Chapter II: Kyliska ta Lekya
"Stop!" Samus' voice rang over the cries of battle. Ridley, Kraid, Iron Man, and Hawkeye all stopped their fighting at the sound of her voice. Ridley hissed as he struggled under the net from Hawkeye's net arrow.
"Samus!" Iron Man shouted in surprise as he saw her.
"She's real!?" Hawkeye exclaimed. Both Iron Man and Samus glared at him.
"Yes, I'm real," Samus said. God, Tony, it feels good to see you again. She thought. She swallowed hard, glad that her helmet hid her features. "But your Heart won't be for much longer," Samus said, recovering herself.
"What?" Iron Man asked puzzled.
"The Heart, someone is after the Vulcan's Heart!" Samus yelled, a little irritated.
"How do you know this?"
"I don't have time for this Iron Man!" Samus yelled. "If you don't go protect the Heart, lots of bad things are going to happen. You understand?"
"Perfectly," Iron Man said. "Good to see you too," he said over the roar of his boot jets and he took off towards the UN summit.
Sorry Tony. I really am. Samus thought. But this is business. She glared at Ridley and Kraid, and at the purple clad archer in front of her.
"All right Ridley," Samus said, walking towards the entwined beast. "Where are the rest of your cronies?" She leveled her gun arm at Ridley. Kraid roared.
"You stay right there," Hawkeye said, his arrow still trained on him. He glanced over his shoulder at Samus with a quizzical look.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Ridley hissed.
"Like hell you do," Samus said. "I have my arm cannon set to plasma, which is more than enough to fry you, and you know it. Now, why are you here?"
"Go to hell, Samus!" Ridley spat.
"I won't warn you again, Ridley," Samus said dryly.
Ridley paused. He muttered some curses to himself.
"Very well," he hissed. "But first, let me say this: we are not your enemies this time."
Iron Man flew as fast as he could towards the back of the building where the Heart was kept. He flew passed empty cars and deserted buildings under the starless night, the slim crescent moon and the bright city lights illuminating his way in a rapid blur. As he reached the back, Tony Stark flew through the wall of the building among shouts of startled people. I can pay the bill later Tony thought hurriedly.
He navigated through the narrow halls, knocking down any problematic walls that happened to be in his way, and eventually made it to where the Heart was stored – only to find Morin there. Morin stood there, dry washing his hands with his aged face cast downwards. His eyes were closed.
"Morin?" Iron Man asked. "Where is the Vulcan's Heart?"
Morin swallowed hard. After a long pause, he spoke.
"Gone," he choked. "It disappeared before our very eyes. One moment, it was the center of attention, the next it was gone. Into thin air. If I hadn't been in the room, at the time, I would have scoffed at the very notion." Iron Man walked up to the now uncovered cart for his invention. It was empty. "I only know what myself, and everyone else, saw happen. I cannot explain it." Tony grabbed the cloth, twisted it, and ripped it apart wordlessly.
"There is nothing you could have done Morin. Was anything else taken?" Iron Man said. Morin shook his head. Iron Man, then, proceeded to walk towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Morin asked weakly.
"To get my Heart back," Iron Man said.
"Godspeed, then," Morin said. Iron Man nodded and walked out into the night air and screamed at the top of his lungs. He banged a metal fist against a wall, leaving a good-sized chunk in the stone.
"Damn it!" Tony said. "Figures that I come up with an invention that changes the world, and someone has to go and steal it. And then Samus shows up." He paused. "What are you going to get me into this time Samus," Iron Man whispered to himself. He then kicked his boot jets into gear, and flew back to where Samus and the others were.
One thing is for certain, Iron Man thought; it is good to see her again.
"How can I trust you?" Samus asked Ridley.
"You have to," he hissed as he dragged himself out of the remnants of the net. Samus' gun arm was still trained on him, though it was only set on the ice beam this time. "It is in both of our best interests."
"It's gone," Iron Man said as he landed next to Samus.
"Then we were too late," Samus winced underneath her helmet.
"I told you, bounty hunter," Ridley said.
"Then we should ask the two stooges here if they had anything to do with it," Iron Man growled, pointing his repulsers at Kraid. Samus lowered her gun arm, and Hawkeye had long since taken to leaning on his bow. Kraid just stood there, staring down at the lot.
"As much as it pains me to say this Iron Man," Samus said softly. "I do not believe they were responsible."
"What is going on here?" Iron Man asked. "These two tried to kill us last time, and you have not had the most rosy memories with Ridley there!" That hit Samus hard. She hated the idea as much as he had.
"Iron Man," Samus said. "You said the Heart was gone. How was it taken?"
"Morin said it just disappeared," Iron Man asked.
"Disappeared?" Hawkeye exclaimed.
"Why do you ask?" Iron Man asked.
"Because that doesn't fit standard operating procedure for Space Pirates. Way too sophisticated," Samus said, and Ridley hissed at that. "They would have leveled the building and taken by force." Samus tried to see past Iron Man's mask and see the face behind it. Iron Man paused.
"Damn it!" Iron Man said. "If these two didn't, then who did?"
"Calm down Iron Man," Hawkeye said. "We'll get it back."
"Why is the Heart so important that people from the future would want to get their hands on it?" Iron Man asked in a now level voice.
"I don't know," Samus said. Iron Man glared at Ridley.
"It could mean the doom of us all," Ridley said. "We were sent back to protect it, but we did not count on meeting," he paused. "Resistance." Ridley flashed his teeth. "Please, understand that we are not here to fight you Iron Man, nor Samus. We only want to make sure that the Heart gets back here in one piece."
"'Enemy of my enemy is my friend," Iron Man muttered. He looked at Samus. "What do you think?"
"I would rather just blast these two to space dust right here and now," Samus said. "But," she sighed. "I have to believe them. I was sent back by the Federation on a separate mission to protect the Heart. We all thought it would be Space Pirates as well, but as I said before, this is not their style of attack."
"They could also be playing us," Iron Man said. "How can we trust them?"
"How could we trust you?" Ridley said. "For all we know it is the Federation trying to obtain the Heart to extend their rule over the galaxy."
"He's right," Samus said. "I don't trust the Federation completely. They just pay the bills. The thieves could be anyone for all I know. We have to trust them." The words burned in her mouth. She looked at Ridley with nothing but hatred, but the logic of it all overruled her emotions here.
"Excuse me," Hawkeye said. "I have a suggestion." The other four turned towards him. "Could we just use what ever time travel doohitchey you guys used to get back here and go back in time twenty minutes to protect the Heart? Two minutes, and the problem is solved. Just enough time to vape these two," he gestured to Ridley and Kraid.
"Shut up foolish human!" Ridley hissed.
"Hawkeye is it?" Samus asked.
"That's right," Hawkeye smirked.
"I love your suggestion, I truly do," Samus said. "And if it were possible, I would do it in a second. However, time travel doesn't quite work like that yet. The Federation is starting to tinker with it, but it is a relatively new technology."
"'Federation' huh?" Hawkeye said. "Sounds like a 'Star Trek' episode to me."
"Funny," Samus said dryly. "Well, I guess we will stick with my original plan."
"Which was?" Iron Man asked.
"Retrieve you and head back to future and sort out this mess from there. I figured after we kicked Ultron's tin ass we could come up with something."
"Sounds like fun," Iron Man said.
"Good," Samus smiled underneath her helmet. "It will be a pleasure working with you again, Iron Man."
"And you, Samus Aran," Iron Man said.
"Good," Ridley hissed. "Now that you have officially reunited with each other, we will be on our way to sort this mess out. We will contact you when we obtain more information."
"How will we contact you?" Samus asked.
"You won't," Ridley said. "I don't fully trust you either, Samus Aran. It goes both ways."
"Fair enough," Samus said dryly.
"We will be in contact," Ridley hissed as he flew off. "Come Kraid, back to the ship." Kraid bellowed and followed him.
Samus, Iron Man and Hawkeye all watched them go.
"Shall we?" Samus asked.
"Of course," Iron Man said as the two began to walk off.
"Ahem," Hawkeye said from behind them. "Forgetting someone?"
"Oh hell no," Samus said. "We don't have room for you, and, to be perfectly honest, can handle this without you."
"Oh yeah!?" Hawkeye said. "Bring it on right now!" Hawkeye readied an arrow.
"Suit yourself," Samus shrugged.
"Wait!" Iron Man said. "Samus, Hawkeye is one of the best men I have ever served beside during my time with the Avengers, and that says a lot. He is a good friend and ally. And," Iron Man paused briefly. "I would trust him with my life and to watch my back. I think it would be valuable to bring him along."
Samus and Hawkeye each relaxed.
"Very well, Iron Man," Samus said. "You can come," she said to Hawkeye. "But call me 'babe', and you're getting shoved out of the nearest airlock.
"Got it," Hawkeye saluted. "Now, where is your ship?"
"This way," Samus gestured. Iron Man walked up beside her, Hawkeye trailing behind. "It is good to see you again, Tony," she whispered to him.
"It is good to see you too, Miss Aran," Tony whispered back, and Samus just smiled under her helmet.
Victor Von Doom hated taking orders from anyone. The mere thought that he had to run errands for anyone other than himself filled him with a bitter taste in his mouth. It was others that should grovel to him and fear him, for that was how things were back in his country, in his time. Now, here he had to serve a master, and that made him quite irritated as he marched down the long, dark corridor.
Magius was a cunning man, Doom gave him that much. But he was also a foolish man, placing his trust in the hands of someone he hardly met. Surely he knew what type of man he was dealing with when he approached Dr. Doom with an interesting proposition, an opportunity for power. Magius promised large amounts of power if Doom did a little errand for him and his Syndicate, and Doom never turned down an opportunity for power. Little did this foolish Magius know that Doom had every intent to grab power, even the power that Magius now bore. Under his metal mask, Doom smiled.
He succeeded in his task, and quite well, Doom thought. The Vulcan's Heart was now in Magius' possession, and the old wizard said that the true power of the Heart will soon be unlocked. With that, Magius promised, Doom would have complete rule over any planet he wished, a feat that he could never accomplish in his own time due to the meddling of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. But Doom still desired more, and more he would grab.
But such a grab would not be easy. Magius was quite a skilled mystic, and he surrounded himself with many people of interesting talents in his Syndicate. The girl, Silence, proved quite useful in taking the Heart. Doom smiled as the memories of that escapade played out in his mind.
He let the two women do the work. He already knew that the Enchantress would do her job of making sure the people in the room were distracted, but he was unsure of Silence. Her slender form moved gracefully around the people hypnotized by Enchantress while Doom watched from the shadows. A few poor souls became aware of Silence, but were soon silenced by the assassin's long blades, the bodies quickly disposed of. No one realized the Heart was gone until they were well on their way. Doom continued to smile as he reached the door at the end of the hallway. It opened for him into a lit room.
In the immense room was just a small desk cluttered with objects and books, and a small chair sitting behind the desk. The walls were plain and windowless. In the chair behind the cluttered desk sat a tall and fairly muscled man wearing a quite pricey suit. His hair was black, but a few streaks of gray showed themselves. The man's face showed some lines of age, but the hard black eyes that stared down his hawk-like nose were those of a young and very dangerous man.
"You did well, Doom," Magius said in a booming voice.
"Thank you," the words burned in Doom's mouth. He was glad that his mask was hiding his grimace.
"The Heart is now ours," Magius said. "And the next phase of my plan will go into effect."
"And what of my reward?" Doom asked.
"I am afraid I cannot give you that right now," Magius said after a slight pause. "There has been a. …complication."
"What type of complication?" Doom asked icily. He was not this man's errand boy!
"Some factors I had not accounted for when I first sent you after the Heart. Two groups that are opposed to my little plan sent agents back to intercept you."
"That is of little concern," Doom scoffed. "We have the Heart."
"Yes, we do, but that is where the complication comes in," Magius said as he stood up, and paced around the room.
"Two powers, the Galactic Federation, and their polar opposites, the Space Pirates have both sent people back to protect the Heart."
"Time travel," Doom said. "Then should we go back?"
"No," Magius said. "Their time travel techniques would not allow that."
"Then what is the complication?"
"There are a few, actually. The first being that both sides are following the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' doctrine. I am a common threat, ergo that have apparently joined forces to stop me. Second, the Federation has assigned Samus Aran to the mission, and she is quite a formidable woman."
"She doesn't sound too threatening," Doom said.
"But I have yet to disclose the final snag. Miss Aran has brought back help – from your time." Dooms eyes widened behind his mask, now this was a surprise.
"Who?" Doom asked.
"Two Avengers, actually. Iron Man and Hawkeye."
"Only those two?" Doom asked, a little disappointed. He was hoping to test Richards in this cosmic backdrop.
"Yes, and since you have the most experience dealing with them, I want you and your miscreants to handle Aran, and her little friends for me."
"Of course," Doom said. "Though I suggest you do not underestimate Stark."
"And you shouldn't underestimate Samus Aran. She took out a contemporary of yours a short time ago," Magius said. Doom glared at him. Who? "She took out the renegade android Ultron on Zebes just over a year ago. She did it with Iron Man's help actually."
"So Aran and Iron Man have worked together before," Doom said. Interesting, he thought, many questions running through his head.
"You have your task, Doom. You may go," Magius said with a wave of his hand.
Doom scowled at the gesture, and walked out of the room. When the door slammed behind him, he slammed his metal fist against the wall. Dr. Doom was not to be talked to like some petty henchman! Magius would pay for this disrespect, but that time will come later. Now he had to focus on reuniting with an old friend, Iron Man and his annoying sidekick Hawkeye. That lifted Doom's spirits slightly as he walked down the hallway again.
Clint Barton, the Avenger known as Hawkeye looked around the forest outskirts with a bored look on his face. The forest looked like any on Earth from his time period, as did the metal structure in front of him. Two large metal doors stood in front of Samus, Iron Man and himself, with a large logo of Gryphon Labs – a gryphon holding a beaker – painted on them. The paint was a little scrapped off.
Sure, the ride through time was a little exciting, but to a seasoned Avenger, it wasn't anything big. It just made his stomach lurch on more than one occasion was all. Clint Barton expected large fleets of ships and nice, shiny space stations here in the future. Perhaps I've been watching too much 'Star Trek' he thought lazily.
"Gyllin, come on," Samus said irritably for the third time.
"Maybe he's not in," Iron Man said. Hawkeye stood behind the two armored heroes, and his gaze looked towards Samus' ship sitting on the edge of the trees. It was a sleek looking ship at least.
"Of course he's in," Samus said icily. "He has no where else to go."
"Samus?" Gyllin's sleepy voice came over the intercom. "Are you there?"
"Yes," Samus said with irritation. "I buzzed you three times already."
"Don't get snaggly with me!" Gyllin huffed. "I was just taking a nap was all. Is Stark with you?" His voice perked up.
"Yes, he is," Samus said. "Would you mind letting us in Gyllin?"
"Of course! Of course! Hold on half a moment!" Gyllin's raspy voice come over the intercom, and the metal doors slid open. Hawkeye followed Samus and Iron Man into the metal building.
The inside was dark, with only a few dim lights shining out in the blackness. Then, after a second, the room lit up in a blaze of lights, causing Hawkeye to recoil against it. Iron Man and Samus were unfazed due to their armor. Hawkeye grumbled to himself a bit.
"Sorry about that," an old man said as he walked up to the three heroes. Gyllin was a short, old man with thinning hair. He leaned on a wooden staff topped with a metal gryphon head. "I forgot that I turned all the lights out. Sorry about the mess."
"I'm used to it," Samus said dryly as Hawkeye looked around the place. He whistled as he saw the piles of clutter lying around the building. Hunks of metal, failed inventions, piles of food and garbage littered the floor.
"Looks kinda like my place," Hawkeye said.
"Yeah, the interior decorator of this place needs to be fired," Iron Man replied.
"And who might you be to make such rude comments about my place?" Gyllin said with a scowl. The he squinted in the light. "Hmph. Iron Man. He cast a quick glance towards Samus. I thought you said that Stark was with you."
"He is," Samus said, indicating Iron Man.
"Oh, sorry," Iron Man said as he reomoved his mask, revealing the youthful face of Tony Stark. Gyllin's eyes widened.
"You are Iron Man Mr. Stark!?" Gyllin practically jumped up and down. "I guess it shouldn't be a surprise considering what the history records and Samus inform me." He paused. "Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself, I am." Gyllin extended his hand.
"Gyllin," Tony concluded for him with a smile as he shook Gyllin's hand firmly. "Samus speaks very highly of you."
"Does she?" Gyllin arched an eyebrow towards Samus, who just shrugged. Gyllin then looked passed Iron Man towards Hawkeye. "And you would be Hawkeye, the records have been most interesting on you, and it is an honor to have two Avengers here in person!" He extended a hand towards Hawkeye, who shook it readily.
"A pleasure," Hawkeye said. The have historical records of us? Interesting…
"Now that we have gotten over the formalities," Samus said. "Let us take care of business. Now, Gyllin, what did you manage to dig up?"
"Unfortunately, nothing much. Information surround the Heart is sketchy at best. I have only uncovered a series of words, Kyliska ta Lekya, and there is a great sense of dread surrounding them," Gyllin said. "Whatever it is you have gotten us into Miss Aran, I am afraid it is a doozy."