An Edge for the Knife

by Blackridge

Having made peace with her enemies and her past, and with the cure a reality, Ellie can finally let go of fighting and enjoy a quieter life, surrounded by those she loves. But when an inexplicable phenomenon appears near Jackson, will Ellie prove better than her curiosity, or is danger just not done with her yet?

14. Primary Defender

Author's Note: As stated, this chapter *honks* at almost 15k words. Be warned. It really had to all go together though. I hope you enjoy!

---

The big spider bot lands loudly in front of Hulk. It rears up and looks at him, its legs creaking. Hulk squeezes the punies in his hands and advances on the thing, swinging them wildly as he knocks the spider about. Their tiny limbs flail helplessly as they batter the machine.

He tosses them away as they go limp, and the spider bot's nose starts to glow blue. Hulk ducks just as a loud blast flies over his shoulder. It stings, but Hulk likes that, because it makes him angry.

He grabs the stupid spider's nose, jams his foot into its chest, and pulls with both arms until he rips it completely off the spider's body. It stumbles about stupidly for a few seconds, then Hulk smashes its body with its own head until it slumps down.

"Way to go, Big Guy," says Cap. Like he needs to tell Hulk. "But there's a bigger one coming up. Can you help with that?"

Huh? Hulk looks, and a big rolly bot is coming up the ramp to the platform he is protecting. He scowls, then smiles a little.

Its much bigger nose starts to glow blue.

"No!" roars Hulk. He hurls the spider head-cannon in front of him just as the beam from the rolly bot fires, the two exploding together in mid-air.

Hulk grabs the dead spider body and holds it up in front of him like Cap does, charging the rolly bot. Hulk hears rolly fire again, and it hits the spider body so hard it almost slows him down, but it doesn't. He's getting close and it fires again. This time, the spider breaks in half, so he has two pieces now. He throws one at the rolly and it hits its nose, knocking it away. The rolly tries to back away, but it's too slow.

Hulk throws the other half of the spider and it bounces off the rolly. He tucks in his shoulder and slams it in the side. He wants to knock it over, but it keeps trying to get away.

"No!" he curses its cowardice.

He reaches into its side around the rolly part. It keeps moving under his hand, slippery. He growls and seizes with his mighty hand until the metal bends under its grip, stopping the rolly. He pushes against its body with his other hand until there are twangs and snaps and he rips the rolly completely off the side. Stupid little wheels spin useless, and it can't really move anymore. Dumb bots.

He decides to dump it in the water. He slams his shoulder into the side again. This fat bot is really heavy and doesn't want to move. So Hulk does the smart thing, and pushes harder. Fat bot starts to lift off the ground, and the ground screeches as it is pushed on its other rolly against its will.

Rolly nose spins but can't look at Hulk. Punies shoot him in the back from all over but he hardly cares.

There's a clanging crash and the bot won't go farther. Hulk grunts in annoyance. He looks.

More metal at the edge of the metal floor is blocking him from pushing rolly into the drink.

"Gah!" He cries in frustration. "Metal!"

He bends down and grabs underneath rolly with both hands, lifting. It's heavy. It's really, really heavy, but that's no problem and he just lifts harder.

Punies around him cry out in alarm, and it makes Hulk happy.

Hulk lifts until rolly is almost sideways.

"Bye bye," he says.

He gives one last mighty push, and rolly topples over the metal side and lands in the water with a huge splash.

Water shoots way up in the air, showing Hulk. He rubs his nose, then laughs. That was good.

He turns to the punies and they all get scared and start to run. He rolls his eyes. Same old.

---

Tony watches as Hulk, with raw strength, tips the twenty ton tank over the railing and into the Colorado River. The geyser of water shoots fifty feet in the air. He happens to know those things are about fifty million apiece and composed of some of the highest grade metals and tech AIM has to offer.

"Really makes you question how far we've come as a species," he says, barrel rolling away from another gunship volley.

"Eyes up, Tony," says Steve, grunting as he doubtlessly bashes some hapless goon, "how's the aerial situation?"

"Too many fish in this particular barrel," says Tony, deploying three of his remaining rockets and disabling an AIM gunship's port engine in passing. "And a lot of them are ours. We're hanging in there. Jarvis, what's the status on the anti-air installations?"

"They remain offline, but surprising determination on AIM's security web is preventing me from inflicting long term damage on each turret. If their computational effort is any indication, we have identified the correct target. I should note the surprising adroitness of my adversary today, as well."

Tony grimaces as he takes a glancing volley in the back. This was not news he expected or wanted. "Any chance they could come back online?"

"Given an unforeseen misfortune or two, yes, it is not impossible."

That bad? What kind of processing power do they have down there?

"You heard him," says Steve. "We can't count on Jarvis keeping those guns down and we can't let them back up. Tony, Thor, can you bring them down the old fashioned way?"

"With pleasure!" shouts Thor.

"Done and done," agrees Tony.

Reaching the South end of the operational zone, Tony banks a sharp left and comes up along the East canyon wall. Guards shoot uselessly at him from the catwalks, but none of the shots come close to the mark.

A row of twelve railgun installations are situated about halfway up the cliff on this side. He swoops high, tilts to the side, and releases the rest of his rockets in a row in bomber fashion.

The satisfying chain of explosions are muted by the suit, but he can feel the vibrations of every one.

A swirl of darkness grabs Tony's eye, and he sees a sizable storm cloud swirling into existence across the canyon. Thor floats underneath it, streams of electricity dancing down from the cloud and around his body as he gathers energy. He gestures with his hammer, and a massive delta of lighting strikes pummel the row of turrets in front of him, causing scattered explosions and convulsions as the circuitry is fried.

It has to be on purpose. There's just gotta be some vanity in it for Thor.

"Now that's a show!" says Steve.

Tony rolls his eyes.

---

Planting her front foot, Kamala leans in and puts her strength behind a straight right into the elite synthoid's chest. Her fist crashes into its chest and lifts it well off the ground, sending it flying over the rail and down into the river.

A regular synthoid takes the opportunity to run up and punch her in the face. It hurts, but her strengthened body and toughened skin take it with ease. She scowls at it, and it backs up hesitantly.

She enlarges her left hand, grabs it around the torso, and using it as a counter weight, she swings her arm in a twenty foot arc, knocking another half dozen bots off their feet before whipping the synthoid high into the air and slamming him back down onto the back of an adaptoid, causing it to face plant.

Kamala pants. She's got a lot of strength left, but they just keep coming. Steve said to keep Nat safe, and Tony's shield around Nat won't last long under concentrated fire undefended. She balls her fists and summons more energy.

The adaptoid's eye gleams lifelessly at her as it lifts itself up with its hands. Crap, these things are durable.

It shoots an energy beam at her, and she bends her body in a crescent-moon shape around it. The energy is absorbed by the forcefield behind her.

"How's the shield!" Kamala calls without looking.

"It's good, Kamala," says Nat coolly, "you're doing great. We're getting there."

The security on the elevator must be huge if Nat and Jarvis are taking this long to crack it.

Kamala charges the adaptoid as it regains its feet. It rears up and shoots another beam at her, but she avoids most of it by dashing serpentine toward it. She kicks it in the thigh and it staggers, then punches it in the face.

Feeling no pain, it grabs her arm immediately, so she plants her feet and yanks as hard as she can. It stumbles forward onto its knees. It goes to grab her other arm, but she grabs its first. She leans back and begins spinning, growing in size to offset its weight. It's lifted off the ground and begins spinning rapidly through the air.

She releases it, and it goes hurling through the air probably a hundred feet, landing who knows where.

She takes a deep breath and exhales, looking up in time to just to see another squad of twenty bots and humans running her way, including two adaptoids.

"Crap… It's getting heated over here, guys!"

As if on cue, there's a metallic whir and a series of clangs as Cap's shield bashes into face after shoulder after chest after face. It finds its way back to his arm in midair just as he tucks and rolls back to his feet. His timing couldn't be more perfect.

How does he do it?

The regular adaptoid and the assault variant—the fiery one—are still standing. They both target Cap and unleash their beam weapons at the same time.

Captain America raises the shield and receives both beams, but the sheer force causes his feet to slide across the metal grating.

Instinctively, Kamala has moved behind him and plants her hands on his back, adding her inertia to his and resisting the powerful push.

The vibranium absorbs and reflects the energy, the plasma radiating outward from the shield in a lethal torrent, knocking the adaptoid on its back and the assault variant to its knees.

"Thanks for the assist!" he calls out, warming Kamala's heart for the thousandth time.

The assault adaptoid plants its right foot and cocks its arms, activating its immolating flames. The heat stings Kamala's cheek from twenty feet away. It grabs a crate of some kind with one hand, bursts it into flame as well, and hurls it at them.

Cap braces and deflects the crate off of its shield. "I got this one, keep the other out of the fight!"

The other adaptoid has regained its feet as well. Without thinking, Kamala charges it at full speed. It charges her as well. She elongates her legs and front flips over it. Midair, she reaches down and grabs it under the arms, stretches her feet back to the ground, and with a little extra oomph, whips her whole body, hurling the adaptoid over her head and into another pile of crates with a huge crash.

Its legs stick out awkwardly from the crates, but after some flailing, it manages to find its feet, menacing at Kamala.

"Are you kidding me?!" she cries.

Just then a green blur comes in from stage left and barrels into the adaptoid, lifting it off its feet. Hulk jumps with the unit and smashes it into the grating, pounding it over and over again.

"Oh, nevermind…"

The assault adaptoid is hurling balls of plasma at Cap now. Instead of blocking them, he pirouettes around them, hurling his own projectile every opening he gets, battering the bot in the neck, stomach and chest.

Kamala recalls the assault variant's weak point along the spine. She rears up her right foot, and delivers the sharpest frontal blow she can into its spine with her heel.

Its plasma flares for a second as it spasms, then goes out. Cap charges, spins and slams it in the jaw with his shield, along with a couple more blows to the head that send it to its back. He jumps on its chest, raises the shield in both hands, then slams it down into the thing's face, lodging it at least a couple inches. The adaptoid goes still.

"Nice shot, Kamala," says Cap, ripping his shield free and donning it, "but we've got more…"

Jogging to his side, Kamala follows his eyes.

He's right, they do have more. A lot more. Probably forty or fifty more synthoids fill the platforms connecting them to the fusion energy plant. But none of them are moving.

"Hey, is it just me…" Cap starts.

Kamala bounces back and forth on her heels, but she's thrown off, too. "No… no it's not just you." A feeling of unease comes over her.

"Hey, I don't know how else to say this," says Tony over comms, "but the enemy is… running away?"

Kamala looks up and indeed the noise has greatly quieted overhead. She can see a few AIM dropships climbing over the lip of the canyon, clearing the airspace.

"Jarvis? Maria? Either of you two got intel for us?" Cap asks.

"We're seeing what you do, Steve," says Maria over comms, "as far as I—"

There's a deep clang that echoes between the canyon walls, followed by the low-pitch whirring of heavy machinery. Kamala turns around, and sees that the massive hatch over the primary elevator shaft is opening, foot by slow foot.

"The enemy's gates have been breached!" says Thor.

"Team," says Nat, and Kamala sees a rare look of uncertainty on her face, "that wasn't us."

The air gets quieter and quieter as the boots on the ground have stopped moving and the quinjets circle slowly overhead in holding patterns without anything to fight.

Through the quieting air, a single set of footsteps can be heard over the metal grating.

Kamala glances toward the nuclear fusion plant. It stands a few stories above the platforms over the river, and a single figure is descending the last staircase from the plant toward them. It's a woman, thin-figured, holding a tablet.

"Holy cow…" says Kamala, "Cap, is that…?"

"Steve…" says Black Widow.

"Yeah," says Captain America.

Monica Rappaccini crosses the last hundred or so feet toward them on easy feet. The synthoids and adaptoids around her have discarded their combat stances, standing passively at the ready. Monica is wearing her standard AIM uniform, black and white fabric cut in fashionable, angled shapes, a long sleeved coat over a long, narrow skirt and elegant boots. A white quarter-cape hangs from her shoulders and a yellow hexagon representing AIM is set into the black fabric over her chest.

Her smooth, lovely features and bright green eyes conceal the terrible things she's proven capable of.

She stops fifteen feet from them, cradling her tablet casually to her side. Her straight, black hair now hangs just past her jaw to the middle of her neck. Her eyes are alert, drifting over Black Widow, Kamala and Captain America in turn. "Good day to you as well, Avengers."

"Monica," says Steve.

The sound of a loud grunt calls their attention. They glance over to see Hulk looking about in frustration at the now-inactive robots surrounding them. He catches Monica's eye, and growls.

"Bruce," says Monica coolly.

"What's going on here, Monica?" says Captain America. "Why did you call off your dogs?"

There is a resounding boom as the elevator hatch finishes receding, and the sound of the deep lift itself elevating is the only sound other than the muted rushing of the Colorado River below.

"They're no longer needed," says Monica. "I thought maybe now we can speak like adults, for once."

"You never seem to want to do that on camera," says Black Widow, walking forward to stand side by side with Kamala and Cap.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," says Monica glibly. "Do you have any idea how much damage you caused today? And yesterday?"

"Two, two and a half billion, probably," says Tony. The next moment, the sound of rockets flaring can be heard as he drifts to a landing next to them, aiming his repulsor beam at Monica.

"Tony," says Captain America, nodding his head toward Monica.

"Already on it, Cap." Beams from Iron Man's shoulders sweep Monica up and down, and left to right.

"Oh," says Kamala, "she's a hologram!"

"No," says Tony, faltering for the first time, "she's not. Cap?"

Captain America shoots him a sharp look, then his eyes train on Monica. "It's really you?"

She holds her hands out to the sides. "In the flesh."

"That's uncharacteristic of you…" says Captain America.

"Steve, we can't let her-" begins Black Widow.

"Forgive my rudeness-" says Steve, hurling his shield at Monica's face.

The vibranium disc halts suddenly in a flare of blue light. Monica's eyes widen in surprise, then fade to muted interest as the shield floats suspended in front of her face.

"How's that possible!?" says Kamala.

"Shouldn't be," says Tony, "Jarvis?"

"Already on it, sir. The energy signature is foreign. Any direct resistance to the vibranium should have been met with explosive results, but the force has been rendered completely inert."

"But what is it?"

"I need far more data to say, sir."

Monica is smiling easily now. She grabs the shield with both hands and plucks it from its plasmic prison, admiring it in her hands. "You knew I wouldn't leave myself defenseless, didn't you?"

"What is this, Monica?" demands Iron Man. "What's the game? Why expose yourself like this? Cause I know you're not giving up."

A steel-hard edge touches Monica's features and she meets Iron Man's eyes. "Not even close."

"Did you do it?" asks Black Widow. "Did you finish the Cube? Because I know you saw the same thing we did, in the far future. It won't stop the invasion."

"Maybe not," says Monica, "but I bet it would stop you." She tosses the shield back to Captain America, who catches it and replaces it on his arm.

"Jarvis," says Iron Man, "can you trace the energy signature?"

"These are not the physics we're used to, I'm afraid. The origin is not apparent. However, I suspect the contents of the lift may provide answers."

"He's right about that," says Monica.

"Well, don't spoil my entrance," comes a magnified voice from the open elevator shaft.

The voice is familiar to Kamala. "Hey, isn't that…"

A large, mechanical apparatus comes into view over the rim of the pit. Then, a gleaming purple gemstone crowning an abominably massive human head, its diminutive body seated upon a massive throne of purple steel, surrounded by many mechanical implements at the end of robotic arms and lifted by huge thrusters.

MODOK's face is marred since Kamala last saw him. Scar tissue climbs from his left jaw all the way up to his forehead, and his left eye is white and blinded. His giant lips form something between a smirk and a sneer.

A low growl can be heard, and Kamala turns in time to see Hulk break into a full throated roar. On all fours he charges across the platform and leaps at MODOK.

Grimacing, MODOK receives him with two massive pincers, grabbing his right arm and left leg. He spins around twice, and leveraging the centrifugal force, hurls Hulk across the canyon to bounce off the cliff face and plunge into the river below.

MODOK smiles in malevolent satisfaction.

"George!?" Black Widow exclaims.

His eyes snap to her, and all at once, his triumphant expression twists into rage.

"My name isn't George!" He pounds the arm of his throne with his tiny fist. Coughing briefly, he takes a couple breaths, recovering himself as he rises to twenty feet above them. He finds his smile again. "You may call me MODOK."

"George," says Captain America, "I thought…"

"I died? I'm sure you did. Not that you bothered to search very well." MODOK drifts slowly through the air over their heads. "No, Captain, my work was not done. Nor was it time for my rest." He drifts down to hover off of the ground near Monica.

"You two are working together again?" says Iron Man, incredulous. "After everything?"

MODOK glances thoughtfully at Monica. She returns his look with a subtle, knowing smile. "Well," says MODOK, "we did have our little spat, it's true. But you know what they say. 'Great minds think alike.' And there are so few of those left, these days…"

"I have to say," says Monica, "my theoretical work is unparalleled, but MODOK has a true gift for implementation."

MODOK examines his fingernails idly. "It's true," he nods.

"You two, together," says Captain America, "this is no accident. You lured us here, didn't you?"

Monica snorts softly. "We did. I figured it was finally time we turn all that data you've been gathering on us against you. It seemed fitting for you to be here, after all the trouble you've caused us. To bear witness."

"To what?" asks Black Widow. "More destruction? Monica, when will you learn that the world will not bend to your will-"

"We'll see what bends!" Monica raises her voice. "God, you're incorrigible! Each of you! A hundred steps behind and still you fight me like I'm the enemy and you know better!"

"If you had your way, you'd have all the inhumans in the country locked up!" shouts Kamala.

"If they were lucky."

"If they were what?!" Kamala leans forward, then feels Black Widow's hand on her shoulder. Nat shakes her head.

"Alright, Monica," says Steve, crossing his hands behind his back, "it's your show now. Why don't you tell us what you have planned?"

Monica tilts her head, considering him. "How much time do you have? I jest, I don't expect you to understand. Just know this.

"Our world, aware or not, is on the brink of destruction. Vulnerable. No one, least of all the inconstant band of vigilantes standing before me, are prepared to handle what's coming. Afraid to look at it with an honest eye. But I don't shy from such things. You're familiar with our 2-tachyon experimentation."

Black Widow narrows her eyes. "What does that have to do with it?"

"The original tachyon allowed us to glimpse into the future, and possible futures, to prepare for threats that haven't even happened yet. And if the profundity of that is lost on you, 2-tachyon allowed us to take this even farther. To look into other, parallel realities, where threats we've never even imagined have reared their ugly heads, been defeated, or, have warred their way to supremacy despite the fiercest opposition.

"The results are infinite and I'll not lavish you with our findings, but on one such world, where the Cold War didn't go quite so cold, and the planet loomed on the edge of nuclear destruction, decade after decade, a unique solution was founded. Iterated upon, by the best, brightest, and most paranoid minds alive.

"In ancient times, fearing for their survival, humans didn't fight each other. They fought that which threatened them all. Famine, disease, and the slavering fangs of beasts. In their genius, in the face of mutual annihilation, a few minds invented new beasts, powerful enough to strike fear in the heart of every nation, and thereby, cooperation."

"You mean control," says Captain America, a frown chiseled into his stony expression. "I'm familiar with this line of thinking."

"I doubt it," says Monica. "I admired these creations, and the spark of inspiration was born that, after a few deals had been made and designs acquired-Shalashaska sends his regards, by the way-gave birth at last to the thing I believe, save all else, may yet deliver us from the Kree threat. A Primary Defender."

"The Super Adaptoid?" says Natasha.

Monica scoffs. "Once upon a time, but even that you saw fit to destroy in your own paranoia. This…" Her smile spreads across her face wider than Kamala's ever seen it. "This is something far more enduring."

"Cap," says Tony.

Kamala turns to see something finally emerging from the elevator shaft.

Two long, bright points of metal appear first above the lip of the opening. They elongate into huge, triangular plates of smooth, subtly curved metal. They meet in the middle over a long, ridged column of metal bands, like a spine. Two more triangular plates appear beneath those, fluttering briefly. Underneath, a lean but round belly is traced by a thousand thin lines of pulsing, red light.

A movement behind the behemoth reveals a three-pronged tail at the end of the spine. And appearing finally in front, hanging from the elongated neck, is an almost animal-like skull, angular with rows of vertical metal plating not unlike teeth. Black paneling stares blankly where eyes might be, until there's a throbbing hum that vibrates through the very air as a powerful aquamarine iris pulses into existence, staring at them from the socket.

"Ormr…" says Thor's resonant voice from above.

"Not quite," says Monica, "I give to you Earth's Primary Defender. Metal Gear Valkas."

The titanic machine sits atop multi-jointed legs ending in narrow wheels. It rears up on them gracefully, somewhat like a bird. It's jet-like wings fan out behind it as it seems to stretch. It cocks its head the other way, appraising them.

"Steve," says Hawkeye over comms, "this is no Warbot…"

"No," says Steve, "it looks more sophisticated than that."

"Incomparably," MODOK. "Metal Gear were invented as nuclear deterrents on Earth-9549. Highly mobile heavy armaments equipped to launch nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles from anywhere on Earth while remaining untrackable and untraceable. The ultimate doomsday threat."

"You put a nuclear weapon in that thing?!" shouts Black Widow.

At that, Monica simply bursts out laughing.

MODOK rests his massive head on his tiny left palm, smirking as if at a lame joke. "The world's most expensive set piece," he drolls.

"Is this a joke to you!?" shouts Tony.

Monica brushes moisture from her eye with the wide of her thumb, sighing. "No, not hardly. MODOK has it right. The nuclear weapon is only a symbol, for smaller minds to understand. Valkas' capabilities are far more profound than that."

"I've slain fouler beasts than this!" cries Thor.

"Thor, wait!" cries Captain America.

A whine cuts through the air as Thor spins Mjolnir. He hurls it with a mighty whoosh at the monster's head.

Mjolnir cuts through the air like a bolt of light. Valkas watches the missile approach, unmoving. Feet from its head, a circular window opens, and Mjolnir vanishes into it. The portal closes again, and the air is quiet.

"What?" Thor resounds. "Trickery! No matter, I've strength to spare!"

Recklessly, Thor charges the monstrosity midair. Kamala's heart jumps in her chest.

Fist first, Thor crashes into a glistening blue barrier that emerges into existence around the machine. He pushes against it, but it doesn't yield.

"Gah!" he cries, wailing at it with his fists, but to no avail.

Valkas, for its part, eyes him curiously, its tail writhing through the air in passing interest.

Monica beams.

There's a crash as the river explodes behind Valkas. A green form emerges from the wash as Hulk slams down onto the platform. Without hesitation, he charges the monster, hurling himself at its body.

He too crashes into the invisible barrier. He falls to his back with a bang, briefly stunned. Valkas eyes him now, cocking its head in curiosity.

Hulk kicks his feet into the air and lands on them. He sneers at the machine, and then grabs a nearby crate, hurling it with awesome force to explode against the barrier.

That seems to alarm Valkas. The red along its belly flares, lines creeping up its neck to its jawline. An electric hum fills the air with such sharpness it hurts Kamala's ears.

Ignoring this, Hulk continues to hurl crates at the thing as fast as he can grab them. Thor is attempting to grab at the intractable substance of the shield, but having little luck. He gathers his strength, and lightning flashes in his right hand. He delivers a heavy blow into the shield that causes a blinding but instantaneous flash.

Valkas glances sharply at him, and then Hulk, lifting a fallen dreadbot, hurls the thing at Valkas' shield from behind.

The dead mech bounces off of the shield in pieces. This time, there is an electric hiss, and Valkas' powerful tail whips outward, swatting Hulk dozens of feet away through the air.

"Guys," says Black Widow, "this is no kind of plan."

"Plan," scoffs MODOK spitefully.

"Jarvis," says Iron Man, "this thing, I'm picking up…"

"I'm with you, sir. Its systems are impenetrable to me, but judging from its animation, and its emergent behaviors-"

"Steve," says Tony, retracting his mask plate, "this thing… it's alive."

As Tony's words sink in, a rare anger breaches Captain America's expression. "You put nuclear weaponry in the hands of an AI?"

Monica only beams up at her creation. "We gave Valkas more than that. We gave her our hope." She turns to Steve. "So what will it be? Will you take my word for it for once, and call off your dogs? Or will you throw in your lot with insipid valor one last time?"

Kamala looks up at Captain America expectantly.

"Steve…" says Black Widow, shaking her head. Kamala doesn't blame her. This thing seems crazy powerful.

Steve's eyes pass from Natasha's back to Monica. "Avengers…" he begins, pulling his shield taut on his forearm, "bring it down."

Monica only scoffs and shakes her head.

For his part, MODOK's lips spread into an evil grin. "Told you," he says to Monica.

Without further flourish, his jets lift his seat high into the air over the battle.

"Kamala, stay with Natasha and keep her safe," says Steve, marching smartly toward the behemoth, "Clint, Kate, that shield has a weak point. Find it."

"On it," they reply simultaneously over comms.

Kamala drops into her combat stance next to Nat, balling her fists. "Your lead!"

At the same time, their eyes drift up the catwalks toward the fusion plant. They are still filled with synthoids and adaptoids, but none of them move. They stand like attendees at the coliseum, looking on with uncanny, lifeless eyes.

"I don't like that," says Black Widow.

"Me either," Kamala admits.

"You're wasting your time," says Monica. She stands watching them all with her arms crossed, looking annoyed but unperturbed.

"We'll be back for you, Rappaccini," says Black Widow.

"The least of your worries," says Monica. "Trust me."

---

Iron Man takes another hard bank around Valkas' left side. Several quinjets hover a few hundred feet above the monster, keeping a safe distance. He doesn't blame them.

"Big Guy, you think you can keep its attention a little longer?" Tony asks.

Hulk roars in response.

"I meant the other Big Guy in this case, but… yeah."

Hulk charges Valkas' front yet again, crashing into the impenetrable shield around it.

Valkas retreats a few feet, it's neck craned downward to observe the green menace, but it's unclear if it has anything to do with the force of Hulk's charge.

Iron Man fully amps his lasers and unleashes a 3.5 second barrage covering much of Valkas' right side.

It doesn't find a weakness or solicit as much as a hiss from the best, but its eyes do find him for a second.

"Fie, Ormr!" cries a familiar Scandinavian voice.

Valkas turns back to Thor just in time for a large hunk of debris to crash into the barrier by its face. This time it does hiss.

"So it's invincible," notes Iron Man, "but it doesn't like being threatened. Strange."

"Raaah!" Hulk roars, pounding the shield with his fists. "You! Fight! Hulk!"

Valkas regards him for a moment, then the red lights along its belly pulsate hotly. Points of angry light appear, then begin spewing dozens of streams of projectiles at a machine gun clip at Hulk.

"Gah!" Hulk steps back, attempting to swat away the bullets like a swarm of bees.

In the next moment, Captain is there, stepping in front of Hulk with his shield raised. Trusty as ever, it reflects a swath of bullets right back at the titanic mech, but they splash harmlessly against its shield.

Valkas stops firing, cocking its head at the phenomenon.

"Ah…" comes George's unnaturally deep but still whining voice, "stop playing with them, sweetheart."

MODOK's flying apparatus descends toward Valkas from above, seemingly passing through the barrier without issue. A smug smile dominates his huge face.

Seeming to expect this, Valkas crouches slightly as a port opens up on its back. MODOK's throne settles down into it, his thrusters sputtering out and machinery locking him into place. It seems designed for exactly that.

Purple light now traces the running lights of Valkas' chassis in thin, bright lines, through its belly and wings, to the tip of its tail, and up its neck until the purple light entwines with the aquamarine of its eyes.

A concussive sound vibrates throughout the canyon, like a leonine purr.

"It's time to get down to business," MODOK menaces.

Valkas' eyes snap to Thor, and it arcs its tail. Three points of blue light appear at the prongs, intensify, then drive together and through into a beam of energy that shrieks like lightning, cutting through the space into Thor's chest plate.

The heroic God is blasted out of the air and hurls into the canyon wall.

"Thor!" shouts Tony. He can take a hit, but there was serious power behind that attack.

"Hey!" shout's Clint's familiar voice.

Valkas turns as explosive arrow tips began detonating all over its shield to the left side. Tony catches glimpses of purple darting between the stacks of crates down on the platform. Skirmish tactics, good call.

"Such irksome-hah!" MODOK cries as Valkas' neck coils and strikes, blasting whole stacks of crates apart as the Hawkeyes evade. "Persistence-geh! In the face-yah! Of hopelessness!"

"Thor, are you alright?" asks Steve.

With magnified vision, Tony sees Thor pulling himself out of a shallow hole in the canyon wall.

"I am hale…" he pants. "Still, the beast is formidable…"

Concealing his relief, Tony speaks to comms. "Jarvis, Georgie had no problem getting past the shield-any insight?"

"In fact, yes. I have been relentlessly scanning the sudden threat. It seems the shield will not permit certain types of radiation, allowing me to-"

"Map it, yeah," says Iron Man, ducking under the many-ton tail as it whips through the air idly, "did the shield open for him?"

"Actually, for reasons beyond me yet, there appears to be a persistent opening that orbits the machinery's frame."

"That's what we like to hear," says Cap, rolling out of the way of debris as crates smash all over the platform below. "Tony, can you do something with that?"

At peril to my life, sure, no prob, Cap.

"You know it." Tony guns it, arcing high into the air over the beast. "Jarvis."

"On your HUD now, sir."

"Indeed, an overlay appears before Iron Man's eyes. Valkas' shield is visible as a bubble perhaps two hundred feet in diameter. A roughly circular hole appears in it, about twelve feet wide, slowly orbiting its body. In about three or four seconds, it will be in front of him.

"And once more with feeling…" he says, gritting his teeth as he loads his laser capacitors to the brim.

The moment arrives and as the hole passes between Iron Man and Valkas' back, he unloads a full torrent of energy down into the bands of its spine.

This, finally, provokes a strong reaction.

An ear-piercing modulated wail sounds from the creature as its head snaps back in alarm. MODOK similarly cries out in dismay. Their eyes both find Iron Man above them at the same time.

"Uh oh," he says.

The band of intense red energy from its belly runs up its neck and channels into the plates along its jaw until they shimmer with heat, then a conical torrent of plasma explodes through the air in his direction.

A full reverse swan dive with quarter turn and maxed out thrust allows him to skate the attack, only taking a searing dose of heat that he can feel through the suit on his skin all down his back and left side.

"Crap! That's no joke!"

He continues his aerial maneuvers as Valkas repositions and sends another volley at him, clearly displeased with his attack.

"Good work, Tony!" shouts Cap. "Keep him busy! It's small, but there is an opening, team!"

"You are all playing at this like children!" cries MODOK. "You have no idea what you're up against!"

Still without his weapon, Thor flies upward over Valkas. Half his red cape is torn to tatters, and the right shoulder band of his armor is damaged.

"Ah," says Tony, nervous, "Big Guy-blonde Big Guy, that is-" He dips under another gout of flame. "You can't see what I'm seeing here-"

"No matter," says Thor resolutely. "I do not need to see it, I need only know the weakness exists. My faith will guide me."

God, he's confounding.

Nonetheless, picking his timing by unknown means, Thor gathers up his body and hurls himself downward.

Miraculously, he passes right through the opening and slams into the side of the monster's head.

Valkas is clearly surprised, and attempts to shake Thor off, but he grips the monster firmly about the jaw, jerking its head back and forth.

"Worms!" cries MODOK. "Lay your hands off her!" He deploys multiple projectile firing mechanisms from his throne and begins firing at Thor, but they either miss wildly or hit the back of Valkas' neck.

"Jeez," says Iron Man, "still hate it, but at this rate-"

A new sound grabs Tony's attention, from a different direction.

He turns to see the Tobogawa fusion plant undergoing some dynamic transformation.

"Oh, come on."

The hedronic dome splits, and a long projection attached to heavy machinery emerges into view. It rotates on its gyros until it is pointing in their direction.

"Jarvis," says Tony, "what is that?"

"Well, sir, I would describe it broadly as a carrier-class railgun."

"Cripes, Steve, I'm gonna deal with that!"

"Actually, sir, I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"You wouldn't wor-wait, what?"

But it's too late by that point, as deafening crackles of awesome electric output are already snapping from the facility like kernels popping, as a bluish white light begins to illuminate the length of the weapon.

"George!" shrieks Monica, pointing to Tobogawa.

"Thor! Get back!" cries Tony.

"What?" the Scandinavian shouts just as Valkas finally succeeds in throwing him off of her and far outside the barrier.

Then there is a sonic boom powerful enough to shake Tony's entire body and knock him off his flight path.

The world is quiet for a second, he blinks twice, then redeploys his thrust and picks himself back up twenty feet before hitting the ground.

He looks up to see a meter-wide trace of pure energy dissipating in the air. It runs from the Tobogawa, through Valkas, and into the canyon wall. An angry, blue hole arcs electricity in Valkas' side, as the behemoth itself careens to the right and falls with a deafening crash onto the platform.

For a moment, Tony is treated to a look of real fear in Monica's eyes at her fallen pet.

"What was that about taking your word for it, Monica?" Iron Man taunts.

Her fear curdles into resentful anger. "Fools… you have no conception. You can't beat her, do you understand? You're only going to piss her off!"

"I'm sorry? 'Piss her off?'"

A strange light catches Tony's eye.

A powerful, crystal blue luminescence is emanating from the core of Valkas and encompassing its body. As it does, it's components begin to float upward from the ground, as if gravity is losing its effect on them. It doesn't match the profile of any electric or radiation phenomenon he's familiar with.

The effect continues until Valkas' form is floating high into the air of its own volition, without support from any thrusters or jets of any kind. A sizable hole can be seen in its side, with light showing from the other side, even, showing that it had been shot through.

Valkas' head and tail curl toward each other, until its jaw locks with the prongs of its tail. A band of the crystal blue light runs in a powerful line from the jaw, through the tail, around the body, and back down to its head again, forming a perfect circle. At that point, the red light in its chest turns blue as well, and the protective plates over it part row by row, revealing a cavity deep within, from which emanates the source of the eerie blue light, burning like a beacon.

"What is that?" calls Kate over comms.

"It must be its power source," says Clint.

"Tony!" calls Captain America. "What are you seeing?"

"Nothing I like," he replies, hovering a few hundred from the spectacle. "Jarvis?"

"Sir, these readings… they are consistent with what we saw in the future wasteland, beyond the storm."

"Tell me you're not saying what I think you are."

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Stark."

A spasm runs across Tony's face. He clenches and unclenches his right hand. He spies Monica below him, looking on with unveiled wonder.

He cuts his thrusters and lands on the platform a few feet from her with a boom. He stands, retracts his face plate, and yells at Monica's face.

"You gave the Cosmic Cube to an AI?!"

Monica snarls. "I won't be questioned by the likes of you!"

A high-frequency hum fills the air, drowning out other sounds. Tony looks up to see the wound in Valkas' side glowing a bright blue. The light pulsates, shrinks, then recedes to reveal the behemoth's chassis restored to pristine condition.

The hum recedes, and Valkas' head breaks connection with its tail, the ring of blue light fading. Its levitation subsides, and it drops back to the platform below on graceful feet, causing only a dull boom. It's running lights flare all along its body as it cranes its neck and issues an undulating roar of challenge.

"Team," says Captain America, "this just got a lot more complicated."

"You!" Monica shouts to the legion of robots behind her. She gestures to the Tobogawa plant. "Get in there and destroy whoever was responsible for that!"

As one, the robotic army salutes their Scientist Supreme, and turns to charge up the stairs toward the plant.

---

It's at this point that Ellie realizes she might be fucked.

As soon as the legion of synthoids starts moving in her direction, the console controlling the massive gun she was helping Jarvis to operate begins lighting up with purple electricity. An arc burns her hand and she pulls away. She curses as she shakes her stung hand. She might still need that pikAx to get out of here. Gritting her teeth, she grabs the device and yanks it free.

"Miss Coulsen," she hears in her earpiece, "I believe expeditious retreat is now your best course."

She doesn't know what expeditious means, but she's already moving. She runs past the bodies of the two unconscious guards she'd brought down on the way in. The huge dome housing the weapon is now open to the sky, now glowing with pre-dawn light. Her feet bang on the grating comprising the wide walkway around the weapon and toward the door she entered from.

"Fool!"

The many screens hanging along the walls come to life, and that… thing appears in them, his monstrously oversized face sneering.

"You're going to pay dearly for that!"

She jumps down the short stairway to the door, but right before she gets to it, the panel next to it glows purple as well, and it slams shut in front of her.

"Don't even think of fleeing!" booms the voice.

"Shit!" she curses. She knew she was asking for it this time. But she's not out of options yet.

She lunges back up the stairs and looks up. The opening at the top of the dome is probably less than fifty feet above her. She shoots a grapple into it. It sticks, and she starts the ascender.

The momentum hurls her high enough through the opening to grab the lip of the dome outside. With some effort, she hauls her torso on top.

The dome curves away precipitously in front of her.

Shit. That's pretty scary.

She hears a door open and footfalls below her. She glances down to see a handful of adaptoids in the chamber below. They look up, spotting her, and begin firing at her with wrist-mounted plasma weapons.

She tucks and rolls over the lip, letting gravity slide her down the dome. The hedronic architecture of the dome bounces her back and forth until she hits one lip hard enough to clear the remaining slope entirely. Her feet flail in the air for a second until she lands hard on a catwalk and manages to roll into a crouch.

"Miss Coulsen-"

"Target on upper walks, West side." She hears the voices below her, but not far. "Engage with prejudice."

No time to lose.

Ellie bolts, running along catwalks and looking for a way down. She got here by ziplining one of the huge power cables, she hasn't even been on the 'ground' floor yet. She looks over a railing.

Catwalks criss-cross at all levels of the massive building. taking the stairs one at a time would take forever, time she doesn't have. She grits her teeth, vaults the railing, looks down, and drops.

She lands on the floor below with a small bang. Alright, just five or six more floors to go.

"Target acquired."

She jerks her head toward the sound instinctively. Two synthoids begin firing their blue energy weapons at her, striking her in the leg and shoulder. The threaded leather absorbs most of it, but it still stings.

These railings offer no cover at all. She can't stop moving. And she doesn't need her eyes to see.

She sprints fifteen feet or so down, seeing another opportunity. She vaults the rail and gets ready to drop.

"Crap, it's charging up!"

It's Kamala, and Ellie's breath catches just as she falls. She lands awkwardly just in time to sense two synthoids running right at her.

They stop a few feet away, clearly surprised, then they aim their weapons.

She sprints at the first one and kicks it brutally between the legs. This of course has no effect other than to make it stumble and miss its shot. The other fires wide around its companion.

She locks the first one's arm and uses her torso to slam its face into the railing next to it. Having stunned it, she throws it the other way, dumping it over the opposite rail.

The remaining synthoid swings at her but she ducks it easily. She slugs it in the jaw and gut, following it up with an elbow. Then she senses the new threat behind her.

The elite synthoid sends a vertical red plasma beam her way, and she has just enough time to grab the synthoid in front of her and turn it so it takes the brunt of the blow. She draws her nine millimeter, and using the stunned synthoid as cover, unloads half a clip into the elite.

Prepared, the elite's shield deflects the bullets effortlessly. It charges its lasers again, this time bringing both arms together in an inward sweep of severing laser.

Ellie ducks, then regains her feet to see the head of her humanoid cover roll off its shoulders.

Shit, that would have been her.

She tosses the useless synthoid to the ground and jumps the railing without thinking. But the next railing down is not underneath her, and her eyes widen as she realizes she's about to fall a lot farther than she bargained for.

She frantically shoots her grapple, embedding it in a large pipe. The line catches on a crossbeam, and her downward momentum is transferred violently to the side.

She finds herself hurling through the air right at a synthoid. Its cyclopic eye begins to glow in preparation for an attack.

Ellie tucks into a cannonball shape, striking the huge robot directly in the chest. The force is enough to send it toppling over the railing behind it and falling through the air.

Disoriented, she staggers to her feet on the catwalk to see the four synthoid that were standing behind the adaptoid.

"God damn it!" she curses, grabbing the lead synthoid's arm as it goes to blast her, pulling it close to her.

The others begin shooting her new shield in the back, and she yanks what she hopes is a concussion grenade from her belt. She hurls it at the chest of the unit in the back.

The grenade explodes in force, sending the others tumbling and almost knocking her over despite her shield. She pushes back against the synthoid she's holding, then headbutts it mightily. It falls backward, knocking the last synthoid to the ground.

She sprints right over the stunned enemies to another opportunity, jumps the railing and this time drops straight down the twelve feet to the railing below her. Her side slams into the side, but she sticks it with her feet.

Looking down, there's a concrete platform at the base of the building below her. An angled girder connects to it. She runs a few feet, vaults the last railing and grinds down the rim of the girder with the hardened arch of her boot, tumbling to the concrete back to her feet painfully.

Now what?

A long, corrugated metal building with a roll up door faces her. The word 'garage' is spray painted on the door.

"Jarvis, can you…?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Ellie runs for the door, crouches, and pulls. Miraculously, it slides right open.

The inside is empty but for rows of workbenches strewn with tools and oil cans, and gleaming rows of strange looking vehicles.

"Whoa…"

She doesn't even know where to start. She was hoping for a-

One of the contraptions catches her eye. She goes for it.

It's a small vehicle clearly designed for one rider. Shaped somewhat like a motorcycle, except instead of wheels it has two huge circular contraptions parallel to the ground.

The sounds of countless feet racing overhead echo into the room.

"Jarvis, really counting on you for this one, buddy." Seeing nowhere for the pikAx to interface, Ellie jams her knife into the frontal control plate and pries it loose.

"I have you, Ms. Coulsen. There, that red adapter will do."

With nervous fingers, Ellie struggles with the red plug, but manages to pull it from the faceplate of the device, and connects it with the corresponding plug on her pikAx. Almost instantly, the bike vibrates underneath her, its running lights coming on.

"Now," says Jarvis, "as far as the operation-"

"It's like a Harley, right?" asks Ellie.

"Ah, well, I suppose-let's go with 'yes.'"

Ellie grabs the handle bars. Like a motorcycle, they can be rotated. She twists the right grip, and the entire machine rumbles under her as a roar emits from the rear of the vehicle, thrusting her forward slightly and filling the garage with a flash of light from behind.

With a clamor, four synthoids appear in the entrance to the garage, setting eyes on her.

Instinctively, Ellie twists the throttle and pulls forward, turning just in front of them until the rear of the bike is facing their way, giving the right grip a heavy twist.

There's a boom and a huge gout-Ellie can feel the heat on her back, it's really satisfying-as she completes the 360, she sees the force of the engine has flattened all the synthoids onto their backs. She opens the throttle again and almost loses her seat as she shoots out of the garage.

"Target is mobile!"

Her eyes dart about. The platform is wide, but she doesn't imagine going up the man-stairs connecting them to other platforms. She-

Like a swarm of wasps, buzzing fills the air as a hail of plasma fire rains down on her from the catwalks above.

She curses and ducks tight against the body of the bike, swerving back and forth to avoid fire like Nat taught her. This is fucked, she's got to-

She senses the railing a second before she barrels into it, ripping it apart and plunging into the void below.

"Left pedal," says Jarvis urgently, "left pedal!"

Ellie finds it with ehr foot and presses it. The rumble of the engine turns into a roar as she senses the thrusters on the bottom of the hovering vehicle flare just before she hits the rapids below her.

there's a torrential explosion of water and mist. Ellie tenses up, waiting to be engulfed, but it doesn't happen.

The bike actually pushes back off of the water before dropping again and hitting with another splash.

"Forward, Ms. Coulsen, forward!"

Beginning to sink, Ellie hits the throttle again and the bike rises above the water as she shoots forward. She's skimming the water.

Eyes wide, she takes in this awesome turn of events, then gets her bearings.

She's beneath all the platforms suspended above the river. The river is relatively wide and smooth across the surface, but it makes its power known in how it blasts over many support beams upholding the structure, causing white sprays of water. It's dim, much of the light blocked, but she can see through the grating and the gaps between the platforms.

There's another unworldly shriek as that… massive creature contends with the Avengers.

With her friends.

She opens the throttle and the bike jets across the rapids upstream, toward the fight.

The chatter is pretty frantic on comms.

"Monica's right," says Kamala, "she seems pissed!"

"Keep it steady, team!" says Natasha. "Any chance of another shot from the Tobogawa?"

"None, I'm afraid. MODOK has locked it down."

"We don't need it!" says Steve. "We just need to take it offline before it gets another chance to repair."

"Easier said than done," says Tony.

"I could do it with a few stout blows of Mjolnir," says Thor.

"What Mjolnir?" Tony asks.

"Eh…" Thor grunts.

Ellie braces herself as the bike bumps up and down over the rapids, gaining a few feet of air then crashing back down again. A hundred feet in front of her, one of the platforms has collapsed and is hanging down into the water. She guns for it, then slows on the approach.

She guides the bike's front over the metal, which squeals under its weight. She twists the throttle again, and succeeds in climbing the ramp and landing on the flat of the central platform. She pulls the bike up sideways, and when she sees the scene in front of her, she sucks in a breath.

Valkas sure looked smaller from farther away.

The draconic machine towers over the platform. Ellie can see the metal bending subtly under its weight. It moves with much more animation, now, its tail whipping through the air like an angry cat's.

A flare darts through the air, and Ellie recognizes Iron Man. He seems to make Valkas particularly angry. Its jaw grows red and sends a series of blinding gouts of flame into the air, so powerful that Ellie can feel the heat on her face even from this distance.

"Can't dodge these forever, guys!" shouts Tony.

Hulk roars through the comms, and Ellie can see that he's attached himself to Valkas' leg, pounding on it with his fist.

Valkas turns to him and lifts its leg as if in annoyance. It kicks, trying to dislodge him.

"Team," says Jarvis, "when it took the hit from the railgun, its shield did drop. I believe a strong enough blow will lower its defenses temporarily."

"We can work with that!" says Steve.

"That will be my moment," says Thor.

"To do what?" asks Nat.

"You will see. I'll be in position. Pray give me an opening."

"Hulk smash! Hulk-"

But at that moment, Valkas finally succeeds in kicking Hulk off, and he hurls dozens of feet, bouncing off the platform. Ouch.

"Clint, get Hulk past that shield again," says Steve. "If anyone can stun this thing, it's him. Then we go in."

"You got it, Cap," says Clint, "except I'm gonna need a little help."

Ellie sees movement out of the corner of her eye, and is shocked to see Clint looking right at her. He beckons sharply with his head.

She's not supposed to be here, and she feels a wave of apprehension, but she turns the throttle anyway, pulling up near him.

"Didn't see you on the roster today," he says, shooting no less than three arrows at the beast as he speaks.

"I-"

"Doesn't matter, we need you. Katie, you heard Cap. You're with Ellie."

"You got it!"

Kate, who'd been loosing arrows of her own from behind the cover of a few crates, doesn't even glance at Ellie as she runs over and hops onto the back of the bike, grabbing Ellie's shoulder for support. They make brief eye contact.

"Well?" says Kate, "this isn't a picnic. Get me to the Hulk!"

There's nothing else for it, and Ellie guns it.

Valkas roars again, and Ellie feels the fear right down in her gut. Its tail whips by overhead, this time it's close enough that Ellie can hear the whooshing of air.

"Clint?" comes Nat's voice over comms, causing Ellie's stomach to tighten. "Clint, was that Ellie?"

"Don't know," says Clint, grunting from some exertion, "didn't get a good look."

No time to think about that now. Hulk's a ways off, but he's hard to miss. He's recovered from the last hit and he seems pretty ticked about it. He roars at the titanic creature.

The hover bike has substantial drift, but Ellie's got grips on it enough to weave in through the countless destroyed cargo crates strewn about. She just prays they escape the monster's notice.

Ellie pulls the bike up sideways to hard stop ten feet from the Hulk. He glowers at them.

"Easy, Big Guy," says Kate, jumping off the bike. "I'm gonna get you past that shield. Remember the purple light?"

Hulk frowns, then nods sharply.

Ellie's eyes are scanning about desperately. Somehow the Avengers aren't panicked, but to her, this is chaos. She has to find Kamala. She has to make sure she's safe.

"When you see that light," says Kate, "follow it right through, okay?"

Hulk nods with a grunt.

"Thor," says Kate, "I think this is the moment you were asking for."

The warrior God lands on the platform near Valkas, his torn red cape fluttering. He raises his hand heroically to the sky. "I am ready."

"Go, Hulk!" shouts Kate.

Hulk leans forward and breaks into a sprint so powerful he leaves indentations in the metal where his feet were.

"Ms. Bishop," says Jarvis, "I trust you are getting my feed of the shield's weak spot?"

"I sure hope I am!" says Kate, taking careful aim. The arrow's tip glows a brilliant purple.

Hulk's feet thunder across the platform like a one-man stampede. He's getting close.

The sound catches Valkas' attention, turning its massive head away from Iron Man for a moment.

"Any time, Katy!" shouts Clint.

"Now!" she shouts, loosing her arrow.

The missile leaves a brilliant purple tracer line in its arc, flying over Hulk's head and embedding itself in Valkas' snout with a bang and a flash.

Valkas retracts its head at the small impact. That's when Hulk leaps.

He takes off from the platform like an explosion, following the arc of the arrow. He flies through the air right past the shield's perimeter, and arching his entire body, slams both his fists down onto Valkas' nose.

The impact sends its head careening, its neck bending the other way. It stumbles, almost losing its feet.

"The shield is lowered!" says Jarvis.

"Allfather wills it," says Thor, still gesturing to the sky. A burning light appears in the distance.

Valkas' tail flits through the air, helping it recover its balance. The red along its belly surges. It turns back toward them, spying Thor. The red energy moves up its neck into its jaw, and just before it unleashes a torrent of fire at the God of Thunder, a meteor roars into the canyon.

The fireball crashes into Valkas' back with such force that the beast is taken off its feet entirely, its body causing a cacophony as the force of the meteor drives it along the platform toward Thor.

Unfazed, the God stands with his outstretched hand until the meteor dislodges from the behemoth and flies right into Thor's hand.

Astonished at the display, Ellie recognizes the hammer he had offered her the day she met him on the Chimera. It glows bright orange with heat from its precipitous fall, but if it burns Thor's hand, he shows no sign.

Without hesitation, he leaps into the air over the fallen machine, swinging a resounding blow into its cheek that sends its head tumbling in the other direction.

"No!" shrieks MODOK, "lay off your wicked hands from her!"

Thor doesn't relent for an instant, leaping after Valkas' head and slamming her with another blow. The lights in her eyes flicker and distort with the hits.

Thor jumps even higher in the air over her head, this time bringing both hands together on the hammer's shaft. Lightning jumps from his body, arms, and Mjolnir's head, and he falls to deliver the devastating blow.

As he does, Valkas' eye recovers its lucidity, and suddenly, a blinding blue light emanates from its entire frame.

Thor is pushed backward by the force, tumbling onto the platform behind him.

"I don't know what this is," says Tony, "but it's not good!"

Valkas' entire body begins to levitate, like before. Unlike before, the eerie blue light is getting brighter, and brighter.

"It's preparing to use its primary weapon!" shouts Steve.

"Take cover!" shouts Nat.

"We don't even know if we can!" says Tony.

But it's too late to try, because then a vibrating hum fills the canyon to its walls, and Valkas explodes in light.

Ellie instinctively covers her face with both her arms, expecting an explosion or a shock of some kind, but nothing follows but quiet.

She blinks.

"What…?" says Kamala.

"Steve!" says Nat, and it's the first time Ellie has heard fear in her voice. "The dam!"

Ellie turns around to look at the Hoover Dam behind her, and it takes her a second to realize that it's gone.

Instead, a three hundred foot high wall of bluish green water stands rippling. A cascade of white begins at its base, then spreads to the top, followed by a rush and a roar so deafening that it obliterates all other sound.

The water is coming. You don't survive something like that.

Kamala. She has to get to Kamala.

In an instant, she turns and spies her two hundred feet down river, next to the Hulk. Both of them gape open-mouthed at the awesome spectacle.

Ellie opens the throttle all the way, leaning deep into the seat to stay on the bike. She doesn't know if this thing can outrun a million tons of water, but she has to try.

The colossal boom of the falling reservoir is so deafening at this point that comms are useless. Ellie can only see.

Kamala's eyes snap to her as Ellie makes her way toward them, then Hulk notices her, too. He glances between her and Kamala, and resolve appears on his face. As Ellie nears, he grabs Kamala by her collar and the seat of her pants, much to her shock, and hurls her through the air toward Ellie.

Ellie hits the brakes hard and Kamala, flailing, manages to stretch her hands out to grab Ellie's shoulders and land on the back of the bike. She secures her grip over Ellie's collarbone.

"Hulk!" Ellie can barely hear her shout in her ear.

This bike is powerful, but it can't carry the three of them, and one look at Hulk's face tells Ellie he knows that perfectly well.

He swings his powerful arm. "Go!" she reads from his lips.

Ellie guns it.

Screams of twisting metal join the tumult now as the platform structure over the river is ripped wholesale from its seat in the face of the flood. Ellie catches a glimpse of Valkas taking flight in her upper peripheral. She pulls the throttle back to its maximum.

She senses Hulk traveling alongside them in incredible leaps, but fast as he is, he's falling behind.

Ellie glances over her shoulder. What had started as water is now a wall of foam, rock, concrete and steel as the river engulfs and uproots all obstacles before it.

Ellie sees Hulk's last landing before it's obvious he's to be overtaken by the torrent. He leaps phenomenally into the air, at least fifty feet, before glancing behind him at the tide. He has enough to give them one last look, his face unreadable, before he protects his head with his hands. The torrent overtakes him, and he's gone.

"Hulk!" Kamala shrieks.

Ellie looks forward, she can't hesitate for an instant.

The bike is fast, but it's not enough. They have to get out of the path. they have to get high, somehow, higher than the canyon walls, or there's no hope.

The platform warps underneath her, the river buckling it from behind. the path in front of her arcs toward the sky. This is the end of the road.

Ellie twists the throttle back through a layer of resistance until it clicks into a final position, and the bike tears at her hands like it wants to get away from her. Kamala clutches her fiercely, her hands clutching Ellie's chest, head tucked into her shoulders and hair whipping her neck.

They shoot up the make-shift ramp like a rocket, past the last fifty feet, and then hurl into open air.

Ellie depresses the left pedal again, but this is a hoverbike, not a rocket. Time for her last play.

She secures Kamala's hands against her with her left hand. She pushes off hard from the bike, and it falls away beneath them into the void. She aims up with her right arm, and fires her grapple. Then, she squeezes her eyes shut and prays to God as an explosion of water overtakes them.

Water buffets her legs, sides, face and ears, and for a second it grows quieter, then there's a yank on her arm so strong it almost pulls it out of the socket.

Next she knows, the water recedes beneath her while the roar resumes, and she can only tell that they're hurtling through the air at alarming speed, the wind pulling her wet hair out of her face.

She looks up, and the spindly line of her grapple found its mark. They're hanging from Valkas' hindquarters as it drifts through the air like a creature out of myth, seemingly unaware of them.

She looks over her shoulder. Kamala's cheek is pressed hard against her back, but she can see the upper half of her face. Her eyes reflect how Ellie feels, wide as dinner plates, staring at what they're anchored to. She meets Ellie's eyes for just a second, then they look down at the same time.

The flood slowly recedes beneath them as they gain altitude, but it is still louder than the wind in Ellie's ears. It's crashing its way through the canyon below them. As the canyon winds, the water strikes it with such force that geysers shoot hundreds of feet into the air, along with huge chunks of red rock. The flood is going to cause untold destruction.

As for them, down is not an option. Ellie meets Kamala's eyes again, and they seem to share a thought.

It's insane, but there's only one thing to do. Ellie starts the ascender.

They reach the anchor, ending up at the base of Valkas' right leg, where it meets the body. There are wide enough ridges in the metal for them to hold onto. Kamala actually lets go of Ellie and gets her own hand and footholds. They aren't moving at incredible speeds, but the wind buffets Ellie from the right. She looks up to see Valkas' two sets of wings undulating slowly as the beast drifts along. What the hell do they do from here?

Kamala's limbs elongate as she rises up Valkas' side. She peers up its spine toward its head. She glances down, deep concern obvious on her face. She glances thoughtfully back up Valkas' spine. Then, he grimaces with resolve, and looks at Ellie.

Ellie can't hear her at all, but she can read her lips. 'We have to get up there!'

'What?!' Ellie replies.

'Trust me!'

Of all things, that freezes Ellie's mind. Kamala holds out her hand.

A powerful feeling swells in Ellie's chest, and she finds herself taking Kamala's hand.

With completely unexpected strength, Kamala pulls Ellie's entire body into the air, Ellie finds herself landing on Valkas' broad wing. She skids for a heart-stopping second, then gets her footing.

She senses rather than hears Kamala jumping up and landing next to her.

Valkas' head appears at the end of its long neck, turning slightly so that it can see them. Then, the huge mechanical projection in its back rotates as well, and the face of that hideous man is staring right at them.

Every muscle on his face contorts with contempt. "Agh! Like rats from a flooding sewer!" His voice is greatly amplified. "You haven't seen enough? You're greater fools than I thought if you think you can still do anything to stop this! Valkas-"

He seems to think better of it. "No," an ugly smile appears on the corner of his lips, "on second thought, I'll do this myself."

There are pneumatic bursts of vapor as heavy mechanisms release, and the thing that calls itself MODOK rises from its seat at the base of Valkas' neck. The jets under his chair lift him in the air slowly toward them.

"We warned you, Avengers, that this was beyond your resources."

"You have to fix this!" Kamala shouts into the wind, pointing to the devastation below them.

"I don't have to do anything you tell me, girl. And fix it? That?" MODOK laughs. "Good luck. Consider this a warning. Valkas will not be opposed, and she fights with me."

"Thousands could die!" Kamala continues.

"And thousands more would," bellows MODOK, suddenly filled with wrath, "if we let you have your way! You have no conception of safety! You vainly seek to rescue, you don't know what it takes to protect. Now, with both the Cube and its steward, this world will finally be safe."

"That's what happened to you, isn't it!" Kamala cries.

He frowns at her.

"Your face," says Kamala, "you tried to use the Cube for yourself, didn't you?"

Inexplicably, he breaks into a nasty grin. His tiny hand traces his scarred jawline. "Progress has its price," he replies.

His eyes drift from Kamala toward Ellie, and his smile fades. His massive brow knits. "You!" His eyes go wide. "I know you! You hurt her!"

Prehensile arms and coiling apparati appear from MODOK's mechanical seat, making a chorus of whirring sounds like a basket of angry snakes.

"You hurt her, and for that you will pay!"

A powerful glow emanates from the tip of one of the serpentine cables, and Ellie dives instinctively right as a purple beam of energy tears through the air behind her.

Ellie slides a bit before rolling to her feet. The wing they're on is broad and relatively level, but it's smooth and Ellie has to rely on her boots' tread to grip. This is about the last place she'd pick for a fight.

Snarling, MODOK advances on her, robotic arms leading to blades and pincers snapping in the air.

Kamala growls and unleashes a series of punches from her elongated arms, but they bounce off of a purple field that comes into view with each hit.

He looks at her. "Please! You don't have the firepower!"

Ellie surveys their opponent. She has no idea what he's capable of, but his chair seems to be a mass of armaments. The shield surrounds the whole thing, except the very bottom and where the mechanical arms reach through it. The power coursing through the thing… it's utilizing heavy duty electricity. And all of the power channels eventually seem to pass through one place-that massive, purple gem in his forehead. In her second sight, it lights up like a beacon.

Kamala jumps a scything blade, only to be struck in the belly by an electric appendage. "Ugh!" she grunts, falling on her back on the wing. She spins around and flails for a hand hold to keep from sliding off. MODOK laughs.

Ellie bares her teeth, pulling out her Desert Eagle. She braces her feet flat against the metal underneath her-a stumble now could mean death-and unloads three rounds into the monster's shield.

He scowls her way, half in boredom. "A little better, but not much."

One of the arms with some kind of weapon on the end trains on her, and begins discharging bursts of purple laser.

Time crawls for a second. Ellie leans out of the way of the first one, then tucks and somersaults under the next one.

MODOK's interest climbs slightly, and he drifts toward Ellie. "I've not seen you before… For a new recruit," the bladed arms snap at her, forcing Ellie to back up, then run and jump a gap from the rear of the wing to the base of Valkas' tail, "you're a bit of an overachiever."

Ellie can't imagine breaking that shield, but the base of the chair seems exposed. She can see electricity coursing down there, but it's also bristling with those powerful jets. If she could get close, maybe she could try something…

MODOK drifts suddenly into Ellie's path, leaving only the narrow tail behind her. Her hair stands on end. She has nowhere to run.

"I can't help but imagine how you even got up here…" he begins. "I-agh!"

His throne bobs as some assault lands against his back. He bares his teeth and whirls.

Kamala's back on her feet, bouncing in a confident fighting stance. "Come on, George! I know you remember me!"

"If only I could forget."

Bladed arms strike at Kamala like snakes. She dodges a couple, backing up for space. Then her arm triples in size, stopping one cold, and then another. The rest of her body grows along with it, until she's at least twelve feet tall.

"You remember this, too?" Kamala asks, her voice more resonant.

MODOK grapples with her, but the odds have shifted. "With ire!" Cutting lasers shoot out from his mechanisms, crossing over Kamala's belly.

She winces in pain, but then yanks mightily, dragging MODOK's whole seat to the side, causing his jets to scramble to stabilize.

Four of his arms coil together, reassembling into a greater weapon. It glows bright white, then unleashes a powerful beam at Kamala.

Her entire body stretches then, almost to a crescent, weaving right around the deadly beam. Once it's over, she let's go with one hand, rears up her leg and gives him a massive boot right in his foreshield, causing him to wobble down Valkas' wing.

"How strong are those jets, George?" Kamala taunts. Right as he recovers, another boot crashes into him, sending him tumbling backward, half of him off of the wing, tipping precariously.

"Agh, wretch, you-"

Kamala is winding up for a kick to send him flying, but then a blue light snaps into existence, surrounding her. Her foot lifts off of the ground as she begins to float. "Whoa! What?!"

Valkas' eyes glow a bright aquamarine. It seems she's finally decided to intervene. MODOK begins laughing. "Yes, that's right!"

Ellie's heart accelerates, but she can't help Kamala from here. She has to shut this creep down.

With MODOK distracted, she creeps swiftly up the wing behind his chair.

"You should just drop her, girl!" says MODOK gleefully. "Perhaps she'll learn to fly!"

He's forgotten about her. Silently, she moves between two large gets, grabbing the lower lip of his chair. There's a panel in the center of the chassis. If she can reach that… She pulls a sticky grenade from her belt.

Valkas' eyes flare, and a vibrating hum cuts the air.

"What!" exclaims MODOK.

Suddenly, the entire apparatus turns, a metal projection striking the side of Ellie's head. Stunned, she falls onto her lower back. The charge falls from her hand, bouncing a few times and disappearing over the side of Valkas' wing.

"Oh, no you don't!" MODOK shouts. "I know what you're trying to do!"

He turns one of the purple jets in Ellie's direction. The plasma flares, sending a shock of fear through Ellie, but instead of intense heat, she feels only physical force, and she's sent tumbling end over end down the wing.

A desperate grasp as she clears the side of the platform allows her to hold onto the edge. Her feet kick empty air, and she dare not look down. She strains, trying to pull herself up, but it's hard enough even to hang on with Valkas moving.

"No, no I don't think so…" she hears MODOK's grainy voice, right before a shadow passes over her face. A metallic clang accompanies something violently pincering her neck, cutting off her air.

Her eyes go wide and her hands instinctively go to the metal device trapping her, but it supports her weight.

MODOK slowly lifts her in front of him as she chokes.

"I'd prefer to do this myself." Up close, his face is even more repulsive. It's covered with sores, and the dead, scarred flesh dominates the left side, the milky eye staring at her like the eye of Death. "Or perhaps you didn't think I took my name seriously?"

Ellie sputters. She feels herself turning red.

"Don't think I shy from it, either…" MODOK muses. "That old weakling. George. He would have. That's why I scorn the name, now. But I'm far stronger than him, in more than one way. And I'd kill many more than you, to protect what's important in this world…"

He's enjoying the pain he's causing her. It makes her think of David. It makes her feel sick.

He's pulled her closer to his awful face. She's within the barrier around him, she realizes.

"Heroes," he spits with contempt. "That's what you call yourselves. Renegades, and nothing more. If it were up to you, every weakling like George, every half-bred, low-minded scumling would be given more than their fair share. Like the inhumans."

Black presses at the edge of Ellie's vision. Her arms are weak, they can barely reach the clamp around her neck. But not all of her strength has fled.

His words are making it stronger. She keeps seeing Elliot in her mind.

"The inhumans are the perfect rubric. You cling to them, like a mother to her diseased infant, fighting tooth and nail to protect what simply needs to be let to die."

Her eyes are almost blind, but the gem shines like a floodlight to her second sight.

With a wordless snarl, she opens her mouth and releases the power.

A single bolt of energy rips from her chest into the center of the crystal on MODOK's headpiece. There's a shock and a flash, and the pressure disappears from her neck.

"Agh!" MODOK cries, his face contorting in pain as his instruments flail.

Ellie's body slams into the metal of Valkas' wing, sliding until her lower body hangs into the air again. She has barely the strength left to hold on with her upper body.

"What the hell was that!?" MODOK cries. "You're one of them, aren't you! I should have known! I-"

Both of them are distracted now as Valkas' form shifts in the air.

Kamala stands up by the base of Valkas' neck, no longer in her telekinetic grasp. The behemoth's head curls around to peer at her. Kamala seems to be talking to her.

"What? No!" cries MODOK. "Valkas, do not listen to her, she-"

MODOK's words are lost from a tremendous, electronic vibration emanating deep from within Valkas, as if in answer to Kamala.

The behemoth begins to turn upright in the air, rapidly making Ellie's grip untenable. Her eyes go wide, then she senses something below her.

She drops away from MODOK, falling twelve feet through the air and landing forcefully near the base of Valkas' tail, the metal ridges providing good grips for her hands and feet. Still weak from the strangulation, her left leg slips and her body dangles dangerously over the empty space, her right hand clutching fiercely.

The world spans out below her, they must be over a thousand feet in the air. The Colorado river tears down the red gorges of Nevada toward the lowlands like an aqua serpent.

"Valkas!" cries MODOK.

Kamala is hanging from Valkas' neck now on a lengthened arm, in front of her chest. A strange, sliding sound accompanies the plates of Valkas' chest parting.

"What are you doing!?" MODOK shouts over the wind. "You mustn't!"

As the outer plates part, an inner core of darker metal appears, and the concentric rings of that spin apart as well, and when it opens, the blue radiation from within is truly intense.

"Valkas, no!"

Kamal ignores him, glancing once more up at the watching eyes of Valkas above. The fear in her eyes is plain, but she grits her teeth, squeezes her eyes shut, then stretches her free arm into the heart of the brilliant blue light.

"Kamal-" Ellie begins, then there's a shock that resets her reality.

Everything is black for an instant, then the light and the wind come back. Ellie sucks in air. As her vision clears, she sees the endless, blue sky above her. Then she realizes she's in free fall.

Ellie turns over and sees nothing but the Nevada landscape beneath her, and shriek escapes her lungs.

She flails helplessly. She has nothing, nothing to help her in this situation. She's screwed. This is how she's going to die, she realizes.

Maedlyn's face flashes through her mind. Tears run from her eyes and are whipped away by the wind.

Then, suddenly she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns to see it's Kamala's, then follows it up the arm, at least twenty feet, to Kamala falling in the air above her.

A sharp force yanks Ellie, and a second later, she feels Kamala's other arm wrap around her, her body close.

Kamala turns her. Ellie must look terrified, but Kamala's face is surprisingly calm. She shouts something, but Ellie can't hear her at all over the wind. She shouts again.

'Hold onto me!'

Kamala holds her gaze until Ellie nods. Kamala pulls her, and it's Ellie's turn to wrap her arms around Kamala's neck.

They're hurtling through the air, toward the upper basin, not far from the canyon where the river roars. They're only a few hundred feet from the ground now.

Kamala smacks Ellie's arms hard. Ellie takes the message and squeezes Kamala tight.

The last hundred feet are disappearing awfully quick. Then, something incredible happens.

There's a huge shift under Ellie, and Kamala's torso grows in size many times over. Her limbs spread out wide, her flattened body catching lots of air, like… well, like a flying squirrel, really. Ellie can actually feel them slowing down.

Ellie laughs insanely, but fifteen feet from the ground, realizes they're still going to hit really hard.

"Shit!" says Kamala, then they slam into the earth.

Ellie's world is a mess of sunlight and dusty earth as her body is pummeled over and over again by the ground. Eventually, halfway through another roll, she runs out of momentum, and just flops down onto her belly.

Ellie wheezes, coughing as she sucks in dust. She tries to put her right arm under her, but it's too painful. She keeps coughing as she raises herself by her left arm. She spits into the earth. Some kind of explosions can be heard in the distance. "Kamala?" she calls, her voice dry.

She hears Kamala coughing too, through the red dust in the air. "Ellie? Where are you?"

Kamala's form appears through the cloud, and she rushes over to help Ellie, who's found her way to a crouch. "Are you alright?" Kamala asks.

Ellie looks at her. Kamala's hair is all messed up from all the… everything. There's dirt on her outfit and bruises on her face, but for the most part she looks okay.

"Are you?" Ellie asks.

Kamala frowns in confusion, looking herself over briefly. "I'm fine, what about you? Is your shoulder hurting you?"

It hurts like hell, but it's the last thing on Ellie's mind.

Tonight's going to be her last night. I'm sorry.

Ellie looks around. They survived the thousand foot fall, but that doesn't mean they're safe. What about…

Far away in the sky, Ellie spots a shadow against a cloud. It might be a bird of prey, if she didn't know better, but the tail and neck are too long. Kamala looks up and sees it, too.

"Is that…" Kamala starts.

Their suspicions are confirmed when an eerie blue light precedes a bright flash, and once it's gone, Valkas has disappeared from sight.

Ellie takes a few more labored breaths. It's gone. It's finally over. They're safe. Then she remembers the flood.

She gasps.

"What?" asks Kamala.

"The river!" says Ellie.

A strange expression comes over Kamala's face. Her eyes are wide, alert, but she's not alarmed. She looks over Ellie's shoulder and points.

When Ellie turns around, she finds the source of the explosions.

Maybe a mile or so away, down the canyon, three monolithic slabs of stone rise from the floor of the desert basin, and she's 99.9% sure they weren't there an hour ago.

Each one is bigger than the last, the third having to be at least five hundred feet tall. The Colorado river is crashing into the first one, causing much of the explosive sound. The water coalesces after that barrier to crash into the larger, second obstacle to similar effect. Finally, the water rushes against the third, but does not make it all the way around it. Even now, it's pooling, forming a new reservoir.

Tumult continues all through the canyon as the agitated water crashes into its sides, but the flood has effectively been halted.

"What the hell…?" is all Ellie manages to say.

"I'll tell you when we get back," says Kamala with a little smile.

"Kamala? Ellie?"

Ellie recognizes Nat's voice over comms with a twinge in her stomach, made stronger by the audible concern in her voice.

"Is that you two down there? Stay right where you are, we're coming to pick you up."

Ellie meets Kamala's eyes. "We made it."

Kamala is nonplussed for a second, then smiles. "Yeah. Yeah, I think we did Ellie."

Finally, finally, the relief floods in. Ellie sees Kamala's surprised expression for an instant before she wraps her left arm around Kamala and pulls her into a close embrace. Surprised at first, she feels Kamala return the hug warmly.

Fifteen feet away, Ellie senses Mephisto. He stands with his back to them, contempt on his lips as he picks at his nails with a dagger. For once, he says nothing, turning away and vanishing into shadows.