Chapter 3: A Dark Shade of White (3/3)
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Nero asked Jean in concern using telepathy.
Nero Carnby was currently inside a subway bathroom, smoking a joint inside one of the stools.
"Don't worry, I haven't seen my grandparents in a while so..." Jean responded. Jean Grey had left her grandparents home to spend some days there. Something that she was not exactly looking forward to, due to her family's situation. Which is why Nero was worried about her. "How is your leg?"
Nero inspected his leg, which thankfully didn't have the cast anymore. Since he went to remove it the previous day. "Thanks for going with me." He had to go there by himself since sister Maggie was busy caring for a younger girl that had pneumonia. Luckily, Jean was kind enough to go with him.
"You would have done the same for me." Jean spoke and it was true.
"Is going to get really boring without you around." He told her.
"It's just for a few days and I'm the one who's going to be stuck with my family." Jean was clearly frustrated. "I have to go, we're arriving."
"Good luck." Nero spoke one last time before they stopped communicating through telepathy.
The boy with white hair was now alone inside the stool with nothing to do other than to finish smoking his joint. He decided to reach inside the right pocket of his pants and pull out an iPod with cheap earphones wrapped on it. Time for some soundtrack.
I can't escape this hell
So many times I've tried
But I'm still caged inside
Somebody get me through this nightmare
I can't control myself
As the song echoed through his ears, Nero reached inside his jacket for something, a Graffiti Marker.
So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one would ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal
(This animal, this animal)
Then he wrote at the door that he was facing.
I can't escape myself
(I can't escape myself)
So many times I've lied
(So many times I've lied)
But there's still rage inside
Somebody get me through this nightmare
I can't control myself
He wrote his last name on the door in a tagging style with the black marker.
So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one would ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal
Right under the graffiti, he made a drawing. The drawing was a Ying and Yang symbol, but the two circles were replaced by the symbol of anarchy and the symbol of peace, both upside down.
Somebody help me through this nightmare
I can't control myself
Somebody wake me from this nightmare
I can't escape this hell
Once the drawing was done, Nero completely inhaled the smoke of his joint before he tossed it inside the toilet and flush it.
So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal
(This animal I have become)
The song ended and Nero left the bathroom stool while putting the marker inside of his jacket once again. Then he walked towards the sink to watch his hands, before he looked at the mirror.
Looking good... He admired himself due to his awesome outfit. It's basically a modified version of his usual outfit but it's still noticeable. A pair of black and white air jordan 1 retro high dior that he stole from a guy the previous day as he was getting kicked out of his apartment by his girlfriend, while she was tossing his clothes from the window, he saw the awesome shoes and just couldn't resist. His jeans, which were baggy in a hip-hop style, with three interconnecting belts in a Criss Cross belts style, one was a black military belt, the other was a heavy metal style bullet belt and the last one was a leather belt with a Lion head buckle. There were also golden belt chains on the left side of his pants. He also had some jewelry on it, a diamond earring in his left ear, a silver cross necklace and a nice looking golden watch on his left wrist. On his top, he was wearing a white tank-top as an undershirt, with the white pullover hoodie that he stole from Flash Thompson over it. And last but not least, his new leather jacket that got from Gwen Stacy, that he was wearing over his hoodie. It was a black A-2 bomber jacket that was a little baggy on Nero. He made a few alterations to it, he put on an American flag patch on the left arm and added a few badges of symbols on the right like, Peace, Chaos, Anarchy, Ying Yang, on the right side of the chest right below a name tag with N.C. Carnby on it and right above it, there was a World War II medal of honor that he stole from an old guy that was staring at Jean's ass and practically glued on the jacket. He also had a pair of fingerless combat gloves on his hands that he got from an army surplus store.
The outfit may seem exaggerated. But Nero Carnby considers himself an individualist.
Once he was done checking himself up, he decided to get out of the bathroom in order to catch a train. Upon exiting the bathroom, Nero moved towards the exit of the train station, mainly because he had something to do. But before he did, he went towards a vending machine to get a soda, a Pepsi. He drank as he made his way out of the train station and into the street. The rain stopped, but it could start again at any second. Nero thought as he looked at the cloudy sky while he drank his soda. Checking his watch, he noticed that it was almost the time that they agreed to meet. Walking down the street, Nero drank his soda and tried to figure out why. I mean, how the hell did she even get the Orphanage's number? He thought for a second, until he realized that the answer was pretty simple. Of course, her dad probably had the number. It was pretty obvious. Finishing his Pepsi, Nero crushed the can and tossed it on a trashcan before placing his hands inside his jacket's pocket.
Passing through a bunch of people that were too preoccupied with their lives to care about their surroundings. Though, Nero didn't really care about it either, nothing interesting to see anyway. Not that he was paying any attention either, he was busy thinking about Jean. He sincerely hopes that she stays okay around her family. She barely reacted when she heard that they were planning on putting her sister in a clinic, hell, I think she was actually relieved. Nero thought, as he was with her when she read her father's mind. Honestly, Jean is getting more and more distant from her family, both on her part and their part. Nero is doing his best to be there for her, but he's worried. Honestly, it really depresses him to see a family fall apart like that. Especially since he never really had one, the closest thing to a parent figure that he has it's Sister Maggie, but she does that to every other kid in the orphanage. Nero is just someone he pays extra attention to, because he has a painfully annoying habit of getting in trouble. A habit that is only partially his fault to be honest.
Turing left once he reached the end of the street that he was walking, he noticed a bus passing by him. Moving his head to the right to see the bus driving slowly next to him and noticing that the bus was empty except for the rider and a guy standing up, despite a painfully high number of empty seats around him. He doesn't know why, but that guy gives him a strange feeling, he had a weak build, a scruffy beard, brown messy hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing dark blue jeans and an orange hoodie that completely zipped up with the hood up as well and a black baseball cap alongside it, like he was trying to hide his face. Suddenly, the guy noticed Nero staring at him, but instead of turning away, he kept staring. There's something really off about that guy. It was Nero's opinion. He looks tired and by his appearance, he clearly hasn't rested or cleaned up properly during the day. And by the outfit, it's pretty obvious that he's trying to hide himself.
It took a few seconds for the guy to turn around in order to avoid eye contact with Nero. But his curiosity got the better of him and Nero decided to read his mind. Annoyingly, Nero can't read people's minds for long otherwise he would get horrible headaches. Jean on the other hand, can read people's minds infinitely but she told him that she usually gets overwhelmed when she does. Strangely, she never has this problem when she's around Nero and easily manages to read minds without getting overwhelmed.
"Come on, I just need to get off this bus and get to the train station and then walk a few miles and then I will arrive at Elizabeth's apartment." Nero heard him thinking and he was visibly anxious with something involving someone named Elizabeth. "This was a bad idea, why did she call me, what could she possibly have to tell me, she knows the danger." His thoughts were rapidly going on inside his head and it was clear to Nero that whatever this guy was nervous about, it had to be huge. Sadly, it didn't last as the bus sped up leaving Nero behind before he could get more information.
"Whatever..." Nero decided to let it be, whatever it was, it was probably bad and it would definitely backfire if he got involved.
After walking a bit more, the white haired boy finally arrived at his destination. Shit, even the street in front of the place stinks like privilege. Nero thought in annoyance as there was some really strange smell in the area. It wasn't bad or anything, but he really didn't like it. At the moment. Nero was standing in front of a place called Brooklyn Visions Academy, arguably the most prestigious private school in New York City, although Nero didn't really believe that. He could see several students from all ages coming in and out of the place, they were all wearing a similar uniform but he simply ignored them. Just by looking at them, he gets the idea that they're all from either rich or well-off enough families which was something that Nero preferred to be as far away from as possible. I'm certainly out of place here, considering that most of what I get is from either stealing or charity. He thought in a bit of shame, but it can't be helped. Nero doesn't like stealing stuff from people but sadly is either that or nothing for him at times.
Despite his attempts, several people noticed his presence. But he simply ignored them, not exactly caring about their opinions of him. Soon enough, he finally saw the person that he was supposed to meet, standing in front of the entrance, right beside the front steps that lead to the door. The person in question was Gwen Stacy, the former owner of the awesome leather jacket that he was wearing at that precise moment. She was wearing the Brooklyn Visions Academy's uniform though hers she was wearing black varsity-like sweatshirt with white sleeves over it, which pretty much confirms that she was a student there, but it was already painfully obvious since she called him to meet her in front of the place. As the white haired boy approached the blond, who seemed to be distracted with something. But once he got close enough.
"How the fuck did you got even got my number anyway?" It was the first thing that he asked her.
It startled her a bit. But she responded. "Apparently, my father has a file of you in his computer which includes the number of the orphanage that you live in." She told him with a cheeky smile that exposed her slight gap tooth before she returned to a bored expression. "Shot multiple times by a group of mobsters, suspected of setting a train on fire, matches the description of the robber of a very expensive ring, who had shot a pedophile in the shoulder." Suddenly, she started to list all of the things that happened since the day he met her father. But the information of him matching the description of the robber of the ring that Black Cat took and being suspected of the train fire made him freeze.
But he quickly recovered his composure and said, "What?" He gave her a sarcastic smile. "I like living dangerously."
"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes. "But seriously, what really happened?"
Nero considered for a second in basically changing the subject. But honestly, for some reason, he liked Gwen. "I was having a picnic with my late best friend Frank Castle Jr, and we accidentally stumbled upon a bunch of mobsters executing a guy and they shot us, killing everyone but me and Frank Castle Sr." He explained the first one bluntly while doing his best to not think about FJ, since he really missed him.
"Shit, sorry..." She immediately apologized for bringing up that particular topic. But he continued
"I was smoking on that train and I accidentally dropped and that was the cause of the fire." It was a half-lie and half-truth. I never had that breathing fire problem again afterwards.
"Fuck... Are you serious?!" Gwen was immediately surprised by his response, clearly shocked by the bad luck that he had in that situation, which was kind of justified.
Nero nodded in confirmation before continuing. "I'm indeed the guy of the description but I didn't steal the ring." He admitted it was true. "I was literally just passing by the place until the actual robber gave the ring to me and when the guards saw me with it, I ended up panicking and running away with it." The hooded boy told her. "Then the actual robber found me later and took the ring." After making out with me for a considerable amount of time. He thought while images of Black Cat passed through his mind. Oh... I really want to repeat that.
While he was thinking about Black Cat, Gwen was staring at him with a weird look on her eyes. Like she was analyzing him, just like her father usually does. Until. "Wait, are you actually serious?" She asked him, probably not seeing any trace of lying on his face.
"Yes, that's how I ended up on that train, running from the police." He admitted to her. "The pedophile... It's kind of personal, it involves Jean's family so I prefer to not give much details about it." Since it already caused a lot of trouble for her and her family. "But I admit, I actually had a fight with him and shot him on the shoulder but it was after he knocked me by pistol-whipping me on the face with his revolver." He explained to the blond girl.
...
...
...
...
For two or three minutes, the girl just stared at him with a confused expression on her face. Nero just waited for her to say something, half-expecting her to tell him to stay the hell away from her.
"Either you literally just spewed a bunch of bullshit to me, or you are literally the most unlucky guy in New York City." That was her response to everything he just told her.
Nero lifted the cross on his neck and said. "May I be stroked by lightning if at least half of what I just said to the cool girl standing right in front of me are lies." He precisely chose his words carefully when he said that, luckily, despite excluding some details, it was all true.
"Ummm... I'm an atheist but I'll believe in the latter from now on." Gwen spoke in response to his gesture while giving him a smile.
"I'm not really religious myself, despite being raised in a Catholic Orphanage." Nero admitted as he let go of the cross and placed his hands on his jacket's pocket once again. "So, what was the reason for you to call me?" He asked the blond girl.
That caught Gwen off guard for some reason. "Ummm... Well..." She awkwardly spoke, apparently having difficulty with him. "I was... Ummm..." It was strange, since she has been speaking easily before but now. "I was wondering... If you would like to... hang out with me."
Nero raised a brow in response. Wait, she's asking a guy that she met once at an instrument store a few days ago to hang out with her? He thought as he analyzed her. "Sure." But then he just decided to go for it.
"Really?" She asked him in a strange enthusiastic tone.
He nodded slowly in response. "Though, are you asking me because you have no better options or..." It was his best theory about this.
"More like no other options to be honest." She revealed it to him until she realized how it sounded. "No offense, what I mean is... I don't really get along with people very easily and the people in this school usually fall into three categories." The blond girl explained to him.
"Which are?" He asked in curiosity.
"Either, rich idiots that think they are better than everyone else because they're parents have money." Yeah... I kind of expected that. He thought as he saw some of them staring at the two of them. "Or, hardcore nerds that you can't barely understand what they are talking about." I'm more of geek than a nerd, I usually attend D&D sessions in comic book stores and I know how hardcore some nerds can be. "Or, super boring people that are too afraid to do anything fun." Because fun usually means dangerous, not that I can judge it.
"Well, I'm poor, a geek that you can understand and I like to think that I'm actually fun to be around." He spoke while pointing at himself with his thumbs. "And I would love to hang out with you, Gwen Stacy."
She smiled in response.
"No! No! Left!"
Nero Carnby decided to follow Gwen Stacy to an old arcade that she knew and the two basically spent several hours playing the games there.
Currently, they are playing a light gun game in co-op.
"So, you got into that private school because you know Norman Osborn." Gwen was explaining to Nero about how she got into Brooklyn Visions Academy despite her father's money problem.
"No, I know his son, Harry Osborn." Gwen corrected him. "Harry spoke with his dad, who spoke to my dad and offered to get me scholarship there since he's one of he school's benefactors." The blond girl explained as she shot the targets in the game. "I didn't really wanna go, but dad thought that it would be for the best because that was too good of an opportunity to pass." There was a certain distaste in her voice.
"Hmm..." Nero heard her loud and clear. "Did you know Peter Parker as well?" He asked her.
"Peter Parker? He's like... The king of the dorks." Gwen told him. "We were more acquaintances than friends to be honest, but he and Harry are best friends." She pointed out.
Hearing that caused Nero to remember what happened when he was at the theater with Peter, and he ended up knocking out Flash Thompson, the guy that he stole his hoodie from. Remembering that the blond douchebag said something about replacing Osborn. He was probably referring to Harry Osborn, since he and Peter are best friends. "Are you and Osborn friends?" He asked her as he landed sloppy shots in the game.
"Nope, just acquaintances to a lesser degree than Peter." She revealed to him as they shot the same target. "Honestly, I can't really stand him." They rapidly pulled the trigger of their guns in order to finish the boss. "He has this annoying obsession with getting his father's approval and has a tendency to whine, complain and act envious of others just because they are popular." She bluntly expressed her opinion about Harry Osborn. "Worst part, I think he has a crush on me.° The blond girl was visibly repulsed by that.
"And I assume you weren't impressed with his wealth." He was joking of course.
"Do I look like a gold-digger to you?" Gwen was being sarcastic.
"Well, you paid for my game so..." A game that he just lost. "Oh fuck!"
"Should have paid attention to the life bar." Gwen lectured him before she herself lost the game.
"Should have aimed for the weak spots." Nero also lectured her.
Gwen angrily placed the light gun back at the holster before signalling him to follow her towards another game.
"So, how's the drum set that I gave you?" Nero asked as he followed her with his hands in his jacket's pockets.
"Being used at least twice a day if I can help it." Gwen proudly admitted. "When my dad asked how I got it, he was shocked when I told him that you gave it to me in exchange for my jacket." And I told Sister Maggie that I used the money that she gave it to me to buy and got super scolded for it. He thought internally after she said that. "He tried to force me to give it back, but I managed to convince him to let me keep it."
"Good, because it was a fair exchange." Because I really wanted this jacket and she really wanted the drum set. "Besides, how were you supposed to practice your drummer skills without a drum?"
Both arrived at a racing game, taking a seat besides one another and starting the game.
"But, I have to ask." Nero spoke to her as he spun the steering wheel to the left. "I know you don't like anyone in your new school, but... Don't you have friends from your previous home to hang out with?" He asked her in a little bit of confusion. She used to be Peter's neighbor before her father got promoted, but according to her, they weren't really friends. But I'm kind of wondering why she called me to hang out with her instead of some other friends.
"Nope." She bluntly responded to him.
He removed his gaze from the screen and looked at her. It took a few seconds for her to move her head and meet his almost white eyes with her dark blue ones. Neither paid attention that their cars went off road in the game, they kept on staring at each other's eyes until Nero finally asked. "Let me guess, it's because of something that has nothing to do with you?"
She gave him a weak smile before asking. "And what makes you assume that?"
"Oh..." He looked at the ceiling and made a goofy face. "I don't know..." He placed his index finger on his chin. "Maybe the fact that I barely know you and I already think you're awesome." It was his honest opinion.
The weak smile grew considerably, but then it disappeared and she looked back at the screen. A few seconds of silence passed by, until she took a deep breath and said. "Short version," The blond girl leaned on the chair as she spoke. "My mom is... She has Bipolar disorder and... Well..." She was clearly having difficulty saying it. "Let's just say that... during the episodes, she had a tendency of doing really,really,really stupid shit and..." Nero just sat there quietly, listening to her. "Well... Enough shit for people to want to stay away from her, and tell their children to stay away from me." She revealed it to him.
"I see..." Nero told Gwen , before he reached out and touched her shoulder. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Why the fuck did I asked? He thought in annoyance.
"Nah, you asked a question and I just answered." Gwen waved off his apology. "So, are we actually going to play this game or are we simply going to be sitting here?" She immediately changed the subject.
"Now, we're talking!"
Nero and Gwen played a few more games there, but eventually, it got late and the two were forced to leave the Arcade because it was going to close. Motherfucker. He thought in annoyance as the guy was super rude with the two of them.
"What time is it?" Gwen asked as the two passed through the front door after the guy that works in the front desk kicked them out.
Nero checked his golden watch. "Shit!" He didn't even pay attention to the hour. "It's Eight already."
"Damn, we played for that long?" Gwen asked him before looking at the dark sky. We literally went eleven rounds in the fighting game and you're actually asking that?
"Apparently." Since it was evening when they entered. "Isn't your dad going to be worried?" Nero asked her in concern.
But she waved him off in response. "The earliest that he ever gets home is eleven PM." She revealed it to him.
"Oh, okay..." Nero was relieved. "Then I'll walk you home, they won't notice my absence either."
"You sure?" Gwen asked him. "It's kind of a long walk." She warned him.
"Well, you paid for an entire gaming session." Nero pointed out. "Least I can do is walk you home."
She lifted her shoulders in response. "Heh, hard to argue with that logic." The blond girl spoke as she signaled him to follow her.
Nero placed his hands inside his jacket pockets and followed the blond girl down the unknown street. Both were walking besides one another like him and Jean often do, though with the slight difference that they weren't holding hands like they do. Speaking of which, he would have to speak to Jean later, see how is she doing. I'll talk to Jean when I get back to the Orphanage. He planned as he and Gwen arrived on a corner.
"Where do you live anyway?" Nero asked her.
"In an apartment a few blocks from here." Gwen answered his question.
"Is it nice?" He wondered.
"On the average side to be honest, not bad but can't call it good either." She explained.
"Hmmm..." As they kept walking, Nero looked around in order to see some of the differences between Brooklyn and Manhattan and honestly, he didn't found any so far. "Is there any difference between Brooklyn and Queens?" He asked her in curiosity.
"It's still New York City regardless, just with a few differences here and there." It was Gwen's response. "Let me guess, trying to figure it out the difference between Manhattan and Brooklyn?"
"Can you read minds or something?" That was a semi-joke.
She just chuckled. "Nope and I'm really grateful for that because I would probably end up finding out things about people that I definitely don't want to find out."
Yeah... Jean kind of has that problem at times. He thought in amusement.
"So, what happened to your friend Jean?" She asked him in curiosity.
"She-"
Before Nero could answer Gwen's question. Something happened, a very loud noise was heard from afar. They were noises of... Smashing. Both looked at one another in confusion, but the moment that they did, something else happened. Suddenly, the street lights went off, and not just the street lights, every single light around them, leaving the two in total darkness.
"What the hell?" Gwen spoke in confusion as she tried to look around.
"A blackout?" It wasn't a question, he just pointed out the obvious.
Before they could fully grasp their situation, they heard the noise of something breaking. Startling the two, they turned around to see where the noise came from but it was hard because of how dark it was. But then the noise was replaced by the noise of a car crashing into something. That noise caused Gwen to grab Nero's arm. More and more noises of glass breaking, cars crashing and people screaming could be heard from afar. Despite the darkness, Nero already could tell that something bad was going to happen if they stayed there.
"Gwen," He called her while grabbing her arm. "How far is your apartment again?"
"Ummm... A few blocks away." She answered his question.
"Let's go there before something bad happens, because blackouts are literally a giant sign for the free market." Nero joked as he slowly turned around.
"If by free market, you mean looting, then yes." Gwen agreed with him before she turned around as well and they started to move with very little visibility due to some of the cars in the street.
Luckily, they managed to arrive at the end of the street with no problem but once they turned right on the corner, they ended up seeing something terrible. Oh shit, they're looting the store. There they saw a group of people breaking into a closed store and stealing things from it. Normally, I'll probably join them, but... He thought as he gently pulled Gwen to stay behind him in order to pass through them. But then a guy with a baseball bat smashed the window of one of the places in order to enter, he dropped the baseball bat and entered through the broken window. Better be safe and sorry. He thought before grabbing the baseball bat and signalling Gwen to move forward. She didn't say anything because she was clearly a little frightened by the whole situation. Which turned out to be the right reaction, as suddenly two guys came out of the store fighting for an electronic device that Nero couldn't tell what it was. Luckily, they took their fight to the street, allowing the two to move through the sidewalk peacefully until they arrived at the entrance of the store that was being looted and saw several Cell Phone lights inside with people searching and grabbing electronic devices all around it.. But he didn't look for long and quickly moved past it.
"Fuck,fuck, shit..." Gwen cursed as more sounds of destruction could be heard from afar and they were not liking when this was going.
"Shit, shit, fuck..." Nero decided to curse too as he had the baseball bat ready for any incoming assault. Any sight of aggression, bash their fucking skull in.
"AHH!" Gwen let out a small scream as a car crashed into a wall from afar. It was a green Cadillac.
What a waste. It was his opinion as it was a really nice car.
They saw the driver coming out of the car and he didn't look so good as his head was bleeding, but there was nothing they could do for him so Nero just signaled her to move. Passing through the car what seemed like it was going to catch on fire at any second. Both moved forward as quickly as possible as the noises of destruction kept getting worse and worse. Jesus, what the fuck is going on? Nero asked as those noises didn't sound like a riot. Passing through an alleyway, they caught the sight of a bunch of people fighting each other, which they smartly ignored and moved pass it as quick as possible. The duo could only move forward with very limited lighting to guide them. But they could see some destruction going on from afar, with people breaking into stores and thrashing cars. Let us avoid that shit, because a cute girl like Gwen might attract the wrong kind of attention. He thought but didn't say anything as it would just needlessly frightened Gwen even more. Moving towards another street in order to avoid the one being thrashed. Which turned out to be a good decision as the street was relatively empty.
"How many blocks again?" He asked as he proceeded through the sidewalk.
"Tw-" She was about to respond, but then something helped.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
Out of nowhere, a very loud roar was heard by the two of them, which caused Gwen to hug his arm even tighter. Both were paralyzed by that sound and before any of the two could ask the painfully obvious question of, what made the sound. The sound of very loud stomps could be heard from above them, like something was stomping into the building above them. Both Nero and Gwen searched what was making that sound for a few seconds.
Until their answer arrived.
By the form of something coming down from the sky and smashing into the ground like a meteor right on the end of the street that they were currently in.
...
...
...
"W-w-w..." Nero was having difficulty in saying what he was thinking, mainly because his eyes were completely widened and his mouth was completely open due to the horrible sight of the thing that just appeared in front of them. Gwen was the same, except that she covered her mouth in response.
The thing that just smashed in the ground in front of them. Was a hulking monster looking thing that appeared to be around eight feet tall and it was heavily muscled, with green skin, black hair, and green eyes that were so bright that he could see them in darkness, wearing only a pair of torn pants in a dark blue jean color.
That thing looks angry. It is an understatement as that green thing seemed to be fuming in rage as it stood up from the ground that it just completely smashed with a very angry look on its face.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
"RUN!" Nero yelled to Gwen as that thing roared loudly. With the two immediately running to the opposite reaction as fast as they could. Until they heard something that made the run faster.
"HULK SMASH!"
Questions and Answers:
Is Gwen going to join Nero and Jean making a trio and will Black Cat appear again soon?
Nero kind of left his mark on Black cat, so yes. Kind of...
Another story that be great if you had plans to update soon.
I hope you like it.
What a curious story
Thanks for the compliment
Just so you know my other tinfoil theory for Nero's Asgardian parent is Freyja thought Cul remains the other possibility in my head
Now with Jean and the Phoenix meant to add when it comes to Nero helping her first a little odd that she'll only have half the fire birds power and keep in mind if it's a situation where she has half due to the Phoenix being split that's a bad idea as we know from the Avengers vs X men and the Phoenix five while at first the Phoenix can remain split amongst several hosts inevitably one way or another the Phoenix ensures that it's pieces come back together even if it means influencing its hosts to turn on each other to take each other out so that eventually it has a single host
Plus we know it's possible to control the full Phoenix force power without going into a dark Phoenix state so rather than just Nero helping Jean get a handle on just half the birds power he helps her control the whole thing personally just think having the full power under control would be begetter for Jean
Also saw the response of the only time Nero will be at full power will be a spoiler and we'll noticed that you said there'd only be one time where he's at full power and I'll admit I was hoping that as we went further into the story there would be a point where Nero would of course get his full power as a Beyonder and whole bunch of other things hybrid and have access to it plus everything he picked up to increase his power going forward
Because I got a slight implication from that statement with the whole only time bit that Nero will be full power for something and then after that he'll lose that state don't get me wrong I still see Nero being beyond omega level but it would be great if Nero achieved his full power and then kept that state going forward
With my Symbiote suggestions id like to make some alterations first Carnage doesn't go to Jean and the alternatives are
Carnage - Cindy Moon
Lasher - Gamora
Agony - Hope
If your accepting requests for previews of adult Nero either simply hanging out and spending time with certain ladies or having a particular kind of fun with them haha or whatever
One with Black Cat Felicia that could even have Ghost Spider Gwen
One with Jean and say someone like Emma or Storm maybe in a possible mutant nation that has very much been effected by Nero
One with She Hulk Jennifer and Sue Storm
In regards to Nero's genetics to if someone tried to study them like say Mr Sinister or someone in the Illumantie like Reed they take one look at Nero's genetics and just say wtf is this his genetics being so complicated they simply can't wrap their heads around it
Another thing I kinda hope for is when it comes to telepaths in his head Nero only lets very select people on ie Jean, Madelyn, Emma and the Five in One, Psylocke, Hope, Rachel etc
Side note with Deadpool hope Nero is one of the people that genuinely happy when Wade is around
It's one of them...
You don't get it, it will tactically remain together through the two hosts, since the two hosts will create a link that practically turns the two into the same person, purposely allowing both to keep the each half stuck. (Before you ask, the other host will not be Nero, but it will be someone connected to Jean who also happens to be telepathic.)
Although it is possible, Nero just prefers to not risk it.
Because in his full power he becomes the second most powerful being in the universe (Only below the One Above All.) but he chooses to not stay in full power because of a very specific reason that will be explained when it happens.
Don't worry, you'll see him using it on a certain...cough...Livi...cough...Tribu...cough...
I already explained below that only Carnage will appear since Nero would never hand the Symbiote or allow it to be taken.
Too many previews on this chapter already, maybe on the next one. (If you have one in particular that you would like, let me know.)
Everyone will try to get a sample of Nero's DNA to study.
Jean and Nero are telepathically connected through the Phoenix Force. Madelyn will include herself on their link. Emma may force entry on his mind out of pride (Because Nero can easily resist her Telepathy) and the Five-In-One will do the same because they kind of consider Nero their "Daddy" because of Emma (Which will lead to very awkward situations when they keep calling him that while trying to seduce him.).Hope and Rachel will be his daughters so the connection will be there whether he likes it or not. Psylocke connects herself to him in order to alleviate the pain of the horrible migraines that she experiences due to her inability to control it.
They have a weird, violent, and overall chaotic, father and son type of relationship with Nero actually considering Deadpool his step-dad.
Will Nero learn more Martial Arts, other than just Boxing?
Duh, how is he supposed to be a good crime fighter and fight even more trained combatants otherwise.
Nero's fighting style overall will be mostly composed of Western Martial Arts. Boxing, Kickboxing, Savate, Wrestling (Freestyle, Greco-Roman, & Folkstyle, Freestyle, Greco Wrestling, Catch-As-Catch-Can.) Sambo, Jailhouse Rock, MCMAP,Krav Maga, ATK, Systema, Capoeira, etc. His fighting style mostly relies on aggressiveness and pure brutality, alongside dirty fighting.
So with Nero being Venom ideal host it got me thinking about Venom's seven spawn it occurred to me Venom would tell Nero it's about to spawn a new Symbiote oh and I know bar one of them none of Venoms spawning was natural but in this I can see them all being natural anyway point is the new Symbiote is spawned inheriting more positive personality's due to the influence of Nero and Venom so it got me thinking about what if Nero handed out Venoms spawn to those he cares for a suggested list
Carnage - Jean
Phage - Laura
Riot - Shuri
Lasher - Cindy Moon
Agony - Felicia
Scream - Elektra
Sleeper - Gwen
Course you could come up with other options on who Nero passes the Symbiotes off to like Sue could get Scream those are just suggestions after all and yeah with all of them due to having all natural spawning and a immediate positive influence due to their first bonding technically being with Nero all the Symbiotes are just in general more positive and less feral yes even Carnage
What it's first host won't be a literal insane murderer so as odd as it sounds Carnage could be good and considering it'll be sharing potentially Jean with the Phoenix it should behave haha
Also I do really think Gwen should have a Symbiote Cindy to
Speaking of Cindy hope Nero prevents the need for Cindy to be locked up for 10 years and the spider bites make her and Gwen focus entirely on Nero with him joking it's a good thing Peter didn't react to him the same way Gwen and Cindy are
With the Phoenix influence on how Nero and Jean have the mind link my hope is the Phoenix is fully aware of what exactly Nero is she even sensed when the Beyonder dumped him on earth and her curious herself about it oh and I hope she wasn't apart of Nero's creation… also I'm really hoping the Phoenix herself gets feelings for Nero
So with Nero's connection to Asgard and one that has Thor happily trying to give Nero a hammer while Odin disapproves had me put my tin foil hat on and think that the Beyonder took some of the essence of Odin's brother Cul Borson, I see Thor being quite happy at the reveal he's got a cousin hence wanting him to have his own hammer while Odin would be concerned about the existence of a nephew
Side note hope Nero can play mediator between Thor and Loki even if these days in the comics the two are on good terms again
Been meaning to say to the the off hand mention of Tony reminded me hope there's already a few super hero's and villains running around already like maybe the Avenegrs haven't formed yet but they will within like a year or two so you got Iron Man flying around and the Hulk off somewhere to
I'm also curious if Nero will be able to prevent some villains from even becoming Villains namely say Ultron say Nero is around when Hank is first building Ultron and Nero sees that it's more sentient than it appears to Hank so Nero bonds with Ultron so Ultron doesn't become the murder machine we know but it decides to become a hero in other words as wacky as it sounds think of Ultron as being like Dcs Red Tornado
But other villains like Green Goblin when they first pop up Nero is just like hey neat bombs they are mine and you are dead
Could I also assume part of the reason Professor X appoints Scott the leader of the X Men over Nero is due in part for Nero I'm assuming willingness to be ruthless for example he could happily kill some of the foes
Plus while he kills some enemies he could have a affinity with others that brings them over to his side
I'm also eager to see if Nero would play a role in founding the Mutant Nation of Krakoa
Nah, Symbiotes generally produce only one offspring in a lifetime. In the case of Venom, seeds were forcibly extracted to produce more offspring. So expect only Carnage to come out (Nero is very possessive with his belongings, and the Symbiote later classifies as one and he won't let anyone get their hands on it) so expect Symbiote Gwen as the only other ones as a more friendly version of Carnage (Though, Carnage's offspring may also go to someone.)
Nero will actually be present when Peter, Gwen and Cindy are bitten by the infamous Spider {Nero gets bitten by it too, but it hardly affects him in any significant way other than giving him the Spider-Sense and creating a strange bond with the female spiders as a result.}. And he will remember that Cindy got bitten too and basically will get the three to try to figure out their powers together. (Nero had experience with training with the X-Men by that point so he actually helps them quite effectively.)
The Pheonix's feelings for Nero are the exact same feelings that Death has for him (You can probably figure it out.)
Nero actually has a parent in every single God of Earth from different cultures. (The reaction of the Kingdom of Wakanda when they discover that Nero is the "son" of one their gods will be the most priceless in my opinion.) But to answer your question, Odin will indeed not be happy with Nero's existence at all, but Thor immediately adores him.
There are no Avengers yet, but there are some around already.
Nah, Nero will actually turn Ultron into his personal AI mixing it up with the Overseer to kind of create an ultimate supercomputer at his complete disposal.
LOL! That would be hilarious.
Because Scott is much more expected to obey Professor X's orders while Nero is the type that will disobey it if he doesn't agree with them. Not to mention that Scott has a mind for strategy and planning ahead before the actual mission while Nero is much,much better at improvisation (He can improvise a plan in the middle of the action or comes up with one immediately before the action starts.) And yes, he is more ruthless than the rest of the X-Men, he does follow Professor X's rule of not killing (For a while at least) , but he does take drastic measures if the situation calls for it. (Example: Smashing Quicksilver's legs with a Sledgehammer to incapacitate him completely.)
Good chapter. Thor is synonymous with Mjolnir so I think it would be better if Nero gets Stormbreaker, Thunderstrike or Jjarnborn.
Like I said, he may temporarily grab the Mjolnir because he needs it to defeat an enemy, though he might get one of the three permanently.
Ah this was good
Seriously at the start was it was a shame to learn Jean's home life is kinda coming apart it is wholesome as hell that she's been visiting Nero every day and spending time with him the two watching cartoons together was also pretty sweet
The two having a sleep over was nice to and Jean not reacting to the lighting while cuddled up to Nero and all that again very wholesome haha
Plus Nero got to admire Jeans legs in the morning haha but I also bet when he thought of every part of her being lovely she picked up on that via the link haha
Also further sweeping Jean off her feet by singing and playing the guitar for her and the music store scene was nice to thanks to it introducing Gwen
Got a good laugh to from when Nero learned Gwens surname and immediately heard George call out after he thought about the odds
Nero must really want that jacket of Gwens if he's willing to trade a drum set for it haha still nice start to his relationship with the future Ghost Spider
Enjoyed the preview to but I got to ask with Nero wearing USA flag boxers can I assume by that point he has Cap's shield and he jokes about him holding it makes him patriotic enough to wear boxers like that haha
At that stage Rogue might just be friends with benefits heck a few of his relationships could start like that but I hope it evolves beyond that with the likes of Rogue also good to know Nero is going to be able to freely touch her
One thing that did set of alarm bells thought was the statement Cyclops will cause trouble before Nero gets with Jean please for the love of God don't say Jean gets feelings for Scott considering her experiences with Nero, Scott shouldn't get a second glance
But I do like the idea of Nero and Scott hating each other saw your reply to another reviewer about how whole Professor X still appoints Scott as the official leader of the X Men Nero due to his natural leadership capabilities will be the one most of the other X men look to as the leader and I do delight in the idea that Nero will clash with Scott and wind up the control freak
Surprised to learn Nero isn't just half beyonder and half cosmic entity now I got a imagine in my head of the Beyonder running around going to various beings and being like hey add some of your power to this kid I'm holding haha
So Nero then is at his baseline is a Beyonder just that his Dna has had a ton of stuff grafted to it ie cosmic entity, God, mutant and I'm guessing things like, Eternal, Deviant, Celestial, bio organic machine etc
Got a suggestion to in place of his dad somehow limiting his powers when it comes to the nigh omnipotence and full reality warping of his fathers kind just say the "limit" is due to Nero when it comes to being a Beyonder is young and as he grows he'll quickly get a handle on his power more and more
Speaking of the Beyonder race hope while they look at Nero as potentially the most dangerous experiment ever considering he's one of them plus a whole lot more they still see him as one of their own and don't wish to come into conflict with him essentially they give his corner of the Multiverse a wide berth haha
Good to know he's on Felicia's mind haha
Ah so no Nero x Hope then pity was hoping for a red head foursome between Nero, Jean, Hope and Madelyne haha so Hope will be Nero and Jean's kid while Cable is Nero and Madelyn neat but I do hope Nero doesn't get with Madelyn under the circumstances of Jean being "dead" and her being a look a like
Side not part of the reason I just don't like Scott is the whole Jean came back and he then immediately abandoned Madelyne with no word
A suggestion with Madelyne could the X Men find her in a lab of Mr Sinister Nero and the Phoenix giving her a spark that activates her powers when her in presence that also wakes her up and while knowing she's just a clone of Jean, Nero and Jean herself bond with Madelyne immediately
Oh and with that preview with Nero, Thanos and Wade yeah that cracked me up hope Nero is someone that genuinely likes Deadpool yet is still annoyed by his shit like the daddy comment
Thanks for confirming to that Venom is going to be his Symbiote and after that reply I can't help put picture Eddie as Venom talking shit meanwhile Nero casually raises a hand and Venom leaps back onto him but great knowing Venom will be devoted to Nero
You know with how Nero is going to be going around "collecting" things one I see Felicia loving having this habit in common with Nero and two I love the idea that when Nero sees something cool that he wants he's just going to be like mine now after he beats the guy who has it particularly if it's a villain
Jean's family is kind of complicated. But Nero is there for her.
Nero makes her feel safe.
Yup...
A lot of things that happens in Nero's life is actually per-determined by the only guy that is more powerful than his father.
Nero always wanted a leather jacket, but those don't appear very often on donations.
Well... "The only thing that can be considered Patriotic about me, is my fucking underwear."
Rogue initiates this relationship, precisely because he's the only one that can freely touch her.
Oh no,no,no,no,no. Although, Jean will like Scott as a FRIEND and will respect him as the team's leader, but she just can't really stand aspects of his personality with Nero around. (But Scott is going to be pining over her constantly and putting her on a pedestal that she absolutely despises.)
Is because Nero is much more charismatic and gets along with the team much better than Scott does. He's the one that makes each new recruit feel welcome on the team while also being the one that they go to when they are having problems, personal or emotional. {Example: When Nightcrawler is very distraught about something, Nero actually gets on his knees and prays with him in order to help him calm down despite Nero not exactly being a religious person.} Another major factor, is that Nero is willing to hear other people's opinions about the course of action to take, while Scott just ignores their concerns and sticks to the plan he made (It's usually justified since the plan was well thought out and there was no time to change it, but it's still annoying to the other).
Basically, sadly, he only informed a few of it and will remember to inform the rest from time to time.
Yup.
Partially that...
Kind of... (The Beyonder kind of ended up creating Nero to be a type of Ultimate Life Form, or a perfect being as someone would called it, since he kind posses an amalgamation of the DNA of every single existing race in the universe.)
She and Nero will have a unique bond.
Nah, Nero and Jean will actually meet Madelyne together.
I think the vast majority started to hate Scott after that, but it lead Madelyne to become a memorable villain.
Something somewhat similar will occur. (Jean and Madelyne will be practically sisters, with Jean actually preferring Madelyne over her actual problematic sister.)
Think of something like this:
{
Deadpool: I love reunions.
Nero: What the fuck are you even talking about?
Deadpool: You can't tell, but I'm sure the big boy over there wants to cry for his daddy again.
Nero: No... He's actually searching for a flamethrower to roast your deformed ass.
Deadpool: Nah, he's actually searching for a rocket launcher with is right over-YAAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAA! (Cable shoots Deadpool with a rocket launcher and almost hits Nero too.)
Nero: SHIT! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?
Cable: Sorry dad, I didn't see you ther-AAAHHHH
Hope: (Kicks Cable in the balls and he falls into his knees dropping the rocket launcher) Nathan Carnby, if you get my daddy killed, I'll fucking murder you.
Cable: Sorry sister...
Nero: And to think there's more of them around in the future, I'm so fucked...
Hope: Wait until you meet the rest of our siblings then. I think Gabby , Tommy and Billy, Franklin and Felicity are the ones that gave you the most difficulty. But, Rose, Ramonda, Ben, Brunnhilda, Helios, Veron and the Stepford Cuckoos were the easiest.
Nero: (Complete silence for nearly two minute) I'm gonna regret asking you this but... HOW MANY CHILDREN DO I HAVE IN THE FUTURE?!
Cable: We can't tell.
Deadpool: Oh, come one, you leave him in that type of cliffhanger. (Deadpool's severed head from the explosion said that as it rolled towards the middle of them.)
Hope: No, we literally can't tell him because we don't know the exact number.
Deadpool: Jeez, I have that many step-grandchildren? (Hearing that caused Nero to look at him angrily and prepare himself as Hope gave him a thumbs up as a response to his question.) Also, damn, you been having a lot of fun haven't you champ-HHHHIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA! (Nero just kicked his head away like it was a soccer ball.)
Hope: For what is worth, we all adore you, daddy.
Nero: (Sighed and gave her a thumbs up) Good to know, sweetie. (Hope lets out a big smile and envelops him into a bone-breaking hug after hearing that.)
}
That is precisely what is going to happen.
Exactly, with his lack of full control over his powers, Nero decides to create for himself and complete arsenal of weapons and gadgets to help him fight. {Minor spoiler: He actually possesses a certain ability from a certain "Barney Toastmaster" that will help him use those weapons and gadgets on their full capacity.}
Thanks for the chapter hope you update soon I love the MC and Jean reactions and can't wait to see Scott's reaction to the MC involving Jean
Scott will fall for her at first sight, sadly, Nero's presence will kind of ruin his chances with her.
Okay, can we at least get a preview where he's already a superhero, preferably an action scene?
Fine:
{
As Nero opens his eyes to be greeted by the bright light of the dawn. The white haired boy could only notice something odd. Which was the fact that hands were handcuffed behind his back. Oh shit... He thought as searched around the room to know what the hell was going on.
His answer came quick enough, as it was clear that he was inside an abandoned apartment as the place was empty and smelled like it had been abandoned for years. Not really understanding what exactly is going on. Until...
"Woke up much sooner than expected." Suddenly, he heard a familiar.
"Oh for fuck's sake." It was Nero's immediate response to the apparition of a particularly annoying individual. "Mind telling me why the fuck am I handcuffed, Walker?"
The man was John Walker, AKA: U. S. Agent. Or as Nero likes to call him, Captain America's wannabe. "Sorry, classified information." He spoke in a pretty condescending tone.
"My foot up your ass will be the full definition of classified information if you don't tell me why the fuck am I here." It was Nero's response as he stood up from the floor that he was sitting on. Then he jumped and passed his handcuffed hands under his legs.
"Let's see, the murder of government officials, robbery of government property, terrorist acts against America and the list goes." John spoke in an exceptionally authoritarian voice that only made Nero want to chuckle.
Which he did. "Hah!" While he used magic to freeze the handcuffs that Walker placed on him."First of all,you people sent a bunch of armed shit-heads to invade a church with orders to kill me on sight and you saying that I murdered them?" It was his immediate response to that ridiculous accusation as he broke the handcuffs into pieces. "Second, government property my ass, it was my suit, my weapons, my technology, my alien pet, my A.I and my D.N.A way before you fucks took it and started to call it government property." He really wanted to hit him for saying that. "And last but certainly not least, that was Nick Fury's fault , why the hell am I being blamed for that shit?!"
"Mr. Fury may have orchestrated the event but you were the one that set it into motion, so that's on you." Walker spoke to Nero apprehensively.
Nero rolled his eyes in response. "Whatever you say." He spoke sarcastically before walking past him. But Walker placed a hand on Nero's chest in a futile attempt to stop him from leaving. His response was to smirk at him. "Walker... Do you genuinely think that I need a suit or weapons to beat your ass?"
"No, but I think I have a much better chance to do just that to you." John Walker spoke in return with a smirk of his own.
Nero's response was to take a few steps back, with John doing the exact same. The white haired boy cracked his knuckles while the blond haired guy stretched himself a bit. The two of them then got into a fighting stance.
John attacked first by delivering a skillful feint followed by a right hook that Nero easily dodged by ducking, immediately delivering a right hook to his liver, followed by a right uppercut to his jaw. Once his head bounced back due the impact of the punch, Nero wasted no time and immediately grabbed him to perform an arm throw.
Once he was on the ground, Nero immediately stood up and said. "Damn, it took at least one hundred punches to drop Captain America, with you, it took just two." Wasn't he supposed to be similar to Steve.
Saying that clearly angered Walker, who recovered from the previous attack and stood up to keep fighting.
Nero resumed his fighting stance as well. But this time, he delivered the first attack. A front kick to his chest, which Walker was able to block, but the kick still pushes him back a bit, which Nero capitalizes by delivering a superman punch into his face, but Walker managed to block that one as well.
John retaliated with a left hook, but Nero was able to slip from the punch and delivered a right knee to his stomach, but Walker was able to grab his knee and tackle him into the nearby wall. Only for the two to pass through the wall like Juggernaut does and end up in one of the room of the abandoned apartment.
Falling into the ground as they passed through the wall, Nero performed a circle throw in order to get Walker off of him. Then he stood up front of the floor quickly. The moment he did, he noticed that they were inside an empty bedroom. Almost empty actually. "What the fuck?" It was Nero's reaction as he saw his equipment and his alien pet inside a container. "Hah!" Nero found it hilarious. "You just saved me the trouble of having to search for them later."
John grinned his teeth in response and stood up in rage, before he charged at the white haired boy and tried to swing at him. But it failed miserably as Nero easily dodged all of his punches using his head movement. Until Walker tossed a sloppy right haymaker that Nero trapped under his left shoulder and grabbed the back of the U.S Agent's head and delivered a very hard headbutt into his nose, which apparently broke it, due to the loud crack that he heard. Then Nero performed a Standing Shoulder Lock and dislocated his shoulder. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" John Walker screamed as Nero broke his arm. Sadly for him, Nero was able to notice that there was a window on the wall on their right. This is gonna hurt. He thought as he pushed Walker forward as he hopelessly tried to fight back , but once they were close to the window, Nero grabbed him and tossed him into the spot right besides the window and showing no mercy, delivered lighting fast combos at him, punch after punch after punch, all precise, quick and powerful. Walker's face basically became a bloody mess, so Nero finished the extended combo by delivering a very powerful cross into his face, which caused his head to bounce back and hit the back of it on the wall, making a hole in it. John Walker then immediately fell forward and would have hit the ground if Nero didn't grab him.
"Don't worry, you'll survive." Nero reassured the barely conscious John Walker, before he lifted him off the floor. "Barely." He added.
With that, Nero Carnby tossed Jonathan Walker out of the window of the room. But once he did, he noticed that there was a blizzard going on outside, which made him incapable of seeing his surroundings. Where the fuck am I?!" Nero asked himself once he saw the blizzard. He approached the window right away in hopes of getting some answers. Only to realize that he was on the highest floor of some type of apartment complex, unable to see his surroundings due to the strong blizzard. No time to move. Turning around he went to retrieve his things. "Hey, who's my favorite alien?" The first thing he did was to retrieve the Symbiote, by destroying the container that it was put on.
Me! The Symbiote responded as it engulfed Nero in order to return to him.
"You indeed." He told me.
Nero then retrieved his suit. Putting his armor on, he stopped being Nero Carnby and became the Gray Avenger. "Ultron, are you there?" He asked once he put the helmet on.
"Yes" His personal AI responded to him.
"What is my location?" He asked as he grabbed the Ebony Blade and the Gray Avenger's shield.
"Grand Forks in North Dakota." Ultron told him.
"What?!" It was his response to that.
"According to the U.S. Agent's last radio transmission, he was tasked with bringing you here for extraction." Ultron informed him. "A group of Agents of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division is about to arrive for your extraction."
Gray Avenger was about to ask when, but he heard a helicopter coming in his direction. The sound could be heard above him, so he close his eyes in order to activate his radar sense. Which allowed him to see more than eleven Shield Agents coming out of the helicopter. Shit. "Ultron, what is the state of my suit?"
"Your suit has endured the considerable amount of 85% percent of damage caused by your confrontation with the Hulk." Ultron explained. "Most of the suits features require repair, but it will protect you from incoming projectiles."
"Great, I have the most advantaged powered suit in the whole fucking world made of all kinds of unique metals, but it was damaged by a big and angry green guy?" He complained as it was kind of unbelievable for him.
"Strangely, the suit was already weakened before your fight with the Hulk." Ultron revealed to him.
"Wha-, It doesn't matter." I'll deal with that later, but right now. He grabbed the Phoenix Gun and placed the holster on his leg. "I got a few asses kicked."
Utilizing his radar sense to see which way they are coming from, he can see four agents standing by the door, four agents standing by the end of the corridor where the stairs that lead to the rooftop were located and the last three agents were by the helicopter. Gray Avenger took cover right next to the hole on the wall that he made during his fight with the U.S. Agent. It didn't take long for the Shield Agents to kick the door open and make their way in.
"U.S. Agent?" One of the Shield Agents called for him.
The Gray Avenger took this as an opportunity to make himself seem. "Sorry, John had to drop by somewhere." He told them sarcastically as he walked towards the middle of the room, with all of them immediately pointing their handguns at him.
"Gray Avenger, drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!" The Shield Agents were all male and were wearing fine looking dark suits with Kevlar body armor and masks that partially covered their faces. Their weapon of choice was a Beretta Px4 Storm.
The Gray Avenger didn't even bother to reply, he just stood there motionless for a few seconds. Until he quickly drew the Phoenix Gun and shot all four agents before they had time to react, landing perfect head-shots on the four. If this was a few weeks ago, I would have probably felt bad for this.
"Probably?" The Symbiote asked.
"Probably." Nero responded.
Using his radar sense, he actually saw the rest of the Shield Agents that were standing by the corridor move in response to the gun shots. Moving towards the wall beside the door, he took a few steps to the left while still using his radar sense to see his enemies position. Once they were about to reach the door, Gray Avenger actually found the spot behind the group of four. He capitalized on it by passing through the wall, using Intangibility, allowing him to stand behind the group of four that just reached the door. Standing behind the fourth Agent of the group, he decided to get this over with.
Cleaning his throat to call their attention, the fourth Agent immediately turned around to spot him, but Gray Avenger grabbed his arm while he was about to completely turn around and pulled with his left hand before placing his right forearm on his throat. Once he did, Gray Avenger shot at the first Agent that was leading the group on the head followed by a left front kick at the third Agent, who fell immediately. The second Agent of the group was smart enough to start firing at him, but Gray Avenger simply removed his forearm from the fourth Agent's throat and pulled his arm with his left hand in order to use his body as a shield. It worked as the second Agent fired three shots at the fourth Agent that hit his body armor. As soon as he stopped firing, Gray Avenger kicked the fourth Agent from behind, pushing him into the second Agent, causing the two to collide and fall on the floor. But before the Gray Avenger could finish them off, the third Agent stood up after recovering from his kick and tried to shoot him once again. He simply grabbed the barrel of the gun with his left hand and pushed to the right, causing the bullet to hit the wall. Then he hit his throat with the tip of his gun, followed by a knee to the balls and finished him off by hitting the back of his head with the butt of the gun. Once he fell, the second and fourth Agent stood up from the floor and tried to fire at him, but Gray Avenger simply launched a web at their guns and pulled them off their hands. Now unarmed, the Agents look at him frightened.
But his response was simply to twirl the Phoenix Gun for a bit. Before he placed it back on his holster and approached the two in order to deliver some good old beat-down. Once he was close the two idiots stood besides one another , one on the left and one on the right on that narrow corridor. The one on the left was the first one to try to swing at him, but Gray Avenger easily parried the punch with his left forearm and delivered a right hook at his jaw, then he immediately delivered a side kick the one on the right before he could attack, which caused him to stumble back and fall into the floor. Then he delivered a kick to the balls of the one on the left with his left leg followed by a fouetté kick aimed at his head, which caused his head to collide with the wall, knocking him out completely. Then he noticed the last Agent trying to stand up, the Gray Avenger simply waited for him to stand up and once he did, he charged at him, grabbed him and lifted him off the floor and body slammed him hard on the hard floor.
"DON'T MOVE!" He then heard the last remaining of the Shield Agents at the end of the corridor as he performed a Kip-up to stand up, he was about to deal with them just like the rest.
But
"AHH!"
"OH SHI-"
"NO!"
Suddenly, the three Agents fell dead before Gray Avenger could reach them. "What?" He asked while staring at the corpses, then he moved his head up and saw someone from a distance. Someone he instantly recognized. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he approached her.
The one standing in the corridor was Psylocke herself. "Jean, Madelyne and I sensed that you were in trouble, so we decided to help."
"We? Wh-" He didn't have the time to finish his question as she immediately removed his helmet and kissed him on the lips. Nero returned the kiss and fondled her ass as he did but separated after a few seconds. "Who came with you?" He asked as he kept fondling her ass.
"Get a room for you two." Suddenly, Nero heard a familiar voice and immediately turned around.
"Hey, Ice Cube." Nero immediately let go of Psylocke and went to embrace Iceman.
"Hey, Snowball." He immediately decided to taunt Nero as they hugged.
"Don't call me that shit man!" Nero instantly separated himself from him by shoving him angrily. I got to stop letting Felicia call me that shit in public.
Iceman and Psylocke both chuckled at his reaction.
Nero sighed before speaking. "Thanks for coming for me, I was already on my way to escaping but...I appreciated it."
"Truth be told, all of the X-Men wanted to come to help you but Xavier prohibited them." Bobby told Nero. "But Psylocke, Beast and I managed to take the Blackbird and fly here."
Nero widened his eyes in response to a very particular piece of information. "Beast is here?"
"Don't act so surprised man, you know he was the second most vocal against the idea of you getting kicked out." Bobby reminded him.
"Can we please discuss this on the Blackbird, before more Shield Agents appear." Betsy told the two friends.
Nero agreed with her. "Yeah..." He wrapped his left arm around Betsy's hip and his right arm around Bobby's shoulder. "Lead the way."
The trio then walked down the corridor of that abandoned apartment in order to find the exit of that building. "Is it true you fought the Hulk?" Bobby asked him enthusiastically.
"Involuntarily, I actually like that green hothead."
}
I hope you enjoyed this preview. And yes, Nero's superhero name is the title. The Gray Avenger.