Below the rubble of the Avengers Compound, Lorne pulled himself to his feet, seeing Groot had extended his hands and fingers, using it to trap the collapsing ceiling above them. But judging by the massive amounts of water he saw beginning to leak through the cracks, he had a feeling that wouldn't hold for long.
"I am Groot," Groot told him worriedly.
Seeing Bruce unmoving a few feet away, Lorne rushed over, checking for vitals, relief shooting through him as he found Bruce was still alive.
"Dr. Banner, we need you to wake up, now," Lorne said as he frantically shook the scientist awake.
"Wa?" Bruce said groggily as he came to. "What happened?"
"If I had to guess, our friends the Senior Partners decided to pay us a visit," Lorne said as he helped Bruce stand.
"I am Groot!" Groot shouted.
This time, they needed no translation. They heard the roar of the water before they saw it, quickly getting swept up in the current.
"Mayday! Mayday! We're on the lower level, the pipes are flooding! Does anyone copy!?"
Hearing Bruce's voice, Scott stood up, shaking the cobwebs out of his head before tapping the Comms piece in his helmet.
"I'm here! Can you hear me?" Scott asked worriedly.
In another part of the Compound, Connor got to his feet, looking around but not seeing anyone else.
"Dad?" Connor called out but received no answer.
Realizing he was alone, Connor sighed before looking around, trying to figure out where exactly he was. Seeing something nearby, Connor walked over, surprised to see the Gauntlet.
Connor picked it up in shock, noting it had the six stones still attached. And, somehow, it had shrunken down to its original size. As Connor looked at it, his hair suddenly stood on end. He wasn't alone.
Connor whirled around as he heard a growl. Standing before him were over a dozen vampires, all snarling at him with their vamp faces out.
Now, normally Connor wouldn't worry too much about a group of vampires. Even alone, he could deal with them just fine. But it wasn't hard for him to figure out they were after the stones. If even one managed to get passed him and take the Gauntlet, it would be a disaster. So he did the only thing he could. He turned and ran, the vampires quickly running after him.
Sam was vaguely aware of someone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes to see Bucky kneeling down next to him, the hand that wasn't shaking him holding the shield.
"Welcome back Cap," Bucky said as he helped Sam sit up before handing him the shield. "I went through a lot of trouble to get you to pick this thing up. Try not to lose it."
"What happened?" Sam asked as he took the shield from Bucky.
"The Senior Partners," Angel said from where and Spike stood, looking out at an opening the debris. "And it doesn't look like they're done."
Curiously, Sam and Bucky walked over, Sam stepping up to Angel's side and Bucky to Spike's. They saw what had the two vampires' attention: a man in a suit was standing among the debris outside, looking up at them calmly.
"Who the Hell is that?" Bucky asked.
"Hamilton. He's a liaison for the Senior Partners," Angel explained.
"He's basically a Terminator on steroids," Spike said and Sam frowned.
"Okay, I don't know what this is, but it sounds pretty bad," Bucky said as they all looked down at Hamilton.
"What's he been doing?" Sam asked.
"Nothing," Angel said grimly. "He's been waiting for us."
"Where are the stones?" Bucky asked.
"Somewhere under all this, along with the rest of our friends," Spike said, clenching his hands into fists as he remembered Dawn falling below, silently praying to whoever was listening that she was okay.
"Then let's keep it that way," Angel said darkly.
"We know it's a trap right? And if what you say is true, he'll probably kill us," Bucky pointed out.
"Do we really care?" Sam asked and Bucky shrugged.
"Just making sure we're all on the same page," Bucky said nonchalantly.
Together, the four of them climbed down from the pile of rubble that was once the Compound, walking over to Hamilton.
"Angel, Spike. I must admit, I'm rather disappointed," Hamilton said as they reached him. "Both of you had such promise. The Senior Partners spent an awful lot of time and resources on both of you. Personally, I would have told them not to bother. You had all the power in the world and you threw it away."
"The cost was too high," Angel said grimly and Hamilton smiled.
"You know, I try not to let my job get personal. But this, I'm gonna enjoy," Hamilton said gleefully.
"We'll see," Spike said grimly.
Angel suddenly rushed forward, delivering a punch to Hamilton's abdomen. But, to his surprise, Hamilton didn't even flinch.
"Did that hurt at all?" he asked in disbelief.
"Little bit," Hamilton noted.
Hamilton then grabbed Angel and tossed him back like a ragdoll. Angel crashed into Spike and the two vampires were sent flying, crashing into a pile of debris. Sam quickly threw his shield but, to his shock, Hamilton caught it with ease in one hand.
"Remarkable. Such a legendary weapon, in the hands of a solider boy, pretending to be Captain America," Hamilton said as he looked at Sam in distain. "Do you honestly believe you're worthy to stand in the same shoes as Steve Rogers? Well, let me clear up that delusion."
Hamilton threw the shield back at Sam. Sam tried to catch it but the force of the shield sent him flying back, crashing into some debris. Bucky ran at Hamilton, jumping and trying to punch him. Hamilton caught Bucky's wrist but it noticeably strained him. Bucky sent a kick to Hamilton's abdomen and Hamilton was sent stumbling back. Bucky twisted out of his grip, jumping back as Hamilton stared at him.
"Finally, a challenge," Hamilton said as he smirked. "The Winter Soldier. It will be an honor to kill you."
"We'll see," Bucky sneered before rushing Hamilton once more.
Under the rubble, Dawn blinked as she came to. Sitting up, Dawn looked up around her, seeing she was surrounded by rubble.
"Dawn?"
Looking over her shoulder, Dawn saw Fred and Hope approaching her.
"Fred, Hope. Where's everyone else?" Dawn asked.
"I don't know. Wait," Hope paused as she heard something. "What's that?"
Not far from Dawn, Fred and Hope's location, Connor was running from the vampires, which were gaining on him. Never had Connor wanted a stake so much, but without one, he'd had to resort to using his bare hands, which wasn't an option right now.
Connor was considering tossing the Gauntlet away so he could fight off the vampires when several streams of webbing suddenly shot out, binding the vampires. As the vampires struggled against the webbing, Connor was suddenly struck by the webbing before he was pulled up. Startled, Connor looked up, seeing Peter using his webbing to pull him up as Willow stared down at the vampires.
"Fire," she said calmly.
As Connor was pulled up to the level Peter and Willow were standing on, the tunnel below him lit up with flames. There was then a loud explosion and three of them stepped back, all of them certain that the vampires had been dusted.
"Thanks," Connor said gratefully and they nodded.
"Been a while since I dusted any vamps," Willow noted wistfully.
"Never gets old, does it?"
The trio looked over as Faith walked around a corner, T'Challa, Nebula and Wanda trailing behind her.
"They're running all over the place, we've dusted at least two dozen so far. It's like the Senior Partners forgot I'm a Slayer," Faith said bewildered.
"Unlikely. It's a strategic move," Nebula said and they all looked over at her. "The vampires are the foot soldiers, sent to tire us. They are the first wave. The second wave will be sent to kill us all."
Bucky and Hamilton were trading blows, seemingly even in strength. Bucky tried to strike Hamilton with his robotic arm but Hamilton easily caught it. However, to Hamilton's surprise, he was having trouble holding it back. As Bucky's robotic arm began to inch closer to him, Hamilton suddenly kneed Bucky in the abdomen. Bucky let out a grunt of pain, losing his focus and that's when Hamilton struck. Striking Bucky in the face, Bucky grunted before Hamilton grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Whirling around, Hamilton elbowed Bucky in the face before tossing him over his shoulder, throwing him into a pile of debris. Bucky sailed through it before hitting the ground, hard and getting knocked out.
Hearing the sound of jetpacks, Hamilton whirled around as Sam came flying towards him, throwing his shield. Hamilton easily caught it, throwing it back as Sam. Sam dodged it this time, flying in and delivering a spinning kick to Hamilton's head. Hamilton was barely affected but this was merely a distraction. Suddenly, Spike and Angel jumped him from behind, restraining him. Sam flew back, picking the shield up from where it had landed and threw it back at Hamilton. This time, it impacted on Hamilton's chest.
To their disbelief, Hamilton barely flinched, easily breaking free of Spike and Angel's grips. He punched both vampires, sending them stumbling back as Sam caught the shield on the return.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Hamilton asked amused. "A soldier, pretending to Captain America. Spike, you were weak as a human and you're weak now. Angel, you're gutter trash. You drank and whored your way through an unremarkable life. But fate stepped in and made you a vampire, with a soul, no less. A champion, a hero of the people. And yet you still fail everyone around you. Doyle, Darla, Connor…Cordelia."
Angrily, Angel rushed him, punching Hamilton. But this had no affect and Hamilton grabbed him by the neck before tossing him into some debris.
In the wreckage of the Compound, Groot was still struggling to hold up the ceiling by trapping the rubble with his hands. This was made much more difficult by the fact that the area they were at was filled with water so high Bruce and Lorne had floated to the top, their heads barely above water.
"Dr. Banner, any chance your green friend will be joining us?" Lorne asked worriedly.
"Been trying. Hulk must be wiped from using the stones," Bruce said in defeat.
Unseen to any of them, Scott, shrunken down was swimming towards them.
Hamilton and Spike were trading blows, Spike losing, badly. Hamilton slugged him and Spike stumbled back.
"Why do you keep fighting? There's nothing in it for you anymore Spike. Even if you survive, you think your precious Slayer will look at you the same way once she finds out what you've done?" Hamilton asked, seemingly truly confused by Spike's actions.
"If you thought I did all this for a girl, you never knew me at all," Spike snarled before slugging Hamilton.
Hamilton didn't seem to resister this, slugging Spike so hard it sent him flying. Spike landed on his back, groaning in pain as Hamilton approached him. Before he could get very far, however, someone yanked him by the back and his shirt and Hamilton was thrown into a nearby pill of debris.
"Someone like you will never understand why we keep fighting," Bucky said as he looked over at Spike. "You okay?"
"Fine. Thanks," Spike grunted as he pulled himself to his feet.
"What is with you people?" Hamilton asked as he pulled himself to his feet, sounding annoyed. "Let me say this as clearly as I can: you cannot beat me. I am a part of them, the Wolf, Ram and Hart. Their strength flows through my veins. My blood is filled with their ancient power."
"Can you pick out the one word there you probably shouldn't have said?"
Hamilton looked behind him to see Angel standing there. Angel's face shifted into his vamp face before he lunged at Hamilton, biting into Hamilton's neck. Hamilton grunted as Angel drank his blood greedily before Hamilton yanked him off. Angel jumped into the air, performing a somersault before landing a few feet away.
"Wow! You really are full of it," Angel said, sensing the power in him.
Snarling, Hamilton rushed him but Angel dodged his strikes.
"What was that you were saying about ancient power?" Angel quipped.
With a sneer, Hamilton tried punching him but Angel caught his arm, to his surprise. Angel struck him in the side and Hamilton angrily punched him. This pained Angel but he still held on. Angel punched Hamilton once more before Hamilton grabbed him by the throat.
"You don't really think you're gonna win this, do you? You don't stand a chance. We are legion. We are forever," Hamilton said arrogantly.
Bucky and Spike moved to help but, to their shock, Angel freed himself. Angel then punched Hamilton in the chest, causing Hamilton to double over. Angel then followed up by kneeing Hamilton in the chest before knocking his feet out from under him. Hamilton fell on his back, groaning in pain, sitting up as Angel looked down on him.
"I guess forever-" Angel snarled, punching Hamilton. "-just got a Hell of a lot shorter."
Angel then punched Hamilton again, this time there was a slickening crack. Hamilton went down to the ground, his neck bent at an unnatural angel and his eyes staring without seeing. Angel breathed heavily as Sam landed next to him, Spike and Bucky approaching as they all stared down at Hamilton.
"Is he dead?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah, he's dead," Angel said before the ground started trembling.
"Bloody Hell, what now?!" Spike demanded.
"If I had to guess, I'd say Hamilton was only the opening act. I think we're about to see the main event," Angel said grimly.
True to Angel's word, there was a flash of light. When it faded, various demons appeared. Some were like the ones in the other dimensions, the statues and the black demons Peter and Dawn had fought. Others were tall, towering over the others. But it was not only limited to demons.
Vail was there, smirking at Angel. Izzerial, dressed in a suit, walked calmly with the other demons. A large, towering red beast that resembled the Hulk walked with the demons, snarling mindlessly. And in the background, a dragon flew, roaring at all of them.
"So, in terms of a plan?" Spike asked as they four of them began walking forward to meet this army, all of them knowing they likely wouldn't survive.
"We fight," Angel said simply.
"A bit more specific?" Spike requested.
"Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon," Angel said with a smirk.
"Get in line," Bucky said with a matching smirk.
"Oh great, there's two of you now," Sam said sarcastically as he tightened his grip on his shield. "Well, if we're gonna die, let's do it fighting."
Angel opened his mouth to speak when-
"Sam? Sam, do you read me?" Sam and Bucky froze at the sound of the voice as Angel and Spike looked over at them. "It's Steve, do you read?"
In a state of disbelief, Sam tapped the Comms piece in his helmet.
"Cap?"
"On your left."
Hearing a hissing sound behind them, the group looked over to see an orange circle open up. Out of it walked Steve Rogers, flanked on either side by Natasha Romanoff and Okoye. Sam and Bucky stared at their friend with disbelief and hope as he smiled at them. Then, James Rhodes flew out of the portal as well, dressed in his War Machine armor, circling the sky as multiple other portals opened up.
Out of one, Stephan Strange emerged, floating down next to Drax, who was wielding his daggers, and Mantis, who took a fighting pose. Strange summoned two Tao Mandalas as Peter Quill landed next to him, retracting his mask. Then, Tony Stark landed next to them, his Iron Man suit fully repaired from his battle with Thanos.
From behind Steve, Natasha and Okoye, M'Baku was leading the other Wakandians out of the portal, Rocket walking with them, his blaster at the ready.
Angel and Spike both smiled as they saw Buffy, wielding the M? and flanked by Xander and Giles, leading the other Slayers out of a portal.
Thor, wielding Stormbreaker, led Sif, Valkyrie, Korg, Miek and the remaining Asgardians out of another portal.
The Masters of the Mystic Arts came out of another portal, Clint Barton, wielding his bow, looking around at everyone as Wesley and Gunn joined him, Wesley with his guns and Gunn with an axe.
Out of another portal came Fury and Sharon, both wielding their guns. And flying down from the sky, landing near them was Nick, wearing Sam's old wings.
"Is that everyone?" Strange asked Wong.
"What, you wanted more?" Wong asked in disbelief.
Suddenly, there were two loud cracks from the rubble. From one location, a blast of red energy threw some debris aside. Wanda, Willow, Faith, T'Challa, Peter, Nebula, Connor, Dawn, Hope and Fred walked out of the debris. At the other location, Scott broke through the rubble in his Giant-Man form. Scott opened his hand and Groot jumped down while Lorne helped the still weak Bruce down.
"I am Groot!" Groot declared.
"What he said," Lorne added.
As the army of heroes stood ready to battle the army of demons, the Masters of the Mystic Arts summoned their Tao Mandalas. There was silence as the heroes waited for someone to issue commands.
"Let's go to work," Angel said firmly, narrowing his eyes.
With battle cries, the two sides rushed each other, the final battle of the apocalypse continuing to rage.
Hope the chapter was good, as I'm honestly a little unsure of certain aspects.
Regarding Hamilton, I think Bucky would probably be able to kill him in a one on one fight, but Angel killing him was such an awesome scene in the show, I had to include it here.
I've done the 'Avengers Assemble' scene three times now, and no matter how many times I do it, it leaves me with a good feeling.
I know there wasn't a whole lot of insanity this chapter as opposed to the other fics where I've done this plot, but next chapter will be absolutely insane, so stay tuned.