Even though he knew what he needed to say, what he needed to tell the five in front of him, Sam struggled with getting started. Everything had happened so fast, and he'd barely had time to process it all, even if it had actually spanned a couple of years. Finally, he looked back into the eyes of those who were standing before him, clearly awaiting what he had to say. Subtly taking in a breath, he got started.
"My name is Sam Alexander," he began. "When I was really young, my father became a member of the Nova Corps, a peacekeeping force based on the planet of Xandar."
"Wait, so you're, like, an alien?" the girl in metal suit (Riri, right?) spoke up.
"No," Sam replied, "I'm actually from Arizona."
"Oh, okay," the girl replied. It was obvious from how she looked back and forth at the others that she was at least a little embarrassed at her interruption. "I'm sorry. Anyway, please continue."
In a way, the girl's awkwardness actually helped him feel just the slightest more at ease as he continued.
"We actually ended up leaving earth to live on Xandar not long after that. For several years, my dad played his part in keeping the peace, and we would return here to visit from time to time."
Sam looked down for a moment, the memories of what he was about to say next coming back to his mind as clearly as if they'd just happened.
"That is, until Thanos arrived," he said, looking back up at them. "He had come for the power stone, the infinity stone that we kept stored away so that no one could ever abuse what it could do. We threw everything we had at him; the entire Nova Corps went out to meet him and his army, and we even held our own for a while, but soon, it became obvious that we were never going to win. Before we knew it, the fighting had destroyed a large portion of our main cities and the Nova Corps had been decimated."
"And Thanos got the stone," Spider-Man said. There was a defeated nature to his voice, almost like he understood on some level what facing the Mad Titan was like.
"Yes," he replied, "and then, just over a week later, he must've got all the Stones, because half of those who remained on our world disappeared, vanishing into nothingness."
The expressions of the five around him were all ones of stunned shock; all except Spider-Man. Even with his mask still on, Sam could notice a steadier but still sad look through his body language. Clearly, he somehow did understand what an experience like this would be like.
"It didn't take us long to realize that what happened on Xandar had happened everywhere," he continued. "With the Nova Corps depleted and unable to effectively keep the peace, the planets in our system descended into chaos. Crime groups and others who wanted revenge for our interference on their worlds came after us, and within a year, war had all but consumed what was left of the planet...and its people."
"So, how did you get out?" Eli asked.
Sam hung his head for a moment, closing his eyes as the most painful of memories of the last couple years came to his mind. He knew he needed to share it, because it played into the reason this was all happening, but still, it was just...hard.
"My father didn't know it at the time, but a small group within the scientific division of the Nova Corps had been tasked with creating a final contingency several years ago, something they called the WorldMind," Sam explained. "It's a living supercomputer that runs on a powerful artificial intelligence, and it contains 'copies' of all of the minds of deceased Xandarians. It actually ended up being responsible for the running of most of our larger technology, such as transportation and power to the cities.
One of the scientists who had originally worked on the WorldMind revealed a contingency that himself and a couple of the others had placed inside the machine's programming: if Xandar and its people should ever fall, it would find a world to repurpose as a new Xandar, using it's people to as hosts for the minds of the deceased Xandarians stored within its system."
"That's why those machines that looked like people were here," the one named Kate spoke up. "They were sabotaging our satellites to allow for the bigger ones to come along."
"Exactly," Sam replied. "One intelligence controlling it all. My father didn't agree with the idea though, and he tried to stop it, but it was too late. The one who asked hadn't been asking for his permission or blessing, but for him to go along with what he'd already started. When my father tried to shut it down, the WorldMind caught on to what he was up to, and...killed him so he couldn't interfere anymore."
The roof was silent for a moment, until Spider-Man finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Sam."
Sam nodded, removing his helmet and examining it as he continued.
"Before he died, he gave me his helmet. It contains his portion of what we refer to as the Nova Force, an energy that grants those who wear them varying degrees of abilities depending on your level in the Corps. Unfortunately, the WorldMind controls the majority of it; that's what it's using to power the domes it's encased each area in around the world. I tried to use the power it gave me to stop it, but it overpowered me and held me captive for days, with no food or water. That's why I was in the condition I was when I arrived."
Spider-Man nodded in acknowledgement of the last part, with everything that happened after he'd past out likely still fresh in his mind.
"Okay, so why is this thing targeting the places around the world that it is?" Kate asked.
"It's taking control of and manipulating the highest levels of technology this world has to offer," Sam answered. "Once it controls all these major points, it can begin the process of transplanting the minds of the deceased Xandarians into the minds of humans."
"That's why those machines weren't specifically trying to kill anyone except those it deemed a threat," Spider-Man said, "because it needs the people here to complete its mission."
"Exactly," Sam replied.
"How long do you think we have?" Spider-Man asked.
"This protocol was set to be complete within a day, assuming it could handle whatever world's resistance came for it," Sam replied. "However, that includes the transplanting of the Xandarian minds, which I don't know how to fix, so I'd say we likely have somewhere between 12-18 hours at best before that happens."
Once more, there was silence as his last words in particular sank in with everyone on the roof, including himself. Sam realized at that moment that he hadn't exactly processed the full scale of how limited their time would be to stop this threat, and that was despite already knowing what would happen if they failed. In that limited window, they would have to find a way to traverse the globe without losing too much time and destroy each of these machines. There were likely a million ways this could all go wrong, but he couldn't worry about that right now.
What mattered was coming up with a plan.
As if Riri, the one in the armored suit, had been reading his thoughts, she spoke up.
"So, what's the plan?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Peter, and he felt a weight on his shoulders like nothing he'd ever felt before. All five of these people, these inexperienced kids his own age who were volunteering their LIVES were now looking to HIM to guide them on a world saving mission that they had less than a day to complete. A great nervousness washed over him, and he almost felt like he could pass out under the weight of it all. In their eyes, he was the last Avenger; the only experienced hero the world had left. It felt more overwhelming than that time he had to lift a concrete roof that the Vulture had dropped on him all those years ago.
But he couldn't cave, not now. He could do this, he was going to do this, because he HAD to.
The only question was, where did he start? There were only six of them to take out the major spots around the world, and only two who could fly. That was going to make getting there fast enough difficult, and then there was the little fact that they still had to destroy these machines that he and Sam couldn't hardly put a dent in earlier...
Peter felt his legs get weak and he could've doubled over, but he maintained his stance. He couldn't show weakness. They were counting on him.
"Okay, how many spots did you say there were again?" Peter asked Sam.
"It looks like four," Sam said, checking the device on his arm to be sure.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to split up," Peter said. "Sam, you take Eli with you to one of the spots, and Riri and Amadeus can take one as well. I'll stay here and try and figure out a sneakier way into the one here in the city."
"What about me?" Kate asked.
"You're still too injured," Peter replied, maintaining his stance from earlier. "I know you want to help, and I respect that, but I won't have you out here just to get killed."
Kate gave him a look that tore at his heart. It was mostly disappointment with what appeared to be the slightest tinge of anger as well.
"I can still do this," she said.
"No, you can't," Peter said, walking up to her, speaking more quietly when he continued. "As someone who has often pushed himself too hard, trust me, it always ends up hurting worse when you push yourself too hard on an injury like this."
"Why does it matter if my world is about to me taken from me and my mind stuffed with someone else's thoughts and memories?" Kate countered.
"She does have a point," Eli suddenly spoke up. "I mean, look around man, we could use all the help we can get. We can protect her."
"That's only going to hinder our ability to get the job done," Peter countered. He HATED the way he sounded right now, but he was not going to allow someone else to get hurt, or even die, because of him. No one else was going to die if he could help it, period.
"No, not having us all out here is what's going to hinder us," Kate said. "Besides, I might be the best distance attack option you have here, so I can still be useful without doing close combat. I won't go home though; I can't, not when...not when I have a chance to help save the only family I have left."
That last part pulled at Peter's heart a little. He still didn't know much about what Kate's home life was like, but from what he looked up, it was just her and her mom left. He knew what that was like, only having one parental figure left in the picture, and he also knew how painful it was when they too were gone. What was he supposed to do though, just let her go at it until something one of those machines picked up on her presence, even from a distance. What then?
"Where is she hurt?" Sam asked, catching Peter off guard.
"My stomach," Kate answered. "I was slashed there during one of our earlier encounters with the scout machines."
Sam started walking towards her, pulling something from the side of his uniform's waste line.
"Let me see," he said.
She agreed, and Peter helped gingerly pull the bandage back, exposing the still rough looking wound, despite the work M.J. had done on it. Sam took the bottle looking thing in his hand, squeezing a small trigger that released a clear spray. He went down the length of the wound, stopping once he got to the end. Right before their eyes, the wound began to heal itself until little was visible on the outside.
"Woah," Kate said. "Thanks."
Sam nodded.
"I'm sorry I didn't speak up sooner; this is the last of it I had, and I wanted to be careful how I used it," Sam explained. "I should warn you though, it's not an instant fix. This spray heals the exterior of a wound and does help to speed up the healing of any internal damage, but you still won't be 100% for a while."
"I do feel better already though," Kate said, lowering her outfit back over her stomach. She then turned to Peter, a now expectant-looking smile on her face, though her eyes still seemed to project a little pleading. Reluctantly, Peter nodded gently towards her, finally giving in.
"Okay, so Kate will be with me," he said. "We can take out three of the machines and shut down the domes, then we'll rendezvous at the last point."
"Okay, but you and Kate can't fly," Riri spoke up. "I mean, no offense, but how are you guys going to meet up with us?"
"Good point," Peter acknowledged, realizing he hadn't fully contemplated that aspect of it.
"We could align our trajectories toward the one we meet at," Kate suggested. "Just put us on whatever path the other pairs would have to take, and they can pick us up on the way there."
"That's a good idea," Peter agreed.
"Don't you have access to one of the Avenger's planes or whatever?" Amadeus asked.
"No," Peter said. "Since I was all that was left, the world's government's shut down the Avengers compound and confiscated all of the equipment, since it wasn't likely to be in use by just one individual. Kate's idea on how to get to the final rendezvous point is the best we have right now, so we'll have to take it."
The others appeared to agree, or at least they didn't say anything expressing as much, so they mapped out who would go where. Once they did, each member set out for their targeted spots. It worked out where Peter and Kate could still stay in New York like he originally had suggested, and he gave each one of them a communication device that he and Ned had developed so Peter and his "Guy in the Chair" could stay in touch even over long distances. Granted, they had never tested them from this distance before, but there was no time like the present.
"You ready for this?" Kate asked, letting out a nervous sounding breath as they turned to face the dome.
Peter's answer was honest and quick.
"No. Let's go."
Hope you guys are still enjoying it! I know I'm taking more and more liberties with these characters and there origins/personalities, but hopefully it is still working for you all.
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help." Psalm 22:11