Hey…so, uh, been a while, sorry about that. Gonna try and be fairly consistent the next couple of months with posts, new chapters of Infinity and Overwatch: Remnants, and maybe some work on my other stories. Been a crazy year between school and COVID, but I hope I can stick to the ideal I've set myself. Let's get back to the long belated action, shall we?
Infinity Chapter XIX
Defying Gravity Part III
"Did you forget about me?" Hulk asked, a dark grin on his face as Talbot bounced across the roof. The Jade Giant looked down at Wasp and offered her a hand, "Get up, we're not done."
"Where's Hank?" she asked as he pulled her to his feet with surprising care. Hulk shrugged and pointed over his shoulder. He then ignored her as Talbot surged to his feet, his face contorted in rage.
"You." Talbot snarled
"Me." Hulk snarled back, cracking his knuckles and surging across the Raft towards him, both hands raised above his head with a roar.
Janet blinked, as for a moment she was drawn back into a memory of a very similar event three years ago.
She couldn't let either of them reach the City.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Explosions sounded in the distance as alien spacecraft, and immense extraterrestrial beasts plummeted from the sky. The immense hole in the sky was closing slowly, the stary void beyond being consumed by a brilliant explosion as the edges sputtered fitfully.
Janet let out a relieved laugh that partially transitioned to a sob as Clint's voice came over the comms.
"Bastard did it. We won," Hawkeye muttered, sounding tired beyond belief but relieved.
There was a flash of red and golden light in the sky, causing Barton to shout over the comms.
"I'll be damned! Tin-Man incoming at terminal velocity, he's not correcting, can anybody ca-."
An echoing roar cuts him off as the Hulk emerges from between a pair of skyscrapers and snatches Tony out of the air, slamming into the side of another building and disappearing out of view.
"Th-thank you, Jade Jaws." Barton stutters, "Alright, sound off, everybody else still walking?"
A smattering of "Yes's" passes over the comms as Janet shrinks down and takes to the air.
"I'm fine, on my way to Tony and the Hulk," Janet informs the group.
"Let us know if the former needs medical." Black Widow remarks, "I'm on my way down with Selvieg; anyone have eyes on Loki?"
"Aye." Thor states, but the conversation is soon drowned out as Wasp concentrates on reaching Tony.
She rounded a corner and faltered when she heard the Hulk let out a deep, confused roar.
Darting further forward, she froze, spotting the Hulk standing over Tony's unmoving body, with a large shard of metal pierced into his shoulder, snarling at General Talbot, who was floating partially above him, several more awkwardly shaped spears pointed at him.
"Get back," Talbot ordered, to which the Hulk snarled, reaching down to grab hold of Tony.
One of the spears lanced into the pavement, nearly pinning the Hulk's hand, who roared angrily.
"Don't touch him." Talbot remarked, "I won't let you hurt him anymore."
"Talbot, what are you doing!" Wasp cried, fluttering to a stop near the pair, "Hulk saved Tony."
The Hulk's eyes flicked towards her warily, a low growl on his lips.
"He caught him. That does not mean he was going to save him. I arrived seeing him trying to pry the armor off." Talbot stated, "Regardless, the Hulk has been a danger for far too long."
"Talbot, he just helped us save the city." her eyes flicked down to Tony, "I think you misunderstand the situation."
"Stark had Banner let him out," the General states, eliciting a dark growl from the Hulk, who clenched his fists, causing the spears around Talbot to inch forward slightly, "But there is no confirmation that we will be able to put him back in. The Doctor struggled with it for a good while, and there are cities across this country that are owed recompense. Fury might be willing to work with a criminal, but now that the extraordinary circumstances have ceased, it is time Banner and his passenger to pay their due diligence."
The Hulk backed up, looking more than a little confused, while Wasp looked up at Talbot, catching an odd light in his eyes.
"Talbot, stop. We still need to secure Loki, and the Tesseract, if...if Banner needs to be prosecuted, that can happen after we're finished here." Wasp stated, leaning down to check on Tony, his feeble breathing catching her ears, "Tony needs medical attention on top of that."
Talbot looked down at her, "You're right…."
There was a sudden shearing sound as the chunks of the building around them tore free and slammed into the Hulk, who roared in surprise as he was closed inside of an ever-tightening cocoon of metal, stone, and pavement, up to his neck, where a bit of metal rebar wound around the Hulk's throat and began to tighten, strangling his roar's of rage.
Sweat beaded on Talbot's forehead as he pushed his hands closer and closer together, teeth-gritting.
"What are you doing?!" Wasp cried.
"You were right, Ms. Van Dyne." Talbot stated, "Loki, the Tesseract, Tony, they all take precedent. You and the others can take care of that while I draw Banner out to make sure he remains to pay for his crimes."
Wasp looked back at the Hulk, his eyes a mixture of confusion, rage, and just the faint bit of fear as he gasped for air.
"Stop!" Wasp ordered, pointing her hands at Talbot, both igniting with energy.
"Do not interfere," Talbot ordered, as he squeezed his hands tighter and the sound of cracking bones could be heard.
"You're killing him!" Wasp shouted, the energy beginning to crawl up her arms.
"No," Talbot remarked, shaking his head slightly, but his eyes were vacant, staring past her, and the Hulk at something else, a strange ripple passing through his face, a brief flash of shimmering metal liquid emerging.
Wasp fired, bolts of energy slamming into his torso and the side of his face, a shout of pain and shock bursting from his lips. Talbot turned on her, a look of rage in his eyes.
"I told you not to interfere." his voice layered oddly. He pointed a finger, and one of the spears shot towards her chest.
Stone shattered.
A roar consumed her hearing, and a large green hand appeared before her, catching the spear clean through the palm but halting it from catching her in the chest.
The Hulk roared in utter rage as he ripped the spear clean from his palm and, with the other hand, smacked it into Graviton, catching on some invisible bubble but still with enough force to send Talbot rocketing through an office building which began to crumble.
"No." Hulk growled, casting the green blood-covered spear and lunging after Talbot, leaving Wasp standing over Tony's faintly breathing body.
Back to the Present
"Long time no see, Talbot," Hulk remarked darkly, cracking the muscles in his neck and grinning menacingly.
"Finally able to string together full sentences, are we?" Talbot snarked, a gravitic pulse bursting free of him, slamming into Janet and the Hulk, sending the former careening backward, catching herself in midair as she shrunk down. Meanwhile, the Hulk barely budged.
"Banner and I worked some things out," Hulk states, "Got smarter."
He lungs, punching Talbot, who catches it on the gravitic barrier, though it still sends him soaring backward, "Stronger too."
Talbot snarls and reaches out, causing the gravity to increase on the Hulk, who grits his teeth as he's pushed into the metal hull and takes a few steps forward. Talbot sneers and fires a blast of gravitic energy, causing Hulk to grind deeper into the Raft's hull, but not causing any real damage.
"Gotten soft on my Talbot?" Hulk growls, looking up at him with a cold sneer, "Maybe you should let the arrogant billionaire or the insane fascist schoolgirl take the wheel?"
Talbot's form seemed to judder for a second, as a female voice rips free of his mouth: "I'm not insane!"
Janet darts towards him, "Bruce...what are you doing?"
Hulk snorts and gives her a side-eye, "Not Bruce, keeping them off balance, go find Hank and the others."
"Am I included in that rescue plan?" Tony's voice asked over the comms, "General Mustache and his Merry Maniacs are currently sending me into high-atmo!"
"I'll talk with them about it." Hulk snarks, lunging at the distracted Talbot and aiming a hammer fist at his temple.
Wasp darts away, flitting over the side searching for Hank, "Tony, we can't let those two near the city…."
"I know, find Hank. Maybe he can think up a way to contain them before I freeze solid up here." Tony remarked, the sound of his thrusters going full bore undercutting the conversation, "Any sign of Tremors or Ben?"
"Talbot pushed her under the ocean...I have no idea." Janet remarks, hunting the waves for any sign of the pair or Hank.
Several Moments Prior
Ben dove off the side after Daisy, wracking his brain on what to turn into even as he got close and closer to the shimmer sheet of water beneath him.
"What are you doing, Omnitrix?" he mutters to himself as the water gets closer and closer, his form glowing green.
He hits the water with an explosive splash and looks down at his hands, which are now made of red craggy rock.
"Gravattack?" he queries, "Fitting."
Looking around, he spots Daisy sinking deeper and deeper into the sea-bed below him, a trail of bubbles escaping her lungs.
Thinking quickly, he casts out a hand, forming a gravitic disturbance around Daisy, a bubble of breathable air emerging around here, a flurry of floating water bubbles dispersing into the greater ocean. He then increased his own gravity, sinking to the bottom very quickly.
Passing through the bubble, he kneeled to look at Daisy, who seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness.
"Tremors, hey, you good?" he asks, tapping her forehead.
She coughs, cracking her eyes open, and spits a bit of water out of her mouth.
"Ben?" looking at his immense rocky face in confusion.
"Do you know any other sentient moons?" he jokes, tapping his chest.
"I...you know I've never seen this form, right?" she returns, raising her eyebrow.
"Touche, you alright?" he asks.
"I can breathe, but I'm betting the air is going to go bad soon" she struggles to sit up but can't, being pushed a bit deeper into the seafloor, "And I'm still stuck."
"Might be able to help with that," Ben stated, raising his hands, only for a flash of silver to catch his eyes.
Looking up, he stares around them, spotting the shimmer yet again just at the edge of his vision, something flickering in the light of the fairly distant sun above.
"I think something is down here with us," he remarks, squinting at the last spot he saw the shimmer.
"Great," Daisy snarks, fighting to turn her head to look in the direction he was, "Maybe focus on one problem at a time."
"Right." Gravattack states, focusing, a disk of purple energy appearing around his hands.
Slowly Daisy begins to sit up as the pressure lessons before disappearing altogether.
Massaging her wrists and cracking her neck, she looks up at Ben with a grin, "So, how are things going topside?"
"No clue. How bout we go check?" Ben returns with a wide smile.
Back to the Present
Wasp rockets across the waves, searching for any sign of the others, "Come on, Hank, where are you!"
"Janet?" a voice crackles over the comms, sounding a bit befuddled and tired.
"Hank!" she cries, elated, "Where are you?"
"Pier north of the Raft," he states, and she bolts after him.
She finds him standing in the middle of a pop-up lab, sending furtive looks back at the Raft, where the thunder of Hulk crashing against Talbot's barrier echoes, while around him bubble many chemical mixtures, while he is rapidly assembling a gun of some sort.
"Hank, what are you doing?" Janet asks, fairly befuddled at the odd sight before her.
"Talbot was anesthetized; it's what allowed SHIELD to contain him for so long, I'm trying to mix up a quick-acting solution, to wear him down quickly." Hank rattles off, finishing the gun, and turning to the solution beside him.
"I feel like Hulk can manage that. Where did you get all this?" she asks incredulously.
Hank turns to look at her with a surprised expression, holding up several of his throwing disks between his fingers, "I carry it with me."
"You are...incredible," she mutters with a laugh.
"I mean, I felt like it was a pretty obvious solution to be able to access my work in the field." Hank remarks, as he pours the solution into a capsule and fits it into the gun, "Done, just need to…."
He turns back to his setup, tapping at his wrist only for Janet to interrupt him, "Hank, you can pick up your toys later. We need to stop those two before their brawl reaches the City."
"Right...right, let's go!" he says, leaping into the air and shrinking, allowing her to catch him and whirl off.
As they race above the waves, a plume of water bursts up beside them, as an invisible dome punches up through the water, revealing Daisy, riding atop a spherical red-rock creature with vibrant green eyes and a wide toothy smile.
"Daisy! You're alright!" Wasp cries excitedly, darting towards the pair, "Ben...interesting look."
"Coming to a water show near you, surely." Daisy jokes, tapping her foot on Ben's head, "What's going on with Talbot?"
"The Hulk's 'distracting' him, Tony is still in the upper atmosphere," Wasp informed.
"Glad someone remembered me." Tony snarks over the comms, "Can you get me the hell down now?!"
"I think I can get you, Tony, but it'll take me a bit to get up to you," Ben remarks.
"Focus on splitting Talbot's focus. He can't deal with too many targets at once. He starts to fracture." Tony informs, "The worse he gets, the less reliable his powers, I can break out and get back to being able to feel my toes again. Sound good?"
"So we pull at the frayed edges, anybody got a plan?" Ben asked, looking up at the trio above him.
"I have a tranquilizer. If I can get an opening, we can stop this without too many people getting hurt." Hank states.
"That'd work too," Tony remarks.
"Just need a way to administer it. Anyone got any ideas?" Ben asks.
"I do," Daisy states, flexing her hands, an audible hum hitting the air.
Hulk snarls as he batters against Talbot's shield, cracking it repeatedly only for the latter to reinforce it.
"Why so defensive, General?" Hulk asks, "Don't think you can take a punch?"
"Hardly!" Talbot returns, a shimmer of metal crossing his face.
"Then hit me!" Hulk roars, launching a devastating hammer fist.
Graviton roars, launching a punch of his own directly into the Hulk's face. There is a sonic boom, and the Hulk is sent careening over the side of the Raft, blood trickling from his nose.
"I wield one of the fundamental forces of the universe!" Talbot yells, his voice echoey and multilayered, "Do you really think you can beat me, you rabid animal!"
"Yes, yes, phenomenal cosmic power." a voice snarks behind him. He whirls, spotting Gravattack, with his one hand raised towards the sky, "And you don't want to go back to your itty, bitty living space. I get it, dude, but I've got to be honest, you're really not all that special."
Talbot snarls, a wave of gravitic energy firing towards him, which he catches and coalesces in his other hand. Talbot blinks in surprise as the energy dissipates.
"Told ya," Ben states, with a shrug of his shoulders, letting his other hand fall and stepping to the side to reveal Daisy, rocketing towards Talbot under her own and Ben's power.
She flips around midair, cracking into Talbot feet first and sending him spiraling, just as the Hulk leaps back onto the Raft and smashes down on top of him with a roar.
Pinning Talbot to the ground with all his might as Daisy stalks closer, Ben a step behind, Wasp and Ant-Man hopping off his back, the Jade Giant lets out a laugh.
"This feel familiar, Talbot?" Hulk asks as he pushes even more of his weight down on Talbot's barrier, as the other man looks around frantically at the approaching heroes.
Several Years Ago
Wasp held Tony as another skyscraper was shattered into rubble in an instant, the feral fury of the Hulk crashing against the maddened might of Talbot.
"What the hell is going on?!" Clint shouted over the comms as a bus roared over her head and was crunched like a can as it slammed against Talbot's barrier, followed by a leaping Hulk.
"Th-" Wasp begins, only having to duck and avoid a flurry of shrapnel that the Hulk lungs in front of with a snarling roar of pain.
Through all the chaos, Tony's breath was getting shallower and shallower in her ear. Looking down at her hand, she ignited it, the snap of bioelectricity snarling between her fingertips.
"Alright, Tony, this might sting," she mutters, placing her hand over the arc reactor and letting out a pulse of energy.
Tony sputtered and coughed in her arms as electricity raced through him, his eyes going wide and vary briefly, the whites of his eyes glowing with yellow light.
"Oh, fucking god!" Tony shouts, sitting up partially, "Tastes like pineapple! J-Jan? What happened?"
"You got the nuke through, Invasion's done, but.." Wasp begins, only for the Hulk to cut her off with a thunderous roar and charge Talbot, leaping and smashing him through the pavement, only to be sent rocketing back out and shearing clean through a portion of another building complex.
"Talbot went after the Hulk after the latter saved you. I don't know why. He tried to kill me." Wasp states.
Tony coughed, gritting his teeth as he sat up, "The ship, it was moving when I went through, I say Talbot, up there, pulling it towards the city...I don't know what…."
"Easy, Tony," Wasp states before reaching for her comms, "I need our remaining big guns over here now. General Talbot and the Hulk are gonna continue to tear this city apart unless we stop the General.
"The General?" Widow queried.
"He was trying to drop the mothership on Manhattan. He tried to kill Wasp. Just get here." Tony chokes out as he tries and fails once more to get to his feet.
"I just found Dr. Pym. His legs are pretty badly mangled. Doc, can you hear me?" Barton stated.
Janet's heart sank hearing that a flurry of frantic thoughts fluttering through her mind only for Hank to speak up loud enough to be heard over the comms, "Talbot...he…."
"That synchs it." Barton stated, "Who's in route?"
"On my way, Stark," Thor remarked a peal of thunder in the distance.
A closer sonic-boom drew their attention as a figure rocketed past them and slammed into Talbot, the air rippling as they clashed, sending the other person skidding off, revealing it to be a scarred, sobbing, Agent Johnson, her whole body vibrating.
Talbot snarled, "Stand down, soldier!"
"I'm not a soldier!" the agent screamed as the Hulk landed nearby, glaring curiously at her as she fronted on Talbot, "Neither was he, but you talked him into fighting. Why are you doing this?!"
"I'm doing what needs to be done!" Talbot shouts, his body rippling with strange metallic waves, "We had no idea that the nuke would work on the mothership! We have no idea if we can truly trust Doctor Banner and his Hyde impersonation! I had the power to stop both of those threats, truly and finally. I'm not going to let you stop me."
His voice gained an odd edge, and for a brief second, he flickered, a young, blonde woman taking his place in the air, staring at Agent Johnson with a maddened, angry expression.
Janet and Tony shared a confused look while the Hulk snarled and stepped towards the figure while the agent's arms seemed to fall limp, her body language shifting in surprise.
Talbot shifted back, holding his head and staring around in confusion.
"Who was-" Jan began, only for Agent Johnson to lunge at Talbot, bursting into the air and coming down with a crushing hammer fist.
The Hulk roared and entered the fray, just as out of the sky beside Stark and Janet, Thor landed, evaluating the carnage quickly and briefly sparing the other two a glance.
"Are you injured?"
"I'm fine." Wasp stated.
"I'm...gonna get there in about three months." Tony snarked, even as he activated some of his weaponry and tried to get a bead on Talbot, who was surging away from them pursued by the Hulk and Agent Johnson, the pair seeming to be working in tandem to strike the gravity wielder.
"The Ant-Doctor is on his way, but I would suggest getting clear of here." Thor states as electricity cooks across his hammer and arm, "I have a feeling the ensuing battle will be even more legendary than this day already was fated to be, and maybe even more destructive."
"I've got him." Wasp stated, dragging Tony to his feet as the God of Thunder leaped away from them, crackling with energy, the sound of thunder accompanying him.
"You know I was gonna ask everyone out for a hot meal if I survived that." Tony snarked, stumbling beside her, "Not so sure about it now."
A deep gonging sound erupted from behind them, and Wasp felt her feet get knocked out from under her, followed by blackness as the wave of force carried her into a car. She felt her shoulder break right before her head hit metal and everything went dark.
Back to the Present
As the Hulk bore down on Talbot, Janet winced, seeing the desperation in the man's eyes.
"I'm in control." he muttered, other voices interrupting and blathering out of his mouth in a discordant pattern, "Let me. No! Kill them! We need to get out of here! I want the reins! Shut up!
"You're losing. Enough!"
A gravitic pulse ripped away from him, sending the Hulk skidding backward as Talbot stood and held the side of his head. His body roiling oddly, briefly becoming liquid metal in human form before switching to a familiar blonde-haired young woman, then a middle-aged, well-dressed man to a balding, meek scientist.
"Is this good?" Ben asked, taking a step back as Talbot shouted, his voice echoing and metallic.
"They're imbalanced, which means we can hopefully take an advantage," Hank stated, raising his gun.
"Whatever you guys did, it worked. I'm five minutes out." Tony stated, "Hopefully, we can stop them before this gets too fun."
"Think we're past that point, Stark," Daisy stated, her arms vibrating as she glared at the roiling Talbot.
"I'll shut him up," Hulk growls, raising a fist to come crashing down on the scattered Graviton.
Talbot fell to his knees, his hands splayed out across the deck, his long wild hair hanging over his eyes. Hank reaches out to stop the Hulk, "Wait! Let me."
He pointed his gun at Graviton and pulled the trigger.
Janet felt a rush of vertigo as the world seemed to shift around her.
Suddenly she was falling, the entirety of the Raft now hanging above their heads, Graviton clinging to it, a dark gleam in their eyes as they looked towards her.
Hank fired and the shot shattered against a barrier of pure gravitic energy.
She shrank, bolting away as several pieces of the Raft began to rip away and fire down at the falling heroes. Gravattack reached out, snagging Hulk and Hank, the former using Ben as a platform to lung right back up at Talbot, with Daisy mimicking with a burst of vibrations.
Talbot sneered and held up his hand, freezing them both in midair.
"This has been entertaining, but I'm getting very tired of this little exercise!" Talbot roared, pivoting them both and shifting the entirety of the Raft as he floated up into the air.
Wasp fired a barrage of blasts towards him, most pinging off his gravitic shield, but one managed to catch him in the temple, earning her a sneering glare.
Setting Hank atop his head, Ben stopped his momentum and cast both hands up at Talbot.
"How about a taste of your own medicine!" Ben shouted as a wave of gravity blasted into Talbot, tearing away at his shield.
Graviton snarled and cast his hand out, his gravitic powers clashing with Ben's. There was a loud tearing sound, and Wasp felt her whole body shudder to the left as, not far from her, a miniature black hole ripped its way into existence.
Ben's eyes went wide as Graviton sent it soaring towards her, her body searing with pain as it began to suck her into it, only for Ben to drop his hands and it to dissipate with an eerie sigh.
"I think you'll find I have you at a disadvantage, mutant," Talbot remarked, glaring down at Ben, who raised a rocky eyebrow.
"You sure are a cocky one, general," Ben remarked as he waved his hand, and Daisy and the Hulk lunged back into motion, followed by Wasp, fluttering around more of her blasts finding their mark within Talbot's weakened shield.
Talbot snarled and punched forward at the assembled heroes, the entirety of the Raft rocketing towards them with a sudden burst of speed.
Wasp felt herself suddenly grow heavy, and a moment later, Ben had her in his hand as he dropped out of the way of the racing prison complex.
Daisy covered her arms across her chest while the Hulk roared and punched forward. Still, both disappeared into the metallic mass of the Raft as it rocketed downward, slamming into one of the fair docks in an explosion of dust, shearing metal, and water as the dock began to crumble into the surf.
"We can't let him get into the city!" Wasp yelled as he whirled on them.
"Again, open to any ideas!" Ben shouted, raising a barrier to block the next attack only to end it early as a hint of another black hole burst into existence, "I go on the offensive, and things will probably get much worse very quickly."
"So, Hail Mary time?" Tony asked over the comms, and a flurry of rockets bombarded the unsuspecting Talbot, followed by an immense blast of particle energy as Tony opened up the arc reactor and let loose.
Wasp burst into motion, a flurry of bolts sinking into Talbot's body, crackling electricity snaking across his skin, followed by Ben looking up at Hank who had been holding onto his head with a deep calculating look the entire time.
Hank looked down at him, "Can this form increase an entity's mass?"
Ben grinned, "Oh, yeah!"
"Good, throw me," Hank stated as he leaped off Ben's head.
"I'm starting to think most of the folks on this team are upset they can't fly." Ben snarked as he slapped his hands together, Hank freezing in mid-air, "Thank you for choosing Air Tennyson."
He punched both hands forward, and Hank fired off like a bullet.
Wasp looked over as she continued to bolt around, irritating Talbot as Hank suddenly grew, curled up like a ball, growing to nearly twenty feet tall. She quickly darted out of the way as Hank slammed into Talbot, and he rocketed towards the carnage he'd made out of the Raft, as Hank began to shrink once more, Janet diving to catch him.
"What was that?" Wasp asked incredulously as Tony rocketed past her, Ben a step behind.
"An unconventional application of force and mass," Hank stated with a slightly mad smile.
"You just wanted to know what it felt like?" Wasp accused as they lowered towards the carnage.
"Maybe a little." Hank returned with a smile.
Ben landed staring around furtively for Talbot and his friends, spotting a shifting mass of metal not far from him. He cautiously approached as Tony landed beside him, the pair raising their hands.
Ben lifted his hand skyward, and the slab of metal rose, revealing Daisy, bruised and bleeding but looking surprisingly alright for being smacked out of the sky with an entire prison complex.
"Where is he?" she asked, stumbling to her feet and looking around aggressively.
"Slow down. That was a pretty bad hit," Ben stated, offering a hand up out of the wreckage.
"I'm fine." Daisy stated, still hunting for any sign of Graviton, "What happened?"
"Hank decided he wanted to play cannonball." Janet stated, as she dropped Hank and flitted about Ben's large form, "And this one was the cannon."
"I mean, it worked, didn't it."
The entirety of the Raft juddered beneath them.
"Cut the chitchat!" Tony stated, every weapon on his armor opening up as it shifted once more.
"Rich coming from you, Tony," Ben grumbled, focusing on shifting his form, as the other fell into fighting stances, only for a meaty, green hand to punch through a portion of the Raft and then tear more of the metal away like wet tissue-paper revealing the Hulk, who looked madder than Ben had ever seen him, which was something.
"Where?" Hulk asked, his teeth clenched as he moved towards them, his rage-filled eyes darting around for Talbot.
"That's the million-dollar question, big guy."Janet stated, darting towards him, "You alright?"
Hulk chuckled, "Really, Tiny?"
She shrugged as Tony snapped all of his weapons closed, "Right, fan-out, find him and dog-pile before he can regain focus.
He then looked up at the Hulk, "Punt him away from the City, if you would please."
Hulk glared down at Tony, "No promises."
Janet winced outwardly, to which the Hulk immediately amended his statement, "Fine."
Hank and Janey paired up, dodging through cracks and crevices, seeking any clue that Talbot and his constituents had gotten tangled up in his own carnage.
The Hulk lunged away, disappearing in the smoke, while Tony turned to Daisy and Ben, "Keep comms open, you find him, yell, right?"
Ben gave him a thumbs up, while Daisy just nodded, not looking at him.
Tony disappeared into the smoke, leaving Ben to follow Daisy as she set out, both of their eyes peeled.
"Can I ask a question?" Ben asked.
"Now?" Daisy fired back.
"I mean, kind of fits the current situation we're in." Ben returned, "What did Talbot do to you, and some of the others? He's dangerous and unstable, but everything that's happened today feels...deeply personal."
Daisy stopped, partially turning to look at Ben, a conflicted look on her face, "We trusted the person Talbot used to be, well some of us did, we knew most of us through SHIELD, he was kind of a mentor and friend to most of the people I used to work with, Fury added him to the initiative after he got powers."
"And his Freaky Friday switcheroos?" Ben asked, looking about for any sign of Graviton, but there was nothing, which he found to be even more worrying than the maniac screaming and breaking the laws of psychics.
"Talbot's power comes from an odd alien metal. It...possesses you in a way. All you need to do is touch it, and if you're lucky...well," she gives a bitter frown and gestures around them.
"And if you don't?" Ben asked.
"That's what happened to the first two, Ian Quinn and Franklin Hall, the first was a problem for SHIELD for a short while, and the other was a tragic accident."
"And the 'psychopathic' teenage girl'?" Ben asked
"Ruby Hale," Daisy stated, her voice very biting, "She was already unstable before getting infused with the Gravitonium. Accidentally killing her boyfriend didn't help the situation. She hurt a good number of people I care very deeply about, and...she blames me for what happened to her?"
Ben gave her a look, "You hesitated...is she right to?"
"I...it doesn't matter right now, Ben." Daisy stated with a sigh, "But that's where some of the personal beef comes from, but Talbot betrayed every person here that isn't you. He maimed Hank, tried to kill Tony and Bruce, was willing to hurt Jan, and he...well, he knows what else he did."
Ben opened his mouth to ask another question only for an echoing shout to catch their attention, followed by a gravitic pulse and the sound of shattering stone that parted the dust and smoke, revealing about a hundred feet away Graviton standing over a pined Tony. At the same time, the peer behind Tony had crumbled into the bay.
"Third times the charm," Ben snarked, putting out his palm towards her.
"We need to get you a new playbook." Daisy returned.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Ben stated, "Besides, I think I might actually have a baseball career in my future."
She shot a look at him as he tossed her, "What? I've gotten a strike every time!"
He took off after her as she slammed into Graviton, knocking him away from Tony with a Quake, Hulk leaping out of nowhere and slamming a shipping container down atop him as he was pushed backward.
Graviton blasted it off him, sending Hulk soaring into the air, and held him there before sending a backhanded blast towards Daisy, sending her careening back into Ben, who managed to catch her but was knocked off his feet.
Wasp darted over their heads, firing a barrage, several shots finding purchase.
"I am so tired of fighting you, people!" Talbot shouted, a wave of crushing gravity bursting outward to strike all of them.
Ben resisted it, only being pushed down to his knees, while the others were slammed flat to the ground, even Tony where he was feebly coming too, Daisy resisted her whole form vibrating, but she failed to rise.
Hank looked up at them all.
"Talbot, please." Hank stated, "You're sick. Let us help you."
Talbot ignored him, stalking towards Daisy before stopping next to Wasp with a look on his face with a flat expression.
His features shifted briefly, and standing in his place was Ruby Hale.
"Talbot's not home at the moment, Doctor." Ruby remarked, reaching down towards Wasp, her hand elongating into writhing metallic tendrils, "But I agree, you can help us."
She looked up at Daisy with a smarmy smirk.
"No!" Daisy shouted as the tendril inched closer and closer to Janet as she struggled.
"Hey! Talbot! You're really gonna let a teenage girl call the shots?" Ben interrupted, struggling to inch forward as, above them, Hulk struggled in the air though he had no purchase on anything that would allow him to escape, "I thought you were a General?"
Ruby's form shimmered, and she laughed, "You caught on that it's easy to ego trip him, huh?"
"I think you all are." Ben answered with a smirk, "I mean, come on, some of that god complex has to be a shared head-case, yeah?"
Behind her, Ben could see Hank fiddling with his helmet, a barely audible whisper catching his ears.
"We don't know you." Ruby stated, fully turning to look at him, "We don't even know what you are?"
"I'm a lot of things, honestly ." Ben snarked, "The new guy mainly, but right now I'm the distraction."
Holly blinked, "Wha-"
Her question turned into a pained scream as a large winged ant sank its mandibles into the back of her neck, followed by several more.
Her concentration broke enough that Ben managed to raise an arm, blasting her off her feet with a wave of force.
She slammed into a shipping container, the jarring slam dazing her enough to free the others who all clambered to their feet as Talbot regained control.
"I am shocked that worked," Ben stated, as the others bolted for Talbot, who rose into the air, his face contorted in fury as rubble, shipping containers, and pieces of shorn metal began to orbit around him.
Above him, the Hulk continued to struggle, snarling at the seemingly pointedly ambivalent Talbot.
"This ends now," Talbot remarked, the combined shrapnel soaring down towards them, only to be blocked by Ben forming a reverse gravity causing the assembled items to flounder in midair.
"I agree, General." Hank states, a slightly mad look in his eye, "Ben, us the Accelerator Cannon on Daisy."
Gravattack blinked, "What?"
Wasp sighed, "He means that cannonball trick you just pulled."
"Oh," Ben looked up, spotting the Hulk, and gave Daisy a grin, "I see a chance for a home run!"
"We...really do need to figure out more unique fighting styles," Daisy muttered as he scooped her up.
"Just hit him!" Tony shouted, sitting up from his position on the ground, his armor sparking in several places.
"Launching!" Ben yelled, increasing Daisy's mass as she let out a vibrational pulse of her own, her form blurring into a large, grey bullet as it slammed into Graviton with a thunderclap so loud it shattered windows within the main hub of the city.
Talbot rocketed upwards, his concentration breaking on his hold on Hulk, who dropped with a grin followed by a roar as he rolled and brought a hammer fist down on Talbot's back as Daisy quaked herself out of the way.
Gravattack switched focus, increasing the pull of gravity on the Hulk while lessening its hold on Daisy, allowing her to float downwards slowly. Concentrating, even more, he drew his limbs into his body pulled Tony, Janet, and Hank towards him as he jettisoned himself backward.
The Hulk hit, the entire pier shaking and cracking into a fractured mess, parts of which began to sink into the bay readily.
Hulk leaped backward as Talbot stumbled to his feet out of the crater.
"No, I'm not going back!" Talbot roared.
"Well, considering that the raft is currently in a heap all around us, you're right, Talbot." Tony stated, as once more, every weapon port on his armor opened up, "But you are going away."
Talbot disappeared in a hail of rocket fire and repulsor blasts, a cloud of smoke appearing around him that Ben quickly dissipated.
Graviton was teetering on their feet, their face shifting as they spoke.
"I'm not-" Talbot began.
"Done!" Ruby screamed.
"Finish it." Franklin Hall stated, his eyes pleading before Ian overwrites him.
"If you can!" Ian cried, beginning to laugh, as his face shifted back into Talbot's.
He scrunched up his fists, glaring down at Daisy and Tony, and then whirled on the Hulk as he took a step closer.
"I'm the most powerful being on this planet!" Talbot roared, getting a chuckle out of the Hulk.
"That's debatable." Tony snarked.
"I-" a bolt of yellow energy cut him off to the temple from atop Ben's head. The others turned, seeing Wasp sitting there.
Talbot keeled forward, a tired gasp leaving his lips.
"Most powerful, indeed." Janet snarked, laying back on Ben's head, "I need a nap."
Ben shifted back to normal, "So...now what do we do with them?"
The others shared a look as the Hulk picked Graviton and threw them over his shoulder.
Several minutes later, what felt like all of SHIELD had rolled up, the Helicarrier hovering above the shattered pier, the thunder of its engines drowning out all other noise.
"This could have gone better," Coulson stated, as several agents loaded Graviton into a containment cell, which immediately filled with anesthetic gas.
"It also could have gone a lot worse," Daisy stated, shooting him a conflicted smile.
"You okay?" Coulson asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I...yeah." Daisy stated, turning to the cell as it was pushed onto a quinjet, "Lot of old baggage got stirred up, is all?"
"And the others?" Coulson asked.
"Hank and Tennyson are in high spirits. They're discussing 'team tactics,'" Daisy stated with a bit of a laugh.
"Oh?" Coulson queried, turning to look at where a SHIELD Medic was patching up Hank while Ben was emphatically discussing an idea with him. Wasp sat next to Hank, laughing and interjecting every once and again, but her eyes kept flicking towards the departing cell and the Hulk, who was standing a fair bit back from the chaos.
"Yeah, you never know what strange thing is going to capture Dr. Pym's attention, but he wants to discuss varying our attack plan to include some fast-paced, nonlethal tactics focused on Tennyson's abilities."
"Speaking of Tennyson," Coulson stated, lowering his voice, "What are you thinking?"
"Honestly...I think Fitz might have been right." Daisy stated, "I think he's an alien or something of that nature. He plays it pretty well, but amnesia doesn't explain the small, everyday things he seems to be confused about. Household names and brands, celebrities, movies, the list goes on. He's a good actor, though. I'll give him that. If it hadn't been for you and May, I don't think I would have caught him in some of his lies."
"Hmm, well, don't push anything just yet, I know Fury wants answers, but he's on our side for now," Coulson remarked, looking at Ben out of the corner of his eye.
"And if he actually isn't?" Daisy asked, turning to look at him.
"Then we handle it." Coulson stated, "What about the others?"
"Jan...seems like she's living her best life, but there are moments where she seems conflicted or lost." Daisy stated, "I trust her more than the others, though."
"Stark and Banner?" Coulson queried.
"Tony is as quirky and difficult at times as you told me he'd be." Daisy stated, "He knows something's off with Ben, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. There are also moments where he just goes quiet when he thinks no one is looking, eerily pensive."
"He's been through more than most," Coulson stated, looking over to where Tony seemed just to be staring out over the waves, turning his head slightly, "I think he feels guilty."
"About what?" Daisy asked.
"The mess we've found ourselves in now." Coulson stated, "Stark's a futurist. He's always got a plan. He pulled away following the Invasion, and now that things have gone so far sideways, I think maybe it's eating at him."
Daisy looked over at Tony and then turned to where Banner had emerged, walking over to join Ben, Hank, and Janet, the latter of whom, threw a gentle arm over his shoulder and began asking him a few questions.
"And Banner?" Coulson asked.
"He's changed, since we dealt with him last, whatever he was doing with Stark all those years...I don't know...something different." Daisy stated, "The Hulk talks and banters. There is something about him, though, that puts me on edge, something dark."
"I got a look at that in Central City." Coulson stated, "Fury wants him under surveillance."
"Like Ben?" Daisy asked.
"Something like that, but don't worry about it. I'm just letting you know." Coulson stated, as his earpiece beeped, "Right, that's Fury now. Take care of yourself Daisy, check-in soon. The Team misses you."
"I will," she said with a soft smile, drawing Coulson into a hug and then stepping away.
She turned and looked at her bantering teammates, all of whom, she felt in some fashion or another were keeping something from her, and then looked over at Tony, still standing alone.
"You alright, Stark?" she asked as she approached him.
He jolted, turning to look at her, the faceplate retracting to reveal a heavily bruised face, "Yeah, just thought I saw something?"
"What?" Daisy asked, joining him at the side of the pier.
"Something in the water, probably just seeing things, Talbot might have knocked me cross-eyed." Tony joked, tapping the side of his head.
"Might want to get that looked at. I don't think we could handle you being any more scatter-brained," Daisy stated with a smile.
"Oh, you most definitely couldn't," Tony said with a soft chuckle.
Daisy looked down at the water, remembering her time with Ben beneath the waves, "Ben did say he thought he say something down there."
Tony nodded his head, "Huh, eh, it's probably nothing. Let's grab the others and head back to the tower. I feel like a long soak in the jacuzzi is in my near future."
Dairy stared at him, "We have a hot tub?"
"Did...did I not tell any of you that?" Tony asked with a surprised look.
Daisy shook her head and headed over to the others, leaving Tony a step behind.
Tony stared after her and then turned and looked back at the shatter pier next to where he'd been standing and snapped his faceplate back down.
Graviton had gotten the drop on him because, at the moment, something much more important had been sitting there.
Thor's Hammer now vanished beneath the waves, and according to his sensors, nowhere to be found.
"So, it looks like we're not gonna have to cover it up." Tony snarked bitterly as Blue's display emerged.
"Adding it to the list of problems that are going to come back and directly bite you on the ass." Blue snarked, actually adding the file to a list on the side of Tony's display.
"It's another deviation...whatever comes. It's better than the alternative." Tony returned, turning and going to join his teammates.
"Whatever you say, Boss."
Deep beneath the waves, lightning flashes in the darkness as a lone figure darts through the water, formally unthought-of power rushing through their limbs. A boon handed to them by the Gods surely.
Harlem, New York City 9:07 PM EDT.
"Olivia, wait!" a voice called out, coming from a fairly tall, hooded figure as they stumbled after a quickly running girl, wearing a green blouse over top black pants, and beat-up sneakers. There is a backpack on her back, covered in scrounges patches and key chains that all resemble memorabilia taken from the Bronx Zoo.
"This way!" she called back, darting around a corner, "We're getting close."
"Close to what?!" the figure called out, the light of a street lamp catching green and brown scales emerging from beneath the hood, "It's not safe for us to be out here like this!"
"I know, it will be quick, but we need to find them!" Olivia called back.
"Them, who?" Dr. Conners asked as he took a running leap and scooped Olivia up, his hood coming momentarily free as she darted into an alley, revealing his partially Vaxasaurian features, his face relatively human outside of the thick brown scales stripped with green and the slit nostrils.
"I don't know." Olivia said with a smile, "But they're important,"
"How do you know that?" Dr. Conners asked, fighting a smile at that elated look on his young savior's face.
"Because…" she began ominously as her eyes glowed green, "I can 'see' him, and he's an alien!"
"He's over there," she stated, around a corner, where a large dumpster blocked the view.
Conners looked over at the dumpster and back at Olivia and sighed, "Be careful."
"I always am." she stated as he set her down, "Besides, I know you'll keep me safe."
"That I will." Connors agreed as they both rounded the corner and found a bearded, tall blonde man dressed in a ragged hoodie, worn jeans, and old work boots asleep on several ripe, overstuffed bags of garbage.
"Uh...Olivia, are you sure that this is-" Connors let the question hang.
She smiled up at him, and her eyes glowed green as she tapped the man's arm, revealing an internal structure that was fairly similar to human biology.
"Their muscles, organs, and even their bones are lined with naturally occurring metal filaments comparable in tensile strength to tungsten. Conductive metal is also present in the individual's nervous system. Lung capacity greatly exceeds that of a Human being. The dermal layer shows signs of being resistant to extreme temperatures comparable, including submergence in lava and the void of space. Their blood is filled with an unknown substance that seems to hint at artificially increased longevity. New species discovered, searching Extranet sources, Asgardian DNA cataloged." Olivia rattled off, her eyes blinking yellow briefly, before she looked up at Connors, "See, not Human."
"Asgardian." Dr. Connors muttered, a look of perplexed confusion crossing his face as he stared down on the man, a vague memory of a similar face fighting to emerge from his mind.
At that moment, the man stirred, his eyes cracking open, revealing befuddled blue orbs and taking in his surroundings before jolting backward at the sight of Dr. Connors.
"What are you?" the man cried, falling backward, tripping over garbage, accidentally punching his fist through the brick wall as he tried to catch himself, taking that in with a confused blink.
He turned back to them, his face locked in utter confusion, "What...am I? Where am I? Who are you? What are you…."
"You just asked that." Olivia pointed out, "This is Dr. Connor's. He's a friend."
"A friend." the man muttered, "Do I know you?"
"Not yet, but you can!" Olivia cried excitedly, digging in her backpack, "I'm Olivia, and this is Snipper!"
She drew out a rather irritated-looking blue cat with four eyes and six legs.
"That...is...strange." the man stated, looking at the animal for a few moments, before looking up at Dr. Connors, "Where am I?"
"New York City, specifically Harlem," Curtis stated.
The man mouthed the name but didn't seem to find any recognition.
"I...I'm sorry, but I don't, I can't…" the man muttered, looking around in confusion before looking down at Olivia, "I don't know who I am?"
Dr. Connors opened his mouth only for Oliva to cut across him, "Well, isn't that your name?"
She pointed at a small name tag on the left side of his hoodie, which he had overlooked.
Peeling it off, he turned it around, reading the words.
"Your name is Donald Blake. Stay close to those that find you."
Donald stared at the name for a few seconds, then up at the odd reptilian doctor and the bright-eyed girl with her odd cat.
"I'm Donald Blake. Nice to meet you," he said, sticking his hand out for Dr. Connors to shake.
AND SO ENDS THAT MINI-ARC. The next chapter is gonna be a bit different. Only two of the Avengers will be taking center stage, Ben and….WASP! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, really sorry I was gone so long! Hopefully, I'll be able to get more than a few chapters out before school starts back up, but I make no promises, honestly.
So, revelations about this version of the Invasion hints at a new threat and a name for the mysterious little healer with ties to the Omnitrix.
Again, I hope you all enjoyed it. As always, any comment, critique, or questions are appreciated.
This has been VerBeeker, returned for a short while, signing off!