for years. We need to stop him at all costs."
"Vision's not here by the way, I'm not exactly sure where he is." Pym admitted
"It's fine, we should be able to take them." James decided "Everyone's got 3 minutes to get their weapons and get down to the Hangar. Riri and Amadeus watch how Tony and Bruce man comms, it will be good practice for the future."
"Got it Cap." Amadeus nodded
"Alright then…What are we waiting for?" Captain America asked determinedly, he was proud when he saw the same look on his teammates face. Taskmaster and Cross better watch out, The Avengers were coming for them.
ULTRA CITY, APRIL 23, 1:30 UTC
The speedy Avengers quinjet flew towards the outskirts of Ultra City, in a few minutes they'd reach the heart of the metallic city.
Looking at Ultra City would be demoralizing for anyone. It was a 24/7 construction site and scrap zone, and yet it seemed like nothing ever got done. There was no life anywhere and the metal was not easy to remove and there were questions about bombing the land and starting again.
However it was obvious the land would not be able to take that more damage. They needed to be patient, for now Ultron had won in this regard.
"Team." Tony's voice buzzed in over the comm system "Taskmaster and Crossfire have reached Ultron's Citadel. It seems they managed to get in, we obviously can't let them leave, but it also gives them limited control over the Ultron bots still scattered in the city."
"Great...tell me why those things haven't been cremated or something?"
"No one really has time for that." Tony sighed, angry, at himself for not being more proactive.
"Time…" Azari murmured "The Avengers greatest enemy."
"Tony..Tony out." He ended the transmission, no one said a word as Azari had really said it all. It was really getting obvious how big of a task they had taken on when they decided to try and save the world.
"Dropzone Inbound." Pym called from the cockpit.
"Stay sharp people. Taskmaster and Crossfire are no joke, Azari and I will take on Crossfire and Taskmaster, Torunn we're gonna need you and Pym to deal with the Ultron Sentries if they're active. Hawkeye you need to take out the main tower, if that also means fighting Crossfire or Taskmaster, then so be it." James explained easily, the team agreed easily and waited for Pym's call
"Deploying Hatch now," Pym called once more "20 seconds to hit our target, you should go now."
Torunn nodded and flew out of the plane with Azari in tow, who had learned how to levitate himself and followed Torunn, James skydived out of the plane using his shield as a surfboard and riding down the side of one of the buildings.
Francis simply grappled onto one of the buildings looking for the best vantage point to make the shot, and Pym quickly put the plane on autopilot and flew out of it getting ready to do some serious damage.
Torunn was immediately being shot at Ultron sentries but she easily used her sword to deflect the energy blasts from the sentries.
Azari sent blasts of his lightning himself as coverfire for him and Torunn, destroying one of the sentries with ease. The split off with Torunn heading to deal with more Sentries, while Azari flew off toward James who was already jumping towards the citadel.
Azari flew in behind Captain America and took zero time to find Taskmaster and Crossfire at the information centre.
They looked at each other with some sort of silent kind of agreement, before splitting off at lightning speed.
Crossfire jumped left and immediately started shooting at Azari forcing him to follow him through Ultron's base, and James wasted no time giving chase to Taskmaster who ran down the other corridor not even bothering to provide himself with coverfire.
James gained on him with ease and threw his shield at Taskmaster's back, causing him to hit the ground.
James caught his shield and placed it on his back, glaring at Taskmaster who got up quickly. His facial expression was unreadable.
"I'll give you one chance to give up any information you've taken and come in quietly." James told him honestly
Taskmaster actually seemed to laugh at the notion of losing "Just like your old man. Sorry kid, I'm not giving up anything."
James nodded, and quickly rushed the man with his enhanced speed, he had read all the reports, he knew Taskmaster had given his father a good fight every time, this wasn't something he could just half ass and win. Not that he ever would. But this was going to take skill. He'd have to thoroughly beat Taskmaster.
He threw a lightning quick punch that was immediately countered by a kick that was just barely blocked, and a knee that was denied. He could instantly tell why Francis was beat so bad, this guy was good. And maybe if he was anyone else he'd be worried. But this was a fight he knew he had to win.
He flipped backwards, mid flip grabbing his energy gun shooting at Taskmaster forcing him to use his shield for cover. Taskmaster seemed to have enough of playing defense and rushed forward sending his own punch at James which was blocked adeptly, he dodged another punch aimed at his elbow joint, and returned with a roundhouse of his own that was missed by inches.
Taskmaster threw his shield at James which was kicked away and countered with James throwing his own at him, which Taskmaster kicked away himself, what he hadn't accounted for was James using his energy shield mid air and throwing it straight at Taskmaster sending him flying through the window of the Citadel.
With Azari he was giving chase to Crossfire who was creating coverfire for himself, and running through the Citadel to the exit, the only things stopping Azari from catching him were the few Ultron bots in his way. Even though it might only take a few seconds to stop and destroy them, it was giving Crossfire more than enough time to get away.
Azari eyes went pure white as struck down another Ultron bot, he was getting annoyed with the chase and sent an electrified bolt of energy as Crossfire's back sending him falling into a heap to the ground.
Azari was shocked that it seemed so easy but didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. They needed this. He grabbed him by the collar and flew outside to the fight with the bots that Torunn and Pym had managed to clean up.
Azari dropped Crossfire in front of the rest of the team sans James, who had followed Taskmaster through the window he had hit him through. Taskmaster looked shaken up, and with Crossfire out for the count. This was looking like a win.
"Give it up." James called to Taskmaster, and the entire Avengers team stood behind him "Your teammate is down, and you're surrounded."
Taskmaster had his sword out and shield at the ready, but slowly he sheathed his sword and settled out of a defensive stance
"...You hear that?" Taskmaster asked the team of Avengers. It was almost too sudden the way the sound of jet engines entered the atmosphere, Torunn dove for Francis getting him away from the coverfire the jet layed out for Taskmaster. Cap, Azari, and Pym dodged away on their own.
"Pym grab!-" James called but it was too late as Crossfire had made a miraculous victory, shooting bullets at Captain America, this forced him to doge straight near Taskmaster who wasted no time throwing his shield at James head sending him straight to the ground.
"You should have given up." Torunn growled at Taskmaster, she was about to fly at him before Francis stopped her
"Tor, you go take out the jet." He ordered "Cap will be fine, us four can handle these losers."
Torunn nodded regrettably and flew towards the jet hellbent on stopping them, what she hadn't expected when getting nearer to the aircraft was a huge green glowing man to come flying right at her and sending her flying towards the city street, the hit was tremendous but Torunn managed to brace for impact and stop herself from hitting the ground.
Still the green man was still falling and his crash into the ground sent a wave of energy at the team forcing them to brace for impact.
James wiped the blood of his forehead, the first time in a long time feeling legitimately angry, and the first time in a long time getting hurt.
"Azari on my 6." James demanded, The wakandan speedily flew behind James, somewhat guarding the Jet by blocking the way forward to it.
"Pym, what the hell are we facing?" James demanded of the boy.
"Uh...Radioactive Man. He is what his name insinuates. He can generate deadly heat, force fields, energy blasts...And of course he's very strong. I'm going Giant." Pym told the team.
"Alright then. Azari, Torunn, Pym. focus on Radioactive Man. Francis you and I have scores to settle."
"Right." Francis agreed, bow in hand and ready to have another crack at Crossfire and Taskmaster. The rest of the Avengers charged Radioactive Man, with Torunn and Azari leading the charge through the air and Pym running in behind
Azari sent a beam of lightning towards Radioactive man which he threw up a weak arm to block the intense lightning, yet still he shrugged it off anyway. Torunn seemed to have the same idea sending lightning at Radioactive Man, but he shrugged it off once again.
"I've taken hits from the Mighty Thor's Mjolnir and I'm still around. Your lightning is nowhere near strong enough to take me on."
"Then you will meet my blade." Torunn growled "I promise you that." With that she flew towards Radioactive Man again, once again coordinating her act with Azari. She flew high while he flew low, Azari tried blasts of lightning again but Radioactive Man's force field easily blocked it, though the hit from Torunn sword forced him backward.
Pym in his Giant-Man form attempted to step on him but Radioactive Man sent a wave of energy at Pym's foot, "It burns, It really burns!" Pym hissed
Azari's eyes glowed blue as he athletically jumped over a blast of energy, and kicked Radioactive Man in the face. It didn't seem to have much of an impact but at least Azari himself was fine. It seemed his Radioactive exterior had no effect on his vibranium weave suit.
Still it begged the question, how did you beat this guy? With James and Francis they were faring much better, both hellbent on stopping Crossfire and Taskmaster leaving. One on One James was one of the best fighters in the world. He hopped over a kick attempt by Crossfire and slammed his shield into his face.
It was clear to Cap off the bat that Crossfire couldn't exactly hang with him. He was better in every facet, If Francis could just hang on with Crossfire then they'd be solid. And to Francis's job he was doing a great job.
After getting beat last time Francis had researched everything he could on Taskmaster. He was so good at fighting because he could copy your fightstyle and predict all your moves. Francis had realized that Taskmaster wasn't really copying his moves. But his father's. It worked well enough. If Francis wanted to be able to go toe to toe with Taskmaster, he needed to fight like he never had before, and end it before Taskmaster could figure it out.
The first part was going well, Francis dodged another hit and sent a Arrow at Taskmaster forcing him to dodge. He could tell he was keeping him on his toes, but it was also glaringly obvious he was growing into the fight. There was only so much unpredictability he could bring to the table.
As Francis was about to release another 3 arrows at Taskmaster, he heard Torunn yell "Hawkeye watch out!"
Within a split second he rolled to the ground narrowly avoiding the green energy. Weren't they supposed to be dealing with that guy.
"Guys, you have one job!" Francis yelled back at the team, he shouldn't have even wasted time doing that because Taskmaster locked him into close combat with a well placed punch, Francis pushed back with a kick but was blocked, and he was starting to get the vibes from the other day. He was about to get his ass kicked.
Before Taskmaster could hit Francis he was sent flying backward by James shield, James who had just finished off Crossfire and arrived in time to help Francis.
It was useless however, as James also had to pull Francis aside and quickly throw up his shield to block the energy Radioactive Man was pouring into him. The Vibranium shield was the only thing between them and getting melted by radiated energy.
Taskmaster seemed to take this as his chance to go, dashing towards the Jet that was swooping in to take him away.
"We can't let him get away!" James demanded, slowly walking forward trying to get as close to Radioactive Man as possible.
It was clear however the Avengers were looking a little out of their depth. Pym seemed out for the count he Giant's face covered in Radiation burns, the patches of his suit being missing showed flared up skin. He wasn't doing so well.
Torunn was currently blocking another blast of Radiation just like James. The nigh invulnerable girl was having her own struggles against Radioactive Man. He was stronger than they realized.
Azari flew in the air to catch up to Taskmaster but was stopped short when the Jet opened fire on him forcing him to create a force-field. Giving it more time to escape. It seemed like it was out of the stratosphere in seconds.
"Tony." Francis called from behind James, he shot a couple arrows at Radioactive Man and they just seemed to disappear on impact. "We're losing Taskmaster and he's the one with the information. Not to mention, we're struggling with Radioactive Bitch!"
"We're going to figure this out." Tony told him "Just relax."
Torunn's face was one of pure anger and she grabbed her sword and chucked it at Radioactive Man, the long sword scissored through the air and cut through one of the Radioactive Man's beams it seemed like halfway through the sword became electrified and smashed into him, sending him to the ground.
"More Azari." Torunn demanded, Azari nodded from his own position in the sky, and it seemed the two lightning filled Avengers had come up with a plan.
Everyone watched as Azari's eyes went white, and in turn the skies darkened, the clouds formed together, the sky thundered and Torunn rose her sword to the sky demanding the lightning. Azari sent his own lightning down towards Torunn who absorbed it all into her sword, her own eyes starting to glow blue.
Radioactive Man dashed forward to Torunn, but she was clearly faster, her fist blue with lightning exploded off his Jaw flipping the man over entirely. Torunn gave him no time to respond to the beating. She grabbed him, spun him around in the air, and threw him up to Azari. Azari still in the air smashed him on the head with his electrified staff sending him straight back to the ground with a loud crash.
Torunn stomped over to Radioactive man and grabbed him by his shoulder hoisting him up into the air, she reared her arm back and smashed him in the face, it didn't even seem like he was awake anymore.
She didn't care. She reared her electrified fist back once again, wanting the man to feel pain, for all the annoyance he was causing them.
"Torunn stop!" Francis called before she could land the hit "You keep hitting him too hard and he's going to explode. He's got the potential energy to take out this city...again."
"Just watch him." James sighed " Azari check on Pym."
"At least...we beat Radioactive Man." Francis tried to cheer everyone up. Azari nodded as he dragged the regular sized pym behind him, he was also nursing his own injuries.
"We didn't beat Radioactive Man." James scoffed "Torunn did. The Avengers didn't beat anyone today except Crossfire. The Avengers lost because they let Taskmaster leave with valuable information. Nothing good has come from this day."
"James…"
"It's true," He insisted angrily, he put his SHIELD on his back and they all followed him back to the Quinjet.
"What happens now?" Azari asked,
"Practice. Lots and lots of practice." James told them, The Quinjet was dead silent as they flew back to the Arctic. It was annoying. They had failed again.
James' grip on the steering wheel was impossibly strong, he almost felt like he was crushing the reinforced wheel. This was not how being an Avenger was supposed to go. It just wasn't.