Avenging Justice:
Two Worlds Collide
Part XXV
Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Agent Coulson laid dying on the floor. Loki's impaled him, before the agent could hit the Asgardian with the energy weapon. Now laying in his lap, the agent mused about Buck Rogers and Star Wars. He rather enjoyed the latter, had always wanted to see the stars and meet people from another world. He'd done that a few times. The Skrulls and Kree, when he and Fury were just regular agents. Then there was Thor, a prince from a civilization that had visited Earth in the past.
He felt cold, all the warmth leaking out of him. Yet his thoughts drifted to two things, the cellist, he so loved her and the team. The team had needed something to bring them together, pity he wouldn't see them in action together. A primal part of him knew his time was limited, the more hopeful side was looking at what that would do. He could leave like this, but he really would have liked to see her one more time. Maybe listen to one more of her songs, she played the cello so brilliantly.
"Just stay awake. Eyes on me," Director Fury told him.
Coulson felt so far away, it was difficult to speak, "No, I'm clocking out here."
"Not an option," Fury gently hook his old friend.
Coulson managed one last goofy smile for his old friend, "It's okay, boss. This was never gonna work if they didn't have something…." He trailed off as darkness brough a new speck of light into his vision.
"To unite them," Fury felt his heart drag down even further. Coulson was right, but he owed his friend a chance, even the most remote. To one of the medical agents, "Take him down to the med bay, cryopreserve his body." Fury had one more call to make, once he made sure Coulson's sacrifice wasn't in vain.
Outside the wounded helicarrier rumbled on, as an armored figure and a star-spangled man made their way back in. Below a mighty prince ruminated on the damage the fighting had done so far. So much destruction, yet he knew worse was to come. Loki was many things, cunning most of all. This was just the start, and he had to be ready to protect the Humans. A brief respite though was needed, so he took a moment to gather himself, before reaching out for his hammer.
Miles away, a woozy Bruce Banner awoke, naked, in the ruins of an old factory. Embroiled in a conversation with a security guard, he mulled over the man's statement, "Son, you have a condition." He did, his fury, given life in the form of a raging green behemoth, who seemed to only destroy. There was Banner, the repressed scientist, and the Hulk, his raged unleashed. A danger to all around him, he had to wonder if Tony was right, and if the team really could use him in the fight to come. As he "borrowed" a beat-up old motor bike, strangely both sides pushed him towards New York City.
Earth, Delaware, Metropolis
Carol Danvers was back home! The shining blue marble of white, blue and green hung beneath her ship. At the controls Talos pulled into a geosynchronous orbit, settling the ship in and he hit the controls to cloak the vessel. She was already nearly out the air lock, Soren's cry of "Good Luck" almost lost in the hiss of the door closing behind her. Radiating pure cosmic energy, Captain Marvel flew out from the ship and hit Earth's atmosphere at a slight angle.
Beneath her was the city of Metropolis, one she hadn't visited the last time she'd been here. Before, when she had been an Air Force officer, the city was known just as much for its beautiful architecture, as it was for its police force. Unlike Gotham across the bay, the police didn't start out as corrupt, but ran into many of the same issues other major cities had.
That had obviously changed in her time away. A gleaming city of spires and futuristic design met her. The buildings were clean, the streets looked vasty well maintained, and the feel of the place was one of hope. Below she made out large parks, mass transit systems, as well as air that wasn't as polluted as other cities. In contrast, across the bay, Gotham looked dirty, dark and sinister.
Captain Marvel stopped in mid-air, looking around and wondering where one went to find two super powered aliens on this planet. So much had changed, and even if she were back in an age she knew, where would she even look? Mar-Vell had hidden in plain sight, working with the government, and with her for year. She hadn't been the wiser than, but that hadn't stopped her from trying to save the world, in an untested aircraft.
Based on the information Soren had decrypted, Kryptonians would look just like any other human. They literally could be anyone, but they would be stronger, more durable, and would be fueled by Earth's sun with incredible powers. If someone like that were to appear, the government wouldn't be able to keep a lid on it forever. It would leak out, and the press was her best choice. Now she just had to find a newspaper stand, box or maybe a television news broadcast.
She didn't have long to wait. In the center of the city, on the flattest and largest screen she had ever seen, a man and woman replaced an ad, that had been playing. Both were dressed smartly, though very differently than when Carol was home last. The woman wore a very sleek suit, unlike the puffy shoulder pad and big hair look. The man wore a gray suit, with a very thing goatee, and spoke with an air of congeniality. Definitely not the hard hitting, strong spoken newscasters she remembered.
"Today in the news, Superman still searches for the wanted Mutant criminal, Magneto," the goateed man started off. "Last seen breaking several dangerous criminals out of the Metropolis Police Department's special detention area, the Mutant mastermind managed to escape. Video from that days shows other individuals seeming to come to aid superman, though authorities have dismissed them as more Mutant terrorists."
The smartly dressed woman took over, "Superman hasn't commented on his inability to stop these criminals. However, the Daily Planet's Lois Lane revealed in her report, that somehow Magneto had used Kryptonite against the Man of Steel. Also, in her article, and we have confirmed this, the material was stolen from Lex Corp. Lex Luthor advised that new safety measures have been implemented, but lamented that once again the faith of the city has been placed in Superman's hands, instead of the elected officials and the police force."
Carol quit watching, her attention turned to sirens blaring a block away. She saw police cars racing, a bunch of them. She may not have been back home for long, but she guessed that following them, might lead to this Superman. She still wasn't sure about if this was one of those criminals, or one of the children. Either way, she had to figure out if he was a threat, and what about the second child, or two other criminals?
What she saw was something out of a science fiction movie. Three men in exoskeletons were blasting away at the police with semi-automatic fifty caliber rifles. Because of the exoskeletons, the normal recoil wasn't affecting the men. Instead, each shot if high power bullet was related to the men, as if they were firing regular rifles. The thing about fifty caliber rounds, they tended to destroy armored units, like vehicles, buildings, etc.
So, it was with the cop cars. One bullet pierced through the engine block of a parked car, skipped off the roadway, and embedded itself in another patrol car. Luckily Metropolis' finest hadn't been hit yet, but it was only a matter of time. Someone or something had to stop this before it became a slaughter.
As if on cue a streak of blue and red warped past Carol. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw armored cops racing forward to reinforce the others. They wore armor just like the attackers, but theirs was colored in shades of blue. She had an idea who the streaking colors belonged to, and felt good that the cops were about to reinforced. That just left getting Superman's attention, and then some answers.
Below she saw Superman stop in front of a cop, and a large round bounce off his chest. Then quicker than a normal human eye could perceive, he rushed forward and disarmed the attacker. The other two followed suit, as well as having their exoskeletons mangled. They'd be unable to move, and then the superhero did something that shocked her out of inaction. He attacked the reinforcing police units.
Screaming forward in a burst of energy, she tried to reach him as he tore one of the reinforcing units apart. She didn't wait for the blood to hit the ground, instead she barreled into the alien at full force. Satisfied, she threw punch after punch at him, cosmic energy infusing her blows with extra stopping power. Captain Marvel raised her hand to throw the knockout blow, only to be surprised as she was hit by twin red beams of heat.
"I don't know who you are," growled Superman. "But you entered the right on the wrong side!"
Carol didn't wait, she was back at him, and quickly found herself crashing to the ground hard. He had flipped her as if she were nothing! Back up, she rushed at him, her punch flying straight at his face. Again, she was surprised as not only did he catch her attack, but he pushed her back. Launching her head forward, she headbutted him. Only to be rewarded with a return headbutt, and finding herself sinking into the ground.
"Stay down!" Superman called out. "I'll be back for you after I save the police."
Carol wasn't one to be told what to do, especially when the threat was still there. She launched herself back up and came directly at the alien. This time she found herself thrown again, crashing into the same police officers she had come to help. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't stop her momentum and bowled over the heavily armored police.
Gritting her teeth, she expected to find men and women calling out for aid. Instead she felt hot liquid covering her. Reaching up, hoping it wasn't blood, she again was surprised as the liquid was motor oil brown. She stood up, and saw blue sparks coming out of the units she had landed on. Beneath the armor, metal alloys poked through, revealing the true nature of the "reinforcements."
"I tried to tell you," Superman said. "You're on the wrong side here. These are Inter-Gang robots, surplus they bought from Hammer Industries."
Carol wasn't sure what half of that meant, but she knew that feeling growing in her gut, "So, they're the bad guys?"
"Yes," Superman said before disappearing into a blur.
Captain Marvel didn't wait, she blasted off and took out several of these Hammerbots. Together between her and Superman, the robots were wiped out, leaving only the police to collect the parts. Coming to a rest away from the police lines, she waited, knowing she owed a certain hero an apology, and maybe an explanation.
"What is your story?" Superman said, catching Carol in her own thoughts.
She shook her head, "It is a long story. Just know, I'm sorry. I saw you attacking what I thought were police."
The flying man gave her an odd look, "You've been away for a time, haven't you?"
"Yeah, like I said, long story," Carol shrugged. "Is there a place to get a good burger? I kind of missed having one."
Superman didn't look like he was ready to budge, "I think you owe me an explanation. Many people could have been hurt today."
Carol acknowledged it, "I know. For that I'm truly sorry. However, I need a burger, and time to collect my thoughts. I think there are things you need to know, and things I need to find out. So, burger?"
"Follow me," Superman said. "Friend of mine runs a restaurant near here. Just keep your attacking me on the downlow, it might upset him."
An hour later, Captain Marvel sat on the roof of the Daily Planet, two huge burgers in a to go sack. She ate them hungrily, relishing in the taste of food from home, after so long away. Watching her, admittedly deservingly, was the man she had attacked earlier mistakenly. She had given him most of her story, especially how she had come into her powers. Carol even related her quest to find the refugee Skrulls a home, so they could live in peace.
"So, one of the Skrulls came across a message beamed into space," Carol said between bites. "Actually, it was two messages. One told of two children sent to a distant place called, Earth."
"One of those children would be me," Superman quietly said. "That doesn't explain why you immediately thought I was a threat. Not that you're the first to be worried about that." As he said that, Carol caught Superman unconsciously looking towards Gotham City.
She smiled, "Well the second message talked about three criminals being sent to something called, 'the Phantom Zone.' It was around the time the planet died, so we weren't sure if they escaped in the chaos."
"So, you thought I might be one of those criminals?" Superman quietly said. "I can see that based on your experiences."
Carol gulped down the last bit of her final burger, "Well, forgiveness wasn't what I was expecting."
"That's because he doesn't hold grudges," a dark, gravelly voice came from the shadows. "May I suggest you get the lay of the land before you rush in again?"
Carol pulsed with power, but Superman pulled her arm down, "Relax, he's a friend."
"You have a mighty odd idea of friendship," Carol shot back, still trying to track where the voice had come from.
"You are impulsive and don't think things through," came the retort from the shadows. "You fight with passion, but that can be used against you."
"I didn't come here for a lecture on being more Kree!" Carol angrily scoffed. "I swear, you and Yon-Rogg would be bosom buddies!"
"Captain Marvel, meet Batman," Superman said. "Now what brings you out here?"
Bruce walked out of the shadows, his dark armor contrasting with the daylight, "There was an incident on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. An alien fugitive escaped, he is very dangerous."
"Great, I'll start looking for him," Superman said. He had wanted to get back to Kara, but if Batman was delivering this news, it was something serious.
Before any of the three could continue on, a grand hole opened in the sky on the horizon. Batman was too far away, but Superman could make out the starfield inside the hole. He also saw great mechanical creatures flying down from the hole, towards New York City. He also knew that innocents were in trouble, and he was needed. With a flash, Superman was gone, leaving Captain Marvel and Batman behind.